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







Monday, March 5, 2018

The Calm



A new week, a new month, happy Monday! The phrase calm before the storm is oh so accurate here at the beach. The photos for our walk today were taken on a beautiful day right before this weekend's nor'easter arrived. Doesn't the photo below have a hint of summer? Wishful thinking maybe.


I am working on extending my walking distances, with the notion that maybe I can go to the flea this spring. [It maybe began yesterday, but it was very windy; I never even thought about going.]
Here are some walks with Mo:


And here is my walk to the beach the other day:


By mid-winter the beach is very monochrome--tan with a hint of beige.





Not a bird or a creature to be seen. Did they move inland to be safe from the storm? Or simply spooked by the giant noisy scary trucks?





Here are the deep ruts the huge machines create. Can you imagine being a tiny newborn plover chick, no bigger than a golf ball, trying to get to the water's edge. These deep furrows are mountains to them. They feed on tiny organisms on the tideline, within a day of hatching. Unlike some birds, plovers are not fed by their parents, though the mama plover carefully supervises their infant adventures.









Not to mention the erosion causing damage to the vulnerable winter beach.



Let's walk on....














Before the nor'easter, the previous Saturday, we had yet another big windstorm that got no publicity. The aftermath of high winds is the uncovering of beach treasure!

A large driftwood piece,  silvery smooth from years in the ocean.


Another log---are these woodpecker holes? Did this tree once shelter a nest in a faraway forest?


I found a few bits and pieces to carry home.



Pebbles, a big rusty nail. One smoothly rounded bit of brown amber beach glass. A strange disk.


What could this rusty piece be?









It is made of layers and has the tiny knobs distinctive of laminated coins. There is a layer of green oxidation, a thin leaf of copper once. Is it a coin? 



If it is a coin, it is very large! "Pieces of eight"/ ''doubloons'' thrill my beachcomber heart. Maybe it's an ancient silver dollar--though  not as ancient as this comparison coin from my stash. In 1890 silver dollars were just that, solid silver.



\

I used a thin knife to separate the layers. The ''coin'' came apart like a downy-flake biscuit!


It's fun to imagine, however unlikely. "I always called them diamonds, though I knew they were only stones," as the old song goes.


I can't wait to see if the big storm brought me more treasures!


Here is Mo, alert and worried during the big storm.


then snuggled safe from the wind, with his best dolly.


He looks up, runs to doors and windows, trying to alert me to the intruding thing. Then he hides in my bed, exhausted.

love

lizzy 

gone to the beach...

PS this is Sunday night, as the storm was fading. Huge waves still, even today.









Imagine being out there on a ship, in the frigid black Atlantic.






8 comments:

  1. Good to hear you're doing well and the storm didn't do damage to your home. We still have folks in this end of the state without power after four days.

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  2. I would not make a good ship mate! LOL My brother worked on tugboats for years.No thank you!

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  3. I'm glad you made it through the storm okay. The beach treasures are fun, I wonder what the 'coin' was? Maybe some kind of inexpensive 'medal' for swimming or something that someone lost? Corrosion separated the layers? Like you said, would be fun to know!

    Poor Mo, storms are scary even when you understand what's going on. Being at sea in a storm would terrify me!!

    Glad your walks are going well! Hope you make it to the flea!

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  4. You're doing great with your walks! I'm sure you'll make it to the flea, looking forward to it in fact.

    The beach does look especially quiet in the photos. Maybe a combination of factors kept it that way.

    Did you keep the driftwood? Very interesting disc thing...

    Love the last group of photos from after the storm.

    Lol, poor exhausted Mo. What a cutie he is.

    Kel

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  5. Glad you and Mo are safe and sound. Our pug-russell (pug x jack russell) isn't too keen on storms either.
    Well done on your walking. The anticipation of an unexpected beach find is a great motivation.
    I never get tired of your beach shots. Penny

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  6. Doubloons! Ahoy, Matey! So fascinating. Enjoyed the beach walk with you. Mo is doing a fine job of protecting you.

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  7. Your beach photos always fascinate me, Lizzy. I can imagine the sounds and the scents, but it's hard for me to imagine the beach in the winter (having only been in the summer). It must be frigid. I don't know where along the coast you are but I think it must be New York or further north. Brrrr. And those are great beach finds. What does "go to the flea" mean?

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  8. Mo has a hard job keeping life on track during the horrible weather. I'm glad he kept you safe during the storm(s).

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