Though I live in the very middle the nation, I absolutely love the sea. And when I visit the sea, as when I visit any place else, I collect things. I collect anything I can get home in the car, or more often nowadays, on a plane, or a train.

As I collect items on the shore and in the sea, I am always drawn to appreciate the power of the sea. I am amazed at how it is able to work on the rock and shells to create, over time, their hard, sharp edges into round, smooth surfaces.

I have found many moon snail shells on the shoreline, and in the sea. They are incredible and intricate. Nature never ceases to make me feel humble…

Sand dollars are special sea creatures everyone loves to find, and finding one still in one piece is very special. Look at the smaller sand dollar…it has been worn down by the movement of the sea, becoming rounded, its imprint much lighter. Notice the small piece of driftwood behind the sand dollars. It, too, has been rounded by the sea…

I have been to the Atlantic coast many times, but this summer we had the opportunity to travel to the Pacific coast of Oregon…and it is amazing. We found many pieces of basalt on the edge of the sea. Many of them had holes bored into them, perfectly round holes. What could have done that, i wondered. Time to do some research. The perfectly bored holes are made by a bivalve mollusc called a piddock or angel wing. We found many basalt stones rounded by the sea with rounded piddock bored burrows.

The sea is beautiful, it has amazing power, and its action on everything around it helps make nature a most exciting and aesthetic place to find oneself!

In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge