Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Time near the water

Thanks for all the kind comments from last nights post. It was a beautiful weekend. We saw two sunsets, two sunrises, and a waning moon that painted a blue-silver swath on the surf.

There were some beautiful shells on the beach. Most were small, but I find myself picking up the perfectly formed ones that survive the pounding surf. I wonder what story they would tell if they could talk? 

We spent one New Years at Blue Mountain Beach, Florida in the early 90's. Our friends had bought a beach house in the fall and we helped them move from Atlanta with my truck and some U-Haul trailers. A few months later, they invited us down to spend their first New Year's with them in their new home.

We talked into the night on New Year's Eve, sipped champaign, and ate the best seafood gumbo I've ever tasted. Our friend Ron was a gourmet chef. 

A storm moved into the Gulf and forks of lightning stabbed at anything tall enough to dare it. A warm front did battle with a cold front infringing on its territory. Rain pounded the metal roof. We turned the music up loud.

The next morning, we rose early in spite of late night toasting. Apparently, the warm front won, because it was almost warm enough to swim.

We hadn't been on the beach five minutes when I found a perfect coffee bean trivia. Jilda spotted a conch shell that looked like one you'd see on a gift shop shelf. We found Gulf oyster drills, Scotch bonnets, and a Pectin maximus. (Not sure about the capitalization.)

We have baskets of beautiful shells on our shelves and every time I look at them I think of that New Year's weekend, and our friends.

I hope you all get a chance to spend some time near the water.



12 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday and I loved the previous post. The water is a great place to be and I love a good beach. Jack burns so easily that he's more of a woods, mountain type! Such a lovely memory and hopefully we'll see the ocean when we go to Oregon in March. I know it won't be warm but I'll enjoy the surf and sand anyway!

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  2. A very happy birthday to you. I am so glad you are having a lovely time AND revisiting wonderful memories.

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  3. Love shells, had a collection as a kid...just stuff my grandpa bought in FLorida, occasionally I would find an interesting shell, and we had abalone shells from visits to Catalina Island. It is rare to find an undamaged shell of any kind on the Jersey Shore, it seems the gulf is gentler on the shells than the Atlantic.

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  4. I love to sit and quietly watch the tides. Those giant waves fill me with awe.

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  5. There is something so magical about shells. I love the colours and The pearlescent sheen. This is a lovely Tim you had with your wife. What a great way to celebrate

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  6. Wow, that a lot of shells on that beach. I'm glad you had a great birthday.
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  7. As much as I go to the beach, I hardly find a shell thats not been beaten and broken. I collect sand dollars and add the to a large glass vase on the mantle. I have quiet a few. They seem to appear in clusters at times.
    I loved your beach stories!
    Lisa

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  8. I too have a collection of shells to remind me of the beach. It is such a soothing place to be. I love putting one of the large shells I have to my ear and sounds like the waves.

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  9. BIG SMILE HERE! I love reading the pictures you paint!!!

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  10. Anonymous2:30 PM

    I had 2 large glass containers of shells; my daughter took one!!

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  11. Time spent near water is always uplifting and calming.

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  12. We have beaches close by here as I live about 30 minutes from the Atlantic ocean... I don't remember seeing so many shells on it's not a great place to walk on in the winter... just a little too chilly but awesome for the Fall and onward xox

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