Crabby Morning? Not At All!

...

I re-arranged my work schedule today so that I could take Robb out on an outing with BORP. This followed a physical therapy session with Doreen, where, among other things they walked the entire Cleveland Cascade. This is a public park near the lake that has a huge staircase as its main feature. Robb did great.

We arrived a little late at Crab Cove, but soon found our group, who were learning about the denizens of this particular shoreline from two naturalists. We fingered assorted seaweeds, hydroids, and bivalves. Then they brought out the more challenging specimens. There were live (and very lively) crabs, pelts (from both a leopard shark and harbor seal), a frozen body of a small leopard shark, and a harbor seal skull.

I had never had the opportunity to touch shark skin before. It is a material that one sees occasionally in the decorative arts, by the name shagreen. It was popular in the Art Deco period, and also in traditional Japanese decorative arts. The skin was also used as a polishing material for fine woodworking and jewelry making, sort of like a proto-sandpaper.

That tiny thing in my hand is a crab that I found under a rock. The naturalists allowed us to flip over rocks. Most of them were teeming with tiny crabs. A little creepy, and not very easy to pick up. One crab ran up a woman's sleeve. Luckily, this was one of the able-bodied companions, and not one of the blind women!

Robb isn't crazy about this picture. He thinks he looks like a grumpy old man. In my opinion, the photo looks like some alternative production of Hamlet. Say this out loud: "Alas poor Yorrick. I knew him Horatio."

Now pretend that you're a seal. Clap the backs of your hands together and say, "Alas, poor ORK! ORK! ORRICK!"

Yeah, we're idiots.

But, on the other hand, we're perfect for each other...

After the session with the naturalists, we socialized with the other participants, but Robb was feeling really tired from yesterday's therapy session, so we didn't end up staying very long.

I'm hoping that there's room on the upcoming BORP trip to Point Reyes. Robb and I haven't been out there in ages. Neither of us really enjoy the drive, though, so the thought of going on a trip with someone else driving is very appealing.

A couple of the women on this outing had the coolest Braille Personal Digital Assitants. One even had a global positioning system, that could tell her directions through the PDA's speaker. She walks down the street, and the device tells her to turn right or left, or if she has gone off course. I wonder what her guide dog thinks of the computer voice.