Sandy Toes Pacific Beach

06/15/2024

Another beautiful day in Pacific Beach

10/07/2022

Summer moon

12/04/2020

A stormy PB day ending in sunshine

04/16/2020

Good to know that Sandy Toes is being enjoyed by Bambi! (Picture taken by PB neighbor).

08/11/2019

In case you were wondering...

.
With all the crab shells littered on the beach we get lots of people asking: what's happening to all the crabs?
Certainly a valid question as the beach can be seemingly covered with shells, some of which appear whole.
Mystery solved, crabs molt.
🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀
Female crabs molt in the spring and male crabs molt in the late summer.
Molting means that crabs shed their shells to make room for new growth.
The first two years of a crabs life may find them molting up to six times per year. At three years of age they become mature and slow their molt to about once a year.
'When preparing to molt, a crab's old exoskeleton separates from the new one beneath. At this time the new exoskeleton absorbs water and becomes larger. This causes a split in their "molt line", located mid laterally on the carapace. The new and extremely soft crab now has the flexibility to back out of its old shell.
During this incredible feat, crabs are extremely vulnerable to predators and for that reason it's done quickly. Soon after the live crab has exited they bury themselves in sand to allow their shells to harden. Since molting is such a tricky undertaking of physics, some percentage of crab will die during the process and turn up among the molts.'
Many thanks to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for the info. Taken off their website at: www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/crab/lifehistory.asp

📷 Ranger Megan 📷
[Photo-Crab shells littering the tide line along a sandy beach]

09/27/2018

Love September light!

03/03/2018

What a day!

01/29/2018

Great video from our neighbors at the Pacific Beach Inn.

01/04/2018

From our neighbors, Pacific Beach Inn 👍

12/26/2017

Agree! (Picture from a guest JV)