Susan Olcott

Spring tides in November? While that may seem like an oxymoron, "spring," in this sense of the word, doesn't refer to the season. Apparently, "springan" means "to well up" in Old English, so it began to be used to describe particularly large tides.

This is the time of year when things start to really shift. Trees go from green to gold, shorts are traded for pants, and then there is the wind. With the change in season, there is a loss of equilibrium between water and air temperatures.

Part of what I like about writing this column is that I get to research subjects I don't know about, or at least don't know enough about. Despite writing more than 200 columns during the last 10 years or so, it has never been difficult to find a topic. My favorite way to land on a topic is to be introduced to it by a reader of my writing.

Sometimes themes or topics emerge when you aren't looking for them — and yet, they are oddly perfect for the moment. I credit this month's topic to my mother, who, like me, is a lover of poetry.

It is with gratitude and excitement that I am bringing "Intertidal" to the Harpswell Anchor, a paper I wrote for regularly several years ago and have always eagerly read.