The world in a grain of sand

... and heaven in a wild flower (William Blake)

Out of the many wondrous things to be found on the shore today was this Sea Rocket plant, its delicate four-petalled flowers and fleshy leaves all-but buried in the drifting sand. I was surprised to see it still blooming so late in the year but it was ridiculously mild for November.  Sea rocket, for all it looks dainty, is a tough cookie,  perfectly at home its salty environment. Its roots actually bind the shifting sands and it can disperse its seeds both in the water (they float) and on land.

Equally engaging were the tubes of mason worms  (extra) emerging along the strand line as the rising tide started to wash over. The tubes, on examination, can be seen to be constructed from a myriad microscopic particles of shell and grit, glued together with mucus to make a protective casing, each one unique and beautiful in its intricate precision and  somehow bubble-wrapped by beads of air prior to becoming submerged.

There was a Little Egret in the estuary too.