Sterling Nature Center, in nearby Cayuga County, has a trail that leads to a secluded beach. This beach is like many along the Lake Ontario shoreline — rocky, windswept, and bounded by high bluffs. It is distinct in one regard though; the beach is strewn with fallen trees.
The beach timber is a result of the constant erosion of the bluffs. The elements wear away at soil, and the trees rooted therein collapse from the crumbling support from below. It’s a sad sight and an unsettling reminder of the impermanence of things.
This beach always has a lonely feeling about it. There are never many people on it. When I visited it today, the nearest fellow human I saw was hundreds of yards away. The emptiness along with the fallen and falling trees and the hazy skies provided a forlorn tableau.
a.k.a. V.J. 
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