Friday, January 22, 2010

Searching...

When you go to the beach, do you also look for that one, perfect, enormous shell?
One that the sea had washed out and left on the beach...



 Just for you.



 One that was overlooked by all the other sea-bathers and strand-walkers...



Perhaps even with a pearl inside...



I didn't find it.
Did you?



Then I looked closer,



and closer...





I had a revelation.
All these years, I have been missing it because I wasn't looking!
Really looking!
There, right before my eyes they were...
The tiniest of shells...
Perfection in miniature!  Small BUT Amazing!
Unblemished, some you-can-only-see-with-a-microscope-small.
Teensy-weensy baby shells.

Millions of them. No, Gazzillions!!!

I was sitting on it.





SERENDIPITY!



Nature helping to
Change the world into miniature...
One thing at a time

31 comments:

Maria said...

wow,they look so very pretty and so smal.
What a good picture's.
I wan't too go on a vacation too the beach now, but that is not possible.
I have too work and here in the Netherlands it is very cold at the moment.
Greetings
Maria

Tabitha Corsica said...

Lize! You've finially discovered it! Wonderful! Living on barrier island, I am fortunate enough to see these countless tiny shells daily (if I'd only get to the beach that often). Aren't they amazingly beautiful? Because they are so tiny, they are often perfectly intact. And no one seems to want them but me?!

Happy Hunting!

Tabitha

James said...

How delightful! I love your viewpoint, so positive and joyful.

miniacollection said...

What beautiful pictures !They make me dream, I love the sea so much. The photos of your shells are superb. When on a beach I tend to look at and for shells, however small and tiny shells. I have some in a box, I think they may be useful for my miniatures and I also collect them for pleasure.
I forget to say that your text is very good too.
Geneviève

rosanna said...

Tiny shells are really amazing, aren't they? I used to collect them in Sardegna beaches. Just for the fun of it, because they were beautiful.
BTW you are absolutely right: Sans is the funniest blogger around. I told her.Hugs Rosanna

Sans! said...

My dear Lize, serendipity indeed! I can't believe you are doing a post on these little wonders of nature. Wait till you read my next post which I am hoping to do by tonight after watching "Legion", and you will know what I mean :). You know what they say about great minds! And when they are over the same little things, wow! We must be like rocket scientist great!

Christel said...

Hi hi fun post:) I love shells, especially abalone or what it is called. I have collected some mini shells from beaches in Spain. Perfect work when you get tired of just lying there. My family usually helps in too;)

Eva said...

I love to look for mini shells in the beach. People sometimes look at me because they see an adult woman using her hands as a sieve, poking in the sand looking for the smallest shell or winkle. Often my son helps me and I can camouflage myself...LOL...
You are right, they are perfectes and the most beautiful, nature is very wise.
Actually if we look well there are a lot of things in nature that we can use to do miniatures.
You always take photos.
Love,

Kristina said...

Lize -

Such a beautiful share and so true. I actually had a similar revelation and have a small apothecary jar of just tiny shells I've found that's on a shelf in our master bathroom. When my sister visited from Washington state she was so taken with the tiny treasures she began her own collection.

Lize said...

Maria - we are so lucky living on the Red Sea, but we do not always make the effort to go to the beach. I hope you get the opportunity to go to a warm and sunny place soon!

Tabitha - Yes, finally! I know it took me a long time, but now I am here to appreciate them too! It is amazing how small they are. Most of the tiny ones were so small, my camera didn't pick them up. But they are perfect replicas of the big ones.

James - thank you, and yes, I do remember to smile more. Made easier by the fact that that was my only New Year's resolution!

Genevieve - I also discovered the very small ones when I was looking for ones I could use for a miniature project... but then I found some that were pin head size!

Rosanna - Yes Sans are very funny! And you are very sweet! (I think Sans will agree!)

Sans - Jippeee! I always wanted to be a rocket scientist...Or was that a rock scientist? I can not remember. It seems like so long ago that I wanted to be anything, now I just am.. As time goes by it becomes harder to 'become' something else, doesn't it? I am very curious about what you are posting on tonight! I'll be 'over' to investigate soon.

Christel - Yes, I think it was when I was really bored when I made this discovery. I wonder if the kind of miniature shells you will find on the different beaches will be different? I was amazed at the variety I found at the Red sea. My family likes to help finding bigger shells, but they say I look a little crazy looking for shells the size of a grain of sand!

cockerina said...

lize oh, that wonderful, wonderful pictures! those big shells are a show, lucky you that you've seen up close!
Small shells are also found on the beach where I go on vacation, but in fact, as you say, if you do not think the thumbnails, you do not see them .. and maybe you're sitting on it! ah ah! The next time I go to the sea I will also try some, thanks for the suggestion!
Caterina

Mimmi said...

