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I picked up the surviving sliver and asked, “Where are the other pieces?” I was once broken too. Loss separated me from the life I had with another. I turned inward. There, a little [...]

Why is she alone on the water’s edge? Does she sit there with purpose? Is she at peace with her solitude? Eventually, she asked me to pick her up and take her home. We belonged together. [...]

Tight shell on her back, she crawled out of the water. Although the lack of ability to grow in a linear fashion limited her, she knew what to do. It was time to shed her hard exoskeleton on the [...]

Parasites attached themselves to her exposed exterior. In turn, she became the reluctant host. She struggled to shake them loose. But they had already latched on and began sapping her strength. [...]

Low tide exposed the shell. The surrounding calm, shallow water drew me in and I focused on its delicate beauty. Instinctively, mounds of wet sand protected her fragile exterior. The granular [...]

She was known as the Queen of the Sea. Years of salty waves pitted and scuffed her once smooth ebony shell. All of her inhabitants moved out.  Her spiral interior is empty. I pushed away the sand [...]

 This specimen immediately reminded me of my favorite fairy tale, Cinderella. In the deep blue water, a miniature sea princess waited her turn to slide her tiny foot into the slipper. But first, [...]

Nature is a great teacher. The sea life I saw this past summer schooled me in resilience. All of the species I observed knew how to protect themselves. Horseshoe crabs wore an amor-like shell to [...]

On my walk along the beach each morning, I marvel at the different styles of the water. Some days, the tide tip-toes to the edge. Other mornings, the sea hurls its frothy water at me. But [...]

My one-year-old granddaughter Emily’s tiny hands clutched the plastic shovel. She pushed with all her might through the wet sand and then tried to put both of her feet in the slender divot. [...]