(+2 insets) (stunning at full size!) (Please scroll down to "Today's Image" for photo info)

Hiding in Plain Sight: Life in a Tide Pool
Tidal pools are amazing. The diversity of life is astonishing but it's very easy to miss most of it without the right approach. Creatures there are highly sensitive to motion and the majority will freeze in place if they detect even the slightest movement. This is why it seems like tide pools are empty and lifeless. Patience is the trick. Find a good vantage point, stand completely still and wait. After a time--this could be 30 seconds or more than five minutes--a magic wand will tap and with a sparkling twinkle the pool will come to life!

Little crabs--and sometimes big ones!--emerge from cracks to scuttle here and there. Snails will push their muscular foot down to unseal their shell, protrude their simple eye tentacles and cruise slowly across a rock. If there's enough water, anemones will raise their finger-like tentacles and wave them around to sift for food. Even starfish move--did you know that?--and they will continue their mission to hunt down a meal. Tidal pools that never empty can sometimes even reveal baby fish--fry--that will dart about in their glassy, transparent bodies. There are so many animals that make their homes here, my description names only a few!

Shifting Focus
The day I took my macro set-up with me, I found myself constantly shifting gears. Sometimes I would focus on the wonderful plants and encrusted life forms adhered to the boulders. Other times I was stunned at the abstract artwork of sand, water, rocks, and reflections which Mother Nature created in a jaw-dropping manner.

Although I remember this very clearly, if it wasn't obvious in my mind, looking at my folder of pictures shows this blatant back-and-forth shift in concentration. I would see something that wrenched me over to the abstract, where I took pictures of patterns and shapes. Then I'd see a lovely little creature which had me leaning nose-close to study its marvelous details with rapt admiration and an accompanying set of images. Isn't that cool to have such an interesting time capsule? Moving through my stream of images brings me back to each moment with its sights, sounds and smells. It's priceless to have these memories preserved so crisply.

I was really enjoying looking at the unique and beautiful sand textures. Retreating rivulets of water left by departing waves combined with the snaking streams of water from the hillside made some really stunning sights. It's not easy to translate this through the lens of my camera but I did my best as I creeped along. Looking from high and low perspectives changed the appearance and sometimes in amazing ways. My experiences that day are some of my treasured memories from Harris Beach.

Today's Picture
I saw this lovely combination of pattern and water anchored by a huge rock and took many pictures to find just the right composition. I couldn't get over how much the sand reminded me of looking down from an airplane at the hills below. So dramatic! This image shows the amazingly cool appearance of a perfect reflection of sand shapes in the water…except it's not a reflection!

Today's Insets
While I took pictures of that arresting scene, I noticed movement from the pool of water and leaned down for a closer look. It was a tiny hermit crab! From my recollection, I have never seen one so small! Enraptured, I watched it moving along in its periwinkle shell. For something so small, that little guy could really go, and soon it was out of the water and marching across the Sahara-like sand dunes. So adventurous! Soon though, it returned to the safety of the water and I quietly retreated to leave it in peace. You'll see one picture showing it crossing the "Sahara Desert" and a collage which shows the closest images of this darling cutie pie.

Thank You For Stopping By--My Thoughts Are Reaching Out to You…
Always a humbling experience, I'm forever touched by your visits. You would be happy to know my delighted responses--smiles, snickers, outright laughter, sighs and nods of interest when you're telling me something to know. What a neat way for a community to interact, don't you think? I love it! And of course, I love the visits to all of you too, and all that I learn and become aware of. It can be difficult too, when we are grieving for dear friends in our community. In this case, Marie-Claire, my heart cries for you and your daughter. And Günter Klaus, my thoughts are with you too in your greatest challenge. Ipernity is a community with so many happy times, but there are sad times too…we pull together in good times and bad. May your week be a nice one and full of healing and strength.

Explored on 11/28/21; highest placement #1.