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dungeness crab
They just about _never_ come up where you can see them, so, wow. I played with camera options a bit, but it is through breezy water, so some guessing and hoping is unavoidable.
Later: book says "it comes into shallow water to molt."
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| A tiny crab just walked right out onto the shore. I was amazed. |
| The fact that it ignored me was doubly amazing. |
| The bright sand, as usual, gave my camera difficulties. Here is a leg-generated shadow. |
| The tide was rising, and it dug in as a wave washed over. |
I used up all of my commentary on the others, but here's one more that the what's-new will probably feature at top.
This is, of course, before the digging-into-sand photo. It couldn't be after it, because it would've just been a picture of sand, with me asserting that there was a crab hidden in there. |
| They're leaving because I was too close for comfort. |
| The web tells me that the male clasps the female for a few days before she's ready to molt and it's time for them to mate. The web also tells me that December is not mating season, but I saw a number of Dungeness crabs who did not regard the web as the final authority on this matter. |
| You can see the front of her face upside-down. It's good for one's perspective to consider how this must be a very exciting time for them and yet you can't tell when a crab is supposed to be attractive or even remember how to tell a male dungeness crab from a female dungeness crab. There's your perspective. You're a sort of ape that can stand on the outside of a particular planet. |
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