As the tide comes in

I returned to the new stretch of beach I'd found. The tide was coming in, and on this flat beach, it was in a hurry. I watched as the water reached pinkish blobs, which immediately opened up to become anemones.  Tiny sleeping snails turned out to be mainly scurrying hermit crab youngsters.

Random shot of the base rock, with stones and "snails".

... which became hermit crabs. Here's one, under the first inch of water.

Mini-hermie. With palm ridges for size comparison.

Much of the shoreline here is covered with a short, hard, almost black seaweed. Black, that is, while it is dry. I stood on a stone to watch what happened when the first waves reached it.

Turkish washcloth, dry and stiff. There's a slight purplish tinge to it in direct sunlight.

The water rolled in. In a moment, the colour had changed from black to purple to a deep red wine colour.

Third wave on a tiny scrap of washcloth.

Second wave. The top parts of the seaweed have only been underwater for seconds.

I hadn't been paying attention; the water had reached my shoes, supposedly planted on a higher stone, and was threatening to pour into the tops. I hopped, skipped, splashed back to dry beach, and went to examine the upper tide level instead.