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FIELD NOTES: SURFSIDE COFFEE

FIELD NOTES: SURFSIDE COFFEE

By Lunasalt Denim

FIELD NOTES: SURFSIDE COFFEE

Location: Surfside Beach, Nantucket, MA
Date: September 30th, 2025
Observation Start: 0745 hours
Conditions: Early autumn calm. Light fog drift. Minimal wind.
Air Temp: High 73°F / Low 56°F
Water Temp: 62°F
Tide: Rising

ENTRY 001 — FIRE STUDY

Fuel source: salvaged hardwood — fragments of dock planks and oak beams recovered from past builds.
Seasoned in salt air. Split clean, dry at core.
Ignition method: single match, paper twist.
Combustion steady.
Low smoke. Moderate ember life.
Kettle reached first boil at 0753 hours.

Sound profile: gentle popping from seawater in the wood grain.
Scent profile: oak, iron, and brine.
Light behavior: flame reflection off kettle wall, subtle shimmer in fog.

ENTRY 002 — ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS

At 0805 the Grey Lady fog rolled down the coast in full dress —
dense, still, and electric in tone.
Visibility dropped below 150 yards.
The sea flattened to polished glass; the horizon dissolved completely.

Wind: ≤2 knots.
Wave pattern: long uniform sets, low amplitude.
Ambient sound: muffled gulls, distant surf thrum.

Emotional reading: alert / present / reverent.

ENTRY 003 — MATERIAL FIELD KIT

Makeshift desk on the hood of my Discovery:

  • Denim reference volumes and pattern notebooks.

  • Swatch panels labeled OYSTR, JETTY, and DEEP WATER.

  • Fabric test strips clipped with brass pins.

  • Pigment notebooks detailing solar and lunar light exposure intervals.

The blanket doubled as a portable lab table, canvas to record tone shifts, salt stain mapping, and fiber reactions to dew.

ENTRY 004 — LUNA LOUNGE / DYE EXPERIMENT

Subject: SeaWashed Relaxation Garments
Includes: sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatshorts, and lounge pants —
hand-dyed and seawashed.

Natural pigment trials:

  • Madder root → Coral to rust, amplified by direct sunlight.

  • Weld → Bright yellow, steady under cooler wash cycles.

  • Indigofera tinctoria → Deep ocean blue with faint silver under lunar exposure.

Experiment window: 0810–0835 hours.
Preliminary notes:

  • Lunar-dyed fibers retained deeper tone at fiber core.

  • Minimal color leaching in salt solution.

ENTRY 005 — CONCLUSION / PERSONAL NOTE

By 0840, kettle emptied. Fog closed in around the dunes.
The fire broke down to glowing coals, radiating steady warmth.
Notebook edges curled from salt mist. A hot cup of Stumptown "Hair Bender" in my vintage "Downy Flake" mug rests on the trivet ready to be enjoyed. 

Final entry reads:

“The sea is the only studio I’ll ever need.”

End of Observation.
Filed under: Grey Lady Studies / Surfside Coffee Ritual / Luna Lounge Research
— Recorded by T.O. Ruggiero