What wonderful pictures! I envy you, it`s so cold here up north! The big shells are so beautiful, and the tiny ones are so cute. I found a bunch of those when we visited Denmark, they are perfect for miniatures :-D

hannajaleijona said...

Wonderful post! I did find the tiny shells as a child and how I loved it. I was laughing out loud collecting the tiniest, prettiest shells in Åland, an island between Finland and Sweden. I still have some of them in a match-box...

Susanne said...

Love your perspectives on life and your minis, Lize!
Collected some in Denmark too years ago, but now I can´t seem to find any..will go on looking!

Meli Abellán said...

Lize, what beautiful pictures they are!!! I agreed with your comments and thanks for sharing such lovely scenes!!!

You also asked if I did the needle work of my little carpet, yes I did it and thanks.
Meli

Unknown said...

You can't have it more perfect!

I'm collecting these treasures off nature for a long time now....were ever I see sand I dig for little sea shells.Some mini friends were also so kind to send me some from there beaches.When one of my friends go on holliday,they always surch for thiny sea shells,to bring back...I have some beautiful all the way from Bali. One day I hope to build a mini room with all these drawers with my collected mini sea shells.

Anyways,if I would live at a magical place like you with all these treasures waiting to be find.....wow!

kathi said...

Love your photos! Even before I had my dollhouse I collected tiny shells. I wish I had saved more of them now. Guess I'll just have to go back to the beach!

Pubdoll said...

So lovely photos! My favourite summer activity is walking on the beach looking for beautiful stones and shells. I have also collected many tiny tiny shells like that when on holiday, since I think the ones in the more southern parts are better looking than those on our beaches.

Eva J said...

Hello
I can only agree with all the
other comments. Such beautiful
pictures! I discovered
the minishells last summer on the
Swedish wescoast. I had never
seen them before - but my friend
who doesn´t understand anything
about minatures discovered them
for me!
Eva J

teddy bears Marin to Venice said...

The sea....... the most beautiful thing that God has created!

thanks for the fantastic photos and the emotion to see her.... hook the sea.

Rosarita

Alicia said...

I love the beautiful pictures !!!

Papillon Bleu said...

Lize, I was soooooooo pleased to see your name!
And all these "pleeeeeeeeeeeeze" he!he!he!
Ok...can you keep a kind of secret?
it is a little theatre full of dreams...but shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

I love your photos Lize, I know I've already told you but, you have something special in your eyes...this magical filter that makes you see things so differently.It is a gift.A precious one.
XXX

anjah said...

Dear Lize, I can only connect to the other. Your photos are always great! And you are absolutely right, we should look exactly, on what we sit. ;-)
Hugs, Anjah

contar said...

The small things
The small details
They are those who to the end(purpose) were filling us with happiness
Mas that(that) the big ones that to the end(purpose) we will not know where to put
The images are impressive, I like very much his(its,her) fotogafias.
An embrace.

Love 'n Light said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Love 'n Light said...

Hello Lize,
I love these photos, The beach phots are so serene.
I live in South Australia where we've been having superb beach wheather.
Last weekend we went to Aldinga Beach for getaway, This beach is amazing. One side it is pristine, so clean there's no seaweed, shells or anything to be found.
5 min., down the road it is very rocky, hard to walk on but adventurous.
My granddaughters had so much fun there looking for little treasures (and some big) we found a shark egg, shells of all shapes and sizes, white seaweed that looked like snowflakes and my favourite, a rock with my initial on it N, which looks as if I wrote it, it's exactly as I write my N.
If you would like to see the photos you can visit my blog, I've posted them there.
LL Nat

Anonymous said...

When you take the time to build something by hand it says all there is to say about your character. When you take the time to build something by hand but for someone special it shows appreciation.

Porches & Petit Fours said...

What a beautiful post! It makes me want to head to the beach and sit in total solitude. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous and I truly enjoyed them.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. You're my very first follower so you will always hold a special position at Porches & Petitfours, LOL....

By the way....love your Mark Twain quote. Just imagine if everyone took the time to sort things out before making a decision to speak. What a perfect utopia that would be, LOL. Have a beautiful weekend!

Maria said...

I have got a award for you!
You can pic it up at my blog
Greetings
Maria

miniannalee said...

I collect miniature seashells too.. Check out my blog I've posted pictures there.

Ana said...

Thank you for the wonderful photos around such a beautiful theme - seashells, I collect them and think they are real works of art from nature.

AM

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