furtech: (R0NDO)
furtech ([personal profile] furtech) wrote2012-11-15 06:54 pm

Huntington Beach November 14, 2012 (R0ndo's belated Adoption Day)

R0ndo had his delayed birthday/Adoption Day rumpus yesterday. Since his AD falls on Veteran's day, it behooves us to do stuff later in the week, when there aren't crowds about. [livejournal.com profile] dustmeat and [livejournal.com profile] martes joined us for lunch at the Park Bench Cafe (whitest Mexican food I've ever had) and a day at the beach.

We couldn't have asked for a more-perfect day: temps in the 70's, light cloud cover, a very low tide and a nearly empty beach!

HB2012
Full Flickr Set

We frisbee'd and walked the beach for several hours until the sun set. R0ndo was very pleased.

There were a number of interesting sights this trip-- more than usual. First off there were a ton of shells (alive and otherwise) lying around. A bunch of teeny clams and some very small sand dollars. I saw a moon snail moving through the sand (they're kind of gross, actually). We found a mystery creature that I think is a kind of sea slug...googling leads me to believe it's a green sea slug , but it's not green and those seem to be on the East Coast. This picture looks very close to what we found.

Also found a deceased pelican ...it was beautiful. Strange to see an adult pelican dead like this-- looks like it drowned or broke its neck. But the way the surf left it on the beach was lovely in a haunting way.

On a more prurient line, I think I found a pair of hermit crabs having nookie. .

The sunset was gorgeous and a fantasting end to a wonderful day.

R0ndo Golden

EDIT: Mystery creature solved! I emailed Phil Zerofski of the Scripts Institute some photos and he ID'd the creature as a Sea Pansy! (Renilla reniformis) It's a community of polyps!

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
I am commenting on my own post...because I wrote description so proper and polite...and I didn't flat-out say HOW AWSOME A DAY IT WAS!

Dog Lunch Place!

GREAT FRIENDS!!

Finding cryptozootic CREATURES!

Dog+Disk+Beach=YAAAA!

Most Amazing Beach Sunset EVER!

DEAD BIRD THAT WASN'T BEAUTIFUL and NOT GROSS!

Beautiful moon snail that was TOTALLY GROSS!

HERMIT CRAB SEX!

MILLIONS OF TINY SEASHELLS!

A GAZILLION MILES OF BEACH AND ALMOST NO PEOPLE!

Commence Muppet-arm-waving-and-running-around

[identity profile] kit-ping.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 05:27 am (UTC)(link)
That last picture is awesome. :D

[identity profile] gilmorelion.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
So, if Hermit Crabs have unclean sex, do they get a case of the "humans"??

[identity profile] didjiman.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
Where's that island thing in the bottom row?! Can you get closer?

[identity profile] martes.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 07:54 am (UTC)(link)
Those are two pictures back-to back. The "island' is the shoreline cliff, it just looks like an island due to the two images being put together like that.

[identity profile] didjiman.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 08:09 am (UTC)(link)
Ha ha, feel ashamed as a photog not noticing the seam and the differences in cloud patterns.

Thx

[identity profile] martes.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
OK, it's not often I come across a critter I had no inkling of, but I've never, ever heard of a sea pansy. But looking at pics on Google, that is indead what it was.

[identity profile] henriekeg.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 09:24 am (UTC)(link)
Such nice photos!
It's a few years since I adopted my dog, I hope I can have a nice day with her like this sometime! She sadly still has some issues which cause me to only have her on a leash (the Netherlands being crowded doesn't help either). She seems to like it here nonetheless.

[identity profile] zillabean.livejournal.com 2012-11-16 03:11 pm (UTC)(link)
HERMIT CRAB <3