Old Orchard Beach is a classic Southern Maine tourist destination, with a long sand beach, a restaurant-lined pier, and an amusement park. I'd been there once in the summer when my kids were little, and just about lost my mind with all the crowds and the heat (and the over-excited toddlers.) In April, I love it. This time was gorgeous, sunny but not hot, and lots of people (but not crowds) were out enjoying the sudden end of a long winter. The beachcombing finds are a little different from what I see here in the north, most notably the
skate egg case in the middle. I've never found one of those on Mount Desert Island. If you're not familiar with them, skates look a bit like rays (you've probably seen photos of manta rays), and we have
seven species here in the North Atlantic. I can't tell which one this is.
Also in this photo are razor clam shells (Ensis directus), driftwood, sea glass,
coralline (Corallina officinalis), a moon snail shell (Lunatia heros), a sanddollar (Echinarachnius parma), a blue mussel shell (Mytilus edulis), a lobster-claw band,
a feather, an acorn, and an Atlantic Oyster shell (Crassostrea virginica). The snails and the oyster are shells I don't see often on my home turf. And the driftwood was fantastic. I have to say that Old Orchard Beach in late April was a treasure trove of small, beautifully rounded driftwood bits. There was even one piece, just above the egg case, that formed a perfect ring (but is just a little too small for my fingers.)
All together a very happy day of hunting!
I love your beach finds. Another great collage photo! And I enjoyed reading about what everything was and how some stuff was different from other locales.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's always nice to hear from you - and it reminds me to go look at your gorgeous Flickr stream. That shot of the mountains along your road? Stunning!
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