It's been raining hard in Seattle for several days now. The gusts of wind at night are intense - I'd guess last night's blow to be at times in the 50's (knots per hour, that is). During the night, while we slept, the boat strained on its lines and the rain beat down hard, waking me up repeatedly. I was okay with it because a) I knew we were perfectly safe and b) because it is the most delicious feeling in the world to snuggle deeper under the covers, safe and sound, while a storm is raging just inches away from my bed. The boat is warm and dry and we are completely protected - but we are as close to the weather as we could be and still be unaffected.
Last night, before turning in for the night, I realized that Lovey (my 10 year old dog and the love of my life) still needed to be walked. Mind you, on a boat, way out on the end of the dock, this is no small feat - not even close to opening the front door and letting the dog out for a quick pee, shivering on the front porch while waiting. We chose our slip out at the end of E-dock, intentionally - it's quiet, it's private, and we have easy access to an unobstructed view of the sunset over the Olympics. But it's about a quarter mile down the dock, a sharp right on the last finger pier and then a hairpin left to the ramp. Then up the ramp to the parking lot and then a little ways to a place where Lovey can do her business. So - last night when I realized that I still had this considerable chore before pj's and book time, I groaned, but then suited up and suited Lovey up (yes, she has a raincoat, too) and began the process of helping her off the boat and then starting our snail's pace walk (she's kind of a creaky old thing) down the dock. The temperature was on the warmer side, the rain had slowed to a fine mist and it was actually pretty in a rainy sort of way.
As I turned right at the end of the dock, heading towards the ramp, I saw two oddly-shaped things on the dock. At first I thought someone had dropped a couple of banana peels.
But as I got closer, I saw that they were starfish. Both were upside down and therefore unable to move on their own to safety. The light shining on them illuminated their many little "legs," wriggling, waving, seemingly frantically, but making contact only with the air above them. I wondered if the extreme low tide had caused them to fall off a pier pole, but then surmised that a seagull had dropped its snack, unable to carry it and fly in the rain. (I have watched a seagull swallow a starfish - hard to believe if you've never seen it. The starfish ended up lodged in the gull's neck, protruding at odd angles, rendering the gull more of a cartoon character and a comical one at that.) Lying on the dock, these two creatures could easily become a midnight snack for an otter or a more determined sea gull.
I picked one up and tossed it gently back in the water. Lovey and I watched it float slowly down to the bottom of the clear night water. I nudged the other with my foot until it plopped over the side of the dock. I forgot about the rain for a few moments and looked into the water thinking about the life down below and the starfish finding their way to safety, snuggling under their covers while the storm raged overhead. It was lovely and something that would never have happened except for my old dog who needed a walk. We saved a couple of starfish tonight, Lovey and I.
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