Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~Theodor Seuss Geisel One last warm sunrise for me to share with you, then back up north we go!!
It has been a beautiful few days here, very few clouds and warm afternoons with low humidity! Just perfect!! When Hubby and I went out this morning, we talked about how we adjust our shelling 'techniques' to the conditions....today there was much more wind and the tides weren't as low, so we wondered how we were going to shell as we walked slowly along the shoreline. Before we knew it, we 'adjusted' one more time, and were able to find some shells as the small waves would break on the shore...the problem with this type of shelling is you only have one quick glance to see something and grab it....or you would have to wait through 3 or 4 more waves for the water to clear and hope you would spot it again....everything is constantly moving!! I tried to take a couple of pictures to show you what I mean, picture these constantly moving, mostly smaller shells....
I always worry when I take pictures like this that there will be something spectacular in there that I missed!! :D We did pretty well anyway!!
Some colorful scallops
Baby Pear whelks
A Big Babies Ear
And an unknown!! The tip is broken off, but I need to research this one....one of Jess' friends found one of these a long time ago!
The front side of the unknown shell
As we headed back to the car, we ran across some folks flying kites! Check this one out!!
Here is a video of it....funniest looking kite I ever saw...... and Very cool!!
How Awesome is that?! As we got back to the car, I wanted to take some pics of the beautiful sky with the beautiful palm trees....just to capture the warmth for a little longer!!
I hope you have enjoyed our short trip, and that we have helped you warm up just a bit!! We head back home tomorrow. :( We will be stopping in North Carolina to celebrate Hubby's Mom's 91st birthday!!! We hope to come back here soon, and share some more warmth with you all!! Meanwhile I guess I'll be back to real life with the rest of you! ....Thanks for stopping by!! ::Hugs:: Cheri
Today, fill your cup of life with sunshine
and laughter. ~Dodinsky
I hope you all are enjoying these posts as much as I am enjoying sharing them with you...we really aren't doing a whole lot, and the shelling isn't fantastic but the beauty, warmth and relaxation is so good for our souls!!
Another beautiful sunrise on the gulf this morning, it popped up just as we started on the walkway to the beach, I just did catch it!!
I just realized this trip that we get an extra 10 minutes of daylight down here in Florida!! I never really thought about it, but I will take it and enjoy every second!!! There is your trivia for the day!! :D
I couldn't resist taking pics of what we call the pelican trees! These huge birds stand on these tiny little limbs and stay there to look over the beach! It's really something to see!! Sometimes they are just full of these guys!!
On the way back home, (Ft. Myers Home) we stopped at a beach along the causeway so I could hopefully find some rose tellins...I did find a few...and a little mini adventure!! This part of the beach has a lot of live shells, kings crowns, hermit crabs and lots of oysters! You've heard of the RV parks in Florida?? I found a Hermit Crab park!! I could watch these guys for hours!!
Then I found this....there were several of them!! Not sure what it is, it looks like a baggy going into a hole in the mud.....very strange!!
Like I said....lots of oysters....this next one is a rock, covered in oysters, with 2 live king's crown shells in there hiding...I circled them so you could find them!
Here is a close up of one of them...
I also found this bird footprint....it was huge....nearly as big as my foot!! Not sure I really want to meet this guy in person!!
I'm ashamed to tell you this, but you will enjoy it as we did when I figured it out!! I found a weird shell here...it was brown and shiny...I brought it home and boiled it with the others, soaked it in a bleach bath, put it out with the rest, and even photographed it, when I went to turn it over and take a pic of the other side....it hit me!!! Can you guess what it is??
A pistachio shell!!! Don't I feel silly!!! :D Well it is a shell, right???
I did find several rose tellins, and some white ones also (I think they are just sun bleached)
We left here and I took some pics on top of the bridge on the causeway....I just love the twinkles in the water from the sunshine!!
And of course our beloved Sanibel lighthouse!!
Like I said, we didn't hit the mother load today shelling, but we did get lots of minis and a few extra special shells, with a little bit of adventure thrown in for good measure!
Hubby found this horse conch....on of my favorites, and my favorite size!!
cool tiny bivalve of some sort!!
Hubby got another angel wing....while digging!!
We found some King's crowns that weren't alive too....the top one is from the beach at the causeway, the other two are from Sanibel while digging
Not to be outdone, Hubby got a lace murex too!!
...and a gray king's crown!!
...and lots of Mini augers
...and a BEAUTIFUL bright orange True Tulip!!
I dug up 2 Baby's Ears...they were side by side under the sand!!
....and 3 tiny Keyhole Limpets all together washing in the surf!!
Another cool tiny bivalve!!
That's all for today....the temperature is 84 degrees and Sunny.....the sky is a beautiful blue....wish you were here!!!
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~John Muir Another beautiful day in paradise!! It was a little warmer this morning and the sunrise was beautiful!!
We headed to Ocean's Reach to check out the sandbar I told you about yesterday, and Hubby only found one horse conch on it!! I guess their day to visit was Monday the 17th of February....today they are somewhere else! As you know, it changes every day!!
Today there were small mounds of tiny shells, we found lots and lots of minis, in most cases they are much more beautiful than those big old shells!
You can't really tell, but this lace murex is very small....and so intricate....look at that 'lace'!!
Hubby found a place just off the shore on the new sandbar that had lots of buried shells so most of today was spent digging!! We filled our bags much fuller today!
All our finds for today
Hubby's finds
My finds
Lots of minis!! look at that tiny Keyhole limpet!! (Jess usually finds those!)
I dug up a paper fig and this tiny winged oyster!! Don't know how they do it without getting broken
Even tiny shark's eyes
Hubby wins the prize for today by finding this HUGE perfect Angel Wing while digging!!
This little sharks eye is less than 1/4"!!!
I couldn't resist this fighting conch with the sharp points and beautiful neon orange inside!
I got so interested in the shelling I was startled by a dolphin who apparently came out of the water right close to me!! I did manage to snap his picture as he came up one more time, wish I could have got a shot of him in the air!!!
There were apparently plenty of fish there, this Commerant was fishing there too!!
One more shot of the sunrise on the beach....just for some added warmth sent your way!! :)
We headed back home to our place in Ft. Myers about 9:30 and could not believe the traffic!! Yesterday it went from Jerry's to the intersection of Periwinkle and the causeway, with some breaks. Today it went from Jerry's to BEYOND the toll booth...I have no idea where all these people were trying to go!!! They were backed up and STOPPED at the toll booth!!! The Lee Way Pass was no advantage today!!! I'm glad we were leaving!!! I don't know how many miles that is...it was crazy!!!
On Periwinkle
going up the bridge on the causeway
Most of these guys were stopped!!
We have been noticing lots and lots of fish in the pond behind our condo and I finally managed to get a pic of some of them, I think there must be some type of carp, blue gill, or bream and I think I saw a good sized Bass too!!! You can see 'beds' out in the pond so it must be season for them!! I think there are already hundreds of them out there...it's fun to watch them!!
Carp? This guy is pretty big!!
So many fish!!
I think this is either a bream or some sort of sunfish, he's not long and skinny as he appears!
Here is one of their 'beds'...they are everywhere!!!
I hope this has helped warm you up....it was a balmy 82 degrees today and clear as a bell!! Hubby enjoyed watching the birds and fish.....with a glass of wine this evening!!! Doesn't he look relaxed...and WARM!!!
I love this pic, the most relaxed he has looked in a long time!!! <3
