DATE: Wednesday, October 29, 1997           TAG: 9710290044

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: LARRY MADDRY

                                            LENGTH:   84 lines

AUTUMN BEACH ABOUNDS IN GOLDEN BEAUTY

OCTOBER'S BRIGHT blue weather will disappear soon, but out at Chesapeake Beach, the locals are still savoring a fall that has been spectacular.

True, there have been some rainstorms lately. But the month began with extraordinary runs of mild weather and mornings of incredible beauty when, at daybreak, a shimmering, golden haze floated dreamily above the blue-green water of the bay.

On such mornings, the bay was still as a meadow, and the handful of sailboats anchored hundreds of yards offshore appeared to be bathtub toys. And as I walked the beach with Mabel, my cocker spaniel, the eye was tricked by the combination of sun and golden haze. When viewed from the beach, those boats seemed to hang like ornaments on the curtain of pale blue sky behind them until the sun burned away the Midas mist obscuring the horizon.

The spate of gorgeous weather began when a cold front moved in one night in late September. I remember the night well, for the the temperature dropped more than 20 degrees in a few hours. The gusting wind shrieked in the gutters and through open windows like a burglar in haste, knocking over framed photos and lamps and in some homes spilling vases containing colorful zinnias, nearly the last of summer.

But by afternoon of the next day, the beach was a delight, the gale-force winds having dropped to about 20 mph. The waves were still high and spirited - dashing with white manes at the finish line of the shore. But the beach itself was as tan, flat and smooth as the backs of women who had sunbathed there for months.

On that Sunday afternoon, hundreds jogged, walked dogs or power-walked with arms pumping. Some even rode bikes over the broad, smooth surface of compacted sand left behind by the receding tide.

Mabel the dog was invigorated by the cooler, breezier air and literally romped over the beach ahead of me instead of lagging behind as she does when the weather is warm.

We were halfway between the Lessner Bridge and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel when a large, rolling thing bearing down on us froze her in her tracks.

It was a spectacular contraption, even for Chick's Beach: a windsurfing sail held by a surfer in a wetsuit who stood atop a long skateboard with wide wheels. Mabel, who had once visited the Virginia State Fair and thought she'd seen everything, was flummoxed by the odd vehicle coming at her like a sailboat over the highway of sand. She began to bark.

It was quite a sight: The surfer holding the sail with arched back wore a smug smile as his craft moved effortlessly down the beach, powered only by the wind. He moved at a good clip, too. Maybe 8 mph.

Mabel barked as the sail board moved past us, and she continued barking for two minutes after it rolled silently up the beach. After that, she sniffed around old boards and logs that had washed ashore overnight, nosing up any urinary calling cards dogs might have left there. But she paused once and barked in the direction of the vanished sail board. Just to make sure it didn't come back.

On the walks with Mabel, I have often wished that I could get a better look at the ``great protein factory,'' as H.L. Mencken dubbed Chesapeake Bay.

It would be interesting if - for a few moments - the heaving water of the bay would part as if by Moses' command, leaving a stretch of bottom bare and visible to the naked eye like a road of sand. It would be interesting to see the array of horseshoe crabs and blue crabs, sharks and fish foundering, scuttling and squirming there until the waters rushed together again.

But there's plenty to see on the beach in October - sights of uncommon beauty that are fleeting.

In the fall, we seem to get more tide pools on the beach than at other times of the year. In the evening, the pools are like tiny mirrors where stars appear like a scattering of diamonds in the clear water. And a new moon's reflection becomes a luminous crescent pin that has dropped into a clear puddle at my bare feet.

I didn't think it possible, but during early morning walks, I've actually seen the sky reflected in those places where just a skin of water covers the sand. And the clouds too, their fleecy borders precisely defined and as clear as if painted on the dampness underfoot.

Such sights. I remember one morning after a northeaster when billowing gray clouds covered the sky like a down-filled comforter drawn above the bay. As Mabel and I walked up the beach, we saw long shafts of sunlight telescoped through holes in the clouds in several places. Those radiant shafts angled earthward like celestial columns, creating shimmering pools of brilliant silver where they touched the undulating gray water.

It was as if God was blessing those places. And, in a sense, I guess he was. ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

JANET SHAUGHNESSY

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