Well, that’s a wrap. Earth just passed the autumnal Equinox on her annual journey around Old Sol. It’s time to rinse out all my salty beach gear and stow it away for yet another year. It was a soggy summer here in Cape Breton and beach days were few and far between, but all the more special for that. And, as always, every visit to the shore yielded up its own treasures.

I wrote about the beach creations people leave behind in At the End of the Day. People of all ages create for the simple joy of creating, knowing that their sand castles, stone towers and driftwood sculptures will vanish with the tide. But in this blog I’m focusing on a different type of beach art: The random beauty of shells and stones and seaweed, of jellyfish and driftwood washed ashore. So take a stroll with me through Mother Nature’s Seaside Gallery, an accidental art display that is ever-changing and never fails to delight.

Jellyfish Jewels

We don’t love jellyfish at the local shores. There are some that are benign, like moon jellyfish, but it’s chiefly the lion’s mane jellyfish that arrive here in July, wafted along on warm ocean currents. They are graceful and otherworldly as they swim, opening and closing their maroon bells, long tentacles streaming behind. But watch out – there’s a sting in that tentacle! Swimmer beware when you spot dark red blobs bobbing in the waves.

Luckily the jellyfish invasion doesn’t last long, and we humans can enjoy swimming in the sea sting free. As the jellies die and wash ashore, they transform through a tantalizing array of jewel-like colours: amber, amethyst, sapphire and topaz. Click on the little photos to see these jelly gems full size.

Tapestry and Lace

We also aren’t overly fond of seaweed. It can wash ashore in huge piles that get a wee bit ripe as they rot, not to mention spawning flies. But a little clump of seaweed can be a thing of beauty. Purple dulse, vivid green sea lettuce, and the browns, greens and golds of kelp, are woven by waves into a tangled tapestry.

Seaweed Scribbles

Sometime the sea writes in a cursive script, a mysterious message to be decoded by the curious beach walker.

Sea Monsters

Some seaside gallery creations are beautiful, some are suggestive, but some are downright spooky. Humans have always imagined that monsters dwell in the deeps, and sometimes they crawl out of the sea and onto the shore.

When seaweed wrapped itself around a semi-submerged tree trunk, it reminded me of the wooden masks I saw in Bali – frightening faces draped with coarse black hair. Could this be Ranga, the demon queen?

Big mounds of seaweed get washed ashore and then are eroded away by waves and tides into creepy shapes.

Rock Art

There are so many wonderful rocks in Cape Breton that I wrote a whole blog about them in Stones I have Known. So I’ll try not to get too carried away here, but I just had to include a few arty rocks in this seaside gallery.

These rocks are all dressed up with nowhere to go. Gypsum is a soft rock, easily carved by the sea. The crevasses and creases in this gypsum boulder have been draped in seaweed to create a striking sculpture in black and white.

Living sea lettuce is attached to this intertidal boulder. Not only is it a gorgeous green, it’s actually quite yummy.

Barnacles are little crustaceans that find something they like and then stick to it. The wee animals add a touch of pointillism to the pink and green rocky canvas on the left, but they took over the whole show on the right.

A few more mixed-media pieces. This finely sculpted rock on the left sports a smattering of seaweed fronds as well as artfully applied dashes of barnacles. On the right, lichens and periwinkles combine in a tidal puddle to create an image of … something.

Rock Paintings

Like many people, I am in awe of the cave art created by our early ancestors. Somehow the patterns and colours on these boulders remind me of those ancient masterpieces. Nature paints with minerals and chemistry to create abstract art that endures.

Patterns in the Sand

In my blog Winter’s Art Gallery I marveled at the patterns and textures nature creates with ice and snow. Sand is also sculpted, by wind and wave and tide, into elaborate patterns as beautiful as they are transient.

Alas, like ripples in the sand, summer is all too transient. It’s always hard to let go of the seaside season. It’s so short and so very sweet. But here in the Holler the last hummingbird has headed south and the first leaves are turning scarlet. The forest begins to beckon, a place full of more natural treasures to be discovered and savoured. Happy Autumn!

Sue McKay Miller
September 30th, 2023

p.s. After a soggy summer we are enjoying a sunny fall, so I’m back at the beach after all!