Sand Dollars

We've been having minus low tide mornings the past few days. Negative one foot plus and I feel like I'm walking on the sea floor taking a look at everything left for my discovery. As always, sand dollars are plentiful on our beaches and never cease to amaze seasoned walkers and tourists. 

The white sun bleached skeletons often end up as souvenirs in visitor's bags. I'm most intrigued by the live sand dollars, purple, cilia (little hairs) moving them through the sand. I imagine their slow struggle an effort to make it back to the water before the sun dries them out.

Check out this incredible high speed link to see a sand dollar moving 

Sand Dollar in Motion


Wikipedia provides this quick blurb on the anatomy of a sand dollar that might be of interest. It is easy to forget that this beautiful "shell" is or was a living creature and here's how it does it's thing:

The bodies of adult sand dollars, like those of other echinoids, display radial symmetry. The petal-like pattern in sand dollars consists of five paired rows ofpores. The pores are perforations in the endoskeleton through which podia for gas exchange project from the body. The mouth of the sand dollar is located on the bottom of its body at the center of the petal-like pattern. Unlike other urchins, the bodies of sand dollars also display secondary front-to-back bilateral symmetry. The anus of sand dollars is located at the back rather than at the top as in most urchins, with many more bilateral features appearing in some species. These result from the adaptation of sand dollars, in the course of their evolution, from creatures that originally lived their lives on top of the seabed (epibenthos) to creatures that burrow beneath it (hyperbenthos).

Beach Glass

Every once and a rare while on the central coast, the ocean surprises me and turns to glass. It sometimes happens in the morning, sometimes in the late afternoon, and sometimes when I least expect it. The surface becomes a mirror for light, kelp, and the birds skimming across the surface.

Dolphins, harbor seals, maybe a lone paddler, all seem to look more surreal as they move through the water. Swimming in these conditions is especially fun, feeling effortless as each stroke breaks the surface of the water. Waves breaking on these glassy days also take on a special feel. Surfers from Pleasure Point and all spots around the bay seem to move more gracefully, their turns become more fluid, less frenetic. The white water against the ocean surface seems to just sink back into the glass as the next wave prepares to break.

OK, not Santa Cruz, but one of my favorite SoCal Beaches, Trestles, during glassy conditions.

Another of type of  beach glass is the kind that can be found beachcombing. I never really got the whole thing about diamonds and gems. I've enjoyed taking the beach glass I've found over the years and having it made into jewelry. I'll also admit that I've bought some already made because I found it so beautiful. I love the idea that it has been tumbled in the ocean for an unknown amount of time and something beautiful washes up on shore. 

It is well known that there are some glass blowers up in Davenport and some of their glass makes it on the beaches there, but if you look for it, you can find pieces almost anywhere.

Recently I bought my daughter a beautiful pair of earrings from with two identical looking pieces of green beach glass held in place with silver mounts. I love seeing her wear them, they are beautiful (and so is she.) I also had a good friend recently visiting from Australia and I bought her a necklace with a small piece of brilliant blue glass. I liked the idea that she was taking home a small piece of California. She work the necklace the day after I gave it to her and it looked wonderful on her.

There are many places to go to find beach glass jewelers in town. Often you'll find them at craft sales, or in local galleries. I like to buy mine from Jessica Phoebe Lee, Seaglass Designs, at www.pacificseaglass.com