Fossil Hunting On the Jersey Shore?

Yep! As crazy as that sounds, that's exactly what I've been doing... The past four years we have vacationed in Cape May, New Jersey, as a family. One week in July, every year. And the first two years, my daughter was so little and required so much attention, that I didn't really even collect any seashells, which as many of my friends know, is my big weakness. I am an avid shell collector. 

Well, last year, E was 2-1/2, and finally playing with Nana on her own two legs. And I had a chance to sift through the pebbles and shells along the shore... a couple of things caught my trained eye as possibly organic in origin, though they were currently stones. So I picked them up and put them in my little pile of goodies, consisting mainly of Cape May Diamonds (quartz crystals worn smooth by the sea,) pretty colored stones, jingle shells, scallop shells, other bivalves, and a growing number of "interesting looking" stones. One of them turned out to be a fossilized marine mammal tooth! A mosasaur, to be exact!! I identified it by comparing it to Fossil Guy's photos and descriptions of his less-worn fossils found in New Jersey. So exciting!! (Edit: after putting my finds to The Fossil Forum, I was called out on my "mosasaur tooth" and must bow to the pros on their consensus: It's actually a Rugosa Coral, aka Horn Coral. Thanks, guys!)

Rugosa Coral at right

After I got home, I got out my daughter's little stereoscope to view my finds more closely. That's actually when I realized that I had a lot more fossils than I'd thought... mostly fossilized sea sponges, corals, and bryozoans. But a few other things that I had to research on the web, and discovered were possibly dinosaur vertebrae, based on the pattern of the mineral replacement.  (Edit: the two pieces on the bottom left are oolites.)

Coral fossils and possibly bryozoans

Dinosaur vertebra? (Edit: or honeycomb coral)

So this year, with my daughter actively playing in the water with her Nana, her great aunt, and her dad, I sat an "excavated" the beach for more fossils... and I found a few...

I think these are rugosa corals, or "horn corals" from the Permian Era

No idea what this was!

The photos above are a few of my favorite finds, though I actually have a small container full of what I have determined to be fossils of one kind or another. A lot of sea sponges and corals, for the most part. I also found lovely agates, and a few semi-precious gems, but they are so small and worn, that I just put them all into a little clear bottle, grouped by colors. So pretty! 

I will have to post soon about the other fossils I've found here in Pennsylvania, while hiking near creeks and rivers.... but that's for another day!

I hope you're all well. I know it's been ages since I've posted, and you might not even be out there listening anymore. If you are, Hello! If you're not, I hope to have you visit soon.

Blessings

Santa Cruz, CA - Day 2

My favorite no-name beach

Okay, technically, the photo at left is not in Santa Cruz. It's actually a bit north, closer to Halfmoon Bay. I suppose the reason I've always counted this as part of Santa Cruz is because I access it by driving up Highway 1 from Santa Cruz. I have rarely driven past this idyllic spot to Halfmoon Bay. When I spend time here, it's with the intent of returning to Santa Cruz, and probably having dinner at Ristorante Avanti, my favorite little restaurant in Santa Cruz. This was the plan for the day with K, when we came her last Wednesday.

Photo by K (see below where I captured him taking this)

I first discovered this beach after spending many days at Pebble Beach, which is connected to it. (Not the Pebble Beach in Carmel, associated with the golf course, but a state park called Pebble Beach due to the pebbles that make up the shore.) My grandparents first took me here when I was about six or seven. My family has been returning here for years, and on one of my trips, I chose to walk across the expanse of rocks to the north of the beach, and found a little special spot that rarely sees more than one or two people/couples at a time. It's very remote and beautiful for that.

Me on Pebble Beach

K on Pebble Beach

When we arrived this time, first to Pebble Beach, there were a busload of school kids here. We took a few photos and then got back into the car to drive north a little ways, as I knew of another place to access the beach. It takes you to a sandy beach, also with no name, that's part of the California State Park system. It's also lovely, with its amazing rock formations, and I love the beach home that sits perched on one end.

