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Post by Cookie on Nov 4, 2018 10:25:26 GMT
I found my first sea bean yesterday. Yay! Double Bay beach, up in the highest seaweed line. Mr. Cookie has found a few over the last 10 years, but this was my very own first.  I also found what might be the world's smallest sea biscuit, but I managed to crush it before even leaving the beach. |
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Firsts
Nov 4, 2018 12:32:16 GMT
Post by Bret S on Nov 4, 2018 12:32:16 GMT
Sea biscuit and sea bean are two phrases I'm not familiar with. What dey be?
Never Miss a Beach!
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Firsts
Nov 4, 2018 14:29:15 GMT
Post by Cookie on Nov 4, 2018 14:29:15 GMT
Correction to my post: Bret, I wuz gonna tell ya to giggle it (like DaHermit might), but when I did dat, I realize that I had (and crushed) the world's smallest sea urchin shell, not sea biscuit. Upon correction and reflection, I think of a sea biscuit as a puffy looking sand dollar.
A sea bean is also known as a drift seed. Apparently some tropical trees produce seeds that travel by ocean current and then wash up on beaches. The one I found is a plain old round brown one, not the hamburger variety.
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Firsts
Nov 4, 2018 15:13:28 GMT
Post by Bret S on Nov 4, 2018 15:13:28 GMT
Interesting! My property manager recently found ambergris, also known as whale vomit, on one of the beaches - extremely valuable as a fragrance in perfume.
Never Miss a Beach!
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Firsts
Nov 4, 2018 18:38:52 GMT
Post by Cookie on Nov 4, 2018 18:38:52 GMT
How on earth does anyone ever find ambergris? The pics on the inter-webby tingum make ambergris look exactly like every other rock I've ever seen on the beaches of Eleuthera. You can't go around sniffing every rock to see what they smell like, can you? Our neighbor said he found a piece worth $460 and that there is a guy in Palmetto Point who buys it up.
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Firsts
Nov 4, 2018 18:53:28 GMT
Post by Bret S on Nov 4, 2018 18:53:28 GMT
It looks like a rock, but is light as a feather. And, no, you can't just smell it. You have to heat something up, such as a needle, and insert it into the ambergris to elicit a smell.
Never Miss a Beach!
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Firsts
Nov 6, 2018 10:10:57 GMT
Post by Cookie on Nov 6, 2018 10:10:57 GMT
We have another first to share. Yesterday Mr. Cookie and I walked north from Lighthouse Point (Atlantic side) until the sand ran out at a rock/cliff. We've wanted to do this for a number of years, just to see how far we could get. It took 1 hour 15 minutes. We're happy we were able to do this before the place materially changes. Lovely day, drank some cold beer on the beach at the end of the walk, and enjoyed the view.
From the northern end of this beach, you can see some white structures in the distance, up on a hill. They appear to be manmade, but that's just a guess because they are a good distance away. Does anyone know what those white things are? Could they be houses at Cotton Bay?
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Firsts
Nov 6, 2018 12:12:58 GMT
Post by Bret S on Nov 6, 2018 12:12:58 GMT
Most likely you saw the residences that are part of the original Cotton Bay community or perhaps the new Cotton Bay Estates. There's also a lot of building over at Jacks's Bay, but I don't know what they've erected yet.
Never Miss a Beach!
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Firsts
Nov 8, 2018 10:07:58 GMT
Post by Cookie on Nov 8, 2018 10:07:58 GMT
Yesterday we saw 3 people kite boarding on French Leave beach!
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Firsts
Nov 10, 2018 23:24:11 GMT
Post by kathleenl on Nov 10, 2018 23:24:11 GMT
Nice start for the Trip Reports section, Cookie. More interesting that the usual ate at, stayed at, played at. I was compelled to inter webby ambergris. Natural History Museum www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-ambergris.html and this www.ambergris.co.nz/identification which indicates that the hot needle test isn't to release a scent but to test the reaction of a beach find that you hope is ambergris. It might stink when you hold it to your nose. I'm wondering if it gets not only lighter in color but lighter in weight as it oxidizes and dries as Bret suggests. Would seem so. The NHM link also presents a scientist's interesting theory that while ambergris is surely whale waste, "whale vomit" might indicate the wrong end of the whale and naturally accumulating ambergris may cause their death. Death by constipation, more or less. Poor whales. So glad that you got the walk you wanted on LHP. An LHP day hike is on my must do rain or shine list. |
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Firsts
Nov 19, 2018 18:50:33 GMT
Post by Cookie on Nov 19, 2018 18:50:33 GMT
Thanks Kathleen. Didn't find any ambergris!
I thought of another first we had this trip, although it wasn't first hand... policeman on a motorcycle with a radar gun!!! A friend was driving his little pickup truck at 50 mph. Yes, that is speeding... he (and we) thought 5 mph over the speed limit. The police advised that the speed limit for TRUCKS is 30 mph. $150. Ouch.
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Firsts
Feb 18, 2019 10:35:05 GMT
Post by Cookie on Feb 18, 2019 10:35:05 GMT
Another first... we found this guy while walking on Lighthouse Beach today:  His trail made it look like he was trying to get back to the water.  Mr. Cookie looked him up on the web. He is a slipper lobster, aka shovel-nosed lobster. It's fun to find something new! |
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Firsts
Feb 18, 2019 13:19:30 GMT
Post by Bret S on Feb 18, 2019 13:19:30 GMT
Slipper lobsters are good to eat! Never saw one on land before.
Never Miss a Beach!
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