We’ve been teaching the kids the art of beachcombing. You have to keep your eyes open and pay close attention or you might miss the perfect shell partially buried in the sand. You have to know where to look; the intertidal zone, close to the water’s edge. You also have to watch for incoming sneaker waves, and wade through all the debris left by feeding seabirds and human beach parties.
But if you go early and often, if you keep your eyes open, watch carefully, if you have patience, you find treasures just waiting for you to discover them.
Once found, they must be handled carefully or they break. They must be cleaned, polished, and in some cases left out to dry, and kept out of reach of careless hands or stampeding pets.
Beachcombing is a lot like gathering ideas. You need to know where to look, how to gather them, how to handle them after you find them. Ideas are everywhere, just like seashells near the ocean. Keep your eyes open; you never know what’s right in front of you, half-covered with a layer of silt.
I know a perfect place to go beach combing if you’re ever on this side of the country. 🙂 I love going beachcombing, and the best time is after a storm has come in off the ocean and stirred up all sorts of stuff.
I love beachcombing even though I don’t get to do it often. I bet you guys had a blast.
Best part of the day. : )
Good point that stirring things up brings new things to the surface! Don’t think I’ll get to your part of the country any time soon, but it’d be fun.
I’ve tried to email you, but everything is bouncing. 🙁
My gmail is bouncing? That’s not right. Will try emailing you from Yahoo and see if that works.
I LOVE beachcombing.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of wandering up and down the beach by myself. I’d spend hours. Don’t get to do it as much anymore. My sister lived near a great beach area for a couple years, which I enjoyed when I visited her. I have several glass vases with beach glass in my living room, as well as a wood bowl and a glass vase filled with interesting rocks.
NJ, beach glass is wonderful! You can make jewelry with it, all sorts of things. So many great finds at the beach. Just listening to the surf and breathing the air is a good way to spend time. Maybe your sister will move back to the coast. Or maybe you guys will!