Wednesday 2nd November - A Fall at Pearl Beach

Wednesday 2nd November - Pearl Beach crunch, sea slugs and steak dinner. Di wanted to attend a yoga class today and Ollie normally goes to play group at Pearl Beach, but with Tash having to stay home with Toby, we decided he wouldn't go as it really relied on Mum being there. Instead, Di took him to the gym and deposited him in the creche whilst she did her yoga. On the way, she dropped me off at Pearl so I could indulge my passion for rock pooling. Armed with a rucksack full of cameras and swimming gear I set off across the sand heading for the beach swimming pool in which I had seen a large Aplysia- type sea slug last week. As I reached the rocks, I faltered, as I always do these days. I guess balance gets worse with age and what with my leg, well, you can guess it! Yes, I placed my good foot oddly and slipped ending up in a heap on the rocks at the edge of the swimming pool. As I got up, I could feel that all was not right with my "good" knee. Still I struggled on and set myself down by the entry ladder at the deep end. I had my trunks on already so it was an easy matter to get ready and with goggles on and clutching waterproof camera, I shuffled on my bum to the edge and with the minimum of the hesitation that comes of the anticipation of the impending coldness, I fell forward into the water. It was cold, well for a minute or so until you acclimatised.  With my goggles I was able to see underwater and I found that the huge "barnacles" I saw last week, were , in fact, sponges.  There was no sign of any sea slugs, so I began a careful inspection of the sides of the pool. They were made of concrete but the surface was covered with various sessile organisms so it had a kind of soft carpet feel to it.  When I reached the shallow end, there it was! A beautiful bright red sea slug, much prettier than the dull dark brown Aplysia I had seen last week.  It was about 3-4 inches long, it had a head with two pairs of tentacles, the first being smooth and round with a swollen end, the hind pair being flattened and finely divided at their ends. The front edge of the animal had several branched antennae like structures sticking out. These structures also adorned the ends of various white lumps that sprouted from the flanks of the creature as it glided along.  Its tail-end was uncluttered and pointed, sometimes round but also with corners that could appear at will. My newly acquired book was useless in this regard as it didn't cover sea slugs. In a way, I can understand as there are literally hundreds of species in the Pacific.  I took loads of photos with my underwater camera: an Olympus Tough. One day I'll get a proper camera but for now I have to make do with this which Is hard to use as it has no viewfinder and no autofocus. So you have to hold it at approximately the right distance and angle and take loads of shots hoping that some at least will be correctly framed and in focus. I did manage some half decent shots. I later identified it as Plocamopherus imperialis. When I got out, I began to realise that all was not well with the twisted knee. It was stiffening up quite alarmingly and I found walking quite painful.  I made it back to the cafe and ordered a flat white and banana bread which I shared with a cheeky noisy miner that landed on my table and helped itself to some crumbs, before I shooed it away but succumbed to its persistence and gave it some decent lumps down on the ground. I read the newspaper until Di and Ollie swang past and picked me up. By this time walking was really a problem, as indeed was even getting up from the chair. Back home, I settled onto the sofa for the rest of the day and busied myself editing the photos I had taken and trying to identify the sea slug. I had no luck in this regard, in spite of looking at loads of sites and photo collections. I did see it in one site but infuriatingly, it was the only photo that wasn't labelled.  I also did some knee research and came to the conclusion that I had strained my lateral collateral ligament. I passed the afternoon like this and had just a simple sandwich for lunch. At about 5.15, I struggled into the car and we drove to Will's brother's house in Womberall, a journey of about half an hour. Will drove there straight from work in the ute. It's going to be a problem from now on, as we can no longer all fit in the car fitted as it is now, with two baby seats.   Cameron and his wife Joanne live in a nice house which has a pleasant sea view with decks at front and back on which are found the Aussi necessities, the barbecue and the clay oven. Jo's parents Ian and Phyllis were also there and together with their two young daughters, we spent a very pleasant evening the highlight of which were Cam's famous steaks, marinaded and cooked to perfection! Toby slept most of the time and Ollie played with the girls, Ellie and Zoe. Ellie was an expert with the hula hoop and entertained us with her skill. I remembered my vain attempts at this years ago but was able to dredge up the only skill I had with the hoop- that of throwing it away from you with enough backspin that eventually it stops and then rolls back into your hand. I haven't lost it! Moving was now a real problem and I struggled with the stairs and even struggled to get into bed when I got home. This does not bode well!