forget the land-based exotics....

[carolpz]

and check out the sea. I was in Mousehole on the rocks the other day and wore a pair of goggles while swimming. The many different seaweeds and anemones (or is it anenomes I can never remember?) made the most beautiful garden. Long swaying ribbon weeds and one that looks like sea spaghetti catch around the legs a bit but that just adds to the whole experience. As I don't get to see the seas off the great barrier reef, this will have to do and it's splendid.

[flounder]

Some lovely areas round your way for snorkeling. Down here, there are underground meadows of toilet paper, with fields of used condoms wafting lazily on the incoming tide. Vibrant colours adorn every breakwater with a mixture of nylon roping, various discarded supermarket carrier bags and the ever present, non perishable, plastic beach toys.
Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside.......

[billo]

Hmm, 60 miles from the coast. Will need a big sea level rise to get that in my back garden.

[jungle jas]

Some lovely areas round your way for snorkeling. Down here, there are underground meadows of toilet paper, with fields of used condoms wafting lazily on the incoming tide. Vibrant colours adorn every breakwater with a mixture of nylon roping, various discarded supermarket carrier bags and the ever present, non perishable, plastic beach toys.
Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside.......

Yes that's the problem with living in civilization its so.....................Civilised. That's why I moved to Wales, clean seas, blue flag beaches, clean air. Who needs civilization.

[Troppoz]

and check out the sea. I was in Mousehole on the rocks the other day and wore a pair of goggles while swimming. The many different seaweeds and anemones (or is it anenomes I can never remember?) made the most beautiful garden. Long swaying ribbon weeds and one that looks like sea spaghetti catch around the legs a bit but that just adds to the whole experience. As I don't get to see the seas off the great barrier reef, this will have to do and it's splendid.

Carol during the week I had a few hours free between classes so I walked down to the foreshore and went out onto a jetty and sat for a while. It was a bit breezy and the sea surface was choppy and you couldnt see the bottom, next moment the wind stopped and the surface became as still and clear as glass and I could see right down to the bottom where there were all sorts of amazing seaweeds and sponges with big orange starfish amongst them.

I thought that it would be cool to be able to create a garden like that as well

[derrick]

Even the uk has some great sealife red and pink sea anemones sea horses pipe fish orange starfish cuttlefish sea urchins and some colourful wrasse fish .When i lived on Crete the sea life was very similar i worked in a small aqarium and reptile house. I would go out on boats or fish for stuff for the tanks Octopuss was very common on the shores very funny creatures we also had Sea turtles with injurys we send to athens

[redsquirrel]

any chance of going back in with a camera Carol? ive not seen any english underwater wildlife before.

[jungle jas]

Even the uk has some great sea life red and pink sea anemones sea horses pipe fish orange starfish cuttlefish sea urchins and some colourful wrasse fish .When i lived on Crete the sea life was very similar i worked in a small aquarium and reptile house. I would go out on boats or fish for stuff for the tanks Octopus was very common on the shores very funny creatures we also had Sea turtles with injury's we send to Athens

Dare I ask what did they do with them in Athens? Eat them.

[carolpz]

Not in this weather RS, it's just turned quite chilly here. Anyway my camera is land-based I'm afraid. You'll have to check out images online.

[Trainer John]

Back in my younger days ( a distant memory now) I was a diver. I never got further than Guernsey but dived on a lot of sites around Plymouth and the South coast. I can still remember sheets of jewel anemones - vivid reds, blues and greens - on underwater cliff faces, looking up to the surface through beds of kelp like mini forests, seeing the delicate fans of pink coral at 70ft and below, and the colours of cuckoo wrasse. We live in a lovely part of the world.