Hi All!
Ok the title may seem really weird BUT I'll explain it to you in a while alright? Once again, apologies for the long period of absence (Common Tests, School Work UGH...) been really tied down by slews of activities since the start of June and it probably would not abate till the END OF NOVEMBER. In any case, I managed to squeeze in a visit to the LOST COAST! That's right! The really isolated Eastern shore. Was expecting a long trudge through the forest and shrubs and mosquitos BUT to my HORROR, this experience was about to change entirely... :(
The characteristic open country landscape has given way to urban redevelopment! AUGH!!!
The Lallang Fields, The Rhu Tree Forests (AKA in layman and inaccurate terms, Tropical Boreal Forests), The creek-of-no-source, ALL GONE! JUST LOOK! >:(
Bare. Earth. Sand. Whatever. I'm Horrified.
But to the east lies a remnant parcel of shrub-land. Interestingly, there's a unique purple flowered herb that dominates the landscape and has aromatic leaves and flowers. Anyone knows what that is...? :/
And yea... though forests are gone, there now lies a distinct path to the shore. Here's the Northern (?) section and...
the southern shore to the right. Lovely BUTTERFLY CLAMS of all colours, patterns and sizes litter the wrackline and a whole lot of other unusual shells hide among the shell mounds as well...
Tons upon tons of SMOOTH BEACH CLAMS, waiting eagerly for any sheller to make it his or her own. :)
Shell sand everywhere! You'd kind of feel guilty stepping on them but they're just too darned many shells!!! Everywhere! XD
This baby is a keeper! A PERFECT, BI-VALVED RAYED WINDOW PANE SHELL! Never before have I seen a perfect Jingle shell, let alone a BI-VALVED jingle shell! (*PLONKED INTO MY SHELLING BUCKET!*)
Just chillin' by the coast~ (plus the darned sandflies! )
Looks like someone just couldn't bear to part with his television... It's amazing how coastal debris of all sorts can find its way to our shores! It's important to remember that the ocean is NOT A dustbin!
Strombus canarium , or more commonly known as the DOG CONCH or the GONG-GONG.
The SCREW PINE! Keep away, far far away from it's leaves!
And it's only now do we begin to question... WHERE DO ALL THESE LARGE AND EXOTIC SEASHELLS FROM!?!? like this COMMON DISTORSIO...
Or these COMMON FIGS AND JAPANESE BONNET???
This KITTEN PAW!? We'd almost never see these critters along our shores...
And a huge huge huge Distorsio...
On a side note, here's a live DOG CONCH. Threw it back into the sea since it still moved when I touched it...
Presenting to you: LAND'S END, SINGAPORE HAHAHAHAHAHA Ok lame but yea... they look small but that's probably an understatement... they're taller than me, or twice of me I have no idea.
Hmm... An exposed root mat. Lovely. :)
As we progressed up the shore, we approach a small bend where the water turns clearer, and the currents come into conflict...
WELL! What do you know? A RIVER. In a recently established piece of land.
And it is gorgeous. Give it a few more years, it would be a mangrove-lined nursery for all varieties of fishes, crustaceans (Like those in the Caribbean? :/ Who knows... :) )
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This is one of a kind discovery that was probably thought to be impossible to find 10 years ago. Brechites penis, or the WATERPOT SHELL. In all seriousness, it's actually a BIVALVE with a pair of greatly reduced shells that no longer serve any purpose... (?) How wonderful is this?
WATTLE WATTLE
And only now do we realise...
THE RECLAIMED LAND IS THE TREASURE TROVE OF THESE UNIQUE SHELLS. DOZENS OF THEM HIDDEN WITHIN THE CLIFF, WHILE COASTAL EROSION SLOWLY CHISELS OFF THE CLIFF AND REVEALS THEM! HAHA
In any case, a quick shower and off to the BIODIVERSITY SHOWCASE AT VIVOCITY!
and WHOOPS, forgot to mention the BELONGKENG SHELL found (at the expense of a muddied and soggy shoe)
And look at all these MUSHROOMS. Lost Coast is very much ALIVE!
Like Sweetened Lotus Seeds. What does that mean? Well, not sure if you have eaten these before but they are preserved lotus seeds coated with a layer of sugar. Generally bitter, the sugar injects a hint of sweetness into snack. Likewise, the Lost Coast may have been lost, but it is through this do we decide to sharpen our senses and pay more attention to our surroundings and only is it then can we find things we've never seen, hear sounds we've never heard, and experience things we've never even encountered. That's the beauty of Sweetened Lotus Seeds.
