Barnacle Bill the Sailor

The title comes from an old Popeye cartoon, which apparently left an indelible mark, catchy tune and all. This morning's creature was a complete surprise--what first caught my eye was the unusual bright pink shell, and then I was fascinated with the lacy attachments and the fact that it was stuck on the seaweed. But as I crouched (ah, remember when crouching used to be followed by springing back up….) to get a better view, something emerged from the shell! It's a little hard to read in the photo, but you can see the brown stalk peeking out of the top of the shell. It had a rhythm of coming out, rotating a bit, and sinking back, as if it were searching for something. Like food, or water. I figured it didn't stand much chance on shore, so I pitched it back in the sea, but I don't think it was meant for so much buffeting.