The mermaid stone hasn’t seen much action these days. With surfers riding the waves in recent years and more dogs running along the beaches, it’s no wonder that mermaids are going elsewhere to gather their thoughts at dawn and dusk.
I, for one, would love to catch a glimpse of a siren arranging her hair while singing a haunting melody. Even one of the mermaids’ legged cousins, the sea nymphs, would be a delight to find strolling along our shores, gathering shells.
Maybe it’s all the garbage that’s dumped near our shores that’s putting them off. Or perhaps they don’t bother visiting Cow Bay because there are fewer and fewer shells to find here. The ones that do wash up on our beaches are quickly gathered by tourists and local beachcombers like me.
We don’t pause to consider that seashells and sea glass are the only adornments mermaids and sea nymphs have available to them when the seaside flowers aren’t in bloom.
There are probably uninhabited islands not far from here where mermaids don’t have to compete with anyone for the treasures that wash ashore. Seals are likely less intimidating than dogs from their point of view as well.
I’m going to start leaving the seashells where I find them on the shore instead of taking them home. If I take anything back from the beach, it will be the garbage I find there. It’s not much, but it’s a first step in attracting these wondrous creatures back to our shores.
I must be a mermaid… I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.
― Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)
Ohhh, I do hope you’ll attract a mermaid, Amy. I think they’ll appreciate you cleaning up their beach too. What a beautiful post… and that painting of the sea nymph is exquisite.
Me too Reggie 🙂 That painting is gorgeous isn’t it? I love the way she’s got the seaweed draped so non-chalantly over her arm.
Me too, and the balance between her hair on the one side, and the seaweed on the other, is so lovely… I wonder what she is listening to so intently?
Reggie, if she was on a beach in Cow Bay, she’d likely be listening to Seaside FM, our local radio station 😉 If she couldn’t get transmission, I think she’d be listening to the heartbeat of the ocean that’s captured in the spirals of seashells.
I love the whimiscal twist to this post. I’m currently reading a novel by Anais Nin and love that quote.
Grace, Anais Nin certainly had a lot of good insights. I’ll be that novel you are reading is full of them. Glad you enjoyed the whimsy 🙂
Amy-Lynn, I paused to read here earlier this afternoon. And then came back again because the siren call of the mermaids resound across the blogosphere. Questions: 1) Is it really called a Mermaid Rock or are you fancifully calling it one? It would be perfectly fine with me if you are calling it one. 2) This isn’t a question. I love that painting, too. You didn’t paint it, did you? 3) Where do you think the myth of mermaids came from and how did it settle so deeply in our psyche and 4) This isn’t a question, either. I love your fanciful side. I wonder if we sit on that rock on Summer Solstice just after dark if a mermaid might swim nearby and share her secrets with you? I mean, with us. Because of course you would have to blog about it. Or at least email me with her precious secrets because I do believe, oh, I do believe.
Kathy, those siren calls are irresistible aren’t they?
For years I’ve called that rock the mermaid stone. I don’t know if other humans call it by that name, but the mermaids most likely do.
No, I did not paint the image of the sea nymph. I had titled it in the rollover, but have now added the title and artist’s name in the caption as well. William Symonds painted it in 1893.
The sea faring ancient Greeks believed there were three sirens, all daughters of muses. And you already know what I think of muses: although they inspire, they can also drown you. Mermaids also harbor this dark side to their beauty and lightness. Perhaps they’ve survived because they’re not one-faceted.
As soon as I focus my gaze towards a watery horizon without seeing land, I feel like I am standing at the threshold of the world of spirit. At that instant it is difficult to not believe. Perhaps others feel like this too.
An excellent idea for the summer solstice 🙂 Its success would depend on the tides of course. It sure would beat waiting under the elder tree for the king of the faeries while swatting mosquitoes 😉
When I was a child visiting relatives in Florida and falling in love with the manatees who live there, I was told that sailors often mistook manatees for mermaids. When I saw the first picture above, of your mermaid stone, my first thought was that it looked like a beached manatee!
I love the painting and the quote – I think I will join you in leaving seashells for the mermaids the next time I’m tempted to do a little beachcombing…
Barbara, I first heard about the manatee/mermaid connection while watching a Jacques Cousteau special years ago. I still can’t understand why anyone would think a manatee looks like a mermaid. That stone does look like a beached manatee though. Thanks for joining me in leaving the seashells for the mermaids 🙂
Oh it’s lovely seeing two of my favorite blogging buddies chatting away! **smiling happily to both Amy-Lynn and Barbara**
Hi there, Kathy! Amy-Lynn, my guess is if you give a sailor enough rum he could mistake just about anything in the water for a mermaid! 🙂
Kathy, imagine how much fun we’d have if we held a bloggers’ conference?
Barbara, you are so right about the rum! I never thought of that!
Whoa! I am so slow. I don’t know how many times I’ve read this post before I realized that were really talking about mermaids. Not animals, not something that make that stone look like a mermaid sitting on it…
Yeah, a mermaid is really asking to be put on the stone 🙂
Nadezhda, you are not slow at all 🙂 There are probably many stones near shorelines around the world that would look better with a mermaid sitting upon them.
Amy -Lynn, I’ve been enjoying your wonderful blog for a while now. And have always felt the pull of those watery horizons. And the mermaids call. What a lovely post!
Thank you Colleen 🙂 Those watery horizons have such a pull. So glad you enjoyed the post.
I, um, am feeling drawn to sit on that rock combing my hair. I would pretty much resemble a beached manatee, but wouldn’t it be a fine perch? Not, perhaps, until a little later in the year . . . and there would have to be cocoa after.
Gerry, it would be an exceptionally fine perch as long as the waves weren’t too wild and the wind wasn’t too harsh. A beached manatee would get a lot of positive attention in these parts, the least of which would be a thermos of cocoa 🙂
That’s one heck of a BIG mermaid. I can just hear her asking, “Does this seaweed make my butt look fat?” Whatever you do, don’t respond.
Love the painting too. Draping seaweed over your arm is nice, but not many folk can look as stunning as I do, with it on my head.
Ok Sybil, I won’t respond. Nobody wears sea kelp like you do dearest 🙂
A perfectly delightful post, Amy Lynn. Just like most of the animals, the magical creatures never reveal themselves to me. They always see/hear/smell me coming, I guess.
Thanks Cindy. That may seem to be so for you much of the time, but you did manage to see and photograph that beautiful lynx last year – the sighting of a lifetime.
That’s true and I am deeply grateful when wild critters grace me with a glimpse.
Hi Amy-Lynn, it’s lovely to see you posting again. I think our little mermaid might find it a bit chilly sitting on that rock at this time of year….I mean, what with no bra, vest and jumper on… However I definitely am with you on the plan to pick up only rubbish. Can’t wait to get over there again. Will you take me to your rock please??? xxx
Lynne, yes it’s great to be able to post again 🙂 It’s been nippy here the past few days, especially near the water. The rock is near where you tripped and got your jeans all muddy. We’ll definitely have to go back – maybe we can all hold hands to avoid any tripping.
That is a beautiful painting. Enjoyed your mermaid post. A neighboring city has adopted the mermaid as their city theme. Website here:
http://mermaidsonparade.com/index.php
Pattisj, a mermaid theme sounds so inspired. Thank you so much for providing the link 🙂 glad you liked the post.
[…] my eyes to focus on what’s ahead. (One of these days I’m sure I’m going to see a mermaid sitting on top of that big […]
[…] For more on mermaids, see Where Mermaids Arrange their Hair and Calling All Mermaids. […]