Dawn – Playa San Miguel Costa Rica -
“The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour… and for an hour at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers the rest of the day and night.” Thoreau
A primal alertness often awakens me in the pre-dawn hours, and I am drawn to the beach. My almost-empty shoulder bag cradles my camera and has reserve space for treasures I might find along the way. Locking the door, I step into the darkness. A primal serenity cloaks the darkened beach, and the barreling waves glow with foamy phosphorescence. My eyes adjust to the low light as a gauzy veil of delicate mist caresses my skin; walking briskly, I cross over the floatsam and set a brisk pace to catch the first light of the day.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle -
At times the lone trail of a sea turtle instantly diverts my attention, and I scan to see if she has returned to the sea. Watching baby turtles scamper to the ocean is an exhilarating experience, yet watching the adult females fills one with profound awe.
06:00 A.M. – Rewards for the Early Risers -
The pelicans, herons, egrets and gulls illustrate the old saying, ‘The early bird catches the worm,’ though fish, crabs and baby sea turtles are often their prey of choice. After the colors of pre-sunrise slowly fade away, I leisurely poke and prod through playamart’s ever-changing inventory. The never-ending eyesores of plastics remind us of today’s throw-away society. We scowl at the waste, yet quickly forget when we chose plastics over reusable resources. At times a true treasure reveals itself, and I rarely return home empty handed!
What Are We Doing To Our Planet?
“Who’s There?”
Discarded coconuts often reveal great treasures, and I move them from the shadows to the dramatic early-morning light for impromptu photo sessions. Hermit crabs are usually the star performers!
Coconut B&B -
Hermits discovered the convenience of Bed & Breakfasts long before they became trendy in our world!
How fun it is to set a golden coconut in the early-morning sun and watch the hermit crabs scamper from the hole! At times they reward me with a great range of attire, from understated monochromatic color schemes to inverted cones or calico-patterned shells.
Surely word has spread, and they utter, “Oh, no; here she comes again!”
One shell seemed unique, so I paused to take a second look and almost dropped my camera!
No Way!
Surely Not!
But yes…
I trailed it, picked it up and -Poof! – it dumped its sporty house and streaked across the sand!
After recovering from the shock of seeing a toothpaste cap-clad hermit crab, I wondered if there might be more members to the latest-fashion club.
Sometimes one has to have an awareness before one can see.
The Streaker! -
(More crab-housing images, anyone?) Z
“It came from PlayaMart!”
Playamart Board – Before -
Playamart – After-
See more images of plastic-capped hermit crabs here:
http://playamart.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/wrong
See also: http://playamart.wordpress.com
More soon! Z
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I remember the hermit crabs when I was in Costa Rica. Incredible shot of them in the coconut!
Si, they’re survivors and don’t seem to be dwindling like many other marine species. Thanks for your comment; your site is incredibly well done! Z
OMG!!! I can’t even wake up from the shocking state of mind these pictures have driven me into… What kind of world are we developing,… or better said, what kind of world do we expect to get after degrading it to this sort of insane reality.
Fran! You’re the biologist, and those images were taken the year after you left Playa San Miguel! Since that first sighting, I often ask “Playamart People” in other areas if they have seen the hermit crabs wearing plastic caps. They all nod – yes, especially the fishermen. I have found a hermit wearing a pvc endcap; one with a forest-green round shampoo-type cap. Like you, I was horrified, but later I decided the crabs were quite clever if they could find no other housing option to fit their growing bodies! Btw, I will be posting the “Red-Light District” in the near future. Stay tuned! (Thanks for your heart-felt feedback.) Z
OMG!!!
Thank you so much Lisa for waking us up!! =)
I loved the hermit crab post. i bought a couple of hermit crabs for my grandchildren and they are thriving. we bought extra larger shells for them to grow into and one finally left its seashell to move into a larger seashell that was painted like a rebel flag. the other one stayed by the old shell for 4 days, wondering where its friend went until finally realized it was in the new shell, buried under the sand. hah. i really liked the post on the hermit crabs moving to other weird objects; great pictures Lisa!
thanks, amiga! you should conduct an experiment and place a plastic cap of equal size and watch what happens! i’m surprised that you don’t have a blog… (!) thanks for writing and for subscribing! z
Awesome photos Lisa! I love the first one – it looks as if a hurricane is on the way. The crabs are just too cute. My son tried keeping one once, but I don’t think they really like captivity…..
I think you’re right abut the latter statement; every so often I’ll ‘hold’ one for a day for reference material, and it’s forever restless until it finds a way out of the box/container! We’d try to escape if oversized aliens tried to keep us in confined as well! Z
Ha ha! How right you are. I don’t really like keeping things in captivity although I would love to have a really awesome salt water fish tank one day. They are just sooo relaxing.
A few weeks ago at sunset, several of us watched a ‘parapente’ (parasailing) student test his ‘wings’ along the edge of the ocean. The pilot/teacher coached him as we watched the battle between man and wind. Against the backdrop of the flame-colored sky, the effect was almost hypnotic. Earlier in the day, other pilots cut graceful arcs through the dky, and we compared it to watching fish in an aquarium. I’m with you on having visual comforts that comfort the soul! Z
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What a delightful take on the adaptable little hermit crab. Loved all the photos.
thank you! i love those little hermits! they always make me smile! z
Good grief, Lisa! I stared at the board for a full minute before it got through to me that what was decorating it was PAINTED! WoW!
And I adore those little hermit crabs. ~Lynda
Thank you, amiga! You made me laugh again! The red hibiscus on the left and the lure on the top right are real.. all else is painted.
Gracias! z
Lisa, In case I have not mentioned it before, besides being a wonderful artist you are talented at writing and photography as well. I have looked a lots of things on your blogs but photographically speaking my favourite remains the San Miguel Dawn image at the top!! I think when you take pictures you are inevitably drawn to ones by others which are scenes you love yourself and would have been thrilled to have captured!! So good going on a lot of fronts!!
judy, you are so kind! thank you so much! i feel as if you were hare, and we’re having a conversation in person! i wish you and i could take one of those dawn walks together! z