12/22/18 Report - A Treasure Hunter's Christmas: Decorating with Finds. Antique Bells and Other Finds.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

A Small Part of the Population of My Lost and Found Village.

Christmas is a special time of year for me.  I really like it.  One thing I like about it is all of the traditions and memories.  But Christmas is a really good time to bring your finds into the story.

I like to make use of finds.  One thing I always like to find is wire.  It comes in handy.  Many of my Christmas tree decorations are held by hangers made of wire I found.  Finds also become ornaments or decorations.

Above you can see some of the items I've found.  Many of them were shown in posts before.  They often find a place in my Lost and Found Village beside the tree along with some other or vintage and antique Christmas decorations.

The movie Polar Express made bells very popular.  Here is a crotal bell I found in the hills of West Virginia.

And here is another one that has been polished and fitted with a nice new ribbon.  It hangs on my Christmas tree.

Polished Antique Petal Bell on Christmas Tree.

As with anything nice, there are fakes sold.  The easiest sign and first thing to look for is the hole in the lower half of the bell.  Many fakes simply have a slit.  Genuine antique bells will have rounded holes at the end of the slit.

Here is a great web site that tells all about such bells, including how to date them and many other interesting facts.

https://classicbells.com/info/DatingBells.html

An entire strap fitted out with bells would have maybe 15 bells.  That would be nice to hear.  They do have a nice sound.

Oh, by the way, the little rusty truck in the top picture also came from the hills of West Virginia.

Decorating with objects that have a history is much more meaningful than buying a box of factory made ornaments.

Using your own finds adds new stories and traditions to your Christmas.  They can be passed down through the generations.  Many of my favorite decorations were made by my grandma or came from my childhood.

Here is a Christmas tree decoration made using sea shells and a few beads.  The beach provides all kinds of things.

Christmas Ornament Made From Treasure Coast Sea Shells.

Another Type of Sea Shell Ornament.

A little paint and glitter were added to these shells.

Silver Bell Made of Float.

This float and rope were beach finds.  It just took a little paint to turn it into a large silver bell.

I put my tree up but haven't finished my decorating yet.  Those are just some of the ways I use finds at Christmas.

And of course, some of the shiny and nicer finds become presents.

I was in the mood to talk Christmas since that is what I was doing.

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We had a couple days on nearly continuous west wind.  The tides are higher now.

It looks like the after Christmas surf might be bigger than predicted earlier.  Possibly up to seven feet now.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Happy Hunting and happy decorating,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/25/13 Report - The Night After Christmas and The Next Day on the Beach

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Flagler Beach Yesterday.

Since I was derelict in my duties yesterday, I'll post this incomplete post just to get you started today.  I'll be back a bit later with more up-to-date info on the Treasure Coast beaches in just a little while.

First, here is a photo of Flagler beach from yesterday.


Now that Santa's big red bag is empty and the colorful wrapping paper, now crumpled and torn, waits for Waste Management's big green truck, Silent Night has become dead silence in the middle of the night, Father Time waits in the wings, and Baby New Year too. The beat goes on like the endless tides.

That is the kind of writing you get from someone who just woke up in the middle of the night not being able to remember what he dreamed two seconds ago.  Another mixed bag.  Right now, I like it - whatever It is.

I want to thank those of you who wrote to say Merry Christmas or Thank You or who had other witty comments.  You put a smile on my face.

I couldn't believe how many people saw the video I posted showing a childhood Christmas back in the day.  Even people that don't metal detect or read this blog found it without me mentioning it or saying anything about it.  My nephew from New York saw it on Facebook where it was reposted by some of the other kids in the video.  That amazed me.  The internet is pervasive.  What will they think of next?

The video was made in the mid-fifties on 8 mm film and then more recently converted to DVD.  There are companies that make a business of converting film to DVD.   You might consider doing that if you have any old home movies around.

I've been hearing from a lot of people from other areas lately.  Its the time of year when snowbirds start  dreaming of Florida beaches while pieces of eight dance in their heads.

I received a couple of books that I'm sure will get quoted in this blog in the future.  And some other things that will contribute to my posts. 

I don't know if you've seen Prospectors on the Weather Channel.  It is now one of my favorite shows.


A prehistoric burial gound known as The Windover Archaeological Site, which was discovered in 1982 near Titusville, has been purchased by The Archaeological Conservancy, to conserve the site.  The site contains some very rare treasures, including 168 well preserved skeletons going back to the Early Archaic period.

Here is the link for more on that story.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/23/windover-bog/4146659/


A day late, but you might enjoy this history of the Christmas tree.

http://catholicexchange.com/the-history-of-the-christmas-tree



I got out to take a look at the beach this morning.  I only looked at a couple of Treasure Coast beaches, but was disappointed what I saw.

One Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

Christmas Eve I mentioned that the wind was blowing strong out of the North, but it seems it didn't help.  I looked at a couple of beaches this morning and the most erosion I saw was a maximum of six inches in some spots.  Although I only saw a couple of beaches, I didn't see anything very promising.  Conditions remain poor.



Here is one photo showing the type of thing I saw this morning.

Maybe there are better beaches somewhere.  You would hope.

Happy hunting,
TreaureGuide@comcast.net