Feature Shell of the day

It seems lately like shelling everyday is so different, and each day there seems to be one or two types of shells that are abundant. Kind of like the Featured shell of the day....As I posted on Sunday, it was Banded tulips. Monday the feature Shell(s) of the day was Scallops, both sides, still connected.

and my goodness there were so many Paper figs!!!

I already have so many, so I passed on them this time, but it was very difficult!!

I went back to the tidal pools and saw lots of life...like this Thorny Starfish....

 and so many Live Lightning Whelks

And the Piece de resistance....This gorgeous True Tulip....

Look how Big he is!!!!...and YES he was alive, so I put him back in the tidal pool to live on and multiply!

Right next to this awesome Tulip was this Big Lightning Whelk with this HUGE Hermit crab in it. I'm going to call him Sebastian....

He was perusing the tidal pool. These guys fascinate me....

I did manage to find a few things to take home...ANOTHER Horse Conch....my favorite size... There is a small Florida Cone hidden beside him.

I also found a mini one, in a very rich orange!

And more Banded Tulips and a nice sized Apple Murex in the center....

Who could resist this beautiful Gaudy Nautica, I love these, especially when they have such rich colors...

Of course I have to show you the beautiful Sunrise.....

Today I headed to Blind Pass, I got there right as the sun rose, unfortunately because of the angle of the beach, I couldn't see the sunrise. I am still learning how and where to shell at Blind Pass....there have been so many changes lately due to the beach renourishment and the Storms, specifically Hurricane Irma. 

The first thing I saw was Sand art!!!! How awesome is this?....

 Look closely....right next to the front door is this Awesome Orange Flat Scallop...no I didn't take it, but I was tempted!! I did look closely and it is not complete, but the color is awesome!

Today's feature shell was Olives....SOOOO many Olives. I am not a huge fan of them, but I am collecting them for a friend of mine, Sheila.  Hubby and I fondly call them 'Sheila Shells'...I got a bunch for her today, all sizes and colors!!

 Yet another Olive and a pretty Lace Murex....

I also found a pretty little Rose Tellin...

 a Painted Egg Cockle...

An unusual bright orangey-red perfect Scallop

and a 'freaky' Orange Turban, and another Small Horse Conch....

and on the way back to the car, I found this Alphabet Cone....very light colors, but I'll take it!

It was a beautiful day, with lots and lots of Birds...like these two Snowy Egrets....the one on the stump has a fish, and the other clearly wanted it...this battle lasted for quite a while!

If you look closely, you can see a Cow nose ray along the edge of this drop off..... I saw many of these guys this morning.

There were also Millions of Minnows swimming out there....the birds were having a feast the entire time I was there!

<<Update>> For those of you not on Facebook, I wanted to update you on my Medium sized Horse Conch from the other day....Remember him?  Here is the BEFORE Cleaning....

 And here is the AFTER..... Isn't he a BEAUTY, I think he has become my Favorite Shell of all time....

One more shelling day, then I head back home... :(   

Stay Tuned.

::Shelllady Hugs::

Sunday Shelling With Hubby!

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Hubby wanted to go shelling with me this morning! We headed out a little later since it would be light sooner with the time change! Still early enough to catch a beautiful sunrise...

The first thing Hubby found, was a HUGE horse Conch buried in the tidal pool, we normally would take him home, our neighbor loves them, but this one had a broken tip, so we left him for someone else to find! Good way to start the day!

There was a nice tidal pool, and we got to see lots of life....

Bunches of Lighting Whelks were out for a morning stroll also...

Along with a Beautiful Kings Crown...

I love live Scallops, but as hard as I tried I could not catch their Hijinx on video...they are so silly, this guy was clacking his shell open and closed over and over again real fast....until I got the camera out....

This tiny Jellyfish was slowly coasting in the water, just relaxing as he moved down the tidal pool!!

There were lots of Sea Urchins hiding beneath the shells...

