Foto Friday - A sunrise and a beach walk

 

The sun rises,

and nature wakes up

there is an instant reminder

we are alive

The ocean,

it has the ability

to heal our hearts

and to bring joy to our minds and our souls.

 A common sight among Galveston beaches between May and August is a gulfweed, or seaweed called sargassum which grows in dense intertwined mats in the Sargasso Sea. The Sargasso Sea, in the North Atlantic Ocean, is surrounded by ocean currents and is the only 'sea' without shores.



Different parts of the island vary in their management of the seaweed. There are some areas that are raked and others like the Galveston Island State Park which is a natural area and no raking occurs. The seaweed that ends up at the base of the dunes is important in helping to establish other dune systems, which absorb wave energy during hurricanes and protects the sand from wave erosion.