February 28, 2026

Temperature: 57 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: -0.5 feet.

Number of people: 12. Number of dogs: 1.

Other Activities: playing with dog.

In addition to all the usual tidepool neighbors you'd expect to see, I was treated to a few new-to-me species and special favorites. Elaine and I bumped into a marine biologist friend of mine, and he identified for us some interesting finds. A sea lemon nudibranch. A tubulanus worm, of which we could only see the merest tip (bright orange), but my friend explained the worm itself is extraordinarily long and quite stretchy. A leather chiton, much larger and looks like, well, leather. My friend said everyone wants to dress up as a leather chiton to the Invertebrate Ball because you just have to wear a leather jacket with dinner plates down your back. I encountered a creature that I couldn't begin to guess at, but soon learned - it's a sponge! I described it as "snot-colored," but when I saw the hurt look on my friend's face, I clarified that snot is just fine with me. My friend showed us one more amazing thing. Apparently, and please don’t try this at home, if you shake a “ripe” sea urchin, it will release its genetic material. His wife, also a marine biologist, recommends doing it to the beat of Mambo Italiano, allegedly. If you can’t tell, I’m rather fond of the people who know and love these creatures! I also spotted some rare favorites - a pair of harlequin ducks that bobbed out into the surf the moment they spotted me. No picture, sadly. Also a rather large blood star (Henricia) - about 3-4” wide - was visibly moving, including waving its tube feet. Elaine and I squatted and marveled at it for some time, discussing how different life as a sea star is from life as a human. Less thrillingly (to me) but abundantly present nonetheless - midges! Some kind of fairly large midge that lays its eggs intertidally. Couldn’t get a picture of the dears to save my life, but I’d guess they were about ¾ inch from wing to wing. Spring is coming!

I didn't observe the wrack, but my friend Elaine mentioned that it had moved up high onto the south end of the cove. It was dispersed all over the open beach in Elaine's report from October, so that's quite a change!

Other. The section of the path where it meets the beach continues to deteriorate into a mudslide. There's an unofficial entrance that splits from the main path just above the last stairs that's a bit easier to navigate. For now. Unofficially installed ropes continue to hang on but are showing major signs of wear.