Gemstone Beach

Spent a thoroughly enjoyable few hours at this gem of a beach ;)  It's called Gemstone Beach because apparently, the surf has been known to wash up semi-precious gems such as garnet, jasper, quartz and nephrite. The beach is in a constant state of change with the surface shifting from sand to stones with the storms and tides and 'gems' have often been found amongst the beautiful array of multi coloured rocks.  Those of you who know my home will know that I have a random and slowly growing array of rocks, stones and shells around the place.  Most are there just because I saw them and liked them whilst out on a walk somewhere but some have been deliberately selected on walks to create small rock stacks.  I have them in jars, in stacks, on shelves, out in the garden, in the bathroom, in the kitchen.......I guess it's just another small way to feel connected to nature when at home.  On the walk today along Gemstone Beach I stopped and talked to another fossicker whose selection approach was "if it sings to you, listen".  I liked that.  My issue was that there were dozens of entire choirs singing to me!!  So........I now have a host of beautiful, singing stones that will become my living slice of Gemstone Beach once I get home.  I was tempted to photograph my wee collection but felt the choristers in their natural environment were somehow better. 


Whilst it was an overcast and somewhat windy day today, it was actually quite warm.  Things have changed this evening though - a dip in temperature and the arrival of some rain; the wind has dropped a tad just in the last half hour or so.  The weather is supposed to move north overnight and tomorrow morning so hopefully by tomorrow afternoon things will be fining up again.  Wet or fine though, I'll be leaving the south coast tomorrow and heading inland and north.  The [slow-ish] journey home begins.


In COVID news, another slight dip in the total number of new cases which ostensibly sounds good but the concern is that the dip may be caused by people simply not reporting.  The number of cases reported today was 15,161 with 618 in hospital and 10 in ICU.  Sadly, another death was also reported.