In the early 1970 I was a bottle collector, I amassed over 12000 bottles all pre-1910. I was a heavy equipment operator. When bottles would be found, the men on the ground would run up and say 'another one". One of the biggest finds, but not the only one, was we were preparing the ground for a high school running track. The area it was to be built on, was an old 1900s garbage dump for an area just outside of Annapolis MD. I had a flea market set up, where everyone into bottles in the Baltimore area would come and trade bottles. We even started a bottle club, called 'Baltimore Bottle Hounds. ' We even had a special bottle made for our members (Log cabin bottle, and it was hand blown) I'm going to do a series of stories on my Facebook page, about my days as a heavy equipment operator. A large part is going to be about the bottles, and thanks to my bottles and the research that went into collecting, I'm a glass artist and a glass studio since 1981.
I think we enjoy searching for things as mudlarks, rockhounds, and such because it quiets the brain. You are engaged in an activity that focuses your brain away from all the usual worries. That coupled with the joy of discovery and the wonder at the treasures found makes the activity extremely pleasurable.
Now that I have finished watching this video,it thrills me to know that these are also near Colfax-only twelve miles from where I live! I like to collect rocks.I have a slicer and a cab machine,and enjoy smoothing the rough stones into smooth pendants for necklaces.The rough rocks looks so amazing inside,and it is a fresh thrill to see them at last,showing their true,gorgeous colors! Just recently I sliced and polished a dull looking white stone.There are vibrant colors of red,black streaks,gold splashes,and moody grey patches that look like an abstract painting of scenery,or a vase of flowers! The irony is that it is a very common stone,one used for making gravel roads,and I don't know the name of it at all! It is kind of a victory to make something mundane into something beautiful-that is what drives me on.
My neighborhood was built in the 1940's. The area and the woods behind our house were an old dump site. As a child in th 1960's I would go "treasure hunting". The thrill of finding decades old ornate bottles and beautiful pieces of ornate plates, vases, cups, old coins, etc. I found a metal decoder toy dated 1936. I found several glass objects that I couldn't figure out and 60 years later YOU let me know that they are bottle stoppers! So thrilled! I have my colorful glass bits, small porcelain dolls heads, and assorted marbles in apothecary jars on shelves. As welI as my bottles. I inherited the house and I still go out back and search for treasures and am in my 60's. Your channel is a joy to watch. Your animal skulls, not so much. 😄 Many thanks from Fort Worth, Texas. 🇺🇸
I, been fan of yours for so many years and Living in California for most of my life When I was growing up, many a time on a beach in Ca. Brings back so many memories Of time past,, I hope you had a Wonderful time ! Ralph.😊
I LOVE collecting treasure from the beach, I could spend hours (and have done in the past) but with two young children it's a lot harder! Also hampered with living nowhere near the sea! I might have ADHD and somehow searching for treasure keeps my mind busy, gets me hyper focused and shuts up the rest of the brain so I actually get some peace!
I think that the joy of searching for stuff is ancient hunter gatherers memory. The way ancient humans survived. Our brains developed that way. Love your videos.
I agree. I think it's a trait that made us successful in our human past. Those who were always looking for things found things that helped them survive.
Beachcombing, fossil hunting and searching for unexpected treasures in second-hand shops/fairs etc.brings feelings of anticipation, excitement and a deep peacefulness and calm that is an ancient human sense. The pleasure is real and often free. What can be better!? I also get huge pleasure from watching your videos and the way that you share your interest and enjoyment with us. Thank you😊
I grew up in the Bay Area around San Francisco/San Jose for 26+ years. Yes, I remember Ken's House of Pancakes!!! I don't remember any particular meal there, but their logo presence was definitely part of my childhood. In fact, you can find Ken's Salad Dressings in stores in Texas, where I now live. I always assumed the dressings were related to the restaurant, but I may be wrong. Love your posts, Nicola!
@@karencross1964 The Ken's salad dressing is a different company known as Ken's Steak House dressings. It's available in all our supermarkets here in California. I never heard of the pancake restaurant.
I found some info about them online. They opened Dec 1959 and there was a chain of 6. By 1999 there was one, renamed Ken's Family Restaurant and it closed that year. The last one was in Menlo Park 888 El Camino Real and if you do a search for it you can find an image with this logo on the sign from 1969.
A Facebook post says this: Maritza Perez In 2006, an artist and college professor named Casey O’Connor made hundreds of them in his garage, then dropped them in a spot near the Iowa Hill Bridge Road in Colfax, California, for locals and tourists to find. The porcelain bits got into the American River and some of them washed up on Tepco Beach.
Humans are programmed to keep things, and I guess searching is very therapeutic, whether it's a Carboot, a boutique, a foreshore, even children do it , pebbles, shells etc . ❤
I think today the world is so ruled by money , to find something that brings you joy ,that didnt cost a penny , just the enjoyment of been outdoors in your own little world. You couldn,t put a price on. Thanks Nicola you brighten my days. ❤X
You found a piece of pottery with the word Souvenir: 1:20. California has several areas that are filled with fossils, so I could easily see the Trilobites being part of a souvenir dish sold at road side motels, and tourist traps.
Thank heavens for the Casie O’Connor’s of this world! I’m sure that the original creation of the heads took a great deal of time and effort, but what a huge amount of pleasure they are providing! I loved the trilobites, and would have been ‘tickled pink’ to have found one, but having you discover them Nicola was a real joy. Finding the unexpected is always such a delight, and I think teaches us to keep out eyes, ears and hearts open to what we might come across, rather than being pre-occupied by what we think we need out of life. Your delight at even the smallest discovery is a complete pleasure - just keep up the good work, and continue introducing us to things we never even knew existed! Sending love to you,and all your followers from Leicestershire.
Well for me it's foraging. It's so deeply rooted in our DNA don't you think?. Way back we foraged to feed our children, our families. And when we found food sources we felt good. Kind of like today when we have enough to pay the grocery bill and even acouple chocolates. Yes, I think it embedded in our makeup. I love finding things. Nowadays I forage on ETSY from the comfort of my couch.❤ love watching you❤
Hi Nicola 🙂 I had the great opportunity to go on my first mudlarking adventure and it was to Tepco Beach. What a treat it was to be able to go to a place that one of my favorite mudlarkers go. Our adventure started when my children and grandchildren agreed to a trip to the beach as they've only ever heard me talk about your adventures and it was a complete blast. We all found some beautiful pottery shards and we founds quite a few of the little faces as well. Thank you so much, Nicola for taking us all on this adventure. We would have never known about it if it hadn't been for you.
