Dunes

Where I live there are twenty-two miles of sand dunes. There are huge mountains and deep valleys of sand and mini forests springing up here and there with deep green trees, many of them bent over and desperately reaching out toward the east with clawlike branches seeking escape from the force of the wind storming in from the sea.

The ocean during storms tosses big logs up on the shore as though they were twigs and people come along and build things on the beach with them. Occasionally a "sneaker" wave will curl around and push one of those logs right at you if you are not "aware" and alert. The Oregon Coast is a force to be reckoned with, respected and, if you are like most of us, loved.
When the wind blows here, which it does fairly frequently, the sand dunes can take over the beach parking lots, paths and sometimes even Higway 101 which is the major highway that runs north and south on the coast. In order to control this problem (nature) the powers that be decided it would be a good idea to import a beach grass (From Belgium, I think) plant it in the sand dunes and stop their eastern creeping. Within a fairly short time the beach grass spread and not only controlled the spread of sand but covered more and more of it. There are still many beautiful spots and the grass, itself, can look wild and beautiful - it's just not the same as it used to be.

It makes me wonder about the animals we import to eat the insects that we brought in to control the weeds that came in on imported fruit all in the "House that Jack Built"
As humans we are foolish enough to believe that we can control nature and make it better. One wonders what the "comeuppence" will be.

I apologise for this ridiculously long blip. It's very late and when I get tired I tend to ramble!