Happy Holidays: Part II

The following day saw us meeting up with my sister and her family at Gyllnyvese Beach near Falmouth. 

I've loved this beach since childhood.  It's not a wonderful beach for sand but it's unmatched for rock pooling potential!!  I did my GCSE coursework based on the biodiversity within the differing zones of the reef so am a tad passionate about it.







It was a day where time passes without noticing - when you're in complete 'flow'.  Happy.

That rocky reef was the start of my journey to study conservation management at uni.  It was the kick start of recognising the magnificent wonder of the world God created.  Yes, those rock pools hold much wonder to me!

Each year, I've tried to share this simple joy with my babes - and this year, was the year I was rewarded with excitement, wonder, squeals of delight and much hopping on rocks.  Yep, a joyous moment.  Little B especially enjoyed it proclaiming "I'm a great fisherman I am.  I caught that fast fish!"

 

We found an amazing abundance of marine life - 5 cushion star fish, multiple brittle star fish, a small sea urchin, a large blenny, plenty of crabs and shrimps and a few differing types of fish I didn't know the names of!!

Beyond the rock pools my littlies joined their big cousins in play on the beach.  They wore their hand me down wetsuits and R tried body boarding for the first time.  Simple joys...

My fondest memory from this day though was laying head to head in a funny splayed triangle sieving the fine shingle looking for 'treasures'.  An hour of complete focus.  We found sea glass, shells worn like sharks teeth, tiny shells and a cowlrie.  I smiled as R found it - they're hard to find, quite rare really.  As children we camped a lot with my parents and if we harassed them, they'd send us to the beach to find a 'meal ticket' for that night's tea.  A meal ticket was always a cowlrie, and we'd search for hours til we found one.  Tricks of the parenthood trade ;o)  It's so funny how these little things stay with you.

It' funny that my most memorable moment of the day doesn't need a photograph to prompt it.  We were all fully present and in the moment.  But we still have their treasure.  R & B created a beautiful display with it once we returned to Granny's house.

 

We made the most of this day - beach volleyball, rock pooling, wave jumping, beach sieving and ended with a BBQ.

 

Great Fun.

 

J9 x