Me walking back to the sandy beach

You can just make out the beach house in the photo above. Those rock formations are what you have to traverse to get to and from my secret beach. The ancient lava floes created anamorphic shapes, so you can sometimes make out a whale, dolphin, seal or even a puppy's face and an elephant head in the rocks.

  
I love the smooth, colorful pebbles that make up the shore at my secret beach... they're lovely, and you can't help but lay close to them so that you can see the individual colors and shapes of the stones. We collected some seashells for K's school kids, to connect them to this amazing beach. We took videos of the creatures we saw in the tide pools... hermit crabs, anemones and a starfish!

An open anemone

We were pretty lucky, actually. I didn't have my tide log, and had forgotten to check my tide log app before we arrived. It was high tide, but it was going out. So we only had to wait a bit for the waves to recede, and then we were able to view the sea life up close! We were very careful not to tread on the live snails living on the rocks. It wasn't easy!

Some seashells for the kids, some rocks & driftwood for us

We had a truly lovely time here... having the beach to ourselves was wonderful, and the sun was out and it wasn't too windy. As I wasn't feeling that great, having come down with a cold, it was nice to just relax on the straw mat when I felt tired. Something about the ocean air is very healing, though, and I found that I was able to stay longer than I had expected. Also, we planned a dinner at Ristorante, and I wasn't going to skip out on that!

The drive back into town is just lovely, too. The fog was starting to roll in just a bit... wisps, really, nothing too heavy... making the golden grasses off the sides of the highway just glow. Then we arrived in town, and got seated at little table for two, tucked away in a corner.

Mmm... yummy food!

K eating some calamari

We had their calamari fritti (so crispy and delicious!) served with a light mignonette, and we both got the grilled sea bass served on Israeli cous cous with locally grown tomatoes and cucumbers in a light citrus sauce. It was absolutely fantastic! The veggies were so fresh and sweet (a commitment that the restaurant has made is to use only locally grown veggies and humanely raised livestock and produce.) 

Our sea bass on cous cous

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day! We drove home to San Jose with our tummies full, smiles on our faces, love in our hearts and a little sunshine left on our cheeks. I can't ask for more. 

Beach Combing in Cancun

You know there's nothing I like more than looking for seashells. I grew up walking next to my grandma, as she showed me the beauty of nature in the found bits of wonder along the edge of the surf or at a river's edge. Little clam shells or whorled snail shells were just as wonderful as a sea-smoothed pebble or shiny seashell. They all were equally fascinating to my grandma, and thus, to me. 


In Cancun, there was always a bit of something along the edge of the beach near the surf, as well as up in the sunny, dry, cool, coral sand. Every now and then, I'd find the shiniest creamy-white margin shells, or olive shell. There were many pieces of sunrise tellins, as they're quite thin and break easily. At first, most of the shells I found were sturdy calico clamshells and Lucines. I also found a couple varieties of venus clams, like the royal comb venus and king venus. There were a few "turkey wings" which I've also found in Puerto Vallarta.

Corals, Lucines, venus & calico clams, scallop, thorny oysters

I found a cowrie shell, but not laying on the sand. Indeed, most of the shells I found were in one day of digging in the hardened bank of sand that was exposed one morning after a shift in tides. We walked out onto the beach to see many people digging with hands or broken shells, and finding large conches and other seashells! It was bizarre, but we played along. Any chance at pretending I'm an archaeologist and I'm THERE. 

Moonsnails, olives, margin shells & one cowrie

Sunrise tellins

Corals & some top shells

So with the sun to our backs, we dug away at the sand bank, and found many wonderful treasures that would have remained buried under the sand, or crushed underfoot, or washed back out to sea. I loved the excitement that people found in unearthing their natural treasures! People would gather round a particularly nice specimen that someone had dug up along the bank, and then the excitement would grow... maybe the next lovely shell would be dug out by me?

