Have you ever heard of the phenomenon called "bioluminescence"? Certain animals, particularly marine animals, produce their own light! (Most of us have seen fireflies - they do it, too.) The boys and I just returned from a few wonderful days on Hardy Island with some friends and we were able to witness this first hand. As night fell, our host told us we should go down to the dock to see something amazing and he was absolutely right. The shiny black sea was very still most of the time we were there, and the air was warm and it is far enough away from the hustle and bustle that it is beautifully quiet. We dipped our hands in the water . . . and the water and our hands glowed. Doug and Sam jumped in and swam and they literally shone with a green otherworldly light! When you swept your hand through the water, you left a trail of sparkles. Even the little black mussels who cling to the edge of the dock seemed to be sparkling. It was like the stars weren't just in the sky -- they were in the water as well. It's impossible for someone who isn't a poet to give you any idea how magical and amazing this is. You have to experience it. I can't explain exactly what is happening, but my understanding is that it is a chemical reaction produced by some small creatures (plankton) when they are excited or stimulated by movement (like our hands moving the water around). It doesn't happen in fresh water - only in the sea.
I guess all the beautiful moon jellies we saw in Monterey are experts on bioluminescence -- because they were glowing with blue light, but the amazing thing about what we saw at Hardy was that we felt like we were part of the magic.
Nature always has a surprise for you -- just when you think you've seen it all. You can't be cynical if you spend time in the natural world. Even the smallest creature is a marvel. One of the most memorable sights from our trip to the San Diego Zoo wasn't the big animals but a terrarium of dung beetles. There they were working diligently with their choice material, all of them busily crawling about with what appeared to be purpose. William and I noticed two especially determined beetles with what was to them a huge ball of dung. They were trying to lift it from one level to another. They would just get it to the edge of the shelf and it would roll off and defeat them. After several abortive tries, they stopped and seemed to be giving up. They just stood there motionless with the ball of dung between them. But after a short rest, back they went to their task. Finally their determined effort paid off and they achieved success. Neither William nor I could see why it was important for them to get the dung onto that shelf, but who are we to question the motive of such resolute souls?
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