Beach Art

Make a quick guess who the artists of these 2 pictures are (click on picture for a larger view).
Krabi beckons and we were back. This time round we did not stay at Ao Nang but at a remote resort with a quiet beach. Around evening my husband and I took a stroll on the beach with only one other couple in the distance. We saw many many pictures on the sand, some looked like flora, some like butterfly, all lovely patterns. The pictures I displayed look like a coconut tree and a bird & a phoenix in another, don't they?

On closer scrutiny we discovered the pictures were moving as in they were in the midst of creation. Time was on our hands and we squatted there, quiet and motionless and watched with wonder tiny crabs (less than 1 cm in size) digging small trenches and moving forward. As they used their pincers to burrow, the sand was rolled into small bubbles or balls and gently tossed to one side of the small trench, forming lines and curves. Each picture is the work of one crab.

I then google to see what was actually happening and got this information:
"At low tide, the sand bubbler crabs emerge from their holes beneath the sand to gather microscopic food that the tide has brought along. They do this by collecting and sifting the sand, actually checking each grain, and rolling those parts devoid of anything useful for them into little balls (sand bubbles) that they toss behind.

So, the little sand balls are actually cleaned parts of sand, rolled into a ball so that the crab doesn’t check them again by mistake. Pretty clever, isn’t it? And we can’t even state that the waste we leave behind looks even half as pretty. Enjoy the following amazing crab art designs. "

Here is a close up from the web

I left the beach feeling rather mystical. My mind wondered about these tiny crabs going about their routines, their daily living (their 活着) , unaware of the beauty they created before the tide washes it away; and how they lay no claims to their artistic gift and how they bring  about delight to the beholder and draw the beholder closer to their soul. It makes me believe that  the same is true of every living creature. Too often we bash ourselves for our weaknesses and focus on our mistakes and misdeeds. I am sure each of us has brought joy and delight to some others at least sometimes.