the obscure

Click on the picture for a larger view.

We woke this morning to a dense fog (low clouds near the Strait of Juan de Fuca, according to Wunderground) and stillness.

Dead low tide occurred about 10:25 a.m., and we headed to the beach just after 11:00. By that time it was clear and sunny up here back from the bluff, at 230 feet above sea level.

Usually there are sweeping vistas of Pete Townsend Bay on the drive down, but today there was nothing. No town. No Indian Island. No naval depot. No water. Nothing.

We walked all the way around to the lagoon inlet, until we spotted the beds of sand dollars. When we turned around the breeze had picked up from the north and the entire beach area was enveloped in the mist. We could see it blowing across the ample beach, as if it were smoke. In fact, the first time I saw the mist like this, I thought it was smoke, and ran outside to see what was on fire.

We saw a giant sea snail at the shoreline past the point, and couldn't figure out how it would ever fit in its shell, or even if it was dead or alive. A solitary otter swam and fished just off shore. It seemed pretty busy. I hadn't noticed before how large otters are.

The waterfront is about 1000 feet from our house as the crow flies. When we got back up here, all was sunny and clear again.