On September 1, 2017, Kathy and I left New Mexico for southern California, to participate in the annual Hammerlee family beach reunion. As in recent years, we occupied the Raccoon group site at Carpinteria State Beach, which State Beach is located to the south of Santa Barbara. I’ve posted before on prior such reunions at Carpinteria.
Besides being a great beach for the kids of the assembled families, other attractions include the tar seeps, bird life, harbor seals and sea life.
Carpinteria got its name because Spanish sailing ships stopped there for carpentry repairs, which included using the naturally-occurring tar for caulking purposes.
Tar on beachside rock
Tar on sand
Tar on sand
A variety of sea birds can be seen on the beach.
Curlews
Curlew with mole crab
Curlew probing for mole crabs
Whimbrel
Elegant terns
There is a harbor seal rookery down the beach a ways.
Harbor seals on the offshore rocks
Harbor seals on the offshore rocks
Kathy and the kids usually tear into stranded kelp holdfasts, to see what critters are at home.
Small octopus from holdfast
Same small octopus (p.s. this octopus was safely returned to an appropriate location)
On and around the rocks.
Mussels and barnacles cover the wave-washed rocks
There are two kinds of sea anemone to be found. Below is the Solitary anemone.
Solitary anemone
Anemones somehow manage to attach bits of broken seashell to their protective mantle.
Solitary anemone. At top center, one sees the fans that barnacles deploy to feed
Solitary anemones
Solitary anemones, closed up
Partially-closed solitary anemone
Aggregating anemones are small and pack themselves (aggregate) closely together.
Aggregating anemones
Aggregating anemones
Both types
Some of the kids.
Benet Levy (left), Fletcher Piatt (right)
Fletcher Piatt (left), Benet Levy (right),
Fletcher. What a happy kid!
Rowan Piatt and Kathy. Sand sculptor Trevor behind.
