This week Anne Sandler invites us to show and tell our thoughts on the theme of abandonment. There are many synonyms for this word, each with different nuances; desert (someone), evacuate (something), give up (activities), give way to (emotions). In her post here, Anne provides eloquent photographic examples of all these potential interpretations. To keep it simple this week, I’ve narrowed it down to; leave behind, or in the colloquial, to leave high and dry.
After strong winter storms, these By the Wind Sailors (Vallela Vallela) washed up all along surfs edge at Long Beach, WA. They live on the surface of warmer oceans using their sails to float with the wind on ocean currents, and their stinging tentacles to prey on young fish and other small animals. After being stranded on land they dry into crunchy treats for beach gleaners.
Gooseneck barnacles attach to objects floating in the ocean and hitch a ride. In this way they filter food and are only found on land when marooned on a beach.
Another casualty of strong winter storms are ocean kelps, which get ripped from the ocean floor, pitched into tangled heaps and tossed ashore. Above left, a form of laminaria, right top, bull kelp and below it dried bull kelp.
A few years ago, a young Gray whale beached near the part of Long Beach where I go for walks. It smelled mighty bad that first year, though by the next there was little left of it. Humans had harvested what they could make profit from, and the beach gleaners did the rest. The last I saw of the creature was this one bone resting in the surf.
Lindy Low LeCoq 
Lindy, I do like your shoreline finds. Great re-direction of the challenge, or as I usually call it: a twist!
Thank you, Anne. I’ve been somewhat whelmed this past couple weeks, so it made sense to keep my response simple!
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Instructional and filled with beautiful images. I liked you picked one particular meaning for abandoned. Excellent post, Lindy!
Thank you, Egídio. It made sense to keep this one simple, there’s so much going on in my life right now!
Lindy, It’s always interesting to walk along a beach and see what has washed ashore. Your images are wonderful. I really like the ones of the jellyfish. It’s sad to see those bones are all that’s left of the Grey Whale.
Thank you, Beth. On our beach walk yesterday, there were a lot of “by the wind sailors” washed up along the wrack line. Max things they’re delicious, while Daisy ignores them as she chases the waves out and in!
On my beach walks I have found all the creatures (except the whale bones) that you have found on your walks. But I used them mostly as a source of interesting photos, and did not really appreciated their abandoned quality. We once see a dead sea lion on the beach, and it smelled to high heaven, and someone’s little dog who was rolling himself in the corpse. We didn’t get too close though, and pitied the dog’s owner who was calling frantically to get the dog to come to him, wondering how on earth he would get his super smelly dog home…
Thank you! I too took the photos because the creatures interested me, and I wanted to learn more about them. Thanks for the fun story about the dog – they do love to roll in the most disgusting smelling things!
Nice pictures of the barnacles, Lindy! That kind looks so different from most barnacles.
They ARE very different Siobhan, and apparently are quite an expensive delicacy in some cuisines. Next time I see some freshly washed ashore, I think I’ll find out for myself!