Gone East!

Liz, her husband Mike & I got up REALLY yesterday morning and headed to the East Coast. Shelling there is like another world, it's always an adventure! We went to a little beach between Ft Lauderdale and Hollywood Florida. Many of the shells there are very different than here on the west coast, at least around Ft. Myers/Sanibel. Like any other beach, good days and bad days....I'd say today's adventure was a good day. Heck, to me, any day on the beach is a good day!! ;)

My first find was a Bolingi Olive!!! Much larger than the one I found a couple of weeks ago....I had never found ANY, now I have 2!!

I also found a tiny Alphabet Cone hiding under a rock....

they are even a little bit different than here, the 'spots' seem to be much smaller, and more uniform...

I found so many of these sponges all over the beach, 

they look like something you would see in an aquarium....they were in all sizes! I just thought they were interesting! (I even brought a small one home with me, we'll see how it holds up!)

Also scattered among the High Tide Line....were these two guys....

Yep that's a Portuguese Man of War!! A jellyfish with a terrible, terrible sting I understand.....I didn't test it, even though they seemed to be around a while, I understand they are normally very blue, and there was some blue along the edges, but I just took a pic and left them alone!!

I also found this tiny little sea Urchin on the inside of a Bittersweet, he was so prickly, much like a sand spur! I believe he was still alive, so I returned him to the sea....

Much of the beach had these rocks on it, and Liz and I spent a lot of time, walking on them, and looking under whatever rocks we could move....

Needless to say, it was quite a work-out! I found this tiny guy under a rock...he too was alive...

forgive me for not naming most of these, it is going to take some research...I'm not familiar with many of these shells...

This is obviously some sort of Oyster, I just thought it looked cool, so I grabbed it up as well....

This area is known to have Queen Conchs,....I was hoping to find one, and there was evidence all over the beach that they had come in....HUGE pieces of broken ones :( so thick too....I kept hoping I would find one intact!

I found 2 pieces of a Hawkwing Conch that would have been a gorgeous find!

The Atlantic is gorgeous....just look how beautiful it is....such a tropical blue!

Here's my finds for the day...

Her's a closeup of the minis....I'll try to name some of them as best as I can...

Keyhole Limpets, False Limpets, tiny dove shells, a couple tiny flats, some rice olives (I think) Rose murex (that are white?), I believe the gold and white shell on the left near the bottom is a Margin shell, and below it a Nerite, then a star shell or Modulus

Some of my favorites, a Juvenile Queen Conch, the Bolingi and Alphabet, and some (what I call) flower coral

and I actually found some Sea Fans, I'm going to try to clean these guys up and see how it goes, if it turns out, I'll show you how it looks! Liz actually found a Large sea fan on an earlier trip and has it in a shadowbox at her house, it looks beautiful!!

Here is some more small pieces of coral, and some colorful bittersweets!

The beaches are covered with all different types of coral, from very large to tiny....so different from what we are used to!

Liz found some real treasures! Including Frond Oysters still on the branches, Bittersweets, Thorny Oysters, and a Flamingo Tongue!! (Yes, it's a type of shell!)

Here are her minis....Across the top are False Limpets, I believe those Conchs are also Juvenile Queen Conchs, mini tulips, Horse conchs, dove shells, rice olives and Keyhole Limpets at the bottom. The Flamingo tongue is out of the tray just to the bottom left, the white shell....!!

She also found some tiny Bittersweets, Rose Murex, and some Milk Moons, and  some tiny cones!

Liz also found some Dove shells, and we aren't sure if those are barnacles or Limpets, 3 Margin shells (?), and a pair of Nerites!!

She posted these as some favorites...a Flat and a Sunrise Tellin!!! It would have been my favorites too....LOVE that Tellin!!!

We had a great day, and it began to rain just as we were ready to leave....so it was good timing! Hoping for a few more adventures to share before I leave so stay tuned!!!

