When I was young we spent a large chunk of our summers camping. We camped at an oceanside campground, and spent hours playing on sandstone rocks, swimming in the ocean, building sandcastles, building rafts and exploring tide pools. One of the things we always searched for was jingle shells. Turns out these are the shell of a type of oyster, one that almost no one eats as it is apparently very bitter. The challenge was to find the shells with the hole still complete – not easy as they are very delicate shells and the top hinge part is often broken apart. The memory of finding these jingle shells is closely tied to my mum, as she would make wind chimes out of them if we found enough. I only occasionally find them on the beaches up here, but every time I find one they take me back to those summers on the beach.
Rocks, Waves, Beach 
Our summers were spent camping too, but lakeside versus oceanside. Good memories…
By: Denise | Chez Danisse on June 24, 2011
at 7:51 am
To echo Denise…good memories.
By: Rachel on June 24, 2011
at 1:14 pm
I love that your mom made chimes out of your found treasures.
By: Terri on June 24, 2011
at 1:25 pm
We loved those shells too – thanks for the memories!
By: SarahT on June 24, 2011
at 1:45 pm
This is beautiful. I’ve never seen this type of shell, I can almost hear the jingle. Thx Kate!
By: Kim on June 25, 2011
at 8:26 am
Such lovely memories. They are just priceless! Wishing you a great week. Ros
By: snoopydog on June 26, 2011
at 11:02 am
amazing – i’ve never heard of those before. (go figure, with me growing up completely landlocked)
what a beautiful childhood memory, how magical when we can find something that so completely wisks us back to the past.
By: melissa on July 13, 2011
at 6:17 pm