In 1992 I moved to a town on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, one of Canada's Great Lakes. Not long after, I met a woman who collected beach glass, and when I saw some of her exquisite pieces, I decided I was going to start beachcombing. Some years later, it occurred to me that narrowing my focus down to the sand beneath my feet was actually a very Zen-type of action. Walking meditation, as it were. I don't beachcomb much anymore, but that interval in the 90's and early 2000's was instrumental in vastly improving my mental health and calming my reactivity to the circumstances of my life at that time. Watching mudlarking videos, beginning in 2019, has a very similar effect. So that's why I subscribe to your channel, Si Find's, and several others in the U.K. 😁 Now you know. 😉😂 See you next time, Nicola. 🥰😘🤗💖👌👍👋
Hi, Nicola. Susan here. I know it's the flavour of the month as far as words are concerned, but searching for shells - for me the miniature perfect shells found on the beaches of North Carolina - seems to me the true definition of "mindfulness". I am fully in the moment, conscious only of that for which I am searching - and forever uttering the words "Just one more and I'll stop"!
I think you could write a book about the psychology of looking for things! I have been fascinated all of my life with treasure hunting, though I have not done it on a large scale. For me, it can be as simple as finding what I was looking for in a drawer full of junk or uncovering a special trinket at a flea market - the thrill of the hunt is always fun!
Hello Nicola, un petit coucou de Nice, south of France, let me tell you that I appreciated A LOT this video, mostly for the good moment with your friend, your laughs, and your touching founds.. As you said, every little moment of Grace and Joy is sherished, with this sad and bad times we are all going threw.. Buddha's heads, sooo charming!!... As a big fan of fossils, please would you mind to let us know. If you discover something, about these trilobites figurines,..? (perhaps another clay worker fan of crétacé,?.. I don't know.. 😅❤) excellente journée à vous, et continuez à nous passionner avec vos jolies découvertes 👏👏👏👌💋👍👍Valy)
I believe it is a distraction from the reality we live. You don’t have to think about anything just keep your eyes 👀 open and look. It’s also fun to see different things you would not in your ordinary life. Sometimes distractions can be a great thing especially for those who have a lot of anxiety about what is going on around them. Great video Nicola and fantastic finds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💜
I lived in H.M.B in California, now I live on Kauai, I love looking for sea glass and seashells and whatever, it's so relaxing and brings me so much joy!
Oh I so wish that I could have met you while you were in the USA!!! I love to go looking for “treasure” because of the anticipation of finding something I have never seen before; something found and not bought. Something I can marvel at and can be a treasure to me (even if to no one else)! Love, love your videos. Hope you never tire of making them. I have a beach themed bathroom that could sure use one of your sea glass fish!!!
För mig har det alltid varit lycka att gå efter stränder och söka efter fynd som drivit i land,jag är 56 år har gjort detta sedan barnsben, kommer fortsätta med det så länge jag orkar, älskar att se dina filmer/ love from Sweden ❤
What a great time! If I had been there, I would have begged for another 10 minutes. At least 10 times 😂. I play hidden object games on Google Play Store, way too often. I have developed an eye disease in my old age, Best Disease, and I am determined to keep fighting center blindness. I REALLY have to look, but the joy I get when I spot the treasure is wonderful! Thank you for another great outing, Nicola!
I was surprised so see you mudlarking where I grew up ( El Cerrito). That beach is only a couple miles away from our home. I showed the vid to my wife and she got all excited about finding a Buddha, so we made the trip to "Tepco Beach" which is very near a dog park (Point Isabel) we have visited many times. We had a great time rummaging around even though we didn't find any Buddhas. We did find a Trillobyte, a frog and a strange face+crab claw.
A found object. The experience of the find,the processing of the find,the very idea of a seemingly storyless ,lost object,now held once again in the palm of one’s hand,it stimulates imagination in a way that is indescribable! It begs for its story to be told. The O’Connor pieces are lovely! I am obsessed with the Trilobites,surely they are O’Connor,too? At any rate,Nicola,you MUST frame all of your finds from Tepco bay,they would look incredible together,all telling a story or keeping a secret. A frame of bits,playing truth or dare,some telling all,some clutching their secret,perhaps forever.
It continues: Food for a week He can hold in his beak But I don't know how The hell he can This was taught to me by my daddy when I was about age 5. We lived in St. Petersburg, FL and there were lots of them out on the pier.
The one trilobite said "souvenir" so maybe it was part of a collection of casts of different trilobite specimens sold as souvenirs at a local museum or fossil park? Those are so cool. I love trilobites! All the other stuff was great too. Thanks Nicola!!
Thank you for visiting No. CA again. I enjoyed your previous trip to Inverness. Richmond is where Annie's Annuals, my favorite nursery is located. i love all your mudlarking finds. They are so relaxing and help me wind down before sleep.
Hi Nicola, what another wonderful mudlark thank you very much for taking us on your trip,i thoroughly enjoyed it. I find looking for treasure outside within the natural world seems to me like opening a new book and losing yourself in the first chapter. I get lost in my own little world for a short time and its great. Wishing you a good week.
Omg, Nicola .. my kids are military and stationed near there. Now that I've seen your video I'm going to have to have them take me there on my next visit. Loved your video and the fun you gals were having on your outing.
New subscriber here. I love and adore looking for 'treasures' wherever I am. My mother often found all sorts of cool things on the street or wherever. The hunt and rescue of old, lost, patina-worn stuff of the past is such a high for me as an assemblage artist and I just love to give new life to these objects or just give them a new home where I can fondle and appreciate what they were and are.