We did find some chipped conch shells, as well as a shell that I think is a West Indian Chank. I've found smaller shells like it that have the same shape, though from other locations. My prize find, however, was a kind of oyster shell that I've never seen before... it has a kind of horn on it, which is unusual. Even Beatriz thought it was unique, and she lives there! Have you ever seen it?

I've been researching Caribbean seashells, oysters, etc. I haven't found anything that looks quite like this. The top of it seems like it used to have leaves, like a thorny oyster. But none of the thorny oysters have the horn! I love the deep oranges & reds of the outer shell. It looks like a sunset... I wish I could find out what it's called, or where it's typically found.


It was a wonderful hunt and K and I both had a lot of fun! The shells all survived the trip, and have been cleaned, dried and will soon be further researched. The prime shells will be put into a new organizer for my Cancun Shell Collection, and the rest will be displayed in our home. I have a few nice ones set aside for Keith's mom, too. She also loves seashells like me, and I'm excited to give her some! 

An Adorable Etsy Shop!

I stumbled upon Element Clay Studio on Etsy a while back... and have been loving it from afar. You guys know I'm not working, yet, so I can only covet things from a distance. This is one of those shops that makes me just itch to buy. It also inspires me, making me want to try my hand at ceramics again... their pieces are so beautifully sculptural and natural.

Anemone Bowl, so cool!

Micro Urchins... love!!

These Micro Urchins remind me of the sea... and indeed are inspired by sea urchins; those spiny, lovely creatures related to starfish, sand dollars and sea biscuits.

Scallop Bowl

The textures are amazingly detailed and the creamy white palette is just so fresh! They would go along well with many different styles of decor!

Chestnut Bowl

Nesting Scallop Bowls

I'm in love with everything in this shop. The lovely interior glazing... the monochrome exteriors, and the ocean-inspired shapes. If I could fill my home with anything, it would be these love seashell bowls and tiles! (When I'm rich, I will!) They fulfill that beach-comber in me, as well as the lover of gorgeous & artistic bowls and dishes. I hope you'll check out their shop! These pieces are truly treasures from the sea!

Treasure Hunting

Are you one of those people who walk along a river with your head down, in the possibility of finding something strange, cool or interesting that has washed up? Do you scan the sandy beaches in search of shells or smooth stones? Well, if you are, then you're just my kind of person! Yes, I enjoy the views around me. I enjoy the sounds of the river or the waves crashing, but after about 20 minutes of absorbing the great outdoors, I start my treasure hunt! It's one of my greatest joys in life. I love to see what nature, or people, have left behind for me to find. And I've definitely found interesting things in various places! Well, I guess I should amend that I've found things that I'VE found interesting... not everyone thinks that an old pottery shard is interesting! Or old broken bits of bottles.... or dried leaf skeletons, acorns, etc... we're all not wired the same way, thank goodness!

Top tier of my shell collection

 I've picked up old fishing lures (you can see one on the left) and crab parts, urchin skeletons and seashells, rocks and feathers.... If it has an interesting look, texture, color, shape or possible history, then I'm about it! I know there are people who don't care for what they think of as junk, and that's great for the ones of us who think of it as treasure! I love that there are all different kinds of people in the world! Besides, I can't even count the number of times that one of these objects has made me happy for days... and it cost me nothing! (I've also been lucky enough to find money, when I was looking for shells or rocks... bonus!!)

My favorite places to look for treasure are pretty much anywhere that things wash up: river banks, beaches, even along trails where you'll find no end of cool natural treasures. A place that I've recently discovered (but a lot of you probably already know about) to find treasure is at yard sales and garage sales! I've been really lucky to find a coffee can full of old buttons for $1. Or a jar of marbles (one of my obsessions) for $.25! Seriously, that's almost as good as finding something out and about. Getting an awesome deal is ANOTHER way of finding treasure!

