On Thursday, I arrive to a little different landscape. Some of the
smaller walls were wiped out by what must have been a more extreme high
tide. Tire tracks from the fisherman were a little bit closer to the
ocean than a couple days earlier and much of the sand was covered in
tire tracks... so the fisherman traffic was greater than what I found
earlier in the week.
The shell bed areas were still
prevalent and large gatherings appeared in areas that had none earlier
in the week. Again, footprints in the sand let me know I was once again,
late for the party. The trip north up the beach, examining the high
tide leftovers, was nothing special. More under-cooked pieces and a few
mediocre browns, greens and a white. I was a little disappointed that
the area where the Coke bottle piece was located two days earlier, had
nothing but a couple of undercooked pieces (this area had been the ONLY
area where we had found anything worthwhile all summer) and I continued
my trek north on the beach.
This day, the high tide was
already turning into low tide as I arrived, so my walk back to my
starting point, allowed me a bigger search area near the surf. As I
approached my little "hot" area, I noticed footprints in the wet sand.
Someone had been there, as I walked further up the beach?
The
mystery person was nowhere to be found, as the beach was desolate, but
the prints in the wet sand were there and they were fresh. I actually
thought to myself, "oh well, if it was meant to be, it would be" and
less than a minute later, right in front of the house that I use as my
bookmark for my little "hot" spot, I saw something yellow, glimmering in
the sand. Not more than 8 inches away from a footprint, was a piece of
sea glass, laying by itself. In the sunlight, it was almost a golden
color, a small nick in the bottom, but otherwise, nicely tumbled and it
had the typical frosting of a NJ piece of sea glass.
Further
down the beach, near the jetty and within a few feet from another
footprint, was a brown piece of sea glass. Nice size, nice frosting,
well tumbled and sparkling from the water. I love older pieces of brown
sea glass because their colors are so much richer than the newer glass
being used today. They frost differently...and this one was
well-tumbled, it's edges were smooth and rounded.
I
wondered to myself as I shared the story with my family...was the person
on the beach walking a dog and maybe not looking for sea glass? The
footprints stopped shortly after the jetty and headed up towards the
dunes. Or could the ocean have popped these two pieces of sea glass on
the beach just prior to me walking up on them? They both were still wet
from a wave that could have gone over them...or brought them onto the
sand.
Seaglassing, is a funny thing. The only thing we are in control of, is the time we arrive, which way we choose to walk and how long we plan on staying. The rest is up to the ocean. Has she pulled everything back, left a few gems up in different areas or plan on putting a few pieces onto the sand, for the sun to heat up, before she reclaims them. Are you in the right place at the right time?
On this day, for me, it was meant to be. Of course, the ocean may have thrown a couple reds and blues up on the sand right after I left. She can be that way...hahaha.
For those that search in the fall and winter, please take heed...many times you are out there searching all alone. The beaches are no longer tourist friendly. They are now back in the hands of Mother Nature. The 3-4 foot walls that the ocean has created, are difficult (if not impossible) to climb. So please, pay attention to the time, the tides and the waves. The conditions will only get more difficult from this point. Take care!!
'til next time...
R
