The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note of any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
November 2013
Salish Sea
Pacific Northwest
November days are usually wet, gray, and short in the Pacific Northwest. Nevertheless, I like to take a half hour bike ride every afternoon. At this time of year I'm going out pretty early since here at 48º latitude North the sun is setting before 4:30 pm. On this particular day the sun burst through below a thick bank of clouds as it neared sunset, with some beautiful colors and shadows.
In the cottonwood trees by the road, an eagle gazes at the sun. His mate has just flown off into the firs up on the hillside behind him.
What's he seeing in this last light of the day?
On the beach, the rays of light are so low in the sky even tiny pebbles throw long shadows.
An empty Butter Clam, weighed down by blown sand, reflects the pink light, some filtering through the pure white shell. Butter Clams (
Saxidomus giganteus) live hidden in the sand, extending only their siphons for filter-feeding. The shells of this one have only recently washed up on the beach, clean and unweathered, still attached by a ligament.
Half a dozen Killdeer feed in the wave wash. Ghostlike, they appear to have no shadows.
The life of sandy beaches is mostly beneath the surface. Visible shells and seaweed are dead remnants, washed up by the waves. This green Sea Lettuce (
Ulva sp.) attaches to rocks and shells just offshore. Its blades ("leaves") are only 2 layers of cells thick, making this seaweed nearly transparent. Sea lettuce thrives in high-nutrient water, so the abundance washed up on this beach suggests there's a lot of organic waste in the runoff here, most likely from animal manure and/or septic systems.
These fragments of Winged Kelp (
Alaria sp.), a brown algae, have been ripped off rocks in a high-surf environment further out.
The last light leaves the beach. It's still up in the bare cottonwoods.
Out in the water, the orangey sunset colors reflect off the calm surface....not quite flat calm.
Within 20 minutes of my first stopping at the beach to watch the eagle, the sun has set (you might be able to see its half circle in that low spot in the trees). The
gulls become active in this late light, diving for fish. One glides low over the surface.
(Note: No colors were manipulated in the making of the diary :))
The Bucket is now open for your nature observations. Tell us what's up in your part of the world.
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