I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Monday, November 17, 2014

Sweeping Out the Cobwebs in my Mind








Hi! Time to get away from the sewing machine and the fall cleaning.Time to blow away the cobwebs in my mind instead. We're expecting rain and gale winds this week, so today is the day for a November beach walk.



In the crisp calm sunshine the tiny bird tracks beckon. What are they? What are they looking for?

 
 




Do the tiny migrating birds eat seeds hidden in these fluffy weeds?

 
 



It seems one of the wild cats/ feral cats is tracking the bird!



These are rather big tracks, maybe a rock dove or mouring dove. They're common in the dunes this time of year.



And what is this odd thing?



It looks like a manhole cover! It's huge, maybe two or three feet across. Imagine that washing up on the beach! I'd hate to meet up with it while swimming. Clonk!

Or maybe it washed off this second odd ring?


An old cistern or septic tank? Or a Nike missile tunnel!? Once upon a time this area was a Nike missile base, or so our local legends tell us.



It seems to be dated 196[9]?...(on right section)

 
 
 


The ripening dune grass makes me think of moors in Scotland.



These are the weird manmade dunes that were built last spring. This project cost millions of dollars and involved tons of sand. They are filling holes in the dune complex, holes created by H Sandy, two years ago now.



We are told not to climb on them (looking for treasure! The sand was siphoned out of the ocean bed offshore!)...because they are perhaps less stable than natural dunes. So intriguing though as each windstorm rounds their tops and exposes more shells and junk.



This is an ancient treasure, a giant tree trunk, squared and flattened for use as ---something. A ship's keel, a wharf flat?



This is a quarter section of the tree. See how small my hat looks?



This section is at least 24" thick, imagine what a giant tree this once was! This driftwood has been here as long as I have lived here, sometimes buried, sometimes exposed.


In front of the driftwood log is an old dump or midden. When the wind blows the sand aside, seaglass and odd metal bits appear. It's ugly but potentially a good place for ''finds''.



If I need some rusty wire or weathered rope for a project, I know I'll find it here, along with big old nails and bolts the size of cigars, and giant rings like washers, as big as bangle bracelets. Whole, intact seaglass bottles too. Strange.....



This is my favorite beach path.



It's so hidden and silent, only I know it's here.



But this year someone official found it and blocked it off. The fences make beautiful patterns, but the climb is soft and, again, not too stable. Some days I can't resist and I sneak over the dunes on explore.



Here I am, in my shorts. I usually wear shorts til December. But this year, who knows?


 

Coning home for a well-deserved cup of tea, I see Mr. Mockingbird in the ugly locust tree! I am thrilled to see him again. I'll add dried blueberries to this week's shopping list, just for him.



Back to work! Today's projects are sorting family paperwork and sewing the Sawtooth stars for Flags. Have a great week! Stay warm!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

 
 
 

 
 

 


8 comments:

  1. As usual, Wonderful photographs. thankyou

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  2. I love the giant driftwood log! Nice that you put your hat there for size, as the picture alone didn't tell us how big it truly is! I even like the 'dump' area, LOL. One of the prettiest seaglass beaches was a dump for years, and now all the glass polished by the water has made the area a protected park. One mans' trash...!!!

    Thanks for taking us along on your walk...now if you could only send me some of that warmth... Windchill early this morning was below zero here.

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  3. So pretty still. I became anxious for the bird that had a cat on it's trail! Hope he made it out intact.

    The ocean is such a powerful thing...hard to believe that big metal thing was being tossed around by it. Though, I guess you know better then most just how powerful the ocean can be.

    I too am still in shorts. Poor Mel, below freezing wind chill, brrrrrrr.

    Look forward to your next post, thanks for this one!

    Kelley

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kel

      I saw no hint that the bird had been captured by the cat. I m sure the pidgeon [aka rock dove] waddled off to safety and is fine.

      We had tow cold days! OMG I had toget out my windproof hiking pants. They do keep me warm.

      How s your Tgiving plans/ menu coming along?

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    2. PANTS! Oh no!

      I'm in denial that Thanksgiving is one week away! We're doing a 5K in the morning to benefit the Reeve-Irvine Research Center (for spinal cord injury research) and that's as far as I've gotten, haha. Not sure how many for dinner, or what time yet. Will be fairly traditional though, aside from that recipe from you, I'll be doing the usual. I'll look forward to seeing what you're up to :) --Kel

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  4. As always Lizzy I enjoyed walking the beach with you and your camera and seeing all the happenings there. I wish I had a beach to walk on. May you enjoy your Thanksgiving with family.

    I hope to get back to blogging in 2015. I've had a change of heart in what I pursue and will tell you about it later.....
    I continue to watch your on line posts on line. In order to respond I have to go to my blog and I don't go there very much any more as you can see. Keep up the good posts. I always enjoy them.

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  5. I hope your migraines are better.
    I just made my sawtooth blocks but do not think I'll have all the stars appliqued on my flag block for this month. I got NO sewing done in Guatemala, like I thought I would.

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Hi! I'm allowing comments from everyone, even anonymous for awhile, to see what happens. With comments moderation. Hopefully the awful porn spammer has gone elsewhere. Or you can always email me! I love to hear from everyone.