“What does reward mean to you?”
Reward to me means a day walking, beachcombing or sitting on a sandy/rocky beach beside the ocean waves. I’ve been blessed in my life to have my idea of a reward fulfilled. Here are some of those ways…a reminder of a day at the beach on a cold Friday afternoon.
STRATHEMERE, NEW JERSEY
CAPE MAY LIGHTHOUSE, CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA
TREASURE BEACH, JAMAICA
CHESAPEAKE BAY, ELK NECK MARYLAND
BLOCK ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND
A few years ago I first heard the term “Sea-Beans.” Of course, since I love to beachcomb, I was entranced by the thought of something new to search for on my beach walks.
The definition of Sea Beans, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is as follows: “Any of various beans or showy seeds of tropical origin that are frequently carried by ocean currents to remote shores and often used as ornaments.”
The hunt was on. Happily, for the bibliophile within me, I found a terrific book on the topic: Sea-Beans from the Tropics. I have found a few “sea-beans” on my beach walks, but most have been the throwaways of beach picnics, fruit pits, etc. That does not mean I have given up the hunt. One of my best days of finding “beach drift” was on the shore of the Chesapeake bay. I don’t think what I found that day could be considered sea-beans, instead perhaps I should call my finds on that occasion “Bay-Beans.” 🙂
My dream is to find some tropical sea-beans and somehow sprout them. It has been done, and there is a whole chapter in the book on the how’s and why’s of growing sea-beans.
Another happy find was re-connecting with a link I had lost, a community page for sea-beans with a link to other forums. You can check out the sea-bean community page here: Sea-Bean Community
If you are an avid beachcomber, you will love this book. I checked Amazon.com today to see if the book is still available. It is, but oh my, along with the book I found several others listed that look interesting and appear to also be full of great information. It’s going to be hard to keep them out of my "Shopping Cart."
Listings of sea-bean books can be found here: Sea Beans from the Tropics and Others
I searched some WordPress bloggers to see what they thought or wrote of sea-beans. I found some terrific posts. Take a look: Sea-Beans on the Keys / Sea Beans and Beachcomber’s Festival / Danielle’s Dives – Sea-Beans
Happy Hunting!
I have always loved to swing. When I was young my grandparents would take my sister and I to a park in Newport News, Virginia, overlooking the James River. We would feed the ducks there and also swing on the large swingsets. I must have been three or four years old, and I remembering wondering, in a mixture of excitement and fear, if my Uncle Johnny would push me so high I would fly in a big circle over the top and back round again. I can tell you I held on very tight.
I have a swing in my backyard, not just for my grandsons, it’s there for me too. My husband and I found the perfect board, a piece of driftwood on the banks of the Chesapeake. We brought it home, sanded off any rough edges, and drilled a few holes in the side for the rope. Before we put it into place, I wrote this on the bottom and we both signed our names:
“This piece of driftwood was found on the banks of the Chesapeake in April of 2008, near Northeast, Maryland & Elk Neck State Forest. They (Kathy & Joe) were camping in the Scamp.”
I love driftwood and the gnarled roots of trees, aged and weathered into God’s own art. This piece, which I think resembles an octopus, was found on the banks of the Chesapeake this spring. I haven’t found the perfect spot for it, but when I do, ever after, that garden will be known as the “Octopus’s Garden.” I have to credit the Beatles’ song of the same name for the inspiration.
