The Tide is Out

Earl's picture with the snowy egret reflected in the water.

From the ocean side which is usually completely inaccessible.  We have never seen the tide this low before and have never ventured around the corner of the rock in waist deep water.

The side facing east that we usually see.  Most of the time it is filled with water and the waves splash against the rocks. .

A clear shot of a sea anemone through the water of a tide pool. 

Aggregating Anemone ( Anthopleura elegantissima )

Aggregating anemones are typically small in size in the adult form. They range from less than an inch in diameter to a little over an inch. They appear pale green when open but most often found closed up and covered with bits of shell and other objects. These anemones also form large colonies composed of hundreds of animals tightly packed together.

There are three types of Sea Anemones that are found in the intertidal zone in Southern California. They are the Aggregating Anemone, Solitary and Giant Green Anemones. Aggregating Anemones are much smaller than the Solitaire Anemones and the Giant Green. Aggregating anemones are easily identified as they are much smaller than the other two species. They also live in large colonies with individuals tightly packed together. 

Feeding – Anemones use their tentacles to capture various prey items. Anemones will feed on just about any animal that wanders to close to the tentacles or happens to fall in. Anemones will feed on small fish, snails, limpets, crabs and other marine life. The tentacles of the Anemones are covered with specialized stinging cells called Nematocysts. The Nematocysts will shoot a very small barb connected to the cell by a tiny thread into the prey item. The barb has a type of venom the will help paralyze the prey and the sea anemone will slowly draw the prey item into its mouth. 

This site has interesting information about the anemones.  Reproducing by cloning, creating colonies, defending themselves.  The format makes it very used friendly and it is easy reading. .

If you look closely you will see that this is the same tide pool.  There is the sea anemone in the upper left corner.  This view is close to what you would see passing the rocks.

This is the beach on the ocean side of the rock with a hole in it.  Very different. Most of the rocks are covered with lichen

Scripps pier with La Jolla village in the background.  In the foreground is a large rock that we rarely see. I tried to catch the water splashing against it. 

Another very squishy looking anemone.  This time it is out of the water. When the tide is in, it would be completely hidden.

The creatures in this picture remind me of anemones, but they do not have any camouflaging shells attached to them. 

Anemone squeezed into a space between two rocks.

And on to shore crabs

I tried to give some perspective by showing more distant shots as well as close ups of the tiny crabs.

This one that we watched for quite awhile was about two inches.

These are rocks at the south end of the beach by the castle and the white house with an elevator.

These anemones are definitely living in colonies. They can get much more chummy with each other. 

We have seen these strange lines along the beach for two days.  They were a mystery to us.  What are these things?  Not crop circles, but definitely something eerie. Aliens?

All of my theories were shatter when we came across this man today.  He is looking for metal and dragging his shovel thing behind me. It creates a trench as it goes along. 

When Earl saw this building this morning, he was surprised. He said he had never seen it before.  I actually ventured across the rocks one day and saw it on the beach just north of La Jolla Shores

This is a photograph taken by Earl this morning.

Black's Beach. The ladder reaching up to the top of the cliff is a tram or funicular. 

This site says that the building is called the Bell Pavilion built in 1968.

From an architectural site:

Change this

The oceanfront house, called The Bell Pavilion, also nicknamed The Mushroom House, was designed and built by Dale Naegle in 1968 for Sam Bell of Bell's Potato Chips. Naegle was instructed to build a futuristic-looking, earthquake-proof structure as a guest house. The tram that carried people from the roadside down to the house was eventually taken out of operation, leaving visitors to trek to the house on foot. The Bell Pavilion was part of a larger building project that started in 1955 with a house at the top of the cliff which was demolished in the 1990s. The property has a 300 foot cliff, including an isolated beach only accessible at low tide through rugged rocks.

Faced with the extraordinary challenge of developing access to the beach and guest retreat the owner assembled a design team to innovate. Elevator Electric Co. designer and builder of the 1st glass elevator in San Diego designed and constructed the 300 foot tramway. Because of the unusual nature of the project, workmen walked off of the job, requiring the three owners of the tram company to install the last 100 feet of the tramway railing with help from Jack Schultz.

The remaining Pavilion (guest retreat) and tram are owned by Buzz Woolley, an entrepreneur from San Diego.

http://architectuul.com/architecture/view_image/bell-pavilion/6924