Live Bunche Beach!

"Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!"~Henry Frankenstein (1931)

Greetings from sunny Ft. Myers! Hubby and I arrived this afternoon with our daughter Jess in tow, her Hubby Brad will fly in tomorrow for a few days! We will be staying until next Sunday and I am excited to have them both here with us in our Ft. Myers home....they have seen it but never stayed here with us!

After a quick trip to the grocery store, and some Publix fried chicken for dinner, Jess and I headed out to Bunche Beach for a couple of hours before dark, she had never been there and we were pleased to see that there was a lot of the beach uncovered even though low tide isn't until nearly midnight tonight.

There was so much activity on the mud flats, tiny baby horseshoe crabs.... 

...Fiddler crabs...dozens of them!

Live Kings Crowns...

Sunray Venus...both sides (Not live) He came home with us!

Here are a couple of King's Crowns being romantic! The small disc like pieces in the center of this picture are the eggs!

This is obviously some sort of egg basket, I call it a wubba bubba, I have no idea what kind of eggs these are!

Live Kings Crown

A tiny tropical fish of some sort, he looked like he should be in an aquarium!

Live Kings Crown 'walking' along the beach, notice his body or 'foot' on the sand underneath.

A baby horseshoe crab

Live baby horseshoe belly

A hermit crab in a bright blue auger

 This is the first time I have ever seen Rosette Spoonbills in real life, and they are beautiful! Notice the gorgeous colors!

I got a little too close so they just moved on out!

A live Marginella, This little guy is less than a half inch long! 

A live starfish (sea star) , see his 'feet'?

We were 'chased' out after only an hour by an incoming thunderstorm, can you imagine how many pics we would have taken if we had been there for two hours? We each found a Kings Crown shell that wasn't occupied, but not many more shells, but that's okay, we had such a great time, you can bet you will hear more about Bunche Beach this week!!

Rosette Spoonbill

...Stay tuned!

::Hugs::

Cheri

Geocaching and "Shelling" in the Blueridge Mountains!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

One of my blogger buddies Kim from Snugharborbay blogged about geocaching and I really got interested in it. Geocaching is a scavenger hunt of sorts.  You are given clues and with the help of a GPS, you find these items and log your finds. A lot of the clues are fairly vague and you have to use your imagination and detective skills to find them.  Part of the custom is to exchange a prize for one of equal or greater value.  I did a few of these a few years ago, and Jess and I have decided to try it again when we get together.  I felt like since I am Shelllady, I should have something shell related to bring to the treasure hunts so I attempted to make some shell 'critters'.  Some I am more pleased with than others, but I am staying true to my theme and fellow cachers will know that Shelllady was there!

Owls

Mice!

Fish!

And Pigs....These are my least favorite!

I came up to the Blueridge Mountains to spend a couple of days with Jess, and we did a little geocaching! It was so much fun, but it got very, very hot today so we called it quits but had a great time exploring and figuring out clues!

We went on the Huckleberry trail...

Jess and Geodog Gwen!

There is a Geocache in this area, we did not find it, but will probably go back, we suspect it is around (or under) this bridge....it was so hot, we quit!!

Putting the Geocache back in it's hiding spot... 

Here is an example of a small geocache, hanging in a tree!

I really enjoy doing this but am very reluctant to do it alone since many times it involves going on trails or in the woods....! But it is such a blast!! We picked up a 'travel bug' that we found out originated in California! He will be going with us from Cache to Cache for a little while, maybe even on our next trip to Florida!! 

I truly love this, check it out!! You may too! Kim from Snugharborbay has found over 2000! I have only found 18! I need to get busy!

::Hugs::

Cheri

Happy Birthday Jess!

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. ~Larry Lorenzoni

Who says Friday the 13th isn't lucky? Twenty Eight years ago, on a Friday the 13th, at 8:08 pm, my life changed forever! My 6 lb 2 oz baby girl and best friend Jessica was born! Two days later on Sunday the 15th was Father's Day, just like this year. 

Here I am 28 years later looking back at what a wonderful time it has been since that lucky Friday the 13th. Where did the time go? I really cannot believe it has been 28 years....though so much has happened. Through it all, from that very first Friday the 13th we have been inseparable. Now there are nearly 300 miles between us, but we are always in contact and remain inseparable. 

Jess decided at a very early age, I think about 5 years old, that she wanted to be a veterinarian.  All little girls love animals so I just assumed it would change as she grew up, but it didn't! Early on she wanted to work with aquatic animals, she got her dive certification for her 14th birthday, and we even went down to Florida on a trip and swam with the manatees, I didn't think I would ever get her out of the water! :D  
She volunteered at our local living museum during one summer and talked our local small town Vet clinic into allowing her to volunteer at the age of 15, they hired her as soon as she turned 16. Her journey had begun. She had many jobs, but they all centered around animals. We toured vet schools first, during her sophomore and junior years of high school, then colleges...She applied and was accepted at Virginia Tech where she also worked at the sheep barn, and the summer before she graduated, on a Dairy farm.  

I was the one who gave her away when she got married to her High School Sweetheart that summer. Her new husband Brad moved up to Christiansburg and began teaching History at Blacksburg High School that next September and was Teacher of the Year there this year!

She then was accepted to Virginia Tech's Vet School where she decided to study a mixed curriculum, large and small animals....Jess loved her some pigs, sheep and cows!!  

She even traveled to India to work with elephants, goats, Water Buffalo as well as the cats and dogs there. 

Interned on a horse farm in Leesburg....

....Interned on an Indian reservation in Arizona in a clinic that she, one of her professors and other students brought all supplies to operate in order to help reduce an outbreak of Rocky Mountain spotted fever!

 ...and even worked with Alpaca in Northern Virginia!

....and went on a 7 week school trip to Greece during undergrad!

She graduated as a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) over a year ago and currently works as a Veterinarian in Roanoke, VA where she absolutely loves what she does! How many of us are so focused and determined at 5 years old that we maintain the path to our dreams? That's my Jess!

I frequently get a call from her on her way home from work with stories about what has happened that day, she is usually so excited! Through all of that we remain as close as that Friday the 13th she was born, I am so blessed. My heart just explodes with Love and Pride of the person...and DOCTOR she has become! 

I have SO enjoyed the journey...

Happy Happy Birfday Baby Girl!! I Love you with all my heart!!

::Hugs::

~Mom