Santa Cruz, California has wonderous places to observe, touch and photograph nature. This seagull was taken when we were on a hike along the coast. The wind was in a nasty mood that day as it churned the water into foam, but the animals held their ground. The sea gull looked no worse for the wear, but we had frozen fingers and crazy wind swept hair.
While at the tidal pools, my cousin told me to put my finger into a sea anemone! It was one of the coolest things I have ever felt. The tentacles of the anemone slowly closed up around my finger and I could feel a suction type pull at my finger. My daughter said she wished she had a video of me because I was screaming I was so excited. They were beautiful there, just under a few inches of water, waiting for a fish or some other small organism to land in their tentacles. Here is a little info on anemones from the National Geographic webpage.
The ornately colored sea anemone (uh-NEM-uh-nee) is named after the equally flashy terrestrial anemone flower. A close relative of coral and jellyfish, anemones are stinging polyps that spend most of their time attached to rocks on the sea bottom or on coral reefs waiting for fish to pass close enough to get ensnared in their venom-filled tentacles.
Roots of a redwood. I just liked this picture because it showed the enormous roots that help a redwood survive. I am not sure how many thousands or hundreds of year old these would be. They almost look like deer antlers piled up or bones. A bit philosphical here, but we must learn to protect nature and the environment more than we do. I think we take it for granted. I would like others to see Santa Cruz they way that I got to see it when I visited.
I just love "Roots of a redwood." I see deer antlers and old bones in the shared space. -G
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