Swept Ashore

 

One day, late in a winter afternoon, walking along the Carmel Beach, I watched this little piece of kelp-bulb cling to the sand as the receding surf that had swept it ashore tried to suck it back to the ocean.  For dear life it held on, and won!  In the sand, the furrows of the receding surf gave testament to the struggle.

 

Resting there, it shined as though alive, and, with a fish-eye effect, reflected the entire Carmel Bay on the curvature of the bulb.

 

 I admired it for a few seconds, then I head the crash of the next wave behind me. With little time to spare, I quickly pressed the shutter -- a split second before the surf smashed through my feet and swept the kelp away again.   It went back into the ocean,  and I watched it for awhile, bobbing in the surf.  Finally, it came ashore one more time, but without the splendor it had at  this one brief shining moment.

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