Sunday, May 08, 2011

saturday exploring...

big shell

first up, would like to wish all those mothers out there a happy mother's day! i will need to call mine shortly, although i know she enjoys a late morning start when she is able, so for now i'll let her sleep. i'll be mostly hanging around home today i think, nursing a bit of a cold. i had just a sore throat for a few days that i thought was getting better, but then i suppose i brought a full congestion upon myself by taking a long walk yesterday in sandals, including a few dips for my feet in the ocean. ah well, hope you will enjoy my shots of the beach!

broken

in the two photos above, are lewis' moon snail shells. the one at top is about 5" across, and the biggest i have ever seen (they can get to about 5 1/2"), while the broken one was perhaps half that size. there were numerous broken shells on the mud flats so it is obviously a common area for them - lots of other animals to feed on. the flats were covered in mudflat snails, which i have not see in such quantity before - they have a neat elongated shape (sorry no pic).

goose spit, low tide

i went for a walk with a friend of mine, and her dog Lyla, who ended up in many of my shots. the tide was very low, and we walked all the way around the spit. it was very interesting for my nature nerd self, exploring the open sand on the outside of the spit, and then the mud flats on the inside, and the different sea life on each.

sand dollar

sand dollars could be found on both sides, many dark coloured live ones as well as bleached white shells. this one had the most interesting patterning - although dead, i think it was still transitioning between its former black fuzzy self and the white shell it will become.

wee crab

lots of crabs out exploring too. this little guy is a kelp crab i think, possibly a northern or slender kelp crab. including legs was maybe as long as my pinky finger (a couple inches).

sheet rain across the hills

we started walking in rain, after sitting in the car for a bit hoping it might stop (we were poorly dressed for it - bad west coasters!). but luckily the rain stopped not long into our walk and held off for the remainder. nonetheless, we could see it all around us, moving across the bay and the hills in sheets. quite amazing the way it hangs in the air.

lewis moon snail

lastly, i just had to share this shot of Lyla running with abandon across the sand. she was so happy to be out exploring with us, and raced around in sheer joy. wishing you all a happy sunday! i'll be back tomorrow with a bit of stitching to share.

Lyla

6 comments:

Cloudberry said...

Beautiful pictures! I really have to take a beach trip soon :)

Brittan said...

i really love this post and can really relate to all these beautiful photos! i collect the moon snail shells, although around here they are usually smaller...i also love the shot of the rain and the one of lyla's sheer joy while running!
hope you feel better soon
xo

Kristen Donegan said...

oh those shells! so sorry it came at the expense of a bit of a cold- but how could you keep yourself away from such a spot- magical photos and that last one of your little dogie friend- such joy!

Tara said...

I so enjoy exploring the west coast beach with you. Hope you are feeling better soon.

terri said...

hope you are feeling better. those two pictures of the shell with the green sea weed, they would make excellent 8x10 framed pics. They are beautiful. and loved the pic of the dog running, what pure joy.

Margie Oomen said...

your pup is adorable
and you are so good that I thought the first shot was actually one of your fiber art creations.