Linear view vs. Masonry View

Just Beachy

As the days lengthened and warmed, activity picked up at the beach. The tide pools are hopping and one low tide I witnessed a feeding frenzy at the mouth of Siletz Bay. Northern Anchovy appeared to be the main draw. Gulls, terns, Harbor Seals, and even a Bald Eagle got in on the action. I never know what I’m going to discover out there!

 

Teeming with Life: 2 Hermit Crabs, 10 Tidepool Sculpins
Aggregating Anemones (Anthopleura elegantissima)
Surfperch
Pale Beach Hopper
Harbor Seal Feet
Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus)
Lingcod Eggs
Northern Anchovy (Engraulis mordax)
Bald Eagle Joins the Feeding Frenzy
Feeding Frenzy
Western Gull
Mine! Protecting Fish from Interlopers
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Spring Lake Outings

Nearby Spring Lake is a lovely little stroll. There is something interesting every time I visit. Here are some photos from the past few weeks: (L to R, Top to Bottom) Fairy Lanterns, Frondescing Fern, Goose Family (5 photos), Pacific Rhododendron bloom and bud, Song Sparrow with meal for baby, Bark Mushroom, Rain Ripples (2 photos).

Fairy Lanterns (Disporum smithii)
Frondescing Fern
Goose Family
Under Mama’s Wing
Under Protection
Sentinel 1
Sentinel 2
Pacific Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum)
Rhododendron Bud
Song Sparrow with Baby Food
Bark Mushroom
Rain Ripples 1
Rain Ripples 2
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Really, Really Old Driftwood

My pleasant evening stroll on the beach yesterday was filled with little surprises. I found not one, not two, but eight chunks of petrified driftwood by the time I was done. The specimens that wash up here are from the Paleocene, about 65 million years ago. Pretty amazing when you think about all the steps involved: the trees had to grow, die, wash down a river, get ground into smooth, small pieces, and then (through heat and/or pressure) be inundated with minerals to become “petrified,” erode out of a rock formation, and wash up on this beach for me to discover.

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Petrified Driftwood, Lincoln City, Oregon May 2018
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