Happy as kings

“The world is so full of a number of things, I ’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Funny how you miss things when you think you're paying attention, because there is just too much to see. Laurie and I tramped over this area of Oyster Bay Shoreline Park several times, even stopping to take photos (of the moon in daylight), but hurrying to get across it to the shore. And since I've been living here, I've been back a half-dozen times, seeing everything, I thought. And now I find that I have to go back again to look for a few supposedly obvious details that somehow I didn't notice.

At least wild strawberry is easy to recognize.

Yarrow and wild strawberry.

Yarrow in bloom.

And moss, as long as I don't ask too many questions.

Tiny, hairy moss. Greenish when damp, brown, but still hairy as it dries.

And pickleweed, growing on the sand just beyond the protected plant area.

Pickleweed, aka glasswort, sea asparagus, Salicornia pacifica. Doesn't mind salt water.

Flowering spikes. The miniature flowers are hidden in pits on these spikes.

A closer look.

Caterpillar looking for a bit of salty salad. The leaves are visible (barely) in this photo; they're reduced to scales at the joints of the stems.

Still here.

And if the weather holds. I'll be there tomorrow, looking at berries and smelling leaves.