Beachcombing

We are having a spate of gorgeous weather.  The snow is melting off nicely and the mild temps are going to continue for the next week.  March can be a horrible month in New England, so I'm just hoping for the best.  

I haven't been to Scusset, or beachcombing, in almost a year now.  I can't believe it.  I stayed in and stitched all last year.  I won't pay to park in the summer and they continue to require payment until October 31st instead of mid September.  By that point I was too busy with the holidays then it got wicked cold.  

The first thing I found was this bright green rock-like thing.  I can't tell what it is at all...I have other pics of it down below.

 The tide was coming back in but there were still some sand bars.

Town Neck Beach in Sandwich continues to be ravaged and eroded by storms.  I found the sand over on Scusset, which is usually somewhat rocky.

My best hope for beach glass was up at the tide line where there were a few rocks and pebbles.

 I didn't find a ton of it this time but I did score a few really nice pieces.  

Hardly anyone was around and it was very peaceful.  The wind wasn't even that cold.

 Love the cobalt!

The water looked so good and clear but was ice cold.  No wading today!

 

 Another rare 'holy grail' find, one of those flat backed glass blob thingies.  

My haul for the day.  Not too bad.  A couple pieces not quite fully cooked but that's OK.

I found these 2 heart rocks practically next to each other.

This rock is very unusual and has a lot of small pits all over it.  I have no idea if it's an earth rock or something from space.  It's not magnetic.

A closer view of the top of the green thing I found.  It's slightly pliable but doesn't feel like foam.  I sent the pic to the Facebook page of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and they think it's a piece of an old buoy.

When Russell saw this side of it he was afraid I'd picked up some kind of marine poop.  lol  For the time being it's in a plastic ziplock bag until I figure it out.  It's definitely not whale ambergris.

If this nice weather keeps up I'll have to go out again!

Eager to Get Out!

The winter chill is still hanging on for dear life, but I was able to get out on a sunny, wind-less day for some beach combing at Scusset at low tide.  I wore shorts but a jacket was definitely required.

As soon as I saw all this seaweed I knew I wasn't going to find any glass.  I certainly wasn't going to look under it.  

I do like going out on the sand bars though.  If it had been warmer, I would've taken off my shoes.

This shell bit would have been used to make beads or as currency by the Native Americans that lived here.  It's called wampum.  You can read about it HERE.   

This was the only decent piece of glass I found.  I got about 4 tiny chips, one a bit bigger than the chips and this one.  

While I was there, I watched this tug tow that barge from way out in the Bay.  They were obviously going to go through the Canal.

It was a nice day for a walk, even if I didn't score much in the way of glass.

On the way back to the parking lot, I spied this really cool little house someone built out of the hollow twiggy things that were washed up on the beach above the tide line.  I've never known what they were called but they are some kind of reed....probably grows in the marshes.  You see them all over our beaches from time to time.

It was very clever and took a lot of work.

One last look at the barge coming in.

It was only 9:45 and I just didn't want to go home yet and waste the sunny day inside.  Since I was near the bridge, I decided to check out something on my Local Bucket List....

Windy Day at Scusset

The wacky weather out here continues.  Less than 48 hours before I took these pictures, it was -10, with a horrid wind chill around -27.  It was horrid.  That was Sunday the 14th.  By Tuesday the 16th, it was 50 with a warm wind, with rain in the forecast.  After I got home from errands, I checked the tide table and headed down to Scusset.  It was soooooo windy, I couldn't believe it.  I used my raincoat hood to keep my hair from flying around, but honestly it wasn't cold at all.

This was the first piece of glass I found and this made dealing with the wind completely worth it.

Then I found another of those flat backed glass blobbie/marbles.  Again, totally worth the trip.

This was the first time I've seen the breakwater covered with ice at the top.  It was pretty cool.

Seriously couldn't get enough of the icy jetties.

Tide going out

Tide line

 It was so dark to the east.  As I walked back towards the parking lot path, it started to rain a little.

White Cliffs all lit up in the sun

That's the biggest clam shell I've ever seen.  I've collected large ones before but this is HUGE. Whatever seagull got it had quite the meal.  Glass finds were modest but pretty decent.  Pretty rocks as well.

I made a Massachusetts from some of the glass.