Sand, Wind, Patterns..
February 9, 2011
We escaped the wind of the central valley, but found plenty at Dillon Beach. Hard to tell how fierce the wind is in these photos, but it’s fierce. These, above, are tiny, shell-created wind sheds. They covered the beach. I think the broken shell lodges in the sand and it creates a little protected zone where the sand can build up in its lee.
Then, there were these..not sure what initiated this effect..
Looks peaceful in these photos, but no. The wind had to be blowing in the 50s, maybe harder. The ocean was this dazzling, violent churn of white caps. The waves coming into the beach were wind waves, rather than their usual measured sets, and were so frothy they left these lines of foam on the shore, pieces of which would dislodge and blow around. The blowing sand was its own storm, but, interestingly, all its drama happened at about 8″ from the ground. Dunes were forming and reforming all over the place as sand blew hard and steady like river currents, but all at ankle level. Don’t think I’ve seen that before.
Life of Wry 