Orange & Yellow

After starting my new job at terrain I am still finding it difficult to focus on what I want to write about these days! I am trying to make my Sundays continue as Seaglass Sundays and I fortunately have that day off every week. Beach walks continue every chance I get all during the week if I have the energy after a long day on my feet! So let me get back to the beach here.....

A joyful find this past week was my first TRULY ORANGE piece of seaglass. It may look a bit amber here but believe me, it is ORANGE! Being one of the rarest colors of seaglass, I was quite excited to say the least.

Another shot of my beach and my find....

Speaking of orange, the common jingle shell is always abundant on the shoreline but sometimes one will catch your eye. Jingles can be white, yellow, orange and shades of black. This one seemed extraordinarily ORANGE! 

Wow....is this as orange as a jingle can be?

The jingle shell and its companion side photographed here. I find that not many beach goers know the other half of our common jingle! It is an interesting bivalve and the less known "valve" or half is affixed to a rock via tufts of threads (through the hole you can see) anchoring the animal. The "pretty" side is the one we all collect or at least admire. Once you recognize the jingle's lesser known half you will be surprised at how many you have missed in your shell searching! And how beautiful they are!

I must give the yellow jingle as much praise as the orange...even though orange is still the color for this 2012 season by design aficionados.

If that is so, this rusty orange forced hot air heating ventilation grate found on my beach is quite in style! My beach is just hip, has lots of orange and thus what can I say?

Accidental Shellfish Art

Oysters. Do you ever even look twice at this common shell while walking the beach? In Connecticut where it is our State Shellfish with a very long commercial history we forget how beautiful it can be! Think pearls, think the supposed aphrodisiac qualities and the crushed shell driveways! (wait, those all are connected somehow?) Well, I want to give the oyster shell another clam to fame –

  

Accidental (but beautiful) Shell Sculpture 

Here we can see the jingle shell, the barnacle all nestled into a mass of oyster shells.

This was my first official beach walk find of the summer and my official summer shell to focus on in 2012!

This was a little beauty....clusters of small oysters on their hosting clam shell.

Garden beds, oyster beds.....they seem to compliment each other. I will bring my new found sculptures home and use them in the gardens where a splash of white is needed. By summer's end the annuals will have grown, pushing the shells aside but they will always have a home somewhere now that I have chosen them!

Happy Memorial Day and unofficial start of Summer, 2012.

No Seaglass on Sanibel Island!

A fun and impromptu trip to the Florida Island of Sanibel this past week produced zero seaglass but some lovely memories and photos! My two beautiful daughters convinced me this was going to be our yearly mother/daughter trip and off we went.

Looking out towards Fort Myers from our bicycle ride to the Sanibel Lighthouse...

A dolphin and a cormorant (I think) out on the Captiva end of the Island! We really liked the less commercial, more tropical ambiance there and if we ever go back, we will stay down in Captiva.

Captain Jack drove us to the Sunset Cruise and lo & behold, he was a Connecticut & Fairfield native! The trolley ride was quite enjoyable and the Sunset Cruise with a glass or two of wine just SO RELAXING.

We saw white pelicans and other birds...please help me if you know what this first shot was!!! I will research.

Reflections are always on the top of my photo list and before leaving for our little cruise I couldn't help myself!

And of course the sunsets....

Now everyone knows that Sanibel is world reknowned for its shells. I think we either hit a busy  season when they were scooped up at sunrise or I was too picky!

I collected my favorites and have a nice jar full at the very least! I think some may be used to display my seaglass necklaces!

The End.

Sunday Shell Collections

This week, thanks to a friend, I have found a new shell that I am completely enamoured with! It is the common Jingle Shell -  but a color that has been missed in my collections. It is the less obvious. It is not the orange or yellow or even the white Jingle Shell. It is the black variation...pearlescent, with earth tones of subtle grays, blacks and golds! So beautiful!

 The Jingle Shell is a great way to add color to a shelf shell collection. I once collected as many orange and yellow Jingle Shells as I could, separated them by color and bought 2 nice apothecary type jars to showcase them. A great gift for the seaside inspired homeowner!

A Little History....Jingle Shells:

So named because a handful of these thin, translucent clamshell halves make a jingling sound when shaken together, Jingle Shells (Anomia simplex) are sometimes found as far north as the coast of Nova Scotia, and all the way down south to Brazil. The bivalve (or pelecypod) halves are sometimes strung together to make wind-chime-like curtains for beach cottage windows or portières to hang in doorways.

Moon Snail

I can't help posting just one shot...of the awesome Moon Snail specimens I found this past weekend. Nicknamed "Shark's Eyes" you can see why they are part of my shell collection.

Doing a bit of research on them though, I come to find out that the perfect little holes I find in clam shells are the direct result of the Moon Snail's feeding mechanism. You learn new things everyday...thankfully!

My Next Shell

I have decided which shell to pursue this summer....mostly during my Fairfield Beach walks. You really have to pick something and stick to it. If not, there are just too many things to collect on beach walks!
An interesting shell, named Pandora gouldiana is my choice. It is small, iridescent when worn and quite beautiful. I have a small collection started already!

The opalescence of this shell seems fitting for me because I love pearls!

 This small collection seems right living in a shiny silver candy dish as you enter my home. Old silver is so hard to maintain so a few pieces in a prominent spot really make a statement.

Reflections and shimmer.

 The entry vestibule is a combination of old and new, natural and refined and lots of color! Hopefully I can fill these silver dishes with more Pandora pretties!

Candles & Clamshells

I love tiny quahog shells! Ask my family...what do I do when visiting the Fairfield Beach cottages? Walk, searching the shore for the smallest of clam shells, back & forth, back & forth, through the tidal pools and along the tide lines. Just can't sit still! 

Why? Because in addition to collecting, I make things with my findings. These woven twig wreaths are base to layers of the naturally colored shells, glue stick applied. The completed wreaths just barely fit over the candlestick top, thankfully!  Seafoam green (not the real Ben Moore color name) walls and almost matching candles together feel peaceful here on the mantle. 

 Not a great photo here...boy, do I need a better camera, but the shell wreaths also hang in the downstairs bathroom! Jingle shells added for a little color here and the doubled wreaths remind me of a mother & child. I am going to look for another "hand-me-up" camera in this house. Speaking of children, I have inherited 2 digital cameras from my kids, on to the third now. Once I hit 4 or if this next one isn't any better, I may actually buy myself one!

Following Day...after finding the next camera:

A little better? At least slightly more natural and true to the actual colors. Thinking of that new camera seriously now though.

Shell Collections

In my living room I have beautiful built in shelves made for me by my brother Neil quite a few years ago.  On these, is a family history of collectibles, photos, books and my shells! Most are shells from either Fairfield Beach or Long Beach, Stratford.  I think they add interest, color and provide me a place for the shells I pick up on my walks. 

One jar filled with Florida Shells... 

But mostly local Jingle Shells, Clam Shells, Moonsnail Shells, & Scallop Shells!

A very small jar of Hawaiian Pink Shells ...

And most precious, the shells of mini Horseshoe Crabs.