We make our way down the rutted road on Bogolo Headland, warily through tall grass waiting to trip us up, and cautiously down stairs carved into the rock. We turn left, returning to the rocky coves we’ve visited before.
Today while J identifies hornfels, and resolves granite issues, I cruise amongst the abalone shells, multitudes of them, emptied and discarded against many backgrounds representing aspects of the sea that nurtured them, still lifes waiting to be captured.
Abalone are prized, pricey and therefore frequently poached. You’re only supposed to bag two at a time. Someone here had a feast day.
We used to use the large perlemoen species shells as ash-trays back in the 1970s in Cape Town, can’t say I have ever eaten abalone though! I have several small ‘Venus Ears’ and a large sea-snail all very pretty with the mother-of-pearl (nacre) inner layer. And I have a very large shell where the external layer has also been removed exposing the beautiful mother-of-pearl shell.
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Pressed before adding, bought in New Zealand and not cheap either!
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Ah, I do love your beach combing galleries, Meg!
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No. I need to practise self control.
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Hahaha! Enjoy yourself, girl!!
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Thank you for showing them in gallery form, so I could get in close. 🙂 🙂 I’ve not been to the beach since we got back. 😦 Yesterday was supposed to be a coastal walk with the group but it was cancelled. My world was shrouded in mist and drizzle, so I went to a coffee shop with ‘the lasses’. (cheese scone instead of cake 🙂 )
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So they were eaten instead of being made into something pretty. Do they need to be polished to bring out the colour or is it layered?
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Either way, the abalone is dead!!! The colour inside the shell is there. Often the outside of the shell has accretions.
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I think the external shell has to be ground away to expose the nacre and then polished. Not an easy job I imagine
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