Mermaid's Tears
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
Canada
April 1, 2017 7:09am CST
My friend @Lucky15 mentioned “The parks looks so nice to have a silent moment :)”
On my post about visiting Lake Ontario and BOOM. All the years I lived on the lake shore came back in memories and the mermaids tears.
My husband was here and working long before we arrived. The children were in school and the moving van arrived when school was over. We headed to Canada from Kansas.
My only request for a house was one with a view. When we arrived it was a house on the edge of Lake Ontario with about a half mile of private beach.
We loved the house. We spent a lot of time on that beach. Long walks and we discovered mermaids tears... (the photo above)
As we walked the stony beach we saw all sizes of bits of glass, clear, green, purple, red, sapphire blue (my favorite) and a lot of beer bottle brown. All tiny bits sharing space with the stones. It was fascinating and we gathered a lot of them.
They are not sharp, very smooth because of the sand and stones they lived with. We also found pottery pieces with patterns on them. We wondered how they got there but by accident or on purpose they are everywhere along the Great Lakes. You can find them on the beaches of the oceans too, there they are called sea glass.
Sadly I have a whole jar of just blue but I couldn't find them this morning. It must be in a trunk or a secret place I will find them on another day.
The link is on the legend of mermaid tears
Sea glass is often called “Mermaid Tears.” Here is the legend of the mermaid tears and why people call sea glass mermaids tears. Legend of Mermaid Tears. The maidens could change the mi…
15 people like this
17 responses
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
1 Apr 17
I would love a view like that, but I'm pretty happy with my river view so I'll be happy with that.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
4 Apr 17
I grew up near the Mohawk River in Schenectady and loved seeing it when i could. My parents had a friend who lived on the river and we had a garden there. Fond memories.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
7 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate It's nice to see the river every day. My husband and I have long fished this river, but we used to live about an hour north of it. When we decided to move this is the town I wanted to move to, we got lucky this house was for sale with a view of the river.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
7 Apr 17
@fishtiger58 That is great it was waiting for you..
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@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
1 Apr 17
We visited a small bay in Salem, MA over the summer where the boys went hunting for sea glass. Unfortunately all they really found were sharp pieces of broken glass. We did find a like of clam and crab shells as well.
I'm hoping we can find some very interesting things along the beach in Myrtle Beach when we go.
2 more weeks!
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
5 Apr 17
You will love Myrtle Beach, its beautiful and in two weeks it might be warm enough to get in the water.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
5 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate the day we get there should be 86.. but it looks like the temp is dropping for the end of our stay
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
8 Apr 17
@katsmeow1213 86 is hot, you might enjoy the water if its that warm,I hope the weather is good to you.
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
1 Apr 17
They are certainly beautiful, I never find anything nearly as nice at any lakes I go to.
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@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
5 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate I have never seen that much nice glass on an ocean beach.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
5 Apr 17
The great lakes are always moving - like the ocean so they produce the smooth glass. The average lake does not move enough to do that.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
7 Apr 17
@BelleStarr I haven't seen any on the beach by an ocean but I have heard they are there but maybe buried deep.
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@amadeo (111948)
• United States
5 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate you always have interesting articles there
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@FayeHazel (40246)
• United States
2 Apr 17
I hope you find your jar. I love sea glass
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
3 Apr 17
I'm thinking I used them on a vase that got broken but I might have more stashed away someplace..
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@FayeHazel (40246)
• United States
3 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate Time to start another blue jar methinks :-)
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@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
7 Apr 17
I love to read abut Mermaid tears. I do not live in an area where they can be collected. I understand that the west coast has oodles of them and now I am learning that the Great Lakes has them. Perhaps one day I will go on a vacation and collect some. Love the photo.
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
9 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate Thank you very much.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
8 Apr 17
I hope you get to gather a bunch for yourself, Its interesting what you can find on a beach.
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@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
2 Apr 17
the blue pottery piece stood out immediately. makes you wonder where it came from.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
4 Apr 17
I've been told the blue is from old medicine bottles....why they ended up in the lake is my question, guess we will never know.
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@LadyDuck (460237)
• Switzerland
4 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate The temperature is still pretty cool in the morning and when the sun goes down.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
4 Apr 17
I agree, about photos and items being missing and I think some are beautiful too... I'll find more blue next summer. - its too cold right now...
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
4 Apr 17
Brown and green are the most prolific here on the lake too..
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@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
1 Apr 17
They're lovely ... you have a nice selection ....I tried to make jewelry with them... but I was not very good at wire wrapping... so I gave up the idea...
now I just have a bowl on my desk with them in...
now I just have a bowl on my desk with them in...1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
2 Apr 17
I tried to use them in my art and found it just didn't work so I have a lot of bottles of them...
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
3 Apr 17
They were hard to miss on the shore of Lake Ontario, I don't believe I've seen them before but I notice them now, where ever I am. There was a book I read a few years ago it was interesting and a novel but I can't remember the name I found it at the library but it was the first time I had seen the words mermaid tears in print.
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@just4him (308408)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
3 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate Very interesting. It's wonderful to learn something new every day.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
3 Apr 17
I have tried to use them in my painting and other crafts but nothing touched my heart so i stopped. I do remember covering a small glass vase with the blue glass but its hit broke in one of our moves...
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
1 Apr 17
When I lived in Hawaii I collected a lot of sea glass, all colors very pretty - I had good intentions of making things with the glass. Nope, never did - all the glass in in a huge glass container that I've had since then and that was 1971.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
5 Apr 17
Me too I did use some blue on a vase but all the others are just in bags, bottles and boxes. It was fun finding them and I might spend more time on the beach this summer.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
3 Apr 17
Thanks I'm glad you liked both stories. We loved the beach and my last house in Grimsby was a short walk to the park on the lake in the photos above, we all enjoyed the lake and still do...
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
1 Apr 17
What a wonderful story of your life. I like those pretty colors and I would have collected those too.
Maybe that is my dream home, to live on a beach or river front.
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@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
4 Apr 17
It was fun while it lasted, and I'm still close enough to the Lake to visit when I want too.