Nicole How lucky you are to have all these amazing treasure spots The age of Australia doesn't give us places to find such treasures We boast coconuts and driftwood I promise if I ever get to your beautiful country again I will endeavor to register for Mudlarking on the Thames Love your videos
Love searching, treasure, shells, rocks. I think while searching we are hyper-focused on it and it clears the brain of logical, worrisome, complex thinking. I feel so good looking🥰🥰🥰
I think it’s the purpose, the engulfment, the mission, the surprise, the reward; the FUN of it all❤ For me it’s never been possible to go for a walk, just doodelin around , putting one foot in front of the other until I FIND something (like mushrooms or pebbles!) and it’s a hunt and an adventure!
Thanks for the video, Nicola. They brighten my rather boring Sunday, doing laundry. I think a lot of the comments hit the nail on the head with why we enjoy searching for treasure. You focus being on something with no worries, the thrill of the find, along with the soothing sounds of the water and nature around. I think it also stimulates the ancient part of the brain left over from our time as hunter/gatherers. And i think all of us watchers get to have that feeling vicariously through the videos as we anticipate your next find.
Loved the trilobite “souvenir of Fallbrook.” Those little heads, trilobites, etc., might be “sprigs,” molded bits that would be trimmed and applied to pots - like the bellarmine bearded guy.
So fun to learn about Tepco. I grew up in the Bay Area in Cupertino. I remember going to Ken’s Pancake House early 60’s I think maybe in the City of Sunnyvale.
You reminded me that my father's favorite coffee mug was a Tepco piece, light brown, and very heavy. I grew up in California, and Tepco ware was abundant, but I never knew much about it. Thanks for reminding me, and I might be searching for pieces online.
I think it’s fun to connect with the departed through the items they discarded or lost. Discovering objects I didn’t know existed, researching the bits and bobs. Having the internet is such a boon compared to having to search in a library. It’s like being on an archeological adventure. Of course the natural items are also a delight. Then the environment is wonderful always. I’m sure we all love hunting antiques too, but unlike in a shop (or at work ) we have the sound and feel of the water and the weather, sunny or cloudy, misty, traipsing through the mud, very meditative, relaxing, monkey mind more at rest. As always it’s a pleasure watching.
Delightful video! I do have a thought about searching small objects. I am a graphic designer and artist, and I specialize in "stipple" - drawings made from very fine dots. I am blind in one eye, and suffer migraines as a result. As a child, I spent hours searching pebbles at the rivers edge, making collections of the ones that pleased me. Now I produce pen and ink drawings and photorealistic paintings in stipple, because focusing in on the fine pattern of dots calms my mind, helps me focus, and relieves my headaches. I still search pebbles when I have an opportunity!
Really interesting video, the buddies which had been deposited reminded me of the eggs which were deposited in the Thames and you found a couple. I think when you look for things it makes you happy and the adrenaline kicks in, very satisfying. Your friend Jan came across as a really lovely, happy person and it was a pleasure to watch her. Have a good week
Thank you for another great video with something different. The state of California was host to many potteries in the last mid-century. A lot of it very sought after by midcentury collectors.
Love the little Buddha faces and Tribolites -what an exciting place to search! For me the joy of searching the Thames foreshore mudlarking is you just never know what you are going to find if, anything at all. Some finds are just the ordinary, -the ones that you'd see on every lark and sometimes leave for other mudlarks to find, other finds present themselves when you least expect them to and completely change your lark by finding them xx
The little round clay piece you found looks like a parachuter. You can see the goggles and harness. And the clay background is almost in the shape of a parachute itself.
Curious people enjoy it as a plus to being outside, in the moment, enjoying good weather mostly. Its a laugh, a lark, puts one in a good mood. Finding something connects you to the day, the weather, the location, fellow larkers and the memory. It gives a story to be retold. It does everything your videos do! Nearly like being there ourselves. ❤
Hi Nicola, just loved all the little heads and weird thingys you two found. It is really relaxing and exciting at the same time to go and find things. Have done it since I was a kid and have collected anything I found worth collecting😅. It's the adventure and the result. And the joy. Cannot really explain it actually 😅, but know the feeling very well.❤ Have a good week. Love, Nicole.
I’ve always loved looking for treasure, they can be interesting stones, fossils, pipe stems, really anything that draws my attention. It’s almost like meditating, walking slowly, looking for things. It makes me feel relaxed and happy. Thank you, as always, for your lovely videos. Love from the Netherlands
I so loved watching you search a beach I lived 6miles from my entire life. The historic news from El Cerrito was a great surprise. Thank you, such a joy. No I've never heard of Kens ,I thought I new everything about my cities so great to learn more.
What a fun video Nicola !!! Those little faces were so cute. I think 🤔 when we look for things rather it be at The River Thames, the beach or used things in a thrift store or Goodwill store we all get a thrill, to feel excited, shiver or tingle with strong feelings !!! I know that's how I feel !!! I'm like a little child with a new toy 🧸🪀 !!! Looking for treasures or what we think is treasures !!! Really enjoyed your video Nicola & I've missed you & your videos !!! Much love to you !!! ❤️🙂
Hiya Nicola , you picked up a ceramic model of a fossil trilobyte, early on , it showed the roundish head and the start of the thorax ie main body area.
As a 50yrs plus geologist, plus an archaeologist & sometime Victorian rubbish pit & bottle / pot lid digger. I find it is the uncovering & discovering of something long dead, discarded or even lost that is the excitement & pleasure of rediscovering items. Even if one is only walking on an IOW beach in the fossil footprints of a long dead Iguanadon, or a discarded Bronze age stone loom weight, or a clutch of slingshot stones or digging out perfect Victorian bottles sometimes with marble stoppers or pot lids from exotic lotions or maybe tasty pates & relishes.....one just never knows what will be found next ......
For years, I’ve hunted for woodland ephemerals, i.e., spring wildflowers that show up before the leaves are out, with the flowers bravely shooting up first. Then they form their seed heads and become far less obvious, almost absent. I learned this from my mother - I really didn’t enjoy putting on my swamp-stomper boots and heading out into the woods to find trilliums. But then, after my mother‘s death, my husband and I discovered that finding wildflowers on our springtime hikes added greatly to the pleasure. We had a rule that the first person to find a new and different flower had to kiss everybody else. (Not much of a problem, when there are only the two of you!) Just as you and your friend found one or two faces and then many more, we often found that if you spied one rare little flower on your way up the trail, as you came back down, you would find many of her sisters! I really enjoy your videos, especially your reviews at the end. Thanks.
