For over 15 years, Paul and I have been privileged to visit friends in Quonochontaug, Rhode Island. Their beach house has been a fabulous respite for us over these years: for Paul to fish; for both of us to walk on the beach, kayak in Ninigret salt pond, on the Pawcatuck River and on the ocean; clam in Quonochontaug salt pond; and for Peggy to collect shells, quilt, and do a myriad of projects. We love to celebrate Paul’s birthday here in June each year, often going to the Matunuck Oyster Bar which we’ve seen grow from a small eatery to a much larger world famous oyster bar featuring home-farmed oysters and home-grown vegetables.
When walking on the beach, we each carry a bag, one for shells we find interesting and one for litter: plastics and balloons and pieces of rope. Often we find sculptures of driftwood and creations along our walks like the heart below made mostly of slipper shells.
Click on any photograph to enlarge:
Flowers bloom along the path to the beach; especially today, the wild roses and sweet peas.
Common shells we find on the beach in front of the house. They fascinate me constantly.
I like to see what makes some shells special even though they are very common on the beach. The slipper shell, for example, has a real slipper look to it underneath. The coral looks just like a stone with holes in it, but up close you can see the individual polyps and imagine the living animal in each. The jingle shells look like very thin, translucent scales, but they are actually a bi-valve animal, not terribly different from a clam or mussel.
Other objects of interest to me: Periwinkle shells (top left) are common, but not necessarily plentiful on “our” beach this year. I’ve never seen barnacle casings before (top right). These really intrigued me. And I don’t know what kind of “animal” leaves behind these egg pods (bottom).
And finally, I love to see lacy clam shells: this is what’s left after small drilling animals like snails have worked their magic on clam shells. They look very delicate and some are especially lovely:
6 responses to “Quonochontaug”
The black thing which vaguely resembles a sled with runners is the shell of a skate egg – known locally as a ‘witch’s purse.’
But where is a picture of Peggy’s and Paul’s shells??
Thank you, Peter, for your comment. I always wondered what that skate egg shell was. I like the name “witch’s purse.” It’s most apt. Our shells are in the boathouse at Dartmouth Waterfront — and you’ll see blog posts about them in the future 🙂
Lovely tradition! Walking on a beach is one of my favorite things to do. I look for sea glass, among other things.
Happy birthday to Paul.
I love this blog Peggy! I too enjoy walking along the beach. It’s so calm and peaceful. I collected many shells in the past along the Ogunquit beach on the Maine coast and more recently along the Galveston beach here in Texas. My father even sent me a shell collection from New Zealand (WW II), which I appreciated only,in my older years.. I used to make amature jewelry (pins and earrings) with the shells. Your shell collection is fascinating. Again, Great blog, Peggy!
Hi Ann, Do you still have your father’s shell collection? I went out this afternoon for a little walk and looked for more jingle shells. They’re fascinating!
Thanks, Janice. I did find two pieces of green sea glass on that walk.