Magpie Goes to the Beach!

It was beautiful here yesterday – temp in the 50s, sunny, no wind, clear sky. So I drove down to the beach (all of two miles away) for a stroll, and to take pictures of the Olympic Mountains which were making an appearance after hiding in the clouds and fog for weeks. By the time I got to the beach, the mountains were going into hiding, but since it was low tide, I went for a long walk. We have extreme tides in the Puget Sound, so the best time to go for a walk is at low tide.

I’ve always loved walking on the beach. When I was little, my father and I would go to Sandy Hook on Sundays, and walk for hours (and miles). Sandy Hook is a sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean, quite different from the rocky beaches we have here along the Saratoga Passage and Puget Sound. We would carry a couple of pails and fill them with seashells – mostly the nondescript, huge clam shells that are so abundant on the east coast beaches. Every once in a while, in the dead of winter, we would find a prize, such as an intact scallop shell or sand dollar.

Back to the present………….off I went on my walk, not expecting to find anything since our beaches are so rocky. But I discovered that things change a bit at extreme low tide. I found pretty spotted and striped rocks, some broken sand dollars, shells with a beautiful purple interior, and a huge mother-of-pearl lined shell! Happily, my coat has big pockets and I was able to bring my treasures home. Before we moved, I returned my east coast shell collection to the ocean. My west coast shell collection has now been started!