Hudson Beach Combing part 3: Metal

(february...the month for tying up loose ends.  This blog entry should have been posted last summer...)

The metals can be divided into two simple sub-categories: the junk I bring home in my bike basket,




and the junk I must leave behind for future archeologists, like this portable typewriter

and this extreeeemly heavy rusty bucket of railroad spikes.

which was buried deep down in the sand when I discovered it.

Of all my metal finds, my favorite things are these little mystery trinkets:

which appear to be once-molten bits of aluminum (though they feel heavier than aluminum).  Some of them have a sort of liquidy, art nouveau feel to them. (click to enlarge)

I like to pretend the one pictured at right here 

was perhaps once a tiny pocket saint carried off to sea with some WWII sailor, and found its way back up the Hudson over the years.