Jul 01 2009
The Beach Glass Is Half Full
It was my day off. Spurred on by my childhood obsession with marbles, I left for the beach to do some recycling.
Now, I love picking up driftwood and shells, and so does my daughter. But these ocean finds are things that I like to keep at the beach. Yes, a few funky, knobby sticks make it home, usually to find an honored place in our garden. However, I don’t like to denude the beach of all of its wares when we go.
Going to the beach is a fabulous treasure hunt, though. Why? Beach glass. I think of it as garbage removal, albeit removal of beautiful little pieces of garbage that have been washed up by the waves. Those people who sit at the beach and smash bottles in the sand? Not fond of their antics. However, the detritus that washes back and forth in the waves creates gorgeous art. Beach glass is mostly green, white, and brown. Finding the occasional blue piece is a rare and special thing. It’s lovely, too, and has even inspired beach glass art .
We use the beach glass to adorn my daughter’s garden. Placed in the mint and oregano and thyme that cover the sides of her rocky path, these ocean finds catch the light. I suspect that decades from now, someone will dig in our garden and discover a beach glass midden and wonder who lived here. And whether they drank a lot of beer.