::Shelllady Hugs::

A Sad Day Shelling at Sanibel

We are back in our paradise. Unfortunately our paradise island, Sanibel, as well as over 100 miles of shoreline along the west coast of Florida, is currently under attack by Red Tide, Blue Green algae and Sanibel is on the path of the constant release of water from Lake Okeechobee, which is highly polluted with chemicals.  The water is awful, a deep Root beer color, and there has been dead sealife all over the island beaches. Sanibel has been working non-stop, cleaning the beaches of the death, but it is an ongoing process. They are doing a great job of keeping it as cleaned up as possible. Pictures I have gotten from Cheri from a few days ago were beyond belief.  Keep in mind, I have no agenda, I own a house in Ft. Myers and this is my home, so I will show you what I see...no elaboration, but plenty of emotion that I will keep in check. This has all become so political here in Florida and so much drama, and inaccurate reports, something needs to be done, and soon.

Cheri Posted this on facebook yesterday, it says so much to me! She is speaking for those with no voice. Hopefully the word is slowly getting out....have you seen anything about it yet where you live?

From here on out, I plan on keeping these posts political-free and as positive as possible....but with no coverups!

Red tide affects different folks, different ways. It's usually respiratory issues, cough, running nose etc. It really attacks my Hubby. Me, not so much. I didn't know what to expect as I headed across the causeway, I didn't expect to see any birds at all.  I did see a few Ibis on the Ft. Myers side.....like 3, and an Osprey on the bridge, so immediately I was feeling better. The water was so dark.....Cheri had already 'scouted' the beaches on the island to find which one seemed the best, and she said that today the Lighthouse was where Team Cheri's adventure was going to start! When I got out of the car, I did smell a slight fish smell, and had a couple of small coughs. 

The upper beach was very clean, obviously swept, and there were vehicles working it. It was approaching low tide, so there was fish that were being deposited as the tide went out.....Lots of Crucifix, as they're called, which is actually from a catfish...

There were also newly dead fish, that still had they're color....

I believe this i a Spanish Mackeral....

 check out those teeth!

 ...and this beautiful Cowfish.....

a Batfish....

and hundreds of Sea Squirts!

...and Billions of Bubbles! On the beach....

and in the water....

There were live Bubbles in a small tidal pool! They were walking along in line....Cheri called it a 'Bubble train'!

Here's a closeup of a live one in her hand!

Cheri (The Wentletrap Whisperer) found the Biggest Wentletrap I have ever seen! It was Gorgeous!!!

She also found a Sea Biscuit, a first for her!

There were several Baby's Ears out there too....this is a monster sized one Cheri also found!

I found a couple of firsts for me also....things to lookup in the books.....

I believe this is a Dove Snail....

This thin little shell, I still have not been able to find in the books....So thin and fragile, it is clear when it's wet....maybe a smooth Duck Clam? Will have to research it a little more!

We did find a few more live things...it was nice to see that some sealife is surviving, for now....

a live Sand Dollar....

a live Kings Crown...this guy has been around a long time!

Let me take the opportunity now to give you some advice.....wear shoes! I know, that seems like the smart thing, an obvious thing, right?! I guess I have too much Carolina in me....I had them on, but took them off before I left the car! It was all going just fine....we walked all the way around the point, and back. I was talking, not paying the attention that I should, I guess. I saw a catfish right on the waterline....he was badly decayed but sitting up, not on his side, apparently I didn't lift my foot high enough to clear him, and caught his dorsal fin in my foot! Not sure what I said, but I don't think it was G rated. Spilled my shells, looked down and the bone was sticking out of my foot! So I had to grab and pull....and pull....and finally it came out! Here's a picture of what it looked like...not THE one, but same size...

Sure wish I hadn't done that! Cheri very nicely picked up my spilled shells, and I headed to clean it up and PUT MY SHOES ON!

It's fine, I'm watching it and cleaning it often....no worries!

We did pretty well with the minis, which I love! 

Wentletraps!

 I couldn't resist these jaws with the teeth....who knows what they belong to!

There were areas where the smell was bad, areas where the bugs would eat us alive....so we would just continue on....every day is definitely going to be very different! 

The Sanibel Sunsets, never disappoint!

Stay tuned!

::Shelllady Hugs::