Every day is an adventure, and every day is something new...

Hubby picked up a pretty little Red True Tulip....

 Then I found one too!!!

I found a nice size Nutmeg....

Hubby found a small King's Crown...

I found an Alphabet Cone, right in front of Hubby!!!!....Not sure if it will clean up well, but we will see...

Hubby found these two, a few yards apart....both in bad shape, so they didn't come home with us....

There were LOTS of Paper Figs, I had to force myself not to pick them all up, but I couldn't resist this one because of it's pretty color!....also a Worm Shell and a tiny juvenile fighting Conch...

I came across and area that looked like there were bunches of shells just under the surface....I ran my hand through the area and came up with these guys....

Hubby found this Awesome King's Crown, but it was live, so he went back....

Then I found this...... A beautiful Florida Horse Conch, Great Size!!!

Please, Please, don't be alive......

Woohoo!! It wasn't, but it was very stinky.....so awesome, it will look great all cleaned up.....it looks like it may be an Albino (all white) with an orange tip, the little white dot is still on the tip!!

I can't wait to get it all cleaned up!!!

A few more checks in the area and I had all these....Lightning Whelk, More Banded Tulips, a Nutmeg and Olive....[sorry, I obviously put a finger print on the lens of my camera at this point] that is another Banded Tulip under the smudge....

When I was emptying our bags to start cleaning I found out Hubby got an Angel Wing! He says it was just laying there on the bottom of the tidal pool....

I'd say we had a pretty good day....here are the rest of his finds....

and here are mine.....

I can't complain!!! 

Tomorrow is Shellcrafter day, but I'm seriously considering hitting the beach early beforehand!! ;)

Stay Tuned....

::Shelllday Hugs::

Keep trying and Make it Happen!

With the later morning low tides, I am on the beach long after sunrise and I have to say I miss greeting the morning first thing on Sanibel! I suppose that is one of the down sides to not living right on the island...but I am only 15 minutes away which is absolutely awesome! (This is yesterday's post, I played hooky today!)

My thoughts exactly!! (Please excuse the finger print on the lens)

I have run into a dear friend (CShells) that I originally met on the Sanibel Captiva Forum years ago, and we have seen each other the last 2 days and plan on keeping in touch now through facebook, since the forum has shut down.  We have so much in common (shelling of course) and she and her hubby come down most November but they usually get to stay for over a month! So Jealous! 

CShells' hubby found this huge horse conch yesterday morning!

The shelling was a little slow today, so I made up my mind I was going to make something happen....time to dig!  My Dad and Son-in-law (Brad) love to dig and frequently find the perfect spot....I have had my eye on a spot the last few days...

You have to be committed, just sit down and start carefully digging and looking through pen shells ....you MUST check in each pen shell....frequently shells get trapped inside along with the sand. See this HUGE Paper fig with the small whole in it?

 It's got GREAT color and I kept it anyway, even with the small whole on the back.

It is aways amazing to me that these fragile paper figs survive in these pen shell piles, probably because they fill up with sand and become more stable, but 9 times out of 10, that's where I find pen shells! Amazing to me!

Here is 2 more, same place!  I ended up with 6 total from this one spot!

I also found 2 pairs of buttercup lucines also very fragile and I have never found a complete pair!

I started digging a little late, and the tide snuck up on me, but I did manage to find a few treasures! I couldn't resist this Juvenile Fighting Conch because of it's sharp points...

I was hoping to find the owner of this operculum while digging down there...but not this time!

Note to self....I will be back for more exploring!

I was collecting pretty scallops also along my walk, here are the days finds along with another scoop of minis I found....

I will show you anything special I find in that group in another post!

I did find something really cool today on my way out to meet CShells, check out these Lion Paw knuckles!! 

One day I hope to find a whole one of these, I just think they are so awesome!

Tomorrow is crafting day, but I might slip out to the island early and see what I can find before I go! 

Stay tuned!

::Shelllady Hugs::