THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

20 September 2014

SHORE AND SEA



Every evening in Kingsand, we witnessed the amazing sight of tens of thousands of tiny fish hugging the edge of the coast, moving together like mercury when their silver bellies were in sight. They were entrancing but many were perishing, trapped in rock pools that heated to the temperature of bath water in the daytime sun.









Here they are moving; I hope this works......


Every night at around the same time, the sea would start to boil in patches off shore....


........and then the mackerel would come to the edges and indulge in a feeding frenzy. here they are moving a bit more slowly. They were just a blur when they found the little ones and the surface of the water would be covered in a film of the glittering silver of their scales. 


Thousands of dead ones would wash up on the tide:


The Gulls circled around picking off what they could:


Some trapped in rock pools fell victim to Anemones. They disappeared surprisingly quickly, alive to the last. I saved one whose tail had just been grabbed and was shocked at the grip the Anemone had on it. 



Like something out of a horror film.... 


Even on the little beach at Portwrinkle, the number of different rock types is incredible, presumably as a result of being at the edge of the massive granite intrusion in the south west:










OB made what he called Turtous. He had to come home with us and has been reassembled in the garden.


More pictures of the intrepid swimmer:




Proud of himself:




Snippet just won't do it.


A few plants...........

Bittersweet Nightshade:


Er..........not sure but very pretty:


Samphire. We had some one night with our fish:


A Speckled Wood spotted on one of my MANY dog walks:


A terrible victim of tourist fishing, discarded in a rock pool. A beautiful dogfish, possibly of the Lesser Spotted variety:


OB was amazing at GOSH on Monday given that he spent over six hours with the psychologists. M and I had endless forms to fill in after our two hour session answering questions from another psychologist. The forms took two and a half hours. However, it will all be worth it when we have a definite diagnosis. We'll be talking to all of them via skype in a couple of weeks. I can't praise them highly enough. They see what needs to be done and they do it, rather than our previous experience of being fobbed off and passed from pillar to post by our local 'services'. Right - enough ranting - things are looking up we hope and it's taken me five days to get this post out. Hopeless. I have over a month's worth of photos from round here to edit now. Some bits and pieces posts needed I think. 

Hope you've had a lovely weekend and, until next time, here are the dogs looking a bit blown out and OB trowing a stone into the water; too big to skim though there was a lot of that too. 





54 comments:

  1. An amazing post Em, loved all these wonderful photos and what a fascinating phenomena to see all those fish. The one of the anemone was mesmerizing. Nature! It truly is amazing. Glad you are making headway with a diagnosis for OB, must be such a relief to have confidence in the medical staff who are seeing him now. Have a great week.

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  2. I would be quite fond of Turtous myself. Glad he went home with you.

    Nature is sad as well as beautiful. Sadder yet a person would leave a fish in a tidal pool, to die.

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    1. Isn't it awful? There were some very unpleasant people there; too much money and fishing kayak's to spend it on. They were catching loads and loads of mackerel and just letting it die in buckets because they could. Criminal I think.

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  3. The 2nd photo of the fish is incredible! And I loved the one of Jack swimming toward you. In all some wonderful photos and am so glad that OB is doing well at GOSH. I hope you have a wonderful week!

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    1. The whole fish experience was incredible - like watching a wildlife documentary!

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  4. Outstanding post today !
    I so adore the tiny fish. They remind me of the tiny Neon fish we use to have in our fish tanks.
    They were beautiful also.
    Good news about OB.

    Love the gud dugs !

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Do your gud dogs swim Parsnip? I know you have the facilities.....x

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  5. So pleased things are looking up for OB... Great images... Anemones eh.... who knew! Cx

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  6. wow what an interesting post, I didn't know anemones did that!!! That poor fishes face as it's gobbled up! I will never look at them the same again.

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    1. I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing, and the speed with which it disappeared inside.....where was it putting it???

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  7. Wow, what a great post! I have a real fish and rock pool fascination so this was right up my alley. That Dogfish is a beautiful animal, shame that someone could so casually end its life.

    I love how closely you can pay attention to things, Em. You take the time to notice the cycles and rhythms of things like those fish schools, so that your posts paint a complete picture of an area / animal / event. Your pictures of the rock formations are hypnotic in their detail!

    Glad you feel like the professionals are of genuine help to you and OB!

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    1. I always look forward to your comments Christian - thank you. You would have loved the rock pools there - so much to see, even without having to put my specs on!

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  8. Incredible photographs from beginning to end Em.
    Please to hear the progress is being made at GOSH - it pleases me even more because I have a standing order to their charity each month because I know it is such a marvellous place.

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  9. Amazing photos as always, Em. I liked the sound-track to the video as well - a startling dog-whistle, followed by someone munching their way through a packet of crisps as they do in all good cinemas.

