photos 6/10/13 ANOTHER WONDERFUL STARFISH DAY @ GOLDEN COVE PALOS VERDES

"Although sea stars live underwater and are 

commonly called "starfish," they are not fish. They do not have gills, scales, or fins like fish do and they move quite differently from fish. 

While fish propel themselves with their tails, sea stars have tiny tube feet to help them move along ..."
http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/tp/seastarfacts.htm

"Depending on the species, a sea star's skin may feel leathery, or slightly prickly. Sea stars have a tough covering on their upper side, which is made up of plates of calcium carbonate  with tiny spines on their surface. A sea star's spines are used for protection from predators, 

which include birds, fish and sea otters..."(ibid)

"Amazingly, sea stars can regenerate lost 

arms. This is useful if the sea star is threatened by a 

predator - it can drop an arm, get away and grow a new arm. Sea stars house most of their 

vital organs in their arms, so some can even

regenerate an entirely new sea star from just one arm and a portion of the star's central disc. It won't happen too quickly, though. It takes 

about a year for an arm to grow back." (ibid)

i'm NOT sure what this is.

Maybe a  "sea slug"  of some sort ?!

 "Sea stars move using hundreds of tube feet,
 which are located on their underside. The tube 

feet are filled with sea water, which the sea star 

brings in through the sieve plate, or 

madreporite, on its top side. Sea stars can move

 more quickly than you might expect..."(ibid)

“Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:25

“Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

 “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

"Speaking of prey, sea stars have a ratherunique way of eating theirs. A sea star's mouth is on its underside. They prey on bivalves like mussels and clams, as well as small fish, snails, and barnacles. If you've ever tried to pry the shell of a clam or mussel open, you know how difficult it is. Sea stars wrap their arms around 

the animal's shell and pull it open just enough. 

And then it does something we could never imagine - it pushes its stomach through its 

mouth and into the bivalve's shell. It then 

 digests the animal and slides its stomach back

 into its own body. This unique feeding mechanism allows the sea star to eat larger 

prey than it would otherwise be able to fit into 

its tiny mouth..." (ibid)

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” Job 19:25

“You know that is was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  
1 Peter 1:18-19

WELCOME ! FROM GOLDEN COVE

“Have not I commanded you? 

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you 

wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

STARFISH EVERYWHERE !

"Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea.^[3] The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea. However, common usage frequently finds these names also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as "brittle stars" or "basket stars". About 1,800 living species of starfish occur in all the world's oceans, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Ocean regions. The fossil record for starfish is rather poor; the ossiclesand spines are the only parts of the animal likely to be preserved after death and the oldest known fossils are from the Ordovician. Starfish occur across a broad depth range from the intertidal to abyssal depths of greater than 6,000 m (20,000 ft)..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish

 “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.” Job 23:10-11

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26

“Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”  
Ephesians 4:15

THE  STARFISH  POEM

"Once upon a time there was a wise man

who used to go to the ocean

to do his writing.

He had a habit of walking

on the beach

before he began his work.

One day he was walking along

the shore.

As he looked down the beach,

he saw a human

figure moving like a dancer.

He smiled to himself to think

of someone who would

dance to the day.

So he began to walk faster

to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw

that it was a young man

and the young man wasn't dancing,

but instead he was reaching

down to the shore,

picking up something

and very gently throwing it

into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out,

"Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused,

looked up and replied,

"Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked,

why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out.

And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that

there are miles and miles of beach

and starfish all along it.

You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely.

Then bent down, picked up another starfish

and threw it into the sea,

past the breaking waves and said-

"It made a difference for that one."

COURTESY OF 

http://www.ncsr-md.org/Starfish1.htm