😁 Hi Nicola. To hear you and Jan giggling at the Tepco beach like two teenagers, instantly made me smile as well. That made my day even brighter 🤗 And for me, it is not the search itself that triggers me, it is the finds. They have histories need to be told. 😊
How much fun was that? My creative mind was buzzing with ways to up cycle all the broken crockery, and THEN I became obsessed with you finding more heads!! 🤣I didn't want it to end. I love history so for me that's what would draw me in, but I also feel that if I could mudlark, it would be so de-stressing and so satisfying. Thank you so much Nicola. Much love to you xx Teresa 🇦🇺♥
Hi, what fun you both had , its wonderful just being able to watch you , I like mooching in charity shops, that's the nearest I get to mud larking. keep it up love it 🙃.x
The human seeks patterns. In the clouds on the beach. I is an easy task and the rewards when looking in the mud, the water or digging is a simple treasure but they do make you smile. We smile watching you search
The rewards at the end… the dopamine rush of discovery, of finding something… anything. The chance it might be truly special, like a slot machine… but mentally/physically/financially healthier.😉 For the same reason, so many ppl like true crime- bc abt solving the mystery or figuring out the answer, & solution to the puzzle. Some ppl like finishing a crossword- it’s thee little rush you get by finding the solution. There’s some version that most ppl are drawn to, entertained, & compelled by… So cool to live in a historical place where amazing things are emerging from the shores… & river banks & beaches across the country! So cool- super jealous!! I get excited by finding sea glass & by beachcombing/collecting sea shells & other cool items… (that’s another similar activity!) All are very rewarding & enjoyable activities/hobbies- especially, if can be out in nature while engaging in the pursuit… I def. think that’s icing on top the cake!
I think as you said an afternoon of searching can be joyous, but it always fills me with wonder, and I get out of my head.which is very good for the mental health.
I’m always amazed by the extent of your travels Nicola. What a lovely way to spend time with a friend. It has always been a source of pleasure and relaxation for me as well.
I think most people enjoy looking for treasure. Even if what you find doesn’t have a lot of monetary value, it enriches the soul. Thank you for sharing this with us.
It’s a kind of a personal connection from someone not only unknown to us but who lived decades or even centuries before us that gives me a buzz with my finds. They being the last to hold and me to be the first to touch an object with such a long space of time between us. Thanks for sharing.
It's an ancient gen that keeps us searching and collecting for things. It brings you knowledge, communication with other people of the same field, like mudlarkers, for me it's relaxing to walk on the foreshore never knowing what you find or see. It's a joy that makes you happy!
I was looking forward to the link.She were going to post but I don't see them.I've lived here since 1993.Have never heard of Tepco Beach... That will be my next adventure.Thank you for sharing!
The root of the joy of discovery lies in our curiosity which has driven humans to explore our surroundings ...that's why we climb mountains and look up at the stars and at our feet to see whats there....that beach reminded me of the spot with all the coke bottles...thanks for sharing your curiosity and history with us....Karl from eastern Canada🔭🔭
Just the exitement of not knowing what you will come home with! A piece of a really old bottle... Iridicent colours, nice blobs in the glass... Or crystal clusters... Old pottery... Some items ending up at the museum. Other items going no further than being cleaned up to be used in my kitchen(!) I will sooner or later have enough handmade bricks to go with some old floor tiles at my door... Add a heap of other weird and wonderful bits and pieces... Love it! Love seing what others are finding as well! Thank you so much! Love your videos!
What great fun! I think I would have stayed until dark, wanting to find just one more! I suspect we like the hunt more than anything, I think some people are just more aware and awake than others, and we have curiosity about the world around us. I've learned so many things, watching these mudlarking type videos, and twice now, it even helped me get the correct answer on Jeopardy! Sending you thanks and big love ❤️😁 🇨🇦 .
In the early 1970 I was a bottle collector, I amassed over 12000 bottles all pre-1910. I was a heavy equipment operator. When bottles would be found, the men on the ground would run up and say 'another one". One of the biggest finds, but not the only one, was we were preparing the ground for a high school running track. The area it was to be built on, was an old 1900s garbage dump for an area just outside of Annapolis MD. I had a flea market set up, where everyone into bottles in the Baltimore area would come and trade bottles. We even started a bottle club, called 'Baltimore Bottle Hounds. ' We even had a special bottle made for our members (Log cabin bottle, and it was hand blown) I'm going to do a series of stories on my Facebook page, about my days as a heavy equipment operator. A large part is going to be about the bottles, and thanks to my bottles and the research that went into collecting, I'm a glass artist and a glass studio since 1981.
That's awesome! Sounds completely addicting and fun
I think we enjoy searching for things as mudlarks, rockhounds, and such because it quiets the brain. You are engaged in an activity that focuses your brain away from all the usual worries. That coupled with the joy of discovery and the wonder at the treasures found makes the activity extremely pleasurable.
Its the ancient hunter in us
calming ☺
Well put Cheryl. I used to walk our beaches, rockhounding, and felt so calm and relaxed. It helped put the world's troubles in perspective. ❤
We are all hunter/gatherers at heart. Mudlarking is less expensive than shopping.
Looks like great glass for fish makeing .😊😊😊 enjoy your finds .
Now that I have finished watching this video,it thrills me to know that these are also near Colfax-only twelve miles from where I live! I like to collect rocks.I have a slicer and a cab machine,and enjoy smoothing the rough stones into smooth pendants for necklaces.The rough rocks looks so amazing inside,and it is a fresh thrill to see them at last,showing their true,gorgeous colors! Just recently I sliced and polished a dull looking white stone.There are vibrant colors of red,black streaks,gold splashes,and moody grey patches that look like an abstract painting of scenery,or a vase of flowers! The irony is that it is a very common stone,one used for making gravel roads,and I don't know the name of it at all! It is kind of a victory to make something mundane into something beautiful-that is what drives me on.