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    1. Having watched it at this reduced resolution, I realise you can't actually see a thing. Very kind of you to mention the soundtrack given the fact that you were watching a grey blur. I believe the crisp packet may have been crunching feet in fake crocks on grit.

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  10. Great news from GOSH Em. It sounds like a gruelling day but well worth it. I hope they can also come up with some strategies which will help.
    The water looks so clear and inviting where Jack was swimming!

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    1. Not quite inviting enough to tempt me though!

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  11. A sprat to catch a mackerel?
    *sings* You shall have a fishy on a a little dishy...
    Jane x

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    1. I used to sing that to OB when he was tiny.....sigh........what happened?

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  12. Love these photos of the fish. Glad all went well at GOSH, it'll be interesting to know what they come up with won't it. Love the last photo of OB and the stone, it looks as though he is doing a spot of levitation :-)

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    1. It does doesn't it? A bit of a blur might have helped there....

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  13. Amazing pics of the fish - thanks for sharing!

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  14. Wow the fish are a sight to be seen aren't they, thanks for sharing x

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  15. Love OBs Turtous, quite artistic! So glad to hear the day at GOSH went well for all of you.
    We have seen the same thing here with the tiny fish bubbling up the sea and a whole lot of gulls arriving for a snack. Fascinating with the anemones.

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    1. I think I thought Anemones ate tiny bits of stuff that wafted past. I didn't realise they were such ruthless beasts!

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  16. Hi Emma, I have to say first of all that I just love turtous!!! I think that I would have taken him home too. So glad that things went as well as they possibly could at GOSH, I hope that a diagnosis and some help is forthcoming very soon. Seeing those fish is amazing too. I have heard of the sea boiling in this way, but never actually seen it before. I had no idea that it would result in so many fish being washed ashore like that though and that the anemones would eat them!! A lovely walk by the looks of it. xx

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    1. There were so, so many dead ones just going to waste. Turtous is looking good on our low wall in the garden now but his head keeps falling off.

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  17. You make me want to go to the sea. I had no idea anemones did that! Great shots of it. Goodness, OB has shot up since you last pictured him here. I read an article this week about a lad who'd been diagnosed with autism when very small and had grown out of it by the time he hit late teens. Things can change. So glad it's going well with GOSH xx

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    1. Thanks CT - you never know. As for the anemones, when I downloaded the pics I was horrified! xx

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  18. Your world is so beautiful and quite a lot of it makes me homesick for the European Atlantic coast

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    1. Sorry to make you homesick! Your environment has it's own amazing beauty too doesn't it. Not sure I could handle the heat though!

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  19. So pleased to hear that things are going so well with GOSH. The Turtous is great :) Amazing to see the photos of the anemones with the fish. Great photos and I loved the pictures of the rocks - just wonderful :)

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    1. Glad you liked the rocks RR - I wasn't sure whether to put them in. I love them but I wondered if I might be alone!

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  20. We watched a fascinating programme on rockpools a couple of weeks ago. Must take some photos next time I'm on the beach - loved how artistic the mackerel looked. Art in all its glory!

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    1. Wasn't that programme great? Luckily, they keep repeating it as I want to see it again!

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  21. I always love your posts, you capture so many amazing things!

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  22. Gosh, those photos of the water alive with tiny fish are amazing!
    It's sick that someone left that fish to die. It disgusts me.
    So glad that things are really looking up for you and OB! That's wonderful!

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    1. There are many bad people in the world Terry. More than good I think unfortunately.

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  23. HI Em What a fabulous post. Wonderful colours in the water and great to see the fish. Fabulous rock formation and of course the dogs are wonderful and enjoying the water. I have now safely arrived back from 6 weeks away so have LOTS of editing to do!! Thanks for looking in on my posts while I was away and commenting. I appreciate that very much.

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    1. Welcome home Margaret. What a tour! I don't envy you the editing......HOURS of work but worth it I'm sure. I can't wait to see what you've taken.

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  24. The fish images are incredible! We also have recently witnessed huge shoals of mackerel eating the whitebait. I'm so pleased that the long day in London was so helpful. Sarah x

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    1. Thanks Sarah. Interesting your shoals are so big too this year. xx

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  25. What lovely photos and I was amazed at the shoals of small fish. The dogs were enjoying themselves (you all too of course). We had a day at the beach on Monday and had to drag ourselves away!

    I am so pleased that the GOSH visit was such a positive one and that you won't be beating around the bush any more but will get a straight up diagnosis. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome.

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    1. I'm dreading the skype call from GOSH as I think our broadband might be a bit of an issue! xx

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  26. Amazing shots of the tiny fish shoal and of the rock formation Em.

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    1. Thanks Roy. It was a real privilege to witness them.

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  27. Thank you for sharing your observations of the beautiful Dartmoor area, Em. The patterns in nature are fascinating and your artist’s eye shows us how to see.

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