Summer's over

September has begun! Where did the summer go? I was on the beach this morning watching a large flock of sandpipers feeding at the tideline. There must have been perhaps 200 birds there. Not sure what species, but I think at least Piping Plovers. Seeing those birds feeding like crazy in preparation for their migration to South America really made it obvious - summer is over now.

This morning I kind of overslept and missed the low tide. I had come down to collect some Porphra - which is a very thin papery type seaweed like Sea Lettuce. This type of seaweed seems to have several forms - maybe subspecies. Some grows at the mid-tide line and is attached to small rocks in a sandy/ gravelly area. Another type is found only in areas of high current, this one is much darker and tougher and is towards the low tidal part of the beach. I did have to wade out to collect a few samples for a customer - so I considered myself lucky that didn't miss the 'boat' altogether. Had hoped to pick a few kelp plants as well but as you know you have to be at the low tide to find any of those.....

A few days ago the remnants of a hurricane driven storm came through our county with lots of rain and wind. When I reached the beach this morning it was not surprising to see a large beach-side windrow of 'storm-cast' rockweed stretching along the cobbly shore. It was a mixture of Fucus or bladder wrack and another type, Ascophyllum or Knotted Wrack. It was interesting to dissect out the windrow a bit and see just how Mother Nature had delivered this resource to its beachside location as well as what was found living inside. Initially I suspected that the winds must have torn the plants from their holdfasts (structure that attaches them to the rocks) but no - it was quite different.

What seems to have happened is that the storm's power actually loosened up the small stones upon which fairly large clumps of rockweed were attached. Rockweed is a name we use for a group of brown seaweed species found in the intertidal in great abundance. These stones of orange and grapefruit size are often buried in the beach substrate and provide a good solid place of attachment for rockweed plants. Once the wind and the waves hit them it is apparent that their foothold on the beach gave way and they became mobile. Because of the floats on the rockweed, that is their air bladders, provided enough floatation for the rocks to then be carried up the beach and into the tangle of other 'storm-cast' seaweed at the high tide line. See my UTube video about this seaweed and what happened to it in this storm. Besides rockweed there were bits of Spartina grass, little beach fleas, and other organisms found inside.

Have to share this picture of some sea cucumbers we had here at Gulf of Maine this summer. What a fantastic pile of sea pickles. I just dove my arms into the mass to see what they would feel like..... it was creepy. Sea cucumbers do respond much to touch other than to purse up their tentacles and wait for danger to go away. These guys came from a fisherman in Milbridge, Maine. Ug!