Shell Seakers & Sea Glass

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy or too impatient. One should be empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea."

Anne Morrow Lindberg - "Gifts From the Sea"

We are back from a lovely stay on the Chesapeake Bay where the tide gently rolls in and out, in and out...

In the morning, my sister and I woke before the others and took walks on the beach. Ours were not walks for fitness sake, but for curiosity sake. We are shell seakers. As we were greeted by the early morning sun, Great Blue Herons perched on the beams of old docks, dolphins rode the gentle waves and crabs scurried for their holes. While we took the beauty in, our eyes eventually fell to the sand under our feet seeking out the shells and colorful sea glass that would fill our bucket in tow.

We walked slowly, laughing at the fact that we inevitably reached for the same shells at the same time. Sometimes we stopped to look out at the ships waiting to leave or enter the bay. We greeted the occasional passer-by wondering if they too were shell seakers.

We found a lovely array of shells, seaweed and sea glass, some of which made it to the nature table while others provided hours of late-night crafty fun:

Shell / Seaglass necklaces:

A host of sea creatures:

Tokens of affection and gift tag:

I do believe the shell seaking trait has been passed down to my sons. From the first day to the last, they were constantly handing me treasures from the sea with delighted voices exclaiming, "Mama! This is for our nature table!" (I was thrilled that they assumed we would have a nature table set up in our rented beach-side cabin! A testament to their need for rhythm in their daily life.)

Coming up... Beach fun with kids!