Evening Reflections…

 

~ evening light... click on the image for a larger view
~ evening light... click on the image for a larger view

Wandering out to Flagpole Point after sunset, the glow was still bright, and the water magnified the beauty in reflection...
The colours last night were intense — so lovely I felt I wanted to share this glimpse of the awesome beauty of nightfall.

Extraordinary Seaweed Phenomenon

seaweed ridges
ridges of seaweed on the rising tide (click image for larger view)

This pattern of wrinkled humps of seaweed  on the rising tide is relatively unusual. It takes several different weather and tide conditions conspiring together to create it.

It goes something like this: First, a southeast wind must blow at low enough tide to accumulate a build up of copious amounts of sea lettuce on the beach. Then, the further receding tide must distribute that sea lettuce over a large patch of the shallow sloping sand, a few inches thick. Then, day must be hot enough to dry the surface of the sea lettuce while the tide has ebbed. The third requirement is that the wind drop, allowing a calm windless period while the tide rises. The result is that the thick layer of sea lettuce is moved slowly from beneath, while the baked-dry surface of the sea lettuce layer is more resistant to movement, and makes for these extraordinary folds.

To me it looks something like colourful elephant skin. Or perhaps a satellite photo of mountain ridges. Or the flowing of some strange green river flowing from the distant rocks...   What do you think??

 

evidence of an unseen visitor…

IMG 5207

Sometimes when we go down to the sandy beach, it’s absolutely smooth, pristeen, untouched.  Other times we can see there have been others there before us: crabs, dogs, people, and occasionally the deer whose hooves leave their characteristically deep impressions as they bound across the sand.  But today it was a racoon that had been to the beach.

The angled sunlight highlighted the perfection of the clawed toes and foot pads: evidence of  the quiet creature’s leisurely stroll across the sand. He’s out of sight now, but he’s left us  this sign of his visitation.

I wonder who else’s tracks we’ll see today?