After dropping Henry (our youngest Aussie) off at Furry Farms, a dog day camp where he gets to run and play on a farm, I headed down to Narrows Beach.

There are days that are reminders that change is a constant.

The last few times on the beach – the latest was last week – had been cool and gray, and at times chilly with a stiffening breeze off Puget Sound. But they still felt like early autumn days on Puget Sound.

But yesterday seemed to be a harbinger of what’s to come.

The fog was dense and it looked as if the sky was close to the ground. The Narrows Bridge was a faint image of itself, while Fox Island and the south Sound were hidden in the fog and mist.

While the breeze was light (less than 5 knots), it felt cold and raw. And the light mist stung my face whenever I faced the wind.

Fortunately, I had shifted from my lighter weight wading pants to my Simms G4Z chest waders, which afforded a bit more insulation in the chest. And my Patagonia Nano Puff provided just enough warmth – the hood in particular kept my ears warm!

The day looked as raw as it felt, and there was a feeling of remoteness and emptiness to the beach.

The feeling was amplified by the beach itself. Much of the beach was still uncovered as the flood tide was still in its early stage.

A small boat fender lay abandoned on the beach – a lost reminder of some boat’s passage somewhere on the Sound.

A few stalks of bull kelp – one of the 22 species of kelp in Puget Sound – littered the beach, a reminder this year’s growing season had ended.

I passed what looked to be the remains of a small lion’s mane jellyfish bobbing in the shallows.

There were few people about – and those on the beach were dressed in warm clothes.

The few human visitors were matched by an equally few numbers of birds – cormorants mainly.

I did see one cormorant about one third of the way out that had a fish in its mouth; It had found success fishing, with a fish in its mouth.

It had done better than me – I had seen no fish and hadn’t gotten even a strike.

As I made my way up to the parking lot, I knew there would be warm sunny days again this month.

But I also knew the days of summer were over and the world was preparing for the coming of winter.