Last night’s moon has a history of being called the “buck moon”. That’s apparently a name given to it long ago by native American tribes. But the July 2018 full moon is also being called the “blood moon” by sky watchers because of the reddish tint it took on during the total lunar eclipse. We didn’t see the moon or the eclipse here in Setauket because it rained and the eclipse, when it happened, was not visible on this side of Earth.
What I did see this morning at around 7:30am at the Port Jeff beach was a very low tide, an effect of the full moon. Jude, Chula and I enjoyed having the wide expanse of the beach to roam and I enjoyed looking for frames of interest in the intertidal. Here are a few:
This rock makes me smile. It almost looks like a face. I also enjoy seeing the diversity of life it supports, various algae and there is a common periwinkle in the lower left.
This rock looks like a potato and it supports a few barnacles, most of them too far away from each other to successfully fertilize their neighbors. But not to worry, most barnacles are hermaphrodites, each one has female and male organs, and the barnacle’s penis is consider the longest penis in the animal world. It can reach up to eight times its body length, a feature that allows this stationary crustacean to fertilize its neighbors but also fertilize itself if needed.
Rockweed bladders floating on the surface of the shallow shoreline creating interesting patterns in the water as they sway.
On the way home I happened upon a familiar summer neighborhood resident preening itself on a branch along the shore of the local pond, a Great egret
I hope something beautiful in this world also inspires you today!
Playing with Light and Other Reflections 