My neighborhood was built in the 1940's. The area and the woods behind our house were an old dump site. As a child in th 1960's I would go "treasure hunting". The thrill of finding decades old ornate bottles and beautiful pieces of ornate plates, vases, cups, old coins, etc. I found a metal decoder toy dated 1936. I found several glass objects that I couldn't figure out and 60 years later YOU let me know that they are bottle stoppers! So thrilled! I have my colorful glass bits, small porcelain dolls heads, and assorted marbles in apothecary jars on shelves. As welI as my bottles. I inherited the house and I still go out back and search for treasures and am in my 60's. Your channel is a joy to watch. Your animal skulls, not so much. 😄 Many thanks from Fort Worth, Texas. 🇺🇸
I, been fan of yours for so many years and
Living in California for most of my life
When I was growing up, many a time on a beach in Ca.
Brings back so
many memories
Of time past,,
I hope you had a
Wonderful time !
Ralph.😊
I LOVE collecting treasure from the beach, I could spend hours (and have done in the past) but with two young children it's a lot harder! Also hampered with living nowhere near the sea! I might have ADHD and somehow searching for treasure keeps my mind busy, gets me hyper focused and shuts up the rest of the brain so I actually get some peace!
It seems that searching for treasures is similar to searching for photos to take. I find nothing more relaxing than wandering around with my camera.
I think that the joy of searching for stuff is ancient hunter gatherers memory. The way ancient humans survived. Our brains developed that way. Love your videos.
plus our brains are optimized for spotting human faces.
Exactly! Its the same feeling whether I'm hunting for morel mushrooms, or Petosky stones. It's just relaxing, and outdoorsy.
I agree. I think it's a trait that made us successful in our human past. Those who were always looking for things found things that helped them survive.
Ha, my thoughts exactly. Snap. 😊
I find searching for shells or shark teeth on the beach very relaxing, not only the sound of the surf but the thrill of the find. Thanks Nicola!
One of our favorite vacation spots when my son was a child was Venice Beach in Florida - hunting for shark teeth was so much fun!
Beachcombing, fossil hunting and searching for unexpected treasures in second-hand shops/fairs etc.brings feelings of anticipation, excitement and a deep peacefulness and calm that is an ancient human sense. The pleasure is real and often free. What can be better!? I also get huge pleasure from watching your videos and the way that you share your interest and enjoyment with us. Thank you😊
I grew up in the Bay Area around San Francisco/San Jose for 26+ years. Yes, I remember Ken's House of Pancakes!!! I don't remember any particular meal there, but their logo presence was definitely part of my childhood. In fact, you can find Ken's Salad Dressings in stores in Texas, where I now live. I always assumed the dressings were related to the restaurant, but I may be wrong. Love your posts, Nicola!
What years do you suppose Ken's was in business?
Thanks
@@karencross1964 The Ken's salad dressing is a different company known as Ken's Steak House dressings. It's available in all our supermarkets here in California. I never heard of the pancake restaurant.
I found some info about them online. They opened Dec 1959 and there was a chain of 6. By 1999 there was one, renamed Ken's Family Restaurant and it closed that year. The last one was in Menlo Park 888 El Camino Real and if you do a search for it you can find an image with this logo on the sign from 1969.
A Facebook post says this:
Maritza Perez
In 2006, an artist and college professor named Casey O’Connor made hundreds of them in his garage, then dropped them in a spot near the Iowa Hill Bridge Road in Colfax, California, for locals and tourists to find. The porcelain bits got into the American River and some of them washed up on Tepco Beach.
Incredible! Super explanation!
Humans are programmed to keep things, and I guess searching is very therapeutic, whether it's a Carboot, a boutique, a foreshore, even children do it , pebbles, shells etc . ❤
It's nest building like the ravens get coins glass shiney things. We have birds direct in our evolutionary line.
I think today the world is so ruled by money , to find something that brings you joy ,that didnt cost a penny , just the enjoyment of been outdoors in your own little world. You couldn,t put a price on. Thanks Nicola you brighten my days. ❤X
Shhh the government will find a way to tax it
Can’t help but think of the jewellery that could be made with those little faces etc, lovely!
You found a piece of pottery with the word Souvenir: 1:20. California has several areas that are filled with fossils, so I could easily see the Trilobites being part of a souvenir dish sold at road side motels, and tourist traps.
Thank heavens for the Casie O’Connor’s of this world! I’m sure that the original creation of the heads took a great deal of time and effort, but what a huge amount of pleasure they are providing! I loved the trilobites, and would have been ‘tickled pink’ to have found one, but having you discover them Nicola was a real joy. Finding the unexpected is always such a delight, and I think teaches us to keep out eyes, ears and hearts open to what we might come across, rather than being pre-occupied by what we think we need out of life. Your delight at even the smallest discovery is a complete pleasure - just keep up the good work, and continue introducing us to things we never even knew existed! Sending love to you,and all your followers from Leicestershire.
Looks like you both had a wonderful time. Nice to have a change of scenery finds!
Relic hunting on the shore must be like a meditation with the sound of the surf being your mantra.
@joehoughtaling ❤
Well for me it's foraging. It's so deeply rooted in our DNA don't you think?. Way back we foraged to feed our children, our families. And when we found food sources we felt good. Kind of like today when we have enough to pay the grocery bill and even acouple chocolates. Yes, I think it embedded in our makeup. I love finding things. Nowadays I forage on ETSY from the comfort of my couch.❤ love watching you❤
I live near San Jose and did not know about this place. Definitely going on my "to do" list!
Hi Nicola 🙂 I had the great opportunity to go on my first mudlarking adventure and it was to Tepco Beach. What a treat it was to be able to go to a place that one of my favorite mudlarkers go.
Our adventure started when my children and grandchildren agreed to a trip to the beach as they've only ever heard me talk about your adventures and it was a complete blast. We all found some beautiful pottery shards and we founds quite a few of the little faces as well.
Thank you so much, Nicola for taking us all on this adventure. We would have never known about it if it hadn't been for you.
I live in El Cerrito and have been to the Tepco beach. Oh how I wish I had chosen that day to go back! I would love to have seen you in person!!
