rarity

these odd and beautiful little pods are called sea beans. sea beans are drift seeds. a seed of any of a number of tropical plants growing in coastal areas, the seeds of which are found floating upon ocean currents, by means of which the seeds are dispersed. these seeds here are from from the tropical vine called macuna. and their seeds are often called hamburger beans or ox-eye beans.  macuna vines can grow in tropical florida, but someone once told me these beans more likely floated in from the cariibean. i love their distinctive and graphic markings. i will be keeping an “eye”out  for more.

macuna sloanei seeds

one collector two

my daughter, a college senior at stanford university, has joined us in naples, florida because her campus has been shut down by coronavirus. she has learned well the ways of being STILL from me over the years. it is delight to have her beside me seeing and collecting again.

florida shell collection

exposed structure

naples, florida is supposed to be great shelling territory. in my expereince the whole gulf coast of florida is as wealthy in shells as its inhabitants are in dollars. needless to say, i will be spending a few days sitting cross-legged, sifting through tidal piles of shells. it’s not always the perfect ones that grab my attention. sometimes the broken and worn ones have more to say. like this collection of whelks, whose flesh appears to have disappeared, leaving just bones behind.

worn conch shells spines

six beaches

it will not surprise you to find that i often take home a baggie with a handful of sand from the beaches i have visited. in this photo i recognize the following beaches with certainty:  séte, france; north captiva island, florida; grand marais, mn on lake superior; and striped rocks from the western tip of brittany, france. soon i will be adding naples, florida to my collection. i arrive there today, hoping for warm sand between my toes, and a new collection before my eyes.

a last winter walk?

yesterday was possibly my last winter walk of the season. i am boarding a flight this afternoon for naples, florida to go visit my mom for a week, with my son who is on spring break.  i hope to come back home to mostly spring like weather. it is wishful thinking, but i am an eternal optimist. one must be to live in the north. for the next 12 days it will be all about beachy things on STILL. i have pulled a few old favorites to cover me while i travel, and then i hope to be making new photos while i am there. my mom is a very chatty 84 year old, so it will be trick to make time for art and mojitos. such struggles.