🐚 Beachcombing 🐚
My favorite thing to do!
The definition of beachcombing is to search for and collect objects such
as seashells and driftwood along the seashore. It is an activity people
have probably been doing since the dawn of time, whether gathering
essential resources such as wood or simply picking up unfamiliar objects
out of curiosity. In the Scottish Outer Hebrides, for example, tropical
drift seeds, or sea beans, that originate in the Americas and are
carried across the Atlantic in ocean currents, were revered for their
supposed magical properties and handed down through generations as
family heirlooms. Some sea beans are able to float in the sea for up to
20 years finally to wash up on a distant shore still able to germinate
and grow.
For some of us beachcombing is a hobby or even a passion. For others it
is an occasional pastime—pausing to take a closer look at something that
catches your eye as you wander along the shoreline. Whether you are a
seasoned beachcomber or an occasional beach stroller the chances are
that at some point you have come across something strange along the
tideline and wondered what it is and where it came from.