Sand and snow

Usually the ocean moderates climate here on the west coast, pushing down summer temperatures and keeping winters mild.  However, sometimes winds shift or other meteorlogical magic occurs and the coast has a strange day.  I recall, for example, a warm summer morning on the beach in Monterey before a camping trip and another warm beach day in November at Pigeon Point north of Santa Cruz a few years ago.  This year, coastal Oregon turned bitterly cold the week of Thanksgiving.  That monday night there was a chance of snow right down to the coast.  I was excited when I took a peek through the window at flakes coming down during the middle of the night, and later woke up to a light covering of white powder at our house just a few blocks from the beach.  The rare snow event distrupted the routine here - schools closed and roads were very slick.  I went into work a little late on tuesday, intending to check out the coastal dunes and see how close the snow made it to the sea.  In the back dunes, leaves of salal cradled little accumulations of snow; ends of branches of the  coastal pine, Pinus contorta, were dusted white.  Thin snow drifts had accumulated in the little valleys between dunes.  The snow and surface crust of frozen ground extended right down onto the beach, perhaps as far as the last high tide had reached during the night.  Sure, it was modest and short-lived, but drift bull kelps (Nereocystis) in the sand mingled with ice crystals for a brief time.