Tidepool Tidings

Last weekend we walked down to the beach with our little nieces and checked out the tidepools, which are the pools of water left behind when the ocean waters recede at low tide. The pools are in the hollows of rocks or between rock piles, and in them we often see hermit crabs, snails, sea anemones, mussels, and sea urchins. Our tidepool guidebook puts sea creatures in six categories based on how easy it is to find the critters. While hermit crabs are in the first category (easy to find), octopuses and sea stars are in the sixth category (hardest to find). How lucky we were to find an enormous sea star. I'm not one for lounging on the beach or playing in the water, but I do love the tidepools.