Small Things

Usually when we go to the beach we sit looking out at the sea, well F looks at the sea, I practice that trick where you acknowledge something and let it go, so that the thought of such a big body of water can't keep tugging at my anxiety triggers.  

Breathe in.  Breathe out. Focus on the sound of your breathing.

Today we spotted something different:

F called it Kina (although where she comes from the variety of Kina is a bit bigger), and then explained that they live in the sea, are black when they are underwater and alive, are covered in sharp spikes that break off easily, and they jump out at the soles of the feet of humans who walk into the water.

And that hurts.  (Hurts the human.)

So why DO humans go in the water?  It just gets curiouser and curiouser.

Kina are apparently a sign that the water is clean.

Anyway the dead kina made us look closer, look in instead of out, look down instead of up, and get real close to the sand.   I like real close to the sand, but F started 'decorating' me with  bits of stuff she found and decided to photograph.  

Today, I'm Zen.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

We can't see the water from down here.

Comments

  1. Yup Kinas live here in NZ too, I've never tried the inside of one though, apparently they are a delicacy.

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    1. I have been obliged to try them here - unimpressed.

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  2. Hari OM
    Well, all I can say is well done both of you for these gorgeous arty shots!!! Hugs and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx

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  3. This is something new for me. I have never seen one even in a movie or on TV and all my research until today when I saw it here. I do hope you explained that your first do not require any further embellishment that you are as beautiful as beautiful can be without it but I do like all the artifacts she found. And it sounds to me like the two of you had a really good time

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    1. You might know them as sea urchins. The shells were tiny. Even the sea urchin was o ly about an inch across.

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  4. reply to your comment. our system is sheer hell to work our way through. the worst thing is our hospitals are all now For Profit, in the past they were all non profit. even our nursing homes have become for profit with very few beds for those who can't pay. Our income is our govt checks that never go up, and they deduct from each check for health insurance. that deduction is now up to 138 dollars from his check and mine. they have used the money we paid while working for other things which brought the amounts down. it gets worse by the day. navigating the system for any thing we need requires skills that some don't have and mine are getting worse from age related memory... I am struggling to get the needed appointmens. Bob's primary doctor, had a great office with many people that handled things behinid the scenes. they went to FOR PROFIT and now have let go all thepeople they were paying great salaries to that new what they were doing and replaced with people who took lower pay but have no idea how to navigate the health insurance. not there fault, they just don't have a clue what to do

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    1. Hmmmm. Worse than we imagined. F too is worried about age related decline meaning that in time she won't be able to negotiate new wonders of tecnology employed to 'make it easier to provide services' .... or not if you can't access them in the first place.

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  5. I ate one when I was a little girl. And no I was unimpressed
    We call them sea urchins as well
    You look very pretty decorated by the sea

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  6. Sea Urchins are quite popular here. They must be held with a chain-mail glove (or similar), snipped around the circumference with scissors, and just the orange bits eaten. A lot of work for very little, and not the greatest gastronomic delight either.

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    1. You only have about a 6 week season of them I see - I was working on an oil spill clean up in 2018 which interrupted the sea urchin fishers season around Marseille (October). I agree not the greatest gastronomic delight.

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