2019 wrackline was full of drifted treasures. Some had human origins, others arrived from rocky intertidal, subtidal, pelagic, estuarine, and terrestrial sources. Unravelling the stories of marine drifters, at least trying to, is irresistible. Most of their stories will remain mysteries. That’s what keeps beachcombing compelling. Arranged chronologically below, starting with memories from last winter at the top, to recent scenes from a few days ago at the bottom, is a sampling of drifted discoveries that caught my attention in 2019. All these are from northern Oregon, unless noted otherwise in the caption.
It wouldn’t be winter without drift bull kelp 
Couldn’t be farther from the real thing 
The golden hour 
Mermaid’s purse | big skate egg case 
Cockle, Clinocardium nuttallii 
Big wood at the base of the backshore shelf | vegetated foredune beyond 
Why is decay so captivating? 
My view through drifted timber 
My pack on the backshore, hanging around 
Nucella eggs on a drifted mussel shell 
Eccentric sand dollar 
Redtail surfperch | the gulls are going to feast 
Shark tooth | a rarity 
Lost Dungeness crab trap 
Race ends in a low intertidal boulder field 
Bull kelp 
There’s a little fire on the inside 
Surfgrass 
Remains of maritime Sitka spruce and bull kelp forests meet in the intertidal 
Drift Sargassum 
Dreamy Macrocystis 
Eelgrass, Zostera 
Drifted ostrich plume hydroid 
California mussel (left), flat-tip piddock (right) 
A curious wrack line find 
Every lost float has a story 
Remnants 
Soranthera ulvoidea, an epiphyte on reds like black pine, Neorhodomela 
I have questions 
Wrackline window 
A lovely drifted tellin 
Crystal jelly, Aequorea 
Pacific rock crab, Romaleon antennarium 
California beach hoppers, Megalorchestia californiana 
Cymatogaster aggregata | Galiano Island 
Frilled dogwinkle egg cases, Nucella lamellosa, probably 
Moon jelly 
Drifted Dungeness 
Companions 
Sea nettle 
An acquaintance of mine 
Fat gaper, Tresus capax 
Drifted timber, up on the backshore
That’s a look at the 2019 wrackline. If you want to see more floats and buoys, drift algae, carcasses, bottles, driftline inhabitants, and other beached drifters, take a stroll through Wrack Line 2019 or any of my Wrack Line pages.
I never cease to be transfixed by the crystalline clarity of your macro-images, which make it easy to appreciate the interest or beauty to be found in what you portray. A great gallery of memories.
Your comment got me thinking, I wonder if it’s just about getting close, or how the shots are framed? Anyway, you, for sure, have a knack for framing. Thanks, Margaret
Thank you! In your case, I think it’s both. But the intensity of your gaze at your subject, combined, I imagine, with a cracking camera creates images which invite close inspection.
How great these images look all together on one page! It’s because of this blog that I’ve started paying attention to the drift line and I too have found a few toys. Once when I was purposely looking at the drift line for an interesting photo subject, some people approached and asked if I’d lost something…
Such a good story, Trish. Thanks. I haven’t experienced that exactly, but on a few occasions I’ve been crouched down, or even on my belly, concentrating on a shot of some drifted item, only to be startled by a wet nose on my face from a curious off-leash dog. Kind of similar?
Love every single image (including that rather racy cowgirl!!) So many items that are familiar, quite a few searching for the names you provide. But your images are presented so beautifully.