day 4

the shot i took today is in my mind. i did not actually see it. if i get nothing more out of this crazy button adventure, it will be the memory of today.

i arrived at the water shortly before low tide. as i clamored down the bank, i noticed a girl, maybe 12, sitting on the rock that overlooks the tide pool. etiquette kept me from getting too close, much as i wanted to check on the buttons. i went to the other side of the rocks and noodled with my camera, taking this shot of rocks seen only at low tide. i wasn't sure if i was acting like a mother bird trying to draw this girl away from the buttons, or if i was secretly hoping that if given enough time she would find them. neither happened. she sat tight. i waited. time passed.

finally, i heard voices. she was not alone. first her father appeared, followed by her younger sister, a girl of maybe four. i had not seen them when i arrived. they must have been down at the tide pool. i watched the family gather their stuff and then disappear behind the rocks.

after they left, i hurried to the tide pool not knowing what to expect. the buttons were still there. the pile was getting more ragged around the edges. a few more had broken from the pack. things were continuing to progress at an agonizingly slow pace. i sat down on a rock nearby and wondered what i was thinking when i thought this was a good idea.

then i saw it. i got up and walked back to the tide pool. the very large carved button that had rested on top was gone. i looked around the pool. it wasn't there. i thought, then hoped that perhaps the young girl had made it her own. in my mind, i pictured her squatting by the tide pool, thoughtfully considering her choices. her father saying gently, "pick one." she hesitantly dipping her hand in the frigid water and picking up her favorite, the large one with carvings on it sitting right on top. it was the most beautiful button she had ever seen.

did this actually happen? i will never know. but if the goal of this adventure is to recycle my buttons, i cannot imagine a better way for it to happen.