Found glass shards

 I think a big part of my joy in finding things is in repurposing them. Or reusing them, and having something with history embedded in it. I'm fascinated with personal stories and "what something went through" in terms of it's life here on this planet. Old is far more interesting than new, in my mind. I also like to let my imagination run wild with "what something used to be," or "who touched that," whatever it may be. And also, "what else can it be now?" Old objects take on a patina, a depth of hue, that newer objects often lack. There's a sort of magic to those items, don't you think? I also enjoy loving things that no one else cares about anymore. That's a trait that I've had since childhood! But whatever your reason for picking up old "junk," I salute you! Each of us is cleaning up the psyche of the planet and the human impact on it when we find joy in junk... we're improving the state of nature when we pick up discarded things, and we're also adding our joy to the world when we find something so fascinating, that would otherwise be crushed underfoot. So don't feel weird about letting your artist's soul express itself! I know people who can't pass up old bits of metal... or discarded lumber... they see the possibilities in those things that no one else can see, and they make them special again! I think that's an absolutely wonderful and amazing thing!!  

Scallop Palette

Alas, sooo inspired by Brandi's challenge! I've created a palette from the seashells I collected last weekend while on the Jersey Shore. I guess this would go under "Blogger's Choice". Nature has always been my biggest inspiration, after all. And seashells are one of my greatest passions. 

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I hope you like it. It's very much a fall palette, even though people usually associate seashells with summer. The scallops had a lot of earth tones in them, which I only really realized after getting samples of their colors! Very interesting... fall is definitely on its way!

Obsessions

We all have our things that we are passionate about, don't we? You might love to collect photos of birds, or botany. Someone else may collect baseball cards or Matchbox cars. In the movie, "Amelie", one of the main characters collected discarded photobooth photos, and recordings of funny laughter! As for me, I have a few different passions... one might say "obsessions", and one of them is for seashells. 

Moon snail shells from New Jersey

I find their forms to be fascinating... the shape of each one, the colors, are all vivid examples of Mother Nature's infinite creativity and glory. I cannot be sad or despondent when I am shell collecting. Even a visit to a natural history museum with a shell collection makes me insanely happy! Every time I find a seashell, it speaks to me. It tells me that there is so much to wonder about on this earth. It tells me that there are other creatures on this planet that have the ability to create and make beautiful designs that will hold us in thrall. They don't even have to think about it, either, as humans do. They are made to create wonders, as a form of protection, for their homes. The variety of shells in the world makes me buzz inside with a weird kind of electricity! I would like to be able to see every kind of shell in person, holding it in my hand. This is obsession.


Which brings me to another of my obsessions: bird's nests. For the same reason that I find seashells fascinating, I find bird nests fascinating.... they build sometimes only for a home for their eggs to become chicks, but other times to entice mates! They build not only for function, but for form. The variety of nests is amazing... from the tiny little hummingbird nests (see below)

Hummingbird nest (with a butterfly inside)

A nest found in my camellia bush, abandoned. Egg is wooden.

which are made from tiny bits of moss, twigs, animal fur, human hair and other soft bits and held together  by spider's webs to the flamboyant displays of the bowerbirds of New Guinea, which go to a massive scale, including towers of plants & twigs, or piles of same-colored stones, flowers or even human debris, used for it's color and texture... the bowerbirds are true artists, whose motivations are to lure a mate in and create a family. They go to great lengths to show their individuality and creativity to their potential mates! Watch this video of David Attenborough, where he shows a bowerbird bower. It's the most basic reason that anyone does anything, isn't it? To find love, a mate, someone to share your world with. To find someone who sees things similarly to the way that you do. The bowerbirds and humans... looking for love. :-) Other birds may have other reasons for their nest building techniques, and they are all extremely fascinating to me, although the bowerbirds make the most amazing display. I fell in love with them after seeing an article about them in National Geographic. These are gorgeous examples of what bowerbirds create, and opened my mind up more to the idea of why we make art. See how your obsessions can take you different places? It's wild!

So what are YOUR obsessions? Where have they taken you? I have a feeling that mine will take me to New Guinea, Florida, and a return to the Bahamas... as well as other places! I hope you'll share some of your obsessions with me!