A Speckled Crab story

I am truly full of wonder at this amazing world of ours. It makes me unable to understand how people can harm our planet in so many ways, but that is a story for another day. Today is about a crab. A Speckled Crab in fact.

I mean, I think it’s fact. I looked it up, and that seems to be the truth, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

We took the Jeep out on to Sandy Neck yesterday, to enjoy a spectacular day, which just begged to be spent out in nature. We drove as far as we could, and then explored for the afternoon. We wandered along the trails, with lovely views of the dunes, it was secluded and delightful. There was a small, tidal pool in the center of the dunes, complete with little minnows. I was hoping for a Terrapin sighting, but that will happen another time. There was plenty of beauty and interesting things to keep me happy. We walked along the tide line on the way back to where we’d left the Jeep, and then headed back towards reality. Albeit slowly.

We stopped about halfway back for another chance to soak in the beauty of the day and the beauty that surrounded us every direction we looked.

We had brought chairs, but when I said we should sit for a while, my husband said, “I’m not really good at sitting”. “Me neither,” I replied, “but I think we should try”. After discussing the pros and cons of just sitting and being, we opted to wander and continue exploring instead. The chairs stayed where they were, in the back of the car, waiting for another chance to show how useful they really are. We might not even pack them next time, who knows. Unless there’s food, and then they stand a pretty good chance.

Our second exploration of the day was on a sand bar, which at first glance was just beautiful patterns left by the sea, with very little else other than the occasional Sea-Clam shell. But like much of the world, if you take time to look, to really see, there were so many amazing things to be found out there upon closer inspection. Teensy tiny Atlantic Oyster drill shells, which my husband both knew the name of, and knew that they were an invasive species. Guess he takes his shell-fishing more seriously than I thought! He was quite amused that one had a hole drilled in it’s tiny little shell. I found a bleached sand-dollar, but sadly it was only half of it. I kept hoping for another as we don’t find them on the Sound side of the Cape. They’re a rarity for me, in fact, don’t think I’ve ever found a whole one on the Cape that wasn’t alive. And I’ve only found one of those. I found a gorgeous piece of seaglass, which is also a treat for someone who picks up absurd amounts of plastic. (You can learn more about that here if you want). There were some gorgeous stones, so many colours, each like a tiny world of it’s own. And of course the sand patterns.

I love the way the sea leaves the sand in different patterns every day, it is just such a thing of beauty to me. Again, not something I get too much of on the Sound side, which is where I spend most of my time, so I have so many images of the patterns. I always said I was going to have a show of just sand patterns. Maybe I still will some day. I am certain I can’t be alone in my love of the designs created by the water pushing and pulling and leaving it’s mark on the world in the most literal of senses. But again, another story, for another day.

As we were admiring the patterns, we stumbled across this near-perfect circle in the sand, and upon closer inspection, realized it was a crab, buried in the sand with just a bit of his claws and eyes sticking out. I have searched, but I can’t find any information on how he created the circle, or if it was indeed the crab that actually created it (which I believe it was), but regardless of any of that, I found it fascinating. I can visualize him spinning around to create a nice, safe spot to ride out the tide. Survival of the fittest. And if there’s any doubt as to whether these similar species to the Blue Crab are among the fittest, step on one, and you’ll quickly find out. They’re fairly ferocious suckers. And strong. That’s not exactly how they write about them in scientific journals, but my education is in art, so I get to take a few liberties. In the book, Atlantic Seashore by Peterson’s guides, it says that Speckled Crabs are  “a southern species, regularly north to N.C. and occasionally to Cape Cod.” So I guess it was a gift that we happened upon this fellow, who was probably a bit chilly and was most likely seriously contemplating his return journey.

I am incredibly lucky that most days of my life are spent exploring the shores of our beautiful cape, and the words of Rachel Carson often enter my thoughts, ‘The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place”. Oh yes, that it is. That is is.