I love this place, this beach. So many carefree, happy memories from my childhood are centered here. My grandparents purchased this condo as a vacation home when my mom was young. She grew up loving this place, too. And now my daughters love it here.

Since this is a beach on the Sound instead of the ocean, the water is usually calm. Clam shells, beach glass, and bits of dried up crabs litter the sand. There are so many treasures to find here. If you walk down the beach, giant cliffs rise up on your right side, and the water sings in a hushed whisper on your left. You feel as if you are all alone in a beautiful, private world created just for you. Mussel and anemone covered rocks huddle together in groups, showing themselves only briefly during the midday low tide. It is behind these rocks that you’re likely to see seals, or even otters, but only if you’re very very quiet. I found this giant barnacle there, half buried in the sand. The barnacles on these rocks never get this big, so it must have come from somewhere else. Washed in, perhaps, after being scraped off the hull of a rusty old freighter.

Oh, how I love this place.

See more self portraits here. This month’s theme is enclosed spaces.