Beachcombing series No.71 (Hulls Cove, August 14, 2013)

Beach stones, Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis), driftwood, U.S. penny, acorn cap (Quercus sp.), sea glass, barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides), Waved Whelk (Buccinum undatum), stoneware fragment, Moon snail (Lunatia heros), paper scrap, beach china, aluminum soda can fragment. The red paint on the rock is left from last summer, when the schooner Margaret Todd was hauled up on the beach to repaint her hull.

A wonderful and surreal thing about blogging is that you can become friendly with people who you have never met, and they can live anywhere in the world. You feel like you know a part of them through their posts, and another bit through commenting on each other's work. Anke and Ariadne and Diana, if I ever end up in Germany or Greece or Montana, for sure we will meet up over coffee or cocktails (depending on the time of day) and talk! 

Every now and then, all the planets line up and you get to meet someone you've only known through blog posts and emails.

Back in August, Justine Hand (of the so-beautiful Designskool blog) was vacationing in my part of the world and we finally got to meet face-to-face. And because we are quirky this way, instead of meeting for lunch we went beachcombing with her family. (My teenagers won't come along anymore.) Check out the hoodie her son wore:

 Even better accessorized with seaweed and attitude:

Justine's daughter is the best beachcomber I've ever met. Maybe it helps that she's so much closer to the ground, but she has an eagle eye for sea glass. That gorgeous blue piece in the center of the top photo? I didn't find it, Solvi gave it to me!

If you'd like to see more photos from the day, Justine posted some lovely ones on her own blog.