This past September, our family spent a week in Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. At some point during the six months prior, I had heard there was a mysterious disease decimating the starfish population along the Pacific Coast. That did not prepare me for the shock I felt realizing how few starfish could be found in the tidal pools and on the rocks at low tide. We talked to volunteers at the tidal pools beneath Haystack Rock. They said that as bad as it looks, there appears to be improvement. I could not verify that opinion. I just know that on rocks, where last year, there had been dozens (or hundreds) of starfish, this year there were only a few.
These photos represent one starfish alone, one giving way… and one arriving! Sharp-eyed granddaughter Fiona spied the baby starfish amidst the mussels and gooseneck barnacles. It had been invisible to me until she pointed it out with glee. I will take that baby starfish as an omen of hope.
