All washed up

It's been a stormy few weeks with spring showing up one day and winter blasting back the next. The wild winds have seen all kinds of debris washed up on our shores. You might think that's great for sea glass hunting, but more often than not the shingle disappears under rocks and debris, rendering the elusive treasure even more elusive!

But every storm cloud has a silver lining. I have been amazed at how many cuttlefish have been deposited on the shores. Just one walk at Lunan Bay saw me gather dozens. They are fantastic for carving into and making moulds for pouring my molten silver into. The beautiful pattern they impart on the silver is mesmerising. It's a bitter sweet find though. My joy at finding such a bounty of these creatures was tempered by the realisation that so many had died.

Cuttlefish are amazing. They're not fish, but intelligent invertebrates related to squid and octopus. These fascinating creatures can count, exert self-control and employ wily tactics to evade predators, including creating their own body double from a cloud of their ink. They also have amazing colour changing abilities.

They control their buoyancy using their internal shell, their cuttlebone. And it's this cuttlebone that makes such great material for carving designs.

So I must admit I feel sad to think that so many of these fascinating animals have met their end, but it's nice to know that their unique "finger prints" are living on in my jewellery.