I intended visiting the Overlook to memorize two poems as part of my own celebration of national poetry month. Mary Oliver’s’ poem: “How I Go To the Woods” and Wendell Berries’ The Peace of Wild Things”.
The Overlook allows us to view Fire Island Inlet, Democrat Point on Fire Island, and the ocean.

I changed my mind right away after parking. I grabbed my camera and decided to explore a dump area. Not knowing what to expect, I wandered with my eye. I stood at the base of a white cell phone tower looking for something interesting. I followed a driveway into a pit and come upon a bunch of tombstones in a scrambled pile. It looked like these tombstones were about be buried. The names were chiseled out but the decorations, dates, epitaphs were still discernible. One marble stone was a 22 year man who was in the Navy. I hopped around on granite and marble wondering why they ended up here. Suddenly I spotted a small lizard scampering along a low, concrete wall. My guess is an Italian Wall Lizard. I attended a lecture sponsored by the Long island Natural Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory. A professor from Hofstra University has studied them for a decade. They are invaders from Italy taking up residence in Garden City. This is the first time I’ve seen one. This is a perfect habitat for them. It probably migrated here. It basks in bright sunshine during the day the cover of the gravestones at night.

I climbed the bank to get views of the ocean. I stood at the edge of a large open area that contained false heather bushes. They have acted as snow fencing. Prevailing winds from the west have carried sand into this swale and these low shrubs slow the velocity of the sand and are in the process of burying them. A friend suggested “ It looks like a tundra scene from the air. The tips of the plants barely stuck out of the sand.” I knew immediately that I had captured an excellent image.

I found a blowout just to the west, the source of the sand. Wind swirls and scours due to the topography that surrounds the blowout. It scoops the sand consistently during strong winter winds. This is the source of sand for the False Heather. The scientific name is Hudsonia. The Glacier from Hudson Bay Canada carried this plant in ice. It has taken hold on beaches.

I caught sight of little blue stem grass growing along the southern edge of the blowout with perfect shadows cast down the slope. I had to photograph this. A little further on, I was treated to a fantastic view of the ocean, horizon, beach, grass, shadows, and blowout.

Once again, as with the dozens of visits to Overlook Beach, I’ve experienced the area before the crowds
arrive. Once again, I’ve had the opportunity to discover and be present to one of the best places close to my home.