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On the Rocks: Now and Then
It’s the setting, height, and shape that make the rock below an intertidal superstar. This surf zone heavy-hitter sits in an intertidal sweet spot where accessibility and rarely exposed lower reaches...
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A Is for Anthopleura
Anthopleura xanthogrammica, giant green Anthopleura xanthogrammica is recognized for its large size and pleasing, if challenging, scientific name Anthopleura artemisia, moonglow Anthopleura artemisia...
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Scenes from the Northern Oregon Shore, 2020
January 25 Overturned and buried stump | Only the lower root crown is exposed Bull kelp remnant | There’s something compelling about decay January 26 Moody Pacific Northwest vibe March 8 Sunset sets...
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Inching Up To a Delicate Red Seaweed
There is enough variety among the small, branched, and somewhat similar tufted red seaweeds to keep them forever interesting. The reds I’m talking about are delicate and limp when exposed by low tide,...
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Meeting Melanosiphon
It was just over a year ago, on March 8, 2020, when I had a chance brush with Melanosiphon intestinalis. Being my first encounter, I was grateful, but even at the moment, it seemed this seaweed was...
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Focusing on the Details: Thatched Barnacles
Dropping down on a new reach of shore is disorienting enough that it takes a while to shake it off. It’s not unusual to arrive with questions about how and where to proceed. (Most of these, with a bit...
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Tide Pool Shades and Shadows
Shades and shadows are both on display here, where the foreground is shaded, and shadows play in the background as morning sunlight rises above the tops of coastal conifers far behind me. Surfgrass...
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One Photo Two Ways: Ahnfeltiopsis and Phaeostrophion
Perspective is everything, so I’m taking this opportunity to show off two common Pacific seaweeds two ways. Both seaweeds favor sand-scoured settings on the open coast. A minus tide is not required to...
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Keep Walking, On the Northern Oregon Shore
I’ve tried to find a Keep Walking vibe in these photographs; that’s my intent, anyway. So I invite you to look and be the judge. The south wind at my back was kicking up sand and pushing me along....
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Designs in the Drift
One morning this past summer, I picked drifted kelp out of the sea wrack and spread it on clean beach sand to show the designs. Folks know the three kelps shown below as tree, split, and...
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Wrack Line Retrospective, 2021
On even a short beach walk, you can expect to discover interesting items among the sea wrack. You will find seaweed cycles and floats and bottles from distant places if you walk enough. You’ll find...
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Scenes From the Oregon Shore, 2021
Selecting favorite photographs isn’t easy, but here are a few essential scenes from central and northern Oregon’s exposed, outer shores. April 25 (previously appeared in Focusing on the Details:...
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Tidepool Reflections and a Crab You’ll Find in Pairs
With all but one arm above the waterline, the starfish’s reflection is nearly a mirror image of the real thing. In and around the mussel beds, the ochre star, Pisaster ochraceus, is an influential...
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Memorable Meetings in the Intertidal Zone
We check in most every year, this rock and I. Down in the low zone when a minus tide and modest swell permit. It’s more accurate to say I check in. The last time was a pleasant, cloudy morning in May....
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Roll Tide
On February 19, 2019, morning broke cold on the Oregon shore. Black ice on Parking Lot B at Fort Stevens State Park surprised me, and the trail up the foredune had a light dusting. Once beachside, I...
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A Black and White Look at Plastics on the Beach
Personal plastic items for adults and children are everyday beach finds. Lighters and toothbrushes are more common than you might think. Forgotten toys are run-of-the-mill. Fishing gear lost at sea...
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Odds and Ends From the Oregon Shore
The Octopus Tree One of the most remarkable Sitka spruce trees in Oregon is the Octopus Tree. Rather than a single central trunk, its trunk-like spires are arranged radially and extend out, then...
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Getting Close and Closer to Savoiea
Savoiea, the warm pink tufts in the image below, is one of the filamentous reds that make you work for a proper identification. Unfortunately, I can’t claim to have done all the work, so I’ll have to...
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A Short Story of Seasonal Sand Accumulation and Loss
This sculptured rock is captivating, so I have arranged to visit it several times over the last few years. On September 1, 2015, it looked like this at summer’s end when the sand on Oregon beaches is...
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