Coastline Treasures

Do you love to spend your time fishing?  Why not add a touch of fishing decor to your abode.  It will be a great way to start conversations about your favorite subject.  I don’t know a fisherman that doesn’t like to talk about their latest catch.  You can decorate your entire home or just a room.  First, you may want to consult other family members to see if their love of fishing matches yours! 

Be sure not to add too many items to a room; if so it could look cluttered and like you were trying too hard.  A few deliberate items will do the trick.  If you have several pictures of fishing trips, frame and mat them identically and display them as a grouping at eye level.  Adding a decorative fishing frame to the room would be a nice compliment.  If you choose to use an area rug with a fishing theme then you will only need a few accent pieces as the rug will carry the theme in the room.  A fishing accent throw pillow, an accent table lamp, a mounted fish, a throw, wall art, or a trophy will continue the theme.  Remember to only add a few of these items to the room.  Judicial placement of your fishing décor will greatly enhance the appearance of your room.

Lighthouses come in different shapes, sizes, colors and designs.  Their designs were practical for the environment in which they were built.  Some lighthouses are built in the middle of water, on a rocky cliff, a sandy beach, or along harbors.  Architects used local materials to build their lighthouses and constructed them to with stand its environment.

The lighthouse decor used for constructing lighthouses is round, pyramid, skeletal, conical and square.  The round designs are often made of brick and painted.  They can be tall or short depending on their location.  The pyramid lighthouse is not used much being made of wood or steel.  A skeletal design consists of a steel framework for little wind resistance.  Finally the square lighthouse encompasses the tower being built into the keeper’s house creating a square look.  There are other shapes and styles depending on where you live.  The designs are endless.

If you have a few hours and some basic tools, you can build a decorative birdhouse for your yard.  This is a great project to include children.  While working together you can teach about birds, building and safety with tools.  First you need to gather the necessary tools; saw, hammer, screwdriver, goggles, paint brush and a tape measure.  Now gather the supplies; plywood, wooden dowel, screws, wood glue, nails, sandpaper, and exterior paint.  Once you have everything, you are ready to get started.

Cut two rectangles cutting the tops so it forms a peak for the roof.  This will be the front and back walls. Drill a ½” diameter hole in one of the rectangles for the bird’s entrance.  Pre-drill a ¼” hole for the wooden dowel to create a perch.  Cut two rectangles for the side walls and 2 for the roof as well as one piece for the floor.  Glue the sides and roof together letting it dry.  Once dry enough nail it all together.  Turn the birdhouse over and screw the floor in place, no gluing.  During the off season, you can remove the floor of the decorative birdhouse and clean it out.  Go ahead and sand and paint creating the look you want.  Be sure not to paint the inside as bird will not nest if painted.  Have fun and get creative.

Have you ever seen whales migrate?  What a sight!  Living in southern California we are blessed with the migration of several different kinds of whales; Gray Whales, Blue Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales,  and sometimes Orca Whales also known as ‘Killer Whales’.  Each year whales will travel between 10,000 and 12,000 miles round trip from the warm waters of Mexico to give birth, to the cold waters of Alaska to feed.  Due to their near-shore migration route, we can easily watch their yearly migration.

Along with seeing whales come the dolphin.  Some seen here are the Common, Bottlenose, Risso, Pacific White Sided and Dall’s Porpoise.  Dolphins love to play and jump above the ocean and surf the waves.  I remember a time when whale watching, this dolphin came from nowhere and started jumping the crests of the boat waves.  Next thing I knew, there were dolphin figurines all around the boat, jumping and playing with each other.  You couldn’t help but smile and laugh while watching their antics. You could see that they were having so much fun!  If you ever have a chance to go whale and dolphin watching, I would highly recommend it!