Pearl Shell

We got up today and had some breakfast. Then we persuaded dad to open the pearl shell from yesterday that was still closed. After some prying and cracking, we managed not to ruin the shell. Dad then opened it and had a feel around the muscle bit of the shell; the bit that keeps it closed.

Dad found two pearls! One was three millimetres and the other one was four millimetres. We put them in a mini ziplock bag straight away so we wouldn't lose them. Then dad dug out all the meat and muscle and put it in the bin. This was hard because it was stuck to the shell, but it all came out soon enough. The shell was as shiny as ever, but the other one wasn't.

The other one I got was already open and only sitting on top of each other. We got out a scrubbing brush and a scrounge. We started trying to scrub off the layer that was between us and the nacre. The nacre is this really shiny stuff a pearl is made out of. For instance, sometimes a grain of sand gets in the shell, and the shell forms nacre over it. It also has that on the inside of its shell.

After a while we decided it was time to go to the market. Alan stayed behind while we took Judy in our car. When we got there we bought some bread, mum got a new hand bag, I got a purse with a boab tree on it, and we all got a fruit thing each. Then we put two in the freezer for dad and Alan to eat at the caravan, and drove back. We had some lunch and dad and Alan had their fruit thing.

Then mum, dad, my brother and Alan went off to do some fishing. Meanwhile I did some school work, read a book and played around on the computer. After about two hours the fishing fleet came back home and we had some toasted sandwiches. Then we drove to the museum.

We watched two shows that were by Malcolm Douglas and Mary Durak. They were

really good!! I liked the Malcolm Douglas one best though. It was about his

daily life and how he captured crocodiles. Then we came home and went to bed straight away. I had a great time opening those and cleaning those pearl shells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!