Search This Blog

...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Lost and found...

A walk on the beach can be just that...a walk on the beach.
Some days you go to look for driftwood, sea glass
or nice pebbles to bring home.
These are treasures, yet somewhat 'ordinary'.
Then there are those days which a walk on the beach
can become extraordinary.
You find the rare and unusual.
Thursday was one of those days.
I've been walking on the beach and rambling through
the bush with my friend Irma for more than 15 years now.
She is the queen of finding artifacts.
Growing up on a small coastal Island, she learned to look for stone and bone
tools and such alongside the rest of her family.
She has an extensive collection from walking on the beaches around here.
Once, she even found a mastodon tooth!
And then, the find of her lifetime was a small bone
 carving in the image of a man.
A very rare find indeed.
I began looking as well and started to find the odd treasure on the beach...
Here's my small collection.
The black arrows are various stone arrowheads.
The green arrow shows a stone spearhead (tip broken)
and next to that the start of a jade chisel.
The red arrow shows a bone cleaning tool.
The light blue arrow show a bone blanket/shawl pin.
The white arrow shows two flints for Colonial flint lock rifles.
Here is a close up of one of my best finds...
A small jade chisel found where there is no jade.
May have been traded or brought by someone from another part of B.C.
This bone weapon was part of a double side harpoon used for fishing...
Here is the end of a clay pipe...
On Thursday, we were exploring a favorite area where we've
both been lucky enough to find artifacts.
I seemed to be focused on bits of old bottles and glass pieces,
when I bent down to pick up an odd bit of glass, my heart jumped!
There on the beach, rolling around for who knows how many decades,
was this...
The most beautiful, clear, agate arrowhead!
Irma and I both squealed like school girls, knowing
that this was one of those extraordinary days!
I had been with her when she found her bone carving
and she was with me to find my best find...so far.
As we walked, I kept taking it out of my pocket and we would look
and marvel at the skill and beauty of such an object...
To think how much time and effort went into producing such a thing.
 And the unanswered questions of who and when?
How did they lose such a piece?
Oh! to be a time traveller and to look over the shoulder of the past.
But then some things have not only the beauty of a mystery
but also the ability to take us away and wonder at days gone by.
Finding these things is a gift and a reason to keep looking,
to keep wandering, rambling and wondering.



9 comments:

Unknown said...

that is just breathtaking on so many levels!

Stone Angel said...

WOW oh WOW oh WOW - I am breathless!!

gz said...

such craftsmanship. You are fortunate

Mary said...

My heart skipped a beat when i saw the clear agate arrowhead! How extraordinary and beautiful. To hold something like that in your hand. Almost like meeting a far back ancestor and hearing his/her story told in person in a sense! What a feeling of excitement for you and your friend.. and for us. Thank you so much for sharing. :)

Acornmoon said...

How wonderful your finds are, they make history come alive.

I wish I lived near enough to a shoreline, there is something very calming about walking along a beach in search of treasure.

the wild magnolia said...

hey, i'm becoming as excited as you about scavenger hunting the beach.

all your treasures are wonderful. the agate arrow is beautiful. i too wonder about the history.

farmlady said...

This, my friend, is an exquisite find.
All of your beach treasures are wonderful and I had already fallen in love with the jade square even before you told us about it... but that agate arrowhead is an amazing piece.
Can I come and walk the beach with you?
I still have beach glass from my visit to Victoria and Esquimalt a few years back, but they pale in comparison to the agate.
Treasure this piece. It's very special.

rachel said...

Thanks for sharing your treasure! What great and beautiful finds....

Unknown said...

Wow so im not the only one who hunts around here!! I also have quite the collection. I just wish I could find new areas to hunt! ;) good luck!! :)