wcw AUGUST 2022

ode to
Lido Beach
Lido is my beach…not
literally, but sometimes
I do have it all to myself.
Like when a storm is
coming and the beach
would be empty. Cool air sweeps
down and black clouds threaten
from the east.
But that all meant I had a good
hour of solitude. Unless you count
the birds. Lots of birds. There’s a
skimmer colony that gathers on
North Lido. They’re distinctive
with their orange and black beaks
and trim tuxedoes. Or maybe for
their graceful swoop or skim of
the water as they find food.
Then there are the terns with their
inquisitive looks and bad “comb
overs” who move en masse if you
in turn (no pun intended) move
suddenly. I try to bother neither
flock and we co-exist in this brief
peaceful time of beach-sharing.
Less popular than its more storied
beach to the south, Lido Beach
has the classic white white sand,
but not the crowds. Smaller in
scale, it also has dunes and often
turtle-nesting spots.
And for a brief while, it’s mine.
▲ Hard to get a bad image of Lido Beach. Its golden sunsets and wavy sea oats
welcome you across white sand to the gentle waves of the Gulf of Mexico.
▲ Storms clear the beach, but make for solitude — until the rain comes in.
▲ Birds chill
together
like these
big-beaked
skimmers who
don’t mind
terns in their
space.
▲ It’s a place for big sky which is rare in Sarasota, dunes and solitude -
all best found pre-storm or very early in the day.
▲
Terns stay in their flock, but move en masses as you approach,
yet somehow decide to walk with you.
STORY and PHOTOS:
Louise Bruderle
26 WEST COAST WOMAN AUGUST 2022