Walk the shore enough and you’ll grow to think you know it. I’m prone to that. It’s only natural, but I believe it’s good advice to walk once in a while with someone new. See the shore through their eyes and you’ll see a different shore. Whenever I’m lucky enough to stroll a beach or scramble over intertidal rocks with another naturalist, especially one I don’t know well, I notice we see the shore in different ways. Worldview exerts an influence on all aspects of our lives. Why would our nature walks be different?
Shared beach walks expand my joy far beyond the shore. I’m guessing it’s the same with you. Let’s take a walk along the shore. I’ve assembled a selection of images from July 4th’s morning low tide. They start with my arrival at the beach two hours before low tide and end with a starfish meetup just before I departed, about an hour after the turn of the tide. Come along on an abridged three-hour stroll.
That moment when first I see the shore. Willows, clouds, and drift logs frame the scene like a looking glass. Let’s step through.
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Time and the tides. They wait for no one, but with over an hour ’til low tide there’s time enough to perch on a mussel bed and take in the view.
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Ripples in a reflecting pool. Wind and surge usually team up to perturb the surface of tide pools enough that they don’t reflect. Here, the wind is still. Peaceful. The hint of rippling you see on the left edge results from surge pouring through a scant connection to the sea. The tide will turn before this pool becomes isolated.
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Beaches are for beachcombing. Drifted discoveries break up the otherwise featureless strand. Distant outlines on the beach inspire curiosity and a sense of discovery. The drift is always a mix of human-made and natural finds, and every item has a story.
I have questions 
Soranthera ulvoidea, an epiphyte on reds like black pine, Neorhodomela 
Lost and drifted leadline 
A lovely drifted tellin
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An explosion of diversity. The austere beauty of beaches is compelling and they are a beachcomber’s dream, but when you pass a rock jutting up out of the sand you’re passing a wholly different ecosystem. On rocks exposed by the lowest tides you’ll experience an explosion of diversity.
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Catching up with rocky intertidal connections. Even the lowest tides turn and it wouldn’t be right to leave the beach without exploring life on its rarely exposed rocky reaches.
The bryozoan, Flustrellidra corniculata 
The split in split kelp 
Concentrating on the limpet, but gorgeous strap kelp 
An articulated coralline
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Shifting sands. Do you know that over the seasons sand levels will rise and fall several feet? Sand falls with the erosive forces of winter’s surf, storms, and currents, and builds during gentler seasons.
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Are the starfish are coming back? In 2013 starfish, like Pisaster ochraceus, experienced trouble with wasting syndrome. They took a beating, almost disappearing in places, including the beach featured here. Signs of the disease are still present, but it is much reduced.
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Coda. Grateful for a good low tide, it’s turned and it’s rolling in, picking up steam. It’s time to leave this place to its rightful surf and surge.
theoutershores 
An amazingly beautiful stroll this morning. You images are perfection—I can smell the salt air and see the gulls soaring overhead! Your coastline is so different from ours but both have their own personality, much as we all do. Thank you for sharing the intricacies of yours!
Your sense are suggestible, or something like that. However it’s best said, I appreciate it. It’s nice we can share our coastlines. Your (and your partners’) challenges don’t hurt a bit with that.
Oh my, this was a wonderful experience, seeing this today. I am land-locked these days and miss the shore more than I can say. (Alki Beach, West Seattle just does not cut it!)
I agree and was moved by what Tina said…
I’d love to share this post with folks when I am trying to convey the value of being able (and willing) to choose a different perspective!! That OK with you!
Really beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much! Yes, please feel free to share it with anyone you wish.
Each item is unique and has a story. Thank you for the pleasant beach walk. So sad to hear that the starfish is much reduced.
You are welcome Amy. The starfish, at least Pisaster, the ones shown in my post, are bouncing back pretty well. The disease is now much reduced. I apologize for the confusion.
BEAUTIFUL photos.
Thank you John! I appreciate the feedback because I wasn’t sure I could make a few photos of my last walk on the beach interesting.
I know I’m not really a great follower, but I do enjoy your blog every time I stop by, always such beautiful photos.
Would that I were as good. Thanks a whole bunch for your nice words.
Thanks for the stroll! You are definitely inspiring me to get out there at low tide one of these days! So many other places and things to discover at the new abode… the avian youngsters seem to be taking most of my attention at this time. So very glad to see the starfish returning. Was the cause of the wasting syndrome ever discovered?
What an interesting and educational stroll on your beach, so much beautiful marine life to see and very different from the Atlantic ocean and east coast in the US. Great pictures!
Your note reminds me how much I want to visit other shorelines. Thank you Sylvia!