Saturday 19 March 2016

Beach haul

After a calm and dry week, Saturday morning dawned with rain and a chilly westerly breeze. By late morning, with my chores out of the way and Our Lass looking for a break from her studies, we wandered down the hill to the beach.

Well, I say 'beach', but it isn't quite the white sands/turquoise waters of some parts of Orkney, more a rocky foreshore with a bit of gravelly shingle.

And it is the shingle to which we are drawn.

Careful feet, keen eyes and enthusiastic hearts search amongst the gravel for the tiniest fragments of treasure. Not pirate contraband, you understand, but sea glass and other small nuggets of beach ware, originating from shipwrecks or coastal middens claimed by the sea.

Today's haul featured clear, green and blue glass fragments, as well as a piece of porcelain and a crab claw.


The large blue shard had some lettering on it, but all I could make out was an 'M'.


On the walk back, heading into the biting breeze, we spotted our first Coltsfoot of the year, as Spring edges ever closer to ousting Winter from the land.

6 comments:

biobabbler said...

Ooh, very fun to have such goodies to paw through. I will be FOREVER envious of your coastal access. There's nothing like a stroll to the beach to clear your mind. =) Is it too early for any plants to be blooming?

Imperfect and Tense said...

Apologies, I should've taken a photo of the Coltsfoot. Just it and the Lesser Celandine giving an occasional yellowy glow to the verges at the minute.

Anonymous said...

I love a little beach combing, I've not seen coltsfoot, for years and years...
https://uphilldowndale.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/mud-larks/

Imperfect and Tense said...

After the current gale blows through, there's a lull this evening which coincides with a low tide. It'll be very tempting to head to the beach!

gretchenjoanna said...

What a lovely arrangement you have made of your treasures, too. I would be over the moon to find all those things, especially the porcelain! On our local beaches we have mostly seaweed. :-)

Imperfect and Tense said...

I'm not sure of the origin of the glass and porcelain shards. We have plenty of rugged, rocky coastline and a history of ship wrecks, so that can't be discounted. However, it is also possible that they are merely from a midden that was on a stretch of land which has been eroded by the sea.