Scenic Views from a walk along the beach, alone and so much tranquility.
Lost and Found? No, not really...they may be found, but were never lost. Just, more or less, washed ashore after its natural use is finished in the life cycle...
Here is an example:
Tho it resembles a snake skeleton, in reality, this is an egg case. It could be from several different animals, a whelk or perhaps a conch [snails] each segment can contain hundreds of eggs. This is a common sight in the summer months along the Texas Gulf Coast
On the same day, walking further, I came across this little threat:
...it's a Portuguese Man o War
Some say it's a jellyfish, but in all reality it's a conglomerate of many living organisms, and not at all a jellyfish. Their tentacles are quite venomous, but rarely lethal. [don't take chances if bitten/stung...get attention as quickly as possible. Better yet, stay clear of them...give them wide berth. If you think they're dead just because they've washed ashore, they may still sting!!!]
Walking even further, at this area of our beaches, it's uncommon to see these [they're usually more abundant the farther north you go along the coast]. But, Padre Island National Seashore continues to amaze me. Anyway, there is a legend of the Sea Heart. There has been much lore about this seed, one being the discovery of America, to it being a 'lucky charm'. If you're interested in some of the legends, do a Google Search of Sea Heart Beans. These seeds wash ashore after a long journey across the oceans' currents. After storms on the sea, you can often find 'beaners' searching for them on the sand. They're from the pea family [some call them chestnuts...I would believe the pea family more so]....the tree/plant that the seeds come from are of the longest pod in the world...some way over 6 feet in length. They are of hard wood-like covering and can be polished beautifully.
A collection [polished and cleaned] of mine FROM THE SEA
A sea heart necklace I made HERE
It's a rarity to find whole shells that are not broken by vehicles traversing the beaches. Texas, for the most part, allows vehicles on beaches. Even if they didn't, the beach patrol ATVs for turtle nests and patrolling beaches for violators would surely break shells continually. Very seldom a whole unbroken shell is found. This one I came across. It was moving, so a hermit crab was inside:
