A Big Friday!

Team Cheri headed out to the beach a little later today, after sunrise, hoping it would be a little warmer....and it was! We found a tidal pool that was over my boots, but Cheri was prepared, scuba pants! She walked into the tidal pool, and though she couldn't see due to the stirred up sand, she found something under her foot....a nice Lightning Whelk....

Then she found something else......

she moved over a little bit....and something else! She did that several times, I stood at the edge and took them so she could get more!! 

She found several more large pieces of Horse Conchs, and one more, we left for someone else....total count was 6 Large Horse Conchs and 3 Lightning whelks....all in one area! A lady stopped and talked to us, she found 6 the day before!! We had to go back to the car and drop them off so we could go shelling down the beach! What a great way to start the day! Mixed in among these monsters was this guy....a BEAUTIFUL True Tulip....Her most favorite find of the day! Gorgeous color!

After dropping the Horsies off at the car, we walked on down the beach....there were lots of plain white shells and Broken Quahogs, but not much else...Cheri found this Hermit in this Small Horse Conch....of course, he went back into the water after his photo op....

I saw several live Scallops....I just love these guys...they are so fun to watch!

I found a pen shell with Tulip Egg casings on it....

 I checked it and there were none in there, hopefully they all got out and will grow up!

I did find this little perfect Alphabet cone along the tidal pool edge...

 check out that perfect little tip!

Cheri found 2 in the tidal pool....

The other one she gave to a lady who was shelling and not finding much, She was So Excited when Cheri gave it to her....it was wonderful to see her light up! We saw the Biggest Sunray Venus I have ever seen....half the size of my size 9 boot....(aren't they colorful?!) It was huge...and dare I say a little fat too!!

The beach was just beautiful, not a cloud in the sky!....if you look closely, there is a sailboat on the horizon....just like a picture postcard! How could you not love this place!

Sadly, due to a family emergency, this will be my last post for a while, I have so enjoyed my week here! I will be back to bring some more Adventures with the Cheri Team....Stay tuned and thanks for coming along!

::Shelllady Hugs::

Another Negative Low Tide

I didn't stay in bed under the warm blankets this morning. It was 38 degrees here in Ft. Myers with a 'feels like' temp of 34 because of the winds. I know that is not cold to most of you, but for us Floridians (snicker) it's pretty darn cold to spend a few hours in! When I got to Sanibel it was 43 so that was better! We did a lot of walking this morning, thinking that all these North winds would start bringing in the shells. Not today....maybe tomorrow!? I won't complain though, I love walking the beach, and as I have said many times before, its great therapy!

This was my first find of the day!

An Albino Lightning whelk!  It cleaned up very nicely!

The Sunrise was beautiful....Cheri is an amazing photographer, and I took a couple of pointers from her to try some artsy pics....;) Not too bad for a Novice?!

The beach was almost wiped clean which was such a shame since there was a negative low tide....
I did find an awesome Worm Shell though...

and what looks like a petrified Sand Dollar piece....It had such a strange pattern on it!

We managed to stay pretty comfortable and dry, but I noticed a large Horse Conch in the water....just beyond my reach with the scoop....I had to go for it and got hit by a couple of waves, but I got it!

It wasn't worth it though....it was very white with a nice orange inside, but it had lost it's point and had several bad places in it....oh well....
Not far from this one, Cheri spotted 2 more...that were too far for even the scoop, she went into the water after them both, very quickly....but alas they were not good ones either! (sorry forgot to snap a pic!) OH well. The sacrifices we sheller make for shells! Luckily, we were on our way out by this time....

I did find a Shiva Shell!! I have never found one before. It is actually an operculum (door) on a Turban shell, I've heard lots of people find them by the dozens, but haven't found any on Sanibel! I think they are very interesting, and will be looking a little harder for them in the future!

Cheri found this BEAUTIFUL Live Olive....notice the golden stripe down the edge...it was gorgeous!

Nothing else to report....hopefully tomorrow will bring more shells and another awesome adventure....only a couple more days of Negative low tides and the heat will come back starting Sunday, I'm ready for it!!

Stay Tuned!

::Shelllady Hugs::

A Wildlife Wednesday

The negative low tides continue for a couple more days, it was a little bit warmer this morning, but a misty rain came and stayed for most of the morning, making it feel much cooler by morning's end. There weren't very many shells, but there was LOTS of life to watch and film! The first thing we saw were lots of these live little sand dollars....about the size of a quarter! 

 This is a LIVE Shark's eye....They are so awesome to see....he was wrapped all up in the tidal pool...

There were so many live Lightning Whelks ....

and just as many live Pear Whelks...

and Oh My goodness, the starfish....all live, all over the place....this one had a Spider Crab snacking on him!

There were millipede sea Stars of every size! This guy would fit in the palm of your hand...

I picked up one to put in the tidal pool that took both hands to carry!

There were Shrimp...

and so many crabs.....quite a variety.... a pair of Calico Crabs deciding who gets to go into their shed first....

a Mottled Purse Crab....

as well as an empty shell from one....

A hermit with a visit from a tiny little Mud Crab (I believe)

Cheri even found a hermit crab in a Wentletrap!

There was even a live Horseshoe crab burrowed in the sand....see his tail to the left of the picture?!

Speaking of burrowed in the sand....we didn't "See" very many live Cockles today.....they were also burrowed.....how neat is this?! 

Yep! That's a live Cockle shell....Cheri saw one spouting water out of that hole....she said it looked like a fountain! They were all over the place...making all kinds of weird sounds!

Cheri spotted this beautiful Live Olive moving along the tidal pool floor...these guys are so awesome looking!

Cheri also found a nice sized Operculum (trap door) from a Shark's eye, isn't that amazing?!

and she found twin True Tulips!

Today was Nutmeg day for me, such colorful ones today!

and of course, you know I can't pass up the Shark's eye next to this one!

Cheri snagged a couple of Lace Murex....check out the bright pink point on this one!

I was about to walk past this bright Florida Cone, thankfully Cheri pointed it out for me!

and check out the beautiful colors on this Apple Murex!

Today wasn't as plentiful in the shell department, but it certainly was another interesting adventure with all the wildlife.... Not sure about tomorrow...wind chills expected to be in the 20s early....that may be a day I stay under the covers! Stay Tuned.

::Shelllady Hugs::