drawing the line

Walking is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing part is obvious. What else could get me out in my neighborhood while giving me the exercise I need?

But there is a downside. And it came home to me in spades yesterday morning.

Part of my walk through Barra de Navidad includes walking to the end of our jetty that juts into the bay. It is the half-way point of my 5-mile walk.

The jetty always has something of interest. People fishing for dinner -- or fun. Pelicans picking off the fish missed by the hooks and lines. Scuttling crabs. And the star attraction: the morphing ocean.

Yesterday, there was something new. Being smart readers, you have already seen what caught my eye.

I first noticed several fish swimming along the surf line on the beach. Close enough that it looked as if one or two would be stranded. None were.

When I traced the line of fish along the jetty, it ended in a bait ball. Not just a school, but a bait ball. Eels could have not entwined any closer.

I am not a fisherman. And, unless a specimen is in a tank with a label, I am just as likely to identify a rainbow trout as a sea bass.

So, there is my confession of ignorance. I know that some of you fish. Do you have any idea, from the behavior, what my discovery might be?

Unfortunately, the definition of the photograph when increased will not help you much. At best in that resolution, they could be an abstract expressionist's concept of a fish.

The curse portion of my walking?

Because I felt compelled to maintain my walking pace, I snapped this photograph and kept on walking when I could have stopped for just a moment to enjoy another of Mexico's ever-changing attractions.

There may be a moral buried in that bait ball.