Mussel Beach
February 3rd, 2007
Wow! I’m behind in my posting! See what happens when you finally get a babysitter and get down to business? Blogging falls by the wayside. Actually yesterday was just a busy day and I used Baby Bug’s nap to pack my suitcase for the sticks and take a shower. Can’t stink for the baby sitter. (She was wonderful by the way. I love her!) But before I move on to blog about our latest trip to the sticks and Baby Bug’s Birthday Party Number TWO!!! (I know! Could we be any more spoiled?) I want to put up my pictures from our beach day when the tide was super super low.
When the tide is really really low, it’s like discovering a new country. There are strange underwater creatures that show up suddenly that you don’t see every day. Like crops and crops of mussels on the backsides of the rocks that are usually underwater and strange mountainous clumps of sea weed with their little bulbs that pop when you step on them. Baby Bug and I had a great time exploring.
Baby Bug thinks the seagulls are “kkkkkkitties”. Silly kid. I try to tell her they are “birdies” but she doesn’t believe me. I can see why it would be confusing since seagulls are about the size of our house cats. We have pet “birdies” (finches) that are very small and say “tweet tweet”, so how can these big fat things with feathers be birdies too? I haven’t even begun to explain pelicans or condors. How do you make the seagull sound? I keep thinking of the finding Nemo movie where they say “mine mine mine” but that isn’t right either.
I have so much trouble making some animal sounds. For example, what does an elephant sound like? How do you make that trumpeting sound? I try and try and nothing that comes out of my mouth sounds anything like an elephant. It’s funny the things that are important once you become a parent.
February 3rd, 2007 at 11:07 am
beautiful pics! Good for you that you take advantage and go to the beach a lot.
February 3rd, 2007 at 12:58 pm
My favourite is when the kids ask, “What does a giraffe say?”
I haven’t the faintest idea.
February 3rd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Love the shot of you peeking over Baby H’s head. Gorgeous shot! I love your ‘muscles’ for mussels. English is one weird language.
February 3rd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Doh! I’m horrible at spelling. I’m gonna have to go fix that now. Thanks Lin.
February 3rd, 2007 at 3:08 pm
This is so funny to see…we have a blizzard here right now! Oh for the beach…
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
I always thought it was Muscle Beach!! Or is that a beach closer to Santa Monica?
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
yep. way closer to Santa Monica.
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I love the beach stories. I’m. so. jealous. Tired of winter up here…
February 3rd, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Such a nice day. Great pictures. Since we don’t have the beach in our backyard we ended up soaking in the sun in the backyard turning soil in preparation for a spring garden. The girls loved the worms :P
Animal noises are truly an art. I think I’ve come up with a pretty good elephant noise. I could try to explain how to do it but it might sound stupid :P
February 3rd, 2007 at 11:02 pm
My elephant sound sucks, too! My daughter (now 2 1/2) has always been good at that one, though. I have found that with animal noises, doing the right motions/facial expressions is key. If you make a noise that sounds sort of trumpety AND you make trunk-like movements with your arm, that sells it.
February 4th, 2007 at 4:32 am
I think the call of seagulls can be a very lonely, anxious cry or a self satisfied crank depending on the mood of the bird. We havea seagull at home that always sits on top of the washing line pole (an old dingy mast - I grew up by the sea). The seagulls also used to clog dance on out roof and wake us up on Saturday mornings. I am glad to hear that Californian seagulls are as large as Welsh ones. My old cat used to be terrfied by them and dart for the house whenever the swooped on the garden.
As I live close to London Zoo, occasionally on very early summer morning I am awaked by the lions roaring, but we have no elephants there now as they have been moved to a large safari park outside of the city.
I live in this area of London as the seagulls calls while flocking twice a day to pinch the penguins fish remind me of home.
You have a beautiful life x
February 4th, 2007 at 8:48 am
i have trouble with animal sounds too- like how do you make a snake sound? “slither slither”? :)
February 4th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I love your photos - I live by a beach too but not as warm or sandy as yours and low tide is my most favourite time to visit with my dog, hearing her paws beating out a tattoo on the wet sand as she dashes along investigating the little rock pools and shifting sand which holds the promise of excitement below the surface - what could it be? Baby Bug is a real beach belle, what a wonderfully memorable childhood you are providing her with.
February 4th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I can’t agree with you more! It’s amazing the things one frets about after the small humans come and invade. I can’t count the number of times I’ve sat, mouth open and poised to create the perfect animal noise, when panic and uncertainty suddenly render me mute. There has to be a website of animal noises…just so moms can practice.
February 4th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Similar story and just as cute… when my son was under 2 we were driving by a house with sheep in their side yard and he trimuphantly noted out loud for us that these sheep were, “Pigs!” And then a few months lately after passing these “pigs” daily he said, “Cow!” In his defense one of the sheep had black and white cow markings… he’s 5 now and he doesn’t even notice the “pigs” and “cow” anymore. Love your blog!
February 4th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Elephant Sounds…it’s cake…here we go:
Put your lips together REALLY tight and roll them under a little bit, puff your cheeks and mouth out a little bit and blow air out of the TINY space between your lips. Should make a lovely elephant sound!
Have fun!
February 4th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
No, no, don’t change muscle to mussel. I LOVED that and thought it quite intentional!
February 4th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
ms. sizzle, snakes say “Ssssssss.”
February 4th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
You’re behind on your posting, I’m behind on my reading!
I’m going to be saying “Mine.Mine.Mine” all day tomorrow. I think I have Finding Nemo memorized…almost.
I’m so jealous you live near water! What a beauty to behold - the changes of nature and I had completely forgotten about the popping sounds from the seaweed that washes up. Ah….
I’m excited to hear the babysitter is working out. What a relief that must be - don’t forgot us in blogland while your creative mind renews itself in the real world!
February 5th, 2007 at 7:43 am
I just took the ‘mussel’ as a creative, fun play on “Muscle Beach”. I loved it! I can hear Arnold saying, “I want to pump, your mollusk, up”!!!
February 5th, 2007 at 7:57 am
My brother-in-law can make realistic-sounding elephant and horse noises (the trunk trumpet, the loose-lip winny). His daughter, my niece, is 2 and tries to mimic him. It is hilarious.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:26 am
How cool, all the mussels at the beach. J has loved the seagulls since the first time he saw them at 11 months old. Since our last trip to the beach he thinks all they eat are French Fries though. We make the ‘mine, mine, mine’ noise for them too. As for other sounds, it doesn’t really matter because J tells me I am wrong all the time.
Glad you had a great Friday with the babysitter and can’t wait to hear about B-day number two.
February 5th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
You can make a seagull sound by breathing in hard in a “creaky voice.” That seems to work for me.