Northern landscapes

  

Well, we're nearing the end of our visit to Iceland.  Eric thought it would be fun to post some landscape photos, so here's a selection from a few different areas.  Above, along the shoreline of the West Fjords.

 

Below, two from Breidavik Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, a scene from Lake Mývatn near Höfði:

 

 

 

Boiling mud pots at a geothermal area, Hverir:

 

 

 

 

Two from the thundering waterfall, Dettifoss:

 

 

 

Lava columns at the fascinating Hljóðaklettar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one with reflections from peaceful Botnstjörn:

 

 

 

Iceland has been so inspiring!

 

We haven't had much time to process our photos, but we'll be sharing more as time allows.  Thanks so much for joining the journey!

Ocean art

  

 Early morning sand patterns in the swash zone, 6 May 2026

  

Exclamation

  

Designed by sand, water, and air (!)

Beach tones

  

Eric gathered these little beach stones from the outer beach at Point Reyes so we could document the range of colors.  Each stone is quite small — only 2-3 mm in length, so right on the edge between sand and gravel.

Can you tell that they're resting in a crease in my jeans?  I couldn't decide which view was most interesting, so here are a couple more images, going back in time when we first started the mini-collection:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's one more, with a small sand dollar and the surrounding gravel.  The large grain sizes indicate a very high wave energy beach!

 

 

Ripples of light

  

While walking at Point Reyes yesterday, Eric and I came across a wonderful setting for photographing patterns of water and light over sand.   

It was hard to choose which images to share, but here are several of our favorites.  Which one do you like?  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

Ever since I can remember, I've been drawn to these elemental scenes.  Perhaps the photos provide a sense of what it was like to be there?

Eric captured these images with the camera just above the surface of very shallow water. The water was exceptionally clear, and the sand ripples below were well developed.

 

 

The water was receding with the tide, so after a brief time the conditions changed and the sand was no longer covered by water.  I felt grateful for a little serendipity!

Green Eggs and Sand

  

Eric spotted these amazingly green fish eggs last week.  They were on the side of a boulder in the intertidal zone along the shoreline of Drakes Estero.  I'm not sure which species of fish laid them, so if you have any thoughts about that, I'd love to learn more!

Here's a close-up so you can appreciate the color:

 

 

 

 

And here's a photo of sand from 2008.  I'll admit, there's no real connection to the green eggs above, except that it lets me use the title "Green Eggs and Sand"...which sounds a little like Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham".   :)

 

 

 

Throwback?

  

I was working on some file sorting tonight, so here's a "throwback" photo of sorts — from Point Reyes back in December 2007.

Points in the sand

  

 Patterns in beach sand at Point Reyes

Flow

 

Flow patterns in the sand, 20 March 2020

Where the rivers meet the sea

A few highlights from a short walk in Humarock, MA, this afternoon (26 December 2019), close to where the South River and North River meet.  This is my old stomping grounds (where I grew up), so there were some familiar friends, but some new ones, too!  

In order of appearance:

 

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) hunting over the dunes at Fourth Cliff

 

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) resting on a floating dock

 

 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perched on a tree on Trouants Island in Marshfield, MA.  I spent many years here and never saw an eagle, so it was fun to be surprised by one today!  (My mom mentioned there is now a pair nesting along the North River.)

 

Ripples in birch bark 

 

Ripples in sand

Sand painting

 

Drift lines in beach sand in Chatham, MA, back in October.  Does it remind you of shadows and light on a mountainous landscape?  I suppose some of the sand grains might have originated from mountains a long, long time ago.  :) 

Coastal scenes

A few more coastal scenes from our visit to Cape Cod and the South Shore of Massachusetts:

From Chatham:

 

 

From Provincetown (including wild cranberries):

 

 

From Humarock:

 

Just like sand

 

I've encountered these amphipods a few times now and they're just magical!  It's amazing how much they look like sand.  

Not only because of the individual color patterns, with flecks to match the local sand grains, but also because they form dense aggregations and when nestled together they look just like a patch of sand.  

This is especially true when they're resting on a rock or a piece of seaweed — it's like "group camouflage"!  The background substrate disappears and you think you're seeing sand instead. Pretty impressive.

Here's an example (this time with a bryozoan in the background):

 

I'll be working on their identification, but for now it's fun to appreciate their remarkable color patterns.  If you have any ideas about which species this is, I'm very curious.

Dark sand

 

Close-up of a layer of dark sand — a mix of quartz, garnet, and magnetite — on a beach in Chatham, MA, photographed on 27 September 2018. 

Picasso en la playa?

 

The waves painted a Picasso on Salmon Creek Beach!

Photographed 27 July 2015 

 

Sand spires

 

Patterns in the sand, Salmon Creek Beach, 14 March 2014

Breach!

Six inches of rain have been recorded by instruments on Bodega Head during the last 2 days.  And I've heard upwards of 10 inches of rain were measured further inland.  No wonder the mouth of Salmon Creek looked like this today!

 

I don't know exactly when the creek broke through the beach, but the flow this afternoon was impressive.  There were standing waves near the opening to the ocean.  This view is from the south side of the creek looking north.

 

Further back towards the village of Salmon Creek, the creek bank was carved out dramatically and large chunks of sand were slumping into the creek.  It reminded me of calving glaciers.

  

It was hard to predict exactly where it was going to happen next.  But developing cracks in the sand provided hints.

 

I tried to record the sound of these dramatic splashes.  Here are two examples.  (Remember to turn up your volume.)


creek calving1 by nhbh

 creek calving2 by nhbh


And even further back, there were some quieter spots with nice swirling eddies.  (If you listen closely, especially with headphones, you can still hear the rumbling waves of the ocean in the background.)

creek eddies by nhbh
 

Diamonds and swirls

 

 Patterns in the sand at Doran Beach

 

Patterns in driftwood at Salmon Creek Beach

Go Green!

 

Short-spined Seastar (Pisaster brevispinus)

Photo taken on Bodega Head, 7 June 2012.  Note the pink coloration.  Each arm of a seastar is called a RAY.

 

Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica)

A close-up of the tentacles.  Each tentacle is armed with nematocysts, small harpoon-like structures that can PIERCE the anemone's prey.

 

Sometimes darker sands can appear on Bodega Head beaches.  Among other minerals, they often contain magnetite and GARNET.

 

Bodega Head sunsets may make you think of RA, the Egyptian sun god.

 

What do all of these photos have in common?  

They're all associated with a certain basketball team that's playing Game 7 on Saturday night.

Let's go, Celtics!

(RAY Allen, Paul PIERCE, Kevin GARNETT, RAjon Rondo, and the rest of the team!)