In 1992 I moved to a town on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, one of Canada's Great Lakes. Not long after, I met a woman who collected beach glass, and when I saw some of her exquisite pieces, I decided I was going to start beachcombing. Some years later, it occurred to me that narrowing my focus down to the sand beneath my feet was actually a very Zen-type of action. Walking meditation, as it were. I don't beachcomb much anymore, but that interval in the 90's and early 2000's was instrumental in vastly improving my mental health and calming my reactivity to the circumstances of my life at that time. Watching mudlarking videos, beginning in 2019, has a very similar effect. So that's why I subscribe to your channel, Si Find's, and several others in the U.K. 😁 Now you know. 😉😂 See you next time, Nicola. 🥰😘🤗💖👌👍👋
I am a Californian. I hope you had a pleasant stay here, the Americans you met were kind and welcoming and our weather was mild during your stay.
Hi, Nicola. Susan here. I know it's the flavour of the month as far as words are concerned, but searching for shells - for me the miniature perfect shells found on the beaches of North Carolina - seems to me the true definition of "mindfulness". I am fully in the moment, conscious only of that for which I am searching - and forever uttering the words "Just one more and I'll stop"!
I think you could write a book about the psychology of looking for things! I have been fascinated all of my life with treasure hunting, though I have not done it on a large scale. For me, it can be as simple as finding what I was looking for in a drawer full of junk or uncovering a special trinket at a flea market - the thrill of the hunt is always fun!
Hello Nicola, un petit coucou de Nice, south of France, let me tell you that I appreciated A LOT this video, mostly for the good moment with your friend, your laughs, and your touching founds.. As you said, every little moment of Grace and Joy is sherished, with this sad and bad times we are all going threw.. Buddha's heads, sooo charming!!... As a big fan of fossils, please would you mind to let us know. If you discover something, about these trilobites figurines,..? (perhaps another clay worker fan of crétacé,?.. I don't know.. 😅❤) excellente journée à vous, et continuez à nous passionner avec vos jolies découvertes 👏👏👏👌💋👍👍Valy)
Merci ❤❤
Well I never heard of the Buddha Rush and the artist Casey O'connor so thank you for showing us the buddha heads. It is such an interesting story.
Curiosity is my pleasure, awesome finds Nicola. X❤🍁
I believe it is a distraction from the reality we live. You don’t have to think about anything just keep your eyes 👀 open and look. It’s also fun to see different things you would not in your ordinary life. Sometimes distractions can be a great thing especially for those who have a lot of anxiety about what is going on around them.
Great video Nicola and fantastic finds ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💜
You both so comfortable chatting and laughing together, you could be sisters🌸
I lived in H.M.B in California, now I live on Kauai, I love looking for sea glass and seashells and whatever, it's so relaxing and brings me so much joy!
Wonderful. Didn't want the video to end. Loved the laughter and excitement.
Another one bites the dust.
Being out in nature.
Sending muchlove.
True, i wanted to keep looking … dont eat, keep going 😀
I love historical finds. I love thinking about who did what and why. It’s just so fascinating to me
Even in America you managed to find the bird!!! A pelican!!!! 😊 Great episode as always!
Oh I so wish that I could have met you while you were in the USA!!!
I love to go looking for “treasure” because of the anticipation of finding something I have never seen before; something found and not bought. Something I can marvel at and can be a treasure to me (even if to no one else)!
Love, love your videos. Hope you never tire of making them. I have a beach themed bathroom that could sure use one of your sea glass fish!!!
Thank you ❤️ I will be back to the USA at some point! 😍🥰
För mig har det alltid varit lycka att gå efter stränder och söka efter fynd som drivit i land,jag är 56 år har gjort detta sedan barnsben, kommer fortsätta med det så länge jag orkar, älskar att se dina filmer/ love from Sweden ❤
What a great time! If I had been there, I would have begged for another 10 minutes. At least 10 times 😂.
I play hidden object games on Google Play Store, way too often. I have developed an eye disease in my old age, Best Disease, and I am determined to keep fighting center blindness. I REALLY have to look, but the joy I get when I spot the treasure is wonderful!
Thank you for another great outing, Nicola!
I was surprised so see you mudlarking where I grew up ( El Cerrito). That beach is only a couple miles away from our home.
I showed the vid to my wife and she got all excited about finding a Buddha, so we made the trip to "Tepco Beach"
which is very near a dog park (Point Isabel) we have visited many times. We had a great time rummaging around even though we didn't
find any Buddhas. We did find a Trillobyte, a frog and a strange face+crab claw.
Excellent!!
A found object.
The experience of the find,the processing of the find,the very idea of a seemingly storyless ,lost object,now held once again in the palm of one’s hand,it stimulates imagination in a way that is indescribable!
It begs for its story to be told.
The O’Connor pieces are lovely!
I am obsessed with the Trilobites,surely they are O’Connor,too?
At any rate,Nicola,you MUST frame all of your finds from Tepco bay,they would look incredible together,all telling a story or keeping a secret.
A frame of bits,playing truth or dare,some telling all,some clutching their secret,perhaps forever.
I'll definitely frame them Charles! X
What a fun lark with Jan. I think the joy of finding treasure never goes away and brings out that childhood magic.
Yep, right across the bay from me. Enjoy your stay. Cheers!
A rare old bird is the pelican.
His beak holds more than his belly can. Great video thanks Nicola
It continues:
Food for a week
He can hold in his beak
But I don't know how
The hell he can
This was taught to me by my daddy when I was about age 5. We lived in St. Petersburg, FL and there were lots of them out on the pier.
😁
This is within easy driving distance of where I live!!! Planning a trip now! Thank you for sharing this.
The one trilobite said "souvenir" so maybe it was part of a collection of casts of different trilobite specimens sold as souvenirs at a local museum or fossil park? Those are so cool. I love trilobites! All the other stuff was great too. Thanks Nicola!!
Thank you for visiting No. CA again. I enjoyed your previous trip to Inverness. Richmond is where Annie's Annuals, my favorite nursery is located. i love all your mudlarking finds. They are so relaxing and help me wind down before sleep.
Hi Nicola, what another wonderful mudlark thank you very much for taking us on your trip,i thoroughly enjoyed it. I find looking for treasure outside within the natural world seems to me like opening a new book and losing yourself in the first chapter. I get lost in my own little world for a short time and its great. Wishing you a good week.
It's not knowing what you find next! So exciting! Could be a coin, could be a bone. You never know ! ❤ UK 😊
Thank you for the fascinating video. How interesting to find such a strange little things. Cheers.
