April 11, 2009: Several days of strong southerly winds have created a wrack line of sargassum, pen shells and parchment tube worms.
They stink as they dry, but only for a day or so.
By April 15th, the blowing sand has buried the old wrack line, returning nutrients to the beach sand to nourish the dunes.
Within a week or so, the old wrack line is buried. While still fresh, it is a dinner table and playground for creatures of the beach.
A ring billed gull picks the remains out of a beached pen shell.
Young beachcombers on Easter Weekend find great delight in collecting the stranded pen shells. In a day or so, these shells will stink to high heaven.
A littoral linguine for ghost crabs and gulls, pen shells and parchment tube worms come to a final rest on a windblown beach.
