Hey There Mr. Blue, We're So Pleased To Be With You

Friday's REALLY low tide was tempting but, alas, there was work so, left to my own devices, I headed out on Saturday to take advantage of a negative tide and check out the rocks that are normally underwater. Low tides also often uncover better shells and such at the waters edge but that was not to be. At Trinidad, I climbed and scoured the rocks below the lighthouse then headed over to poke around below the pier. There was a grand collection of trash that I was unable to pickup due to the fact that it had been there for a lonnnnnggg time. There was this old can that had apparently been there a while. I was crush and stuck fast.

Not sure about this thing. I thought it was a watch and it may have been but it wasn't budging enough to find out.

I thought this was a flounder when I saw it but...just a sole. Yeah....so I walked over to the State Beach side of Trinidad and was able to get far to the north end. Rocks were exposed on the beach that are usually homes to sea stars and enormous mussels (and me without a license to gather). My stomach began to beckon so I grabbed a sandwich at Murphy's Market and headed up to Houda Point to see how the surf looked. Good for lunchtime viewing but apparently not for riding. It does reminded me, lest I forget, why it is I live here.

One wouldn't think the day could get better but I went home to deal with abalone Mark was given by a customer. I've never actually COOKED abalone and was afraid to ruin it so I utilized the Google-machine for directions. I wasn't wanting to go the bread and fry route so tracked down some grilling directions. I unwrapped what Mark expected would be a few small pieces and found one big abalone. I sliced it in half, pounded it (because most all recipes said I HAD to), marinated it a bit and tossed it on the grill with some veggies. Oh! My! Gawd! A little brown rice and we were good to go. Tender? Like buttah! Thank you Mr. Blue Sky for a beautiful Humboldt Day.

CATCH A WAVE AND YOU'RE SITTIN ON TOP OF THE WORLD

I awoke this morning to the realization that my dreams (actually nightmares it seems) included numbers and budgets. Arrrgh! When I checked the tide table in the paper and found I was right on the end of the low, 0.1 ft. tide, I decided that a trip to the water was exactly what I needed. Putzin' around (my mom's word) the freshly washed rocks, at the base of the jetty, I found juicy little anemones and the most beautiful shells -- pretty lemon-colored and green-striped beauties, huddled among the barnacles. Unfortunately, they were still occupied and I have my rules -- no killing something just cuz it's house would look pretty in MY house. I also came across this nice little shell and I picked it up to find that little crabby dude found it first. Oh well, finders keepers. I headed out on the jetty to watch the surfers for awhile, a great vantage point to be next to or even behind the break. The waves weren't big. Catch one perfect and get a short ride. Hesitate or miss and get nothin'. Lots of boards out though, including this guy on a stand-up paddleboard.Luckily, I was rewarded by the low tide. Three, perfect silver-dollar sized sand dollars and a good pretty orange whelk (I think that's what it is) -- an empty one that was fair game. A great start to my weekend and it feels like I beat another storm to the punch.

BARNACLES AND MUSSELS ALIVE ALIVE-O

Happy New Year….from the Jaws…..Since I generally head to the Breakers when the waves are big, it was unusual to find myself there when the water was glassy smooth. I had checked the tides and found that the low was due around 1:30 so was able to climb on the rocks below the jetty for a few hours, communing with the occupants of the tidal areas generally well below the water line. I’m not sure you could consider it tide pools. Rocks and pockets teeming with anemones, barnacles and mussels as well as some pretty little snails who were unfortunately still in their homes or the shells would have
been in my pocket. I love beachcombing but stop short of bringing home anything still alive. I REALLY wanted this pretty gold one that was just laying there, unattached but….alas, still occupied. I tried to get down to a really intriguing area at the head of the jetty...the water was down and rocks were exposed but getting to them was mighty slippery. There's a fine line between adventurous and foolish...often I step over that line for the sake of a picture but even I stop short of putting the Coasties to work on New Years Day.