Typhoon Songda

During the last two days, we've been feeling the effects of Typhoon Songda — stormy conditions, with strong winds, rain, and big waves.

Yesterday (14 October 2016) we found quite a few heteropods washed up on Salmon Creek Beach.  Here's one of the larger individuals:

 

I haven't encountered Carinaria japonica very often.  I wrote about this fascinating pelagic snail on 7 December 2014, but that was based on a sighting in March 2011.  To review those pictures and more information about Carinaria japonica, click here.

There were some other interesting things washed up on the beach yesterday, so Eric and I started wondering about the direction of the currents — was the flow from the north or the south? 

This morning I remembered to check the current maps on the marine lab's website, and noted the strong flow from the south.

Then I went for a short beach walk this afternoon and found this washed up on the beach:

 

From a distance, I thought it might be a large pine cone.  When I got closer I thought perhaps it was a pineapple.  Then when I was right next to it, I realized what it was — an artichoke!  I smiled and laughed.  :)  Of course!  This confirmed the flow from the south (maybe from Castroville?).  The recent storm represented the "Artichoke Express" rather than the "Pineapple Express"!

P.S.  I'm guessing this will be one of the only (if not the only!) posts that includes both a heteropod and an artichoke!