Read the sign on the far right. Even if the driver had trouble conceptualizing the “vague” idea of 50 feet, there are helpful bollards nearby. Considering that the white gate between the two bollards is no more than ten feet, it’s pretty obvious that someone has a measuring problem (or, far more likely down here, someone just doesn’t give a sh*t).
Sunset, Copano Bay, Rockport, Texas June 2019
Brazilian Bayhops (Ipomoea pes-caprae), Padre Island National Seashore, Corpus Christi, Texas June 2019
Found in Mustang Island State Park, Corpus Christi, Texas June 2019
This is the most complete Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis) I have yet encountered on the beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast. While the tentacles remaining on this specimen stretched about five feet across the sand, that is minuscule compared to their average 30-foot span. Since the damn things can still sting after death, I gave this one a wide berth. Aren’t the colors of the pneumatophore, the gas-filled bladder that helps it float, phenomenal?
Okay, so you non-geology geeks may not know that creepmeters actually exist. They are used to measure horizontal movement along fault lines. Which is important information to have, especially if you live nearby.
I have co-opted the term and use it to place a numerical value on the “skin-crawlingness” of my beach finds (yes, I just made up that word). Disembodied doll heads crank my Creepmeter to 11.
Diamond-shaped Bite Marks by Juvenile Sea Turtles, Mustang Island State Park, Corpus Christi, Texas June 2019
After the hatchling release last weekend, Lindy and I strolled down the Padre Island National Seashore (PINS). We enjoyed the cloud cover and cooler weather but we weren’t purposeless, instead we gathered trash along the beach. By the end of our three mile jaunt, we filled two twenty gallon bags and hauled off armloads of larger debris. It should come as no surprise that the majority of the items we picked up were plastic.
A survey published in 2018 found that Texas beaches have ten times the plastic trash of other gulf coast states (primarily due to the flow of currents in the Gulf of Mexico). It went on to state that Texas leads the nation in marine debris (and that’s saying something considering the waves of trash that washed ashore in the Pacific Northwest after the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami). Note: the study began with NOAA’s hands-on assessments in 2010 and ran through 2015, but it also utilized over 30 years of data accumulated by the Ocean Conservancy.
We felt good about our effort that morning, even though we knew the next high tide would deposit yet another load of trash. When I get disheartened I remind myself that every little bit helps…
Castle at Dawn, Padre Island National Seashore, Corpus Christi, Texas June 2019
Found on Rockport Beach, Texas June 2019
Um, yeah. If this is all you can think about while your toes are in the sand, the sun is shining down, and the waves are gently lapping nearby, then you are in serious need of a change of outlook. Start focusing on the good in life, man!
Violet Sea Snail, Padres Island National Seashore, Texas June 2019
A couple weeks ago I found my first few Violet Sea Snails (Janthina janthina) on the shores of Mustang Island. Just this past week I came across some that still had their bubble rafts attached. They spend their entire lives bobbing upside down on the ocean’s surface, suspended by their floats.
FYI – they can really stink up your car if you forget to remove your bag of them overnight during a humid summer in south Texas. Just sayin’…
Ah, the waves are mocking me. The same morning that I fished a pair of sunglasses out of the shallow surf, the new ones, that I had ordered the week prior, arrived. Not only was my beachcombed treasure in great shape but my favorite brand, Suncloud. So, I now have a brand new pair as backups. I suppose I owe a thank you to the sea (though the timing leaves a little something to be desired).
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