Fresh air, salty breezes, great exercise.. a time to reflect on days gone by, explore the tidal pools and find what the last tide has left for us. Beachcombing–I just love it!
Some of my favorites Gifts from the Sea
There pretty near isn’t a day that passes that I don’t roam our local beaches. Another season is coming to a close, and for me personally I’m thrilled!! Don’t misunderstand me, I thoroughly love the warmer months, but in our neck of the woods, it happens to be a high tourist area. Droves of visitors come each summer to visit our lovely coastline. Who can blame them? But the off-season has always been my favorite. Things slow down greatly, and walking along the beach in solitude is one of the many joys in my life.
I can’t recall when I became a beachcomber, but then again cannot recall a time in my life when I wasn’t. And over these many years I’ve collected pieces of this and that that were meaningful to me at the time in addition to many seashells, sand dollars, crabs, sea urchins, colorful worn pieces of sea glass and driftwood along the way. Wherever I travelled–if it were near the ocean, you could pretty much always find me there looking for treasures to bring home. And through the years I’ve been known to haul home some pretty odd items. 🙂 While traveling in the Outer Banks of the Bahamas I spotted some giant starfish in the waters as I walked…well, I wasn’t coming back to the states without one, and then neglected to scoop out all the inners before I wrapped it in an old beach towel and tossed into my carry-on bag. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the expression on the kind customs office’s face when he opened up my bag~! What a smell!
While we were in Italy a few summers ago celebrating our anniversary and I found lots of sea glass and clay pieces along the Positano coastline, including a fabulous piece of Majoca pottery tile tumbled smooth that had fallen off the duomo rooftop and into the ocean who knows when and washed ashore.. What a treasure!
And then on a trip to Florida’s west coast as I strolled along the beach after a bad storm, I was extremely lucky enough to find a rare junonia shell. Others on the beach actually offered to buy this gem from me and this was before I knew the history of this marvelous shell. No way Jose! And I’ve treasured it for all these years.
But in addition to my to my cherished shells I must admit–I just love sea glass, there is something so simple yet so special about it. I’ve collected it ever since I can remember. Old mason jars line my shelf in my office filled to the brims with years of collecting.
Those tiny shards, or large hunks of weather worn glass have a story to tell. Maybe they were part of an old rum bottle that sailed the seven seas, or maybe an old glass bottle which contained a message from someone shipwrecked on a desert island somewhere.Who knows? It’s always nice to dream.
I’m always just drawn to the remarkable array of shapes and colors, from soft lavender to bright neon green of the washed seaglass. No matter what the color, there is just something magical about an object that can endure the punishment of the ocean and instead of being destroyed, it becomes a piece of beauty to these old eyes..