“Don’t write what you know—what you know may bore you, and thus bore your readers. Write about what interests you—and interests you deeply—and your readers will catch fire at your words.”
–Valerie Sherwood
Writing Retreats
Whether you are a beginner, an established writer, a published author, or are looking for a creative vacation with your spouse…I have a retreat for you.
Shells.
Seashells in particular.
Mollusks that build them.
Snails that live underwater.
Slimy boneless beings that build architecture that has beguiled man for centuries.
Finding them.
Studying them.
Creating art and jewelry with them.
It’s fair to say collecting shells has become my gentle madness.
I stumbled upon my first seashell at five years old. I’ve been bending down to pick them up for decades now.
The thrill, the squeal, the overwhelming joy of finding seashells still consumes me.
A rare or favorite find leaves a glow inside me for days and then again every time I open the many drawers that fill my shell room.
YES!
I have an entire room full of seashells. Not to mention a curio cabinet filled in the living room and shells scattered throughout my garden in both the front and backyard. A lifetime of collecting.
Greens , pinks and purple.
Blues ,oranges and even reds. Every color you could imagine. Then combinations of colors mixed with whites or black.
Swirls and spirals and spikes!
Coils, ridges and frills!!!!!
Sea snails weave a fibonacci sequence with complete percision. Over and over it duplicates its beauty with perfection; and every member of its family does the same.
Every Pacific scallop builds like every other Pacific scallop.
Likewise every Kellet’s welk builds like every other Kellets welk.
There are thousands of different seashells in the oceans. There are over 85,000 species and if you get into fossil shells……well then we’re talking another 100,000 species!
😳!
A seashell is the home every little seasnail builds to keep it safe throughout its life journey.
Simple calcium carbonate and a tiny amount of protein. Some mollusks build a shell so thick and so strong that they are very hard to break. Others build is so extremely fragile that you can see right through them and they can crumble just sitting in your hand.
These wonderful little abandoned seashells find their way into all of our hearts as I am almost sure that every one of you reading this today has a special little shell with memories of a moment in time that was dear to you and has tucked itself into your soul.
💦🐚🐚🐚
For some reason, sharks have always spiked my interest. Going down in one of those shark cages and even more so, having a shark come up and say hello to me feels like it could be a pretty scary rush.
And I’m really not one of those adrenaline junkies either, but for some reason knowing that I could face death by this crazy creature sounds exciting. Of course, if the cage is properly aligned and the cage handler knows what he or she is doing you’re perfectly safe, but there’s no guarantees.
This being said, I’ll probably never do this precisely because I can’t trust the cages. Hmmm, it seems that now I’m starting to change my mind. Would I be irresponsible if I did do this? I guess this may all just be big talk.
Hmmm, to be continued?
S.Singal:
Certainly you can change your mind!
That’s why pencils have erasers- not because
of the erroneous thinking one made a mistake, but
more simply because one changed their mind!
~Karen
Ohhh! What an inviting question! I’ve many likes,
and three interests blur together as one.
I thoroughly enjoy writing and have been writing
from a very early age. I absolutely, positively adore
animals of all kinds and the vast canvas of nature.
Several years ago I accidentally discovered photography .
I take care of animals for other people ( anything from
equine to various fish in a tank) and all these animals
are in some form a backdrop of my photography. I marvel
at the gaiety and expression I’ve been able to witness and their keen sense of tuition. Often, animals are an inspiration
that allows greater clarity to my personal life. Nature provides the same prompts. I have an ability to share space with a variety of wild animals which always leaves me feeling a deep sense of gratitude and honor to connect with animals in such a deep way. It speaks of trust which would seem so counter intuitive of wildlife. And I think to myself, if this wild creature can trust, the deeper meaning is my trust in self and others can be restored. So animals, photography and the ephinanies of life through the lens of life and lenses of my camera all become one.