And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been. Rainer Maria Rilke
We’re getting ready for another storm but yesterday it still was sunny and warm. Check out these south-facing sandpipers, all looking in the same direction. I wonder what they’re thinking about…
Maybe they’re hoping 2026 will bring peace and harmony and love to the world. That’s my wish, too.
Do you know what a group of sandpipers is called?
There are many recognized collective nouns for a group of sandpipers:
𓅪 a bind 𓅪 a cluster 𓅪 a contradiction 𓅪 a fling 𓅪 a hill 𓅪 a time-step
Hanukkah started last night at sundown and ends on December 22, so don’t forget to light your menorah and remember to honor the Bondi and Brown victims.
May the lights of Hanukkah usher in a better world for all of us.
This photo was taken from the top of my street where I’m able to see the setting sun AND a hint of the Pacific ocean. It’s one of my favorite spots.
This photo was taken at the beach on a spectacularly warm December afternoon. The sky was blue and the Pacific Ocean was full of sparkles; a magnificent day.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
Ode To Our Ocean
The sea sings out to its many saviors: Teenagers with fists thrust into the air at climate strikes, Scientists converging around their data, A child who stoops to scoop up a piece of trash.
The sea sings out for its singular subjects: Arching whales that wave from their waves, Turtles that teeter down their shining shores, Coral reefs shining brightly as cities.
The sea sings out its suffering, Knowing too much of waste, screeching sounds And pernicious poison, its depths bruised by Atrocities in the Atlantic, Misery in the Mediterranean, Its tides the preservers of time past.
The story of the ocean and the story of humanity Are one and the same, a Great River that Knows no borders and notes no lines, Only ripples. While we might call it the Seven Seas, Today we sing out your true name: The one ocean. For no matter how we try to separate your waters, You are the colossus that connects us.
Water makes up 70% of Earth, 70% of the human heart, And 70% of the human being, All of us, bodies of water, For we, too are oceans, Or at least beings bobbing in the same boat. To stand up for for our ocean Is to stand up for our own ship The sea is a restless, strong collective of many pieces. So are we. The ocean can recover. And so will we. Let us not divide the tides, But discover all they have to teach us– Green meadows of sea grass that survive pathogens, Blue-bloodied marine snails that can fight off viruses. There are more lessons to learn, Still more work to be done. So we lift our faces to the sun. May the seas help us see healing and hope, May we sing out the ocean’s survival and revival. Being the people of this blue planet is our most Profound privilege and power, For if we be the ocean’s saviors, Then it is surely ours.
Written by Amanda Gorman for World Oceans Day. Harvard graduate Gorman is an American poet, activist, and model. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate.
No green flash, but a gorgeous sunset after a sunny, warm day in SoCal.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
A “green flash” is a rare optical phenomenon seen briefly at sunrise or sunset, where the sun’s upper edge appears to flash green due to atmospheric refraction. This optical effect is caused by the Earth’s atmosphere acting like a prism, separating the sun’s light into different colors, with the green light being the last to be visible as the sun sets or the first as it rises
This haunting photo of the ocean is a total mystery. I don’t remember where or when I snapped it, but it’s intense.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
I can certainly relate. I’m working on the shadowy crevices between total darkness and the love and positivity that shines a light into the murky gloom.
Embrace and make peace with our shadow side with a lot of love and self compassion.
There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond to the mysterious forces that create the tide. — Rachel Carson
This particular beach is a favorite for locals to surf and tidepool, so we are always a bit vague as to the specific location to protect it from being overrun by ill-mannered tourists who trash our beaches.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 