Dunes and Dollars

Running along the ocean on Sunday morning, September 23, I realized it was the first day of autumn.
I have a habit of collecting sea glass and sand dollars each day when I run.
This past summer, I learned that sand dollars are precious creatures, who the tides carry in onto the sands and often leave behind in the sun to dry out and die. I am careful now. Some sand dollars are very much alive and need to be placed back in the water. If they are dark, like the sand sisters I photographed today (above), they are likely still alive. Further testing involves placing one on your palm and watching to see if it moves, using its tiny fuzzy cilia-like hairs like minute crawling legs.  If they are alive, they need help returning back into the water. As I run, I carry sand dollars back into the ocean. Restoring the world one sand dollar at a time, but every caring action from everyone of us does matter, no matter how small.
Good-bye Summer. I love you. See you next year.