Sun Stupid
Sunday December 6, 2009
It was Sunni and Ashton's birthday thing at the Kilbirnie Bowls club yesterday. Gloriously hot summer's day (rare for Wellington) but not without the strong gusts of wind that still persisted today. In any case, the sun was so enjoyable that I forgot about sunscreen and now I'm sporting some rather red arms and a pink forehead. Sigh.
Last week on Friday, we had the end-of-year homegroup get-together at Strawberry Fare (third time in November for me) and on Saturday, we had a Wine and Cheese night at the Treehouse, which was far less civilised than what it sounded like. I guess it doesn't matter what you call it, you know it's a recipe for mayhem when you have several 20-somethings and alcohol. Nevertheless, I had fun playing six-player 500. I was hopeful for Mafia but it didn't eventuate, unfortunately.
The Youth Band played last Sunday and it went pretty well. Still a bit more fine tuning in various places but always good to hear a different sound in church. Following that, Beth, Maxine and I went up to Kapiti Coast for a walk about since it was such a fine day. We had lunch at this Driftwood place, then a stroll along the beach, ice cream at Pukerua Bay and a quick tour of the sea shore fauna. We found these weird purple blob things that look exactly like poison orbs.
Edit: After an enquiry with the Department of Conservation, I've discovered that these are the sea anemone Actinia tenebrosa, or red sea anemone, which retract their tentacles when the tide is low. Fascinating stuff!
Posted by Jeremy at 9:20am on Sunday December 6, 2009 :: 3 comments :: 
Comments
I don't think it's algae. We poked one off the rock and inspected it. There's a pinkish organ that we assumed was its intestinal tract because it was curvy and looked very much like intestines. I should have photographed that too...
THIS IS AMAZING! I sent an email to New Zealand's very own Department of Conservation and I received this prompt reply: You have a great photograph of the intertidal sea anemone - Actinia tenebrosa. At low tide, it folds in its tentacles and turns itself into a bright red or purple blob. They do this to prevent themselves from drying out in the sun, and will transform back into the more recognisable anemone form as the tide comes in. You can usually find them under boulders or beneath ledges around much of New Zealand's coastline. Many thanks to the awesome people at DoC for this!!
My crazy smart friend says it's probably a methane-producing algae. Or a "blobby invertebrate."