The new moon is back which means Low negative tides! And it's NE & NW winds which means it's pretty cool for Florida 45-50 degrees. We've also had Rip Tide warnings, which means Strong North Winds along the shoreline in Florida!!
I know that I sound like a weatherman...what all of this means to me is "Get your butt outta bed EARLY, because the winds are pushing the shells up to the shore, and Bundle up!" I got up early on Sunday, as Liz and I planned to head out, but it was raining and we both decided we'd rather stay warm and dry and went back to bed. It was a good idea as it rained most of the morning!
So I got up Monday and went out before Shellcrafters and had a pretty good morning! I haven't been out shelling in over a week so the beach was much different, it changes everyday, but this was way different! There was no longer a tidal pool at the lighthouse, and the shells were buried in clumps just under the waves.... Like this...
Do you see it??Yep a nice Alphabet Cone....
and about a foot away...
This BEAUTY!
Look at the size of this Alphabet Cone!! Happy Dance!!There was actually a third there, but it was in such bad shape you couldn't even see the spots....
You have to really take your time and check out the sand, both along the waves and on the beach....I found these beauties near that same spot!
Two Shark's Eyes with fairly unusual coloring and 'stripes' and a beautiful True Tulip!A little bit further down the beach, in another "Honey Hole" Another Alphie!!Score!
This type of shelling is a lot of fun to me, kinda like that box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get....or find!! It was really windy and chilly, but was already quite worth it!!
...and what's better than a beautiful Sanibel Sunrise??
This Firebox Crab was soaking it all in!
There was lots of life out there....Mostly Seaweed and Live Cockles...
as far as you could see-Both directions!
I'd say it turned out to be a pretty good day for a quick trip before work at Sanibel Shellcrafters....wouldn't you?? It had warmed up to a brisk, windy 55 by the time I left! I know, I know...not cold like where you are, but cold to me!
LOTS of Shark's Eyes, 6 Alphies, a Worm shell and Tiny Lightning Whelk, a King's Crown, Deep red True Tulip, a Nutmeg, and Last but not least a Baby's Ear!
This morning I did it again....got up early, bundled up ready for another cool, windy day!
I went to a different beach, and this one also had changed since my last visit....no tidal pool....once again the shells were in groups buried on the beach along the wave line. This was my first find of the day...
a nice Gaudy Nautica...I'll take it!!
Then a couple of True Tulips....the one on the left is pretty rough, I shouldn't have kept it! I've gotten so lately I've been kind of a shell snob....just take the best I found, today apparently I didn't listen!! The one on the right though is PERFECT and a Beautiful bright Orange, it should clean up perfectly!
I did find another couple Alphabet Cones, not pristine like the ones yesterday....
(I still kept them too!)
Another Alphabet, 2 more Shark's eye and a Florida Cone!
This Nine-Legged Sea Star was walking around a Tiny Tidal Pond....aren't they cool??While I was out there I ran into Jolene! She was out for a bit of Beach Therapy as she is dealing with some illness with her family at home and had to get out for a nice walk! It was really nice to see her! So we continued to walk and look for treasures together! How about this?? The picture doesn't do it justice, but this is a PINK Juvenile Fighting Conch!
This was also Jolene's first time out in over a week ....so what could make her
feel better than this beautiful Sunrise??
Jolene didn't find one of the Alphabets she so famous for, but she did pick up a pretty Gaudy Nautica and a couple of Shark's eyes she gave me!!
We saw this Whelk Egg Casing on the beach,
It was Huge!! It's a series of discs that the whelk puts together like a rolodex....remember those??
and in each disk are tiny little Whelks probably 30 or more...if you look closely you can see the tiny white spots on the other side of the "wall" of the disk...those are each a tiny whelk....
I have some that I found years ago in a dried up casing up on the beach....here's a picture on a penny.
I tossed it back into the Gulf hoping that the whelks will 'hatch' and live...fingers crossed!
It ended up being a nice day, I think Jolene may be a bit more rejuvenated and I found a few treasures....
Kings Crowns, some fairly beat up Alphabet Cones, a Lightning Whelk, some Orange Scallops, True Tulips, of Course Shark's eyes, some pretty