Manset Town Dock, Maine; April 22, 2014 (Beachcombing series No.74)
Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea), Common Slipper Shell (Crepidula fornicata), Green Crab (Carcinus maenas), Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis), chunk of bone (possibly cow), aluminum can, ceramic cup handle, lobster-claw band, Northern Rock Barnacle (Balanus balanoides), plastic spoon handle, ceramic shard, asphalt chunk tumbled into a stone-shape, Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus), green-glazed pottery bit, 1950s Coke bottle, Stimpson Whelk (Colus stimpsoni), bird leg bone, plant tag, shoe sole.
April 22 was cool and overcast with a light breeze from the east that barely ruffled the water. I had just dropped my son off for sailing team practice, and wondered how they would fare with such light wind. The sailing team meets in Southwest Harbor, on the other side of the island from our home in Bar Harbor, so I jumped at the chance for a quick beachcombing session in less familiar territory. Not in the mood for the sticky mudflats around the sailing center, I wandered over to Manset, a tiny town just across the harbor. (I’ve taken you over to Manset before, in prettier weather.)
The town dock is heavily used by fishing boats and barges, and the shoreline reflects that. I found a lot of small rusted iron pieces that had stained the rocks and shells, and in one spot, a long chain:
It kept popping up from among the stones all around the small beach. If all the sections were connected, it must have been at least ten feet long. Periwinkle were crawling all over the rocks and there were lots of empty slipper shells, some of which found their way into this still life. The one at top left is stained reddish from all the iron in the area. There must be a big mussel bed offshore, because the high tide area was carpeted with shells:
These are my favorite boots. I bought them from L.L.Bean about 20 years ago. They are older than my children! They used to be waterproof, but after about ten years that wore off. The soles have almost worn off, too, but there aren’t any cobblers nearby, so I just keep wearing them. I can’t bring them back to Bean’s for repair – I tried that once with a ten-year old pair of hiking boots, and Customer Service said they didn’t make that model any more so they couldn’t repair them. They gave me a brand-new pair of a more recent model. Which is seriously awesome customer service, but I don’t want a new pair of boots: it takes decades to get leather so perfectly stained and scuffed!
