Pajaro Dunes State Beach, Watsonville, CA

 Waning Crescent Moon

On a cool, breezy Friday morning I decided to head for the beach to walk and get away from the smoke that was beginning to encroach upon San Juan Bautista. The smoke was coming from a prescribed burn on the Monterey County side of the divide. It was kind of cool-looking at first.

The beach was mostly clear - just a few groups of walkers and families starting their days in the Sun. LOTS of birds, especially pelicans, snowy plovers, and curlews. It's rare for me to see a live crab, but I was lucky enough to see one side-stepping across the sand, leaving little scratch mark "footprints" behind. 

I kept going to the mouth of the river, where a sand bar had plugged the outflow into the bay this day. Then I wandered around to look at the last hummocky mini-dune field nearest the river - odd in comparison with the bigger dunes to the north and south. Every day at the beach is a little different, but always - always - most pleasant.

Peace, Love, and Shifting Sand,

Jim

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