Lots of Life in the Tidal Pool

I thought I would make another post today so I can hopefully be caught up. I plan on leaving in a bit to head back out for some more beach therapy, waiting for the thunderstorms to finish before I go.  

There was a tidal pool that got me all excited when I got to the beach, unfortunately it had a lot of green moss in it, which made me think that it doesn't get replenished with each tide like you would hope....but there is over 3 feet difference between High and Low tide so maybe....

The water was crystal clear...

There was a lot of live stuff in the pool.... Live sand dollars....

Lots of hermits....

I did find a few minis...an olive, a tiny Jasper's cone, and a juvenile Fighting Conch

 ...and a tiny Lightning Whelk and super small Olive.

I'm always glad to find a Shark's eye....

After a while, I crossed over to the beach along the gulf and found this awesome sight....a LIVE Shark's Eye, and it was a biggie!

Took a video of him too...

I've only seen two ever of these guys in the past, and today I found 2! This one was nearly buried....

There was a beautiful Live Pear Whelk, taking a stroll along the Gulf floor...

I also had a close encounter with this cow-nose stingray...it's difficult to see him since he is the same color of the sand, so I circled him in red and circled one of his eyes in blue....do you see him? His tail is the black line at the back...He was only a couple-three feet long including his tail...just a baby, but nice to see!

I did find something else I had to look up in my books...it was super flat and and first I thought I had found a Large flat Scallop, a little closer look, I believe it's called a Flat Tree Oyster...I believe it is found mostly among the mangrove trees in the water....I thought it was cool and have found a small one before, but this one is huge!

 When I got back to the path, I turned around and looked at the sky....surprise! I'm glad I came in when I did!

The drive home was beautiful, I love to watch the storms...although I was hoping not to have to drive through them!

I got home just in time!

Stay tuned!

::Shelllady Hugs::

Catching up

I've been lazy the last couple of days and now need to catch you up on my posts...nothing spectacular, but I have managed to get in a little more beach therapy. I went to the beach the other night and right in front of me was a big black cloud, just ready to attack! Notice the swimmers aren't bothered by it, but when it started rumbling right over my head, I took it as my cue to leave!

I noticed that it appeared to be clear toward the lighthouse, so I went there...

You can see the cloud had a lot of rain in it, and was on the shore by the time I made the drive! I think this was a good choice!

There were lots of minis, some of my favorite shelling...I actually sat down right there on the beach and did some picking and grinning....finding lots of tiny treasures....

 See the tiny Wentletrap in the center?! 

 Love the minis....

A walk along the beach presented a beautiful little Baby's ear.....

and of course I always have to snap a picture of the beautiful Sanibel Lighthouse....doesn't it make you just go Ahhhhhh?!

 The Gulf was beautiful as usual and very calm.....

And this dolphin, was slowly making his way into the bay....

A beautiful end to a perfect day!!

The tidal pools were full of Hermit crabs, so fun to watch....the video is a little bouncy, but thought you might want to see some these busy tiny guys!

I will probably post again this evening to catch you up! Stay tuned!


::Shelllady Hugs::

Happy Birthday America!

The Sanibel Shellcrafters have had a float in the July 4th parade on Sanibel Island for the last few years, I remember watching the parade a few years ago, and one of them gave me this flower.....

Needless to say, I was very intrigued, I had heard of the Sanibel Shell Show in March, still have never been, and seen so many beautiful Sailors Valentines and bouquets of shell flowers.  

Fast Forward to last trip... I have been with the Shellcrafters now for several months, helped them get ready for the show twice (and still not been), and this year I was able to help them with the float for the parade. They had decided to go with a wedding theme, and asked me to design the hubcaps for the golf cart on my last trip. This is what I came up with.... They had just gotten a donation of dozens of these beautiful Angel Wings....

 Add a little pearl paint.....

 And some pearls in the center.....

 and Viola, Wedding Hubcaps!!

One of the other ladies, made this beautiful Wedding Cake....

With this amazing Bride and Groom....

It's hard to see, but this Cake is bordered with Kings Crown shells and topped with Arks....it turned out amazing!

The ladies got the Golf Cart last week and started working on it, I wasn't able to participate until Monday, Check this out!!!

How beautiful is this! I helped put the cake on top and some of the final touches...AND I get to be in the parade as a Sanibel Shellcrafter, yep Handing out shell flowers! (I'm the tallest one (back right)

Hubby and a friend of mine took some pics for me! Everybody in the crowd just loved it!!

How awesome is that!! It was a beautiful day, and we gave out all the flowers we had, and could have easily have given many more out....only to the ladies! I just had a blast, and really feel like I have become a bonafide Sanibel Shellcrafter now! Stay tuned to find out if we win an award.....I bet we do!!

So many folks on the island for the 4th of July holiday, so I didn't even attempt to do any shelling yesterday, but plan on going out this evening, stay tuned!

::Shelllady Hugs::

A Tiny Bit of Beach Therapy

I'm very happy to let you know I'm back home in Ft. Myers, Florida for some much needed beach therapy! As usual this is a welcome change from real life, and I couldn't be happier! 

I did go out to the beach yesterday afternoon, I knew I needed to keep an eye on the sky since it is Summer in Florida, and thunderstorms are a regular part of the day....but I did get my toes in the sand and the surf, which was my first goal!

 Almost instantly worries are gone!  But, like I said, I had my eye on the sky....and it was there...

I figured I had at least a little time to go for a little therapy, the water was very nice and oh, so clear...

My first finds were these scallops, it's hard for me to turn down scallops, so this time I chose these two to take home with me... Love the oranges

I was able to walk down the beach for a short distance and came across an area where these guys were rolling around in the surf....

from left: Banded Tulip, Shark's eye, 2 Chestnut Turbans, Worm shells, a nice Lace Murex and Half of an Alphabet Cone!

Pretty soon I realized I needed to head back so I wouldn't get caught in the storm!

Dang, looks like it was going to be a good day to shell, I hastened by steps so I could get to the car in time, but I did see a little more orange....

From the top: Orange Scallop, Semele ( I believe it's a White Atlantic Semele), I can't decide if that is a coquina or a tiny Rose tellin, Keyhole Limpet, tiny Orange Scallop, Bubble Shell, Orange Jingles

I was out for a little over an hour, not nearly as long as I would have liked, but I did get safely back to the car before the bottom fell out!  Ahhhhhh, tomorrow is another day!

Stay tuned, I hope to have some great adventures to share with you, maybe just a slow stroll along the beach, or maybe some excitement!

::Shelllady Hugs::