Saturday, December 24, 2011

Your Christmas Card from the Coast...A Christmas Jade of Green

In Carmel town the shop windows have little nests of abalone shells and jewelry made of jade found on beaches south of  Big Sur.
 

These five shells are no bigger than the palm of your hand. 
 The tiniest one is only 1.5 inches long.

We had never been to Jade Cove before and so we took a ride down the coast.  It's amazing that we made the sixty mile trip, because, of course, while we were still north of Point Sur,  I wanted

                     to stop 
 and take in the view
  around every bend.  

And we had to stop when, way far down below us, I saw a lone fox on the shore.

And then there was the bakery stop...

with pretty Protea blooming on the path...how is that for joyous color?


Or are you more into blues...with verdant green paths that beg for a beautiful horse so surefooted that the fact that you don't know how to ride in no way inhibits the vision?

 But we must keep going, look how that sun is dropping near the horizon. 
 It sets early these winter days and 
  we are about to be stopped by a red light controlling traffic to one lane at a time. 
 This is the site of a covered bridge being built  near Limekiln State Park along side a sheer cliff
 of frequently tumbling rocks. The link here is to photos taken by a Big Sur resident who was invited up into the crane on this coastal cliff job site. It was passed along to me by Katie at Nature ID, see her comment below and check out her page, she is always teaching me something.

                      And then we arrive, we are there, or  should  I say we are 150 vertical feet above "there."
            The trail down to Jade Cove  is steep. Wearing good shoes is a must...
unless you are a goat.
I did slip in the rocks once...one foot got wet...all of me was scared and then relieved and very grateful.

                                                       Of course the semi-precious jade is elusive and picked over and all the rocks are a wonder and  enter into the fully precious realm  in my book.


                                         We weren't alone picking through the rocks and divers were in the water.
A search of Jade Cove on the internet will offer many warnings and provisos and advice... including one visitor's suggestions that if you really want some Big Sur Jade perhaps you should  just buy some jade from a happy hippie jade person in Big Sur.

                                                 Climbing back up to beat the setting sun we stop


to watch whales spouting and see more tail than I captured on film pixels.


But the sun does keep right on doing what it set out this morning to do and continues its course...and yes we saw a green flash.  You may think we just had green on the brain...but we did see a brilliant
Christmas  shade of green!

                                            The regulations allow you to take what you can gather non- mechanically
 and carry by hand. 
We brought home a few pebbles...


This is our best piece of jade.
There are stories about the hefty gems hauled out of here in days of old...
you know 32 pounds of solid jade and such.
This stone is 1.25 inches across.  And we got just what we were after; a day of sun and birds and light on the water.


Wishing you joyous holiday times...

Jeannette


11 comments:

John said...

Thanks for the wonderful story and thoughts, may this season bring all of you in your family a wonderful time that will live on a happy memory as well.

Best wishes -- John

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Thank you, Jeannette, for a different perspective of local. Love your pic of the spouting whale. Great lighting! I've been trying, but most of mine are too blurry to post. Your first 4 pictures look like they're from Andrew Molera, no? Also, curious to know if the traffic light was near Bixby Bridge or further south near Limekiln: http://bigsurkate.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/hang-em-high/

Wishing you and yours a healthy and happy holiday!

Jeannette said...

Hi Katie...I popped that wonderful link to the bridge being built by Limekiln into the post. I wanted to take pictures of what was being built, but we were more concerned with just moving safely through. The photos from the crane and fantastic.
We might have to rename me Nature No ID...those first four pictures ...I was going to check on the name as we traveled north again...but in the dark missed it. It was all posted private property keep out ( the fox was not big on reading signs). If I figure it out, I'll post it. I might be able to from google earth or the coast project. Happy New Year.
At the Lucia store we bought a "day Hikes Around Big Sur which says it has 80 great hikes....I haven't looked at it yet. I also got a quick guide to local butterflies of Monterey Bay area. Happy New Year!

Michael Ann said...

Oh how I loved this post. I felt like I was right there with you. Can't believe you saw a FOX on the beach. And then a whale! What a lovely adventure. Merry Christmas!

Celeste Bracewell said...

I dropped in to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year...and I got the gift!!!! I look forward to your posts and am grateful for having "met" this year. Love and light!

heather west said...

Oh great. . .another place to put on the visiting list. . .Seriously, though, I've never heard of this place!!! Thanks for putting up all the details!

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

It sure doesn't look like Christmas in Chicago. Last night after church, we drove all through town, to see the lights. It was beautiful . . . but the natural beauty you shared, oh my.

Merry Christmas, dearest.

Fondly,
Glenda

GretchenJoanna said...

Thank you, Dear! Yours was obviously a joyous Christmas full of Him.

Leigh said...

Cool post. The photos are beautiful. I've never been to California. Now it's on my bucket list.

Haddock said...

Some nice photographs.... especially of the sky.
Happy New Year to you and all at home.

SisterlyLove said...

Lovely post! AH! The ocean! Would I were a few hours closer to it! The pictures were a lovely reminder of my Grad trip down the CA coast! Such beautiful vistas! Oh my!
Thanks for your comment on my blog!
I love coming on your blog.. it's like a mini vacation to the beach! Ah...
-Emaline
emalineswardrobe.blogspot.com