Lowest Tide of the Year!

It was an amazingly sunny (much needed) day, with a stunning -3.5 tide Sunday, and thankfully my brother reminded me. Ok, that's not exactly the right word, I knew it was this month, but somewhere along the way I managed to get the dates all switched around, and was thoughtfully corrected.  I'm so glad I was, 'cause these guys come out ...

... And I just love them, aren't they wonderful?  The picture really doesn't do them justice.  In person not only are they enormous, but their juicy, berry preserves colors are almost unreal!  I could probably, very easily, sit and stare at them all day if it were possible, all the while talking to them in an overly animated, high pitch referencing them as "babies!" and looking VERY insane.  I can hardly care if my cool blows out the bottom of the image-thermometer in the presence of such delightfully charming critters ... I dare you to not feel the slightest baby-talk urge when you see them.  I promise it will be there, and you will have to choke back irritating tones you never knew your voice was capable of!

I didn't come across too many other types of sea life ... life being the key word.  There aren't any spectacularly deep tide pools on this stretch of Puget Sound along Redondo Beach, WA.  It's just a pretty low-key place, with a subtle strip of sand and rocks, unless of course you're into SCUBA, that's a whole other story apparently.  Anyway, when the tide goes out, most of the action is under the piers, clinging to the pilings.  Unless your idea of "action" is countless dead crabs that got left behind as the tide rolled out, pieces of jellyfish, and tiny cockles cooking in the shallow water.

It was still nice to see all the people enjoying themselves in the sunshine amidst all of the, uhm,
abundant death.  That's nature, I suppose, taking the good with the bad, depending on your definition of bad, of course.  Even though it's a natural part of life, there was something still slightly macabre about it all.  With that in mind I had to swing back by the gang involved in what appeared to be a rather nail-biting game of Twister, on my way toward home.

I find it slightly humorous that on the lowest tide of the year I still managed to drench my pants to the knees in salt water.  Though I think those who know me won't be surprised in the least.  When it comes to the beach, I believe I will always be like a 5 year old with water to my knees, and somehow always managing to get sand in my hair!

xoxo

Rise Above

(*Edit* It's no longer a few days past the birth of my niece.  It's no longer May for that matter, but sometimes you have to wait for the right time ... a baby chick doesn't just hatch any ol' time, and I guess this just needed a little more time in the nest.)

I'm baking this morning in the pre-sunrise hours because I can't sleep, and that's what I do when I'm unsettled inside, which believe me is a better option than some of the other ideas I've considered! The women in my family are strange creatures, we each have a respective "thing" we do when we're sad, angry, frustrated, and unsure of what to do next, perhaps it clears our heads and gives us a moment to sort what's important. For one it's yard work, another is cleaning (aka scrubbin'), for another it may be bills or paperwork of some sort. The funny thing is that they are each productive, and a type of sorting in a very obvious and physical sense clearly reflecting the work that needs to be done on the inside or on a more spiritual / emotional level. Believe me, I've had a couple record breaking arguments with my sister ... her house has never been so spotless! It's fairly safe to ask when you see counter tops full of goodies to munch on, or a spotless house, or a lawn you can eat off of or a desk as neat as a pin, "So who have you been upset with?"