Sicilian Discovery: Posidonia Sphereoids

November 19, 2009

A few weeks ago some friends took us to the fabulous Vendicari Nature Reserve. It is home to a wide assortment of birds including flamingos (we didn't see any, but hoping to on future visits). While the adults were focused on the birdwatching, the kids were focused on the beetles along the paths. But as we got closer to the water we all turned our attention to these:Thousands of them up and down the beach area like some sort of modern art installation. After returning home, I did a little research and found this and this. Not sure if they are seasonal or year round but they are unique to the Mediterranean and we will certainly be looking for them on future trips to Vendicari.
boatbaby said...

Those are cool - I can see why the kids would love them. And the seaglass/ pottery finds - WOW! Beautiful!

holly b said...

that is very cool! what a find. and that beautiful sea glass. (fyi your second link is broken, I think an extra http or something. : )

Dana said...

you always find the neatest things in nature. in educationese we call that the "naturalist intelligence." Nice!

Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish said...

Holly, thanks for the FYI on the link. They are very cool. And I agree the sea glass here is stunning. We are getting quite a little collection of sea glass and tiles...must start learning how to do mosaic work! Dana, I never heard that term before, but I like it. Thanks!

amida said...

That is so neat! I have never heard of such a thing. Thanks for the nature lesson! I'll definitely look for them if I ever end up at the Mediterranean!

Wanderluster said...

Who knew. This is absolutely the coolest thing I've seen/learned about in awhile.

Amie from Ciao Bambino said...

I love those unique finds in a destination. The seaglass is pretty too ... thanks for sharing.

Tisra said...

I don't know what their texture is, but I immediately thought they'd make great loofah type scrubbies. :-) So neat!

Cate said...

That's pretty neat stuff. I've never heard of fibre balls before.

fabmums said...

The beaches in Sardinia are covered with them too, mainly in winter. They are great fun for the kids.

Sharlene said...

How cool! You certainly don't see those on the beaches of Southern California. I would be just as excited as the kids!

Jen@TwoKidsandaMap said...

How cool! We don't find seaglass like that on our beaches but my sister has found some beautiful pieces in Virgina Beach. And what a neat discovery!

TheWordWire said...

They sure do look like a modern art installation -- I love discovering examples of life imitating art. Never seen anything like those before. Thanks for sharing!

Emily said...

Great finds! Looks like you guys have been doing lots of exploration!

(By the way, I feel like I wrote an 'ode to Lucia' on my blog today. Hope you don't mind!)

Dominique said...

I've never seen those spheres...

I liked the beach glass, too. We don't seem to see a lot of beach glass here any more, and I'm always looking for it so I can try to make a pendant or something.

katy said...

how very, very cool!

Gayle said...

hi- cruised the blog- looks like you guys are living la bella vita. drop me a line when you have the chance.

Lorraine Akemann said...

Ah the games you could think up on the beach with those! Adds a whole new dimension for playing at the beach. Love the seaglass too - we've had fun times building our collection.

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