Omg, Nicola .. my kids are military and stationed near there. Now that I've seen your video I'm going to have to have them take me there on my next visit.
Loved your video and the fun you gals were having on your outing.
New subscriber here. I love and adore looking for 'treasures' wherever I am. My mother often found all sorts of cool things on the street or wherever. The hunt and rescue of old, lost, patina-worn stuff of the past is such a high for me as an assemblage artist and I just love to give new life to these objects or just give them a new home where I can fondle and appreciate what they were and are.
Dont know about this Nicola, maybe just abit of fun, glad you enjoyed your day,
Thank you so much for sharing! I think I would have to be pried from the beach! Definitely on my bucket list trap
Great haul ladies 💜🇨🇦☮️
Nicole How lucky you are to have all these amazing treasure spots The age of Australia doesn't give us places to find such treasures We boast coconuts and driftwood I promise if I ever get to your beautiful country again I will endeavor to register for Mudlarking on the Thames Love your videos
Love searching, treasure, shells, rocks. I think while searching we are hyper-focused on it and it clears the brain of logical, worrisome, complex thinking. I feel so good looking🥰🥰🥰
Nicola, Mindlessly searching for objects is the best relaxation I know of! I could go non stop looking for shells or shark’s teeth! Fun adventure!!❤
I think it’s the purpose, the engulfment, the mission, the surprise, the reward; the FUN of it all❤
For me it’s never been possible to go for a walk, just doodelin around , putting one foot in front of the other until I FIND something (like mushrooms or pebbles!) and it’s a hunt and an adventure!
Thanks for the video, Nicola. They brighten my rather boring Sunday, doing laundry. I think a lot of the comments hit the nail on the head with why we enjoy searching for treasure. You focus being on something with no worries, the thrill of the find, along with the soothing sounds of the water and nature around. I think it also stimulates the ancient part of the brain left over from our time as hunter/gatherers. And i think all of us watchers get to have that feeling vicariously through the videos as we anticipate your next find.
Loved the trilobite “souvenir of Fallbrook.” Those little heads, trilobites, etc., might be “sprigs,” molded bits that would be trimmed and applied to pots - like the bellarmine bearded guy.
So fun to learn about Tepco. I grew up in the Bay Area in Cupertino. I remember going to Ken’s Pancake House early 60’s I think maybe in the City of Sunnyvale.
Waht a fun episode with you and my dear friend Jan Bishop. The two of you make a great team.
Oh! I would have loved to be there with you both!!!!❤
You reminded me that my father's favorite coffee mug was a Tepco piece, light brown, and very heavy. I grew up in California, and Tepco ware was abundant, but I never knew much about it. Thanks for reminding me, and I might be searching for pieces online.
I think it’s fun to connect with the departed through the items they discarded or lost. Discovering objects I didn’t know existed, researching the bits and bobs. Having the internet is such a boon compared to having to search in a library. It’s like being on an archeological adventure. Of course the natural items are also a delight. Then the environment is wonderful always. I’m sure we all love hunting antiques too, but unlike in a shop (or at work ) we have the sound and feel of the water and the weather, sunny or cloudy, misty, traipsing through the mud, very meditative, relaxing, monkey mind more at rest.
As always it’s a pleasure watching.
Wow what a fantastic place and great finds 🎉
What a lovely lady you are Nicola more power to your elbow 😊😊❤❤
Delightful video! I do have a thought about searching small objects. I am a graphic designer and artist, and I specialize in "stipple" - drawings made from very fine dots. I am blind in one eye, and suffer migraines as a result. As a child, I spent hours searching pebbles at the rivers edge, making collections of the ones that pleased me. Now I produce pen and ink drawings and photorealistic paintings in stipple, because focusing in on the fine pattern of dots calms my mind, helps me focus, and relieves my headaches. I still search pebbles when I have an opportunity!
Really interesting video, the buddies which had been deposited reminded me of the eggs which were deposited in the Thames and you found a couple. I think when you look for things it makes you happy and the adrenaline kicks in, very satisfying. Your friend Jan came across as a really lovely, happy person and it was a pleasure to watch her. Have a good week
Now that’s something you won’t find on the Thames!! Wow! What fun!! ❤️❤️
Thank you for another great video with something different. The state of California was host to many potteries in the last mid-century. A lot of it very sought after by midcentury collectors.
Love the little Buddha faces and Tribolites -what an exciting place to search!
For me the joy of searching the Thames foreshore mudlarking is you just never know what you are going to find if, anything at all.
Some finds are just the ordinary, -the ones that you'd see on every lark and sometimes leave for other mudlarks to find, other finds present themselves when you least expect them to and completely change your lark by finding them xx
The little round clay piece you found looks like a parachuter. You can see the goggles and harness. And the clay background is almost in the shape of a parachute itself.
Good thinking!
I never knew about this beach. Fun.
I think I would spend days at that beach and never get bored!
Loved this video, so intriguing! Thanks for sharing it
with us!
Curious people enjoy it as a plus to being outside, in the moment, enjoying good weather mostly. Its a laugh, a lark, puts one in a good mood. Finding something connects you to the day, the weather, the location, fellow larkers and the memory. It gives a story to be retold. It does everything your videos do! Nearly like being there ourselves. ❤
This was so much fun,finding all the little faces!❤
Hi Nicola, just loved all the little heads and weird thingys you two found. It is really relaxing and exciting at the same time to go and find things. Have done it since I was a kid and have collected anything I found worth collecting😅. It's the adventure and the result. And the joy. Cannot really explain it actually 😅, but know the feeling very well.❤ Have a good week. Love, Nicole.
I’ve always loved looking for treasure, they can be interesting stones, fossils, pipe stems, really anything that draws my attention. It’s almost like meditating, walking slowly, looking for things. It makes me feel relaxed and happy. Thank you, as always, for your lovely videos.
Love from the Netherlands
Such a nice way to spend time on a beach with a friend!! We can all use more smiles and laughs🥰🥰🥰
I so loved watching you search a beach I lived 6miles from my entire life. The historic news from El Cerrito was a great surprise. Thank you, such a joy. No I've never heard of Kens ,I thought I new everything about my cities so great to learn more.
Thankyou for making my sunday better . love your vids and your voice is always so soothing :)
What a fun video Nicola !!! Those little faces were so cute. I think 🤔 when we look for things rather it be at The River Thames, the beach or used things in a thrift store or Goodwill store we all get a thrill, to feel excited, shiver or tingle with strong feelings !!! I know that's how I feel !!! I'm like a little child with a new toy 🧸🪀 !!! Looking for treasures or what we think is treasures !!! Really enjoyed your video Nicola & I've missed you & your videos !!! Much love to you !!! ❤️🙂
Hiya Nicola , you picked up a ceramic model of a fossil trilobyte, early on , it showed the roundish head and the start of the thorax ie main body area.
And more trilobytes it seems
One larger one looks to be like paradoxides genus.
As a 50yrs plus geologist, plus an archaeologist & sometime Victorian rubbish pit & bottle / pot lid digger. I find it is the uncovering & discovering of something long dead, discarded or even lost that is the excitement & pleasure of rediscovering items. Even if one is only walking on an IOW beach in the fossil footprints of a long dead Iguanadon, or a discarded Bronze age stone loom weight, or a clutch of slingshot stones or digging out perfect Victorian bottles sometimes with marble stoppers or pot lids from exotic lotions or maybe tasty pates & relishes.....one just never knows what will be found next ......
For years, I’ve hunted for woodland ephemerals, i.e., spring wildflowers that show up before the leaves are out, with the flowers bravely shooting up first. Then they form their seed heads and become far less obvious, almost absent.
I learned this from my mother - I really didn’t enjoy putting on my swamp-stomper boots and heading out into the woods to find trilliums. But then, after my mother‘s death, my husband and I discovered that finding wildflowers on our springtime hikes added greatly to the pleasure. We had a rule that the first person to find a
new and different flower had to kiss everybody else. (Not much of a problem, when there are only the two of you!)
Just as you and your friend found one or two faces and then many more, we often found that if you spied one rare little flower on your way up the trail, as you came back down, you would find many of her sisters!
I really enjoy your videos, especially your reviews at the end. Thanks.
It is the only time that my brain concentrates and blocks all the regular stressful thoughts of life ❤
😁 Hi Nicola. To hear you and Jan giggling at the Tepco beach like two teenagers, instantly made me smile as well. That made my day even brighter 🤗 And for me, it is not the search itself that triggers me, it is the finds. They have histories need to be told. 😊
How much fun was that? My creative mind was buzzing with ways to up cycle all the broken crockery, and THEN I became obsessed with you finding more heads!! 🤣I didn't want it to end. I love history so for me that's what would draw me in, but I also feel that if I could mudlark, it would be so de-stressing and so satisfying. Thank you so much Nicola. Much love to you xx Teresa 🇦🇺♥
Hi, what fun you both had , its wonderful just being able to watch you , I like mooching in charity shops, that's the nearest I get to mud larking.
keep it up love it 🙃.x
The human seeks patterns. In the clouds on the beach. I is an easy task and the rewards when looking in the mud, the water or digging is a simple treasure but they do make you smile. We smile watching you search
The rewards at the end… the dopamine rush of discovery, of finding something… anything. The chance it might be truly special, like a slot machine… but mentally/physically/financially healthier.😉
For the same reason, so many ppl like true crime- bc abt solving the mystery or figuring out the answer, & solution to the puzzle.
Some ppl like finishing a crossword- it’s thee little rush you get by finding the solution.
There’s some version that most ppl are drawn to, entertained, & compelled by…
So cool to live in a historical place where amazing things are emerging from the shores… & river banks & beaches across the country! So cool- super jealous!!
I get excited by finding sea glass & by beachcombing/collecting sea shells & other cool items… (that’s another similar activity!)
All are very rewarding & enjoyable activities/hobbies- especially, if can be out in nature while engaging in the pursuit… I def. think that’s icing on top the cake!
I think as you said an afternoon of searching can be joyous, but it always fills me with wonder, and I get out of my head.which is very good for the mental health.
I’m always amazed by the extent of your travels Nicola.
What a lovely way to spend time with a friend.
It has always been a source of pleasure and relaxation for me as well.
How hilarious! All those little Buddha faces and weird moulded trilobites! Would have been great fun!
I think most people enjoy looking for treasure. Even if what you find doesn’t have a lot of monetary value, it enriches the soul. Thank you for sharing this with us.
It’s a kind of a personal connection from someone not only unknown to us but who lived decades or even centuries before us that gives me a buzz with my finds. They being the last to hold and me to be the first to touch an object with such a long space of time between us. Thanks for sharing.
It's an ancient gen that keeps us searching and collecting for things. It brings you knowledge, communication with other people of the same field, like mudlarkers, for me it's relaxing to walk on the foreshore never knowing what you find or see. It's a joy that makes you happy!
I was looking forward to the link.She were going to post but I don't see them.I've lived here since 1993.Have never heard of Tepco Beach... That will be my next adventure.Thank you for sharing!
Sorry about the lack of link. If you google you'll find several
The root of the joy of discovery lies in our curiosity which has driven humans to explore our surroundings ...that's why we climb mountains and look up at the stars and at our feet to see whats there....that beach reminded me of the spot with all the coke bottles...thanks for sharing your curiosity and history with us....Karl from eastern Canada🔭🔭
Just the exitement of not knowing what you will come home with! A piece of a really old bottle... Iridicent colours, nice blobs in the glass... Or crystal clusters... Old pottery... Some items ending up at the museum. Other items going no further than being cleaned up to be used in my kitchen(!) I will sooner or later have enough handmade bricks to go with some old floor tiles at my door... Add a heap of other weird and wonderful bits and pieces... Love it!
Love seing what others are finding as well! Thank you so much! Love your videos!
😊❤ awesome findings " Buddha Heads " . Lived the information 👌 👏
With love from SAM
Guwahati, Assam , India 🇮🇳 ♥️
What great fun! I think I would have stayed until dark, wanting to find just one more! I suspect we like the hunt more than anything, I think some people are just more aware and awake than others, and we have curiosity about the world around us. I've learned so many things, watching these mudlarking type videos, and twice now, it even helped me get the correct answer on Jeopardy! Sending you thanks and big love ❤️😁 🇨🇦 .