Another Trip to the Islands

I mentioned in a post last week, that there never seems to be enough time when we go on these trips to other islands....well Liz and I heard about a company that allows much more time, and decided to give it a try yesterday. It started out as a BEAUTIFUL morning and we got there just in time to catch the sunrise!...you know me and the sunrises, gotta take a pic...or two!

and who can resist a Pelican silhouette?

The Lace Murexes are gorgeous out here and there are so many live ones, which is Awesome to see!

and we saw several Huge Live Horse Conchs....the orange color is actually their body, quite a contrast to their brown coated shells....

There were several of these guys out there as we got there at low tide....

right after we got there, I looked down and found this Beauty! A Flat (ZigZag Scallop)! A first for me on these islands....and it's so large! SCoRE!!

Immediately after that, Liz picked up this beautiful Alphabet Cone....it too was Live! That is an unusual find also! After a quick pic, it went back into the Gulf...

There were LOTS of Florida Cones out there also, most were alive....they too have an Orange body!

they too have an orange body!....

These tiny Rose Murex are also a favorite of mine....(I know, I know...they're all my favorite!) One of these is in pretty bad shape, they are few and far between so into my bucket it went!

This one is BEAUTIFUL....!!

...as is this one!

Another unusual find was a Baby's ear....Those have been hard to find at any of the beaches lately....I have never seen one here!! But Liz found one!!....and later ANOTHER!

I found several Live complete Jewel boxes also...love these!

I also love the Periwinkles that collect on the trees and logs out here....they are live land snails and come in lots of different sizes and colors!

These guys look like they were patching a square hole in a tree!!

I did manage to find several Lace Murex that were not live, they are also a favorite, and they seem to be so Lacey out here! This particular one was a pure bright white!

A pretty 'butterfly' (Alternate Tellin)

How about this for creepy?? A LARGE fish Skeleton!

We had a great time out there....and here are most of my finds.... Liz has a bucket full as well!

The Gaudy Nauticas were everywhere....yep, another favorite...check out all the different patterns!

Another pic of my Flat, it should clean up nicely!...and a few Pear Whelks

I'm sorry to say this pic is out of focus...Look at all those lacey Lace Murex! Even those tiny ones at the bottom, that's a quarter there to give you a size reference!

Also a few Florida cones on the bottom left and Horses (Horse conchs) of every color (bottom right).

The Nutmegs here always have wonderful color....

and last, but not Least Rose Murex....aren't they beautiful? The color is amazing on these guys!

It was a long day, but a lot of fun....and I would do it again in a minute! Perfect weather and great shelling quite an adventure!!

My time here is growing short, but hopefully I will have a few more posts before I leave! Stay Tuned!!

::Shelllady Hugs::

Tip-toeing thru the Tulips

 I went out to Sanibel early this morning to catch the negative low tides, and possibly find some treasures.  It was beautiful out there before sunrise, ...calm, sliver of a crescent moon and Billions of stars! Lots of life out there that was uncovered as the tide was out....

So many live Scallops....they were "chattering" all over the place...I love these guys, they just seem Happy! (I took a video of one, but it was out of focus! Will try again!)

This little Octopus was trying to hide by this Cockle shell....I love these guys!

I saw several Angel Wings out there too!

But the tulips...Oh my! There were so many Banded-Tulips (which I don't pick up anymore as I have so many!) But....there were also a few True Tulips, which are very close to a favorite, I can't pass by them!

While I was down there picking up the tulip, I figured I'd grab this Gaudy Nautica... :)

My most favorite type of shelling is in tidal pools, you see so many interesting things in them. You have to walk slowly and look carefully as to not stir up the sand so you can't see! It just makes you slow down and pay attention...No better therapy for me!  Sanibel's tidal pools have been coming and going, but usually, during a nice low tide, you might find one! I was lucky enough to do that this morning...and a few interesting things...mostly Live! ;)

This morning, I was standing in the tidal pool and took the next 5 pictures without taking a step... a Sea Star hug...

A Live Sea Urchin....they 'hide' under shells that are actually stuck to their spines...I assume they pick them up!

A Sea Anemone.....

A cute little Spider Crab....

...and a Blue Crab....

I try not to pick up Lightning Whelks, I love them, but I have SO many...this one looked pretty interesting, so I had to look at it! Surprise!

A grumpy Hermit had already claimed this one!

These sea Anemone are always so pretty to me....flowing with the water...

As I was looking at all these pretties the sun began to lighten up the sky....doesn't that make you just say "Ahhhhhhh?"

Low spots in the tidal pool tend to make things congregate...you have to look really closely in these areas...Dosinia, Sea Urchins etc....and there may be lots of treasures hidden in there!!!

Like this!

A beautiful Orange True Tulip....

I ran into several of these groups and missed the first peek of day....but I did catch it soon afterward....

I'm not sure what is going on here....do Sea Stars eat Cockles? I don't think so, but these guys obviously wanted this shell!

....and a couple more treasures!

a Kings Crown with nice color!

....and another True Tulip...of a different color!

It was a beautiful Morning!!!! Awesome therapy!

So, what do I do when I'm not on the beach? Like most of you, I stay home a lot, I paint shells to hide and I do go to Shellcrafters every Monday when I'm here, and Usually I make shell Trees, and they've recently asked me to paint some Sand dollars, which I have done. Yesterday I started a project that is a first for me... I decided to really step outside my comfort zone, and try something I had seen on the internet.....Making sea life scenes...all out of shells....you know, crabs, fish... 

I guess I forgot to take pics of the fish as I went along, and I made too many for this one project. I will have to take pictures and post them later.

 To avoid making this post too long...I'll just show you in pictures ...and few words, how this came together!

A simple styrofoam ball, cut in half, glued to a shallow bowl...

Now add the critters 2 fish and a crab...and maybe a little flower to finish it off.... The front...

...and the back!

I think it's finished! I'll have to decide, and get input next week at Shellcrafters....I've got all kinds of ideas I want to try! Very time consuming...but another great therapy...and of course... SHELLS! 

Stay Tuned!

::Shelllady Hugs::