Booty Haul

As many of you know, beachcombing and chicken appreciation are two of my favorite hobbies. There are no chickens on the island, so I have concentrated on beachcombing this summer. And, without a doubt, this has been the finest season ever for collecting beach booty. Yes, this summer has even exceeded the famed spring of 2004 when I found my radiant and rare amethyst sphere and many other glass balls.

The booty is quite varied. Some handsomely net-covered glass floats have turned up this summer as well as large, colorful inflated buoys of exceptional character and flair. As usual I have gathered a large collection of colorful pebbles to bring home and use in mosaics. The marine mammal remains, though, set this season apart.

Many of you have already heard about the walrus skull. The tusks of which are still under negotiation. It was quite a massive creature! This animal died fairly recently. I went through quite a long and stinky process of boiling and scraping the meat off it. Sound gross? That’s because it was.

Did I mention that I have a penis bone? I do. I have gathered a handsome collection of petrified seal and sea lion bones. These will serve various utilitarian purposes around the house. Sort of like on the Flintstones. The glory of this boney group is a perfectly-preserved penis bone. I think that one will just be for display.

Then there are the 2000-year-old seal and sea lion teeth. My obsession. I had never found one before this summer! One beach on St. George is adjacent to a bog. Bogs are excellent for preserving artifacts. The acidic soils erode under the pounding surf and the mighty Bering Sea tosses the treasure back onto St. George’s expectant shores. They are pure ivory. These ancient relics display a remarkable variation of size, texture, color and pattern.

What a haul! And that is not even including the items I have not mentioned due to questionable legality.