notes from the kelp

…listen
…info about the music

Reflect, with “Reflect.”

From time to time I discover special objects washed up with the tides. The biggest mysteries are always those that come in the form of an ex-being: a part of some creature that defies identification from this uneducated viewer.

When I came upon this particular remnant of someone’s recent existence on this earth, I stared carefully at the beautiful, lace-like holes in the bones and marveled at the cartilage that aligned and connected each piece. I was convinced that it was a section of someone’s upper spine. But whose?

I had read somewhere that the bones of birds are hollow and very light, aiding them in flight. I went online and tried to find information about the skeletons of seagulls or other shore birds. But, no luck. Every neck I had a look at had bones shaped far differently than these perfect round lozenges. The discs, each with a centered hole through which I imagined a spinal column of nerves threading, remain a mystery.

I enjoy making necklaces as an occasional hobby; sometimes from beads and pendants I come across, other times from a special rock with a hole in just the right place. This time was precious: I like the concept of such a creature continuing on, as it travels five and a half feet above the earth, dangling from an unexpected set of [at least for now] living vertebrae.