[Journal entry for August 20 2007]. In the morning, Dallas, Hannah and I joined a group of our relatives on a mud walk to Bar Island. The day is very clear and sunny; the bay is bright blue. We walk along the muddy shore of Ash Cove, in Harpswell, Maine, or in the shallow water of the bay itself, past seaweed-covered rocks and mud flats covered with the meandering tracks of snails. The seaweed is yellow-brown, a very attractive color when set against the blue water. Sandpipers work the shoreline; gulls fly overhead. We ford a small tidal channel at the base of the Bar Island sand bar, and follow the ridge of the bar out into the bay, towards the small rocky body of Bar Island, itself. Hannah, joined by several of the older children, ford the bay itself, and reach the island ahead of us. I prefer the longer route, for I can examine tidal pools containing snails, small crabs and inch-long fish along the way. Thirty years ago, when I first started visiting this area, Bar Island had two vegetaged sections, the rocky one that still remains and a earthy one that is now gone. It was the remanent of some ice age glacial moraine, I guess. All that now remains is a line of boulders on a low rock ledge. These ledges are covered with deep blacial scratches, only recently exposed by the moraine's demise. Hannah leads a group to the southern tip of the island, over difficult footing of wet seaweed. I am content to stop near the vegetated part of the island, and chat there with the other members of our group. On the way back, we find a hermit crab, which is using a snail shell as its home. The mud flats, which were now covered by a few incles of water, are covered with small balls about the size and color of green grapes. I believe these to be the mucus nets of some sort of marine worm. After our hike, we use a hose to wash off the very sticky mud that is clinging to our feet and legs. My ancient Teva sandles had broken during the walk, a strap snapping from the force of the suction of the mud. I later repaired them with a spare piece of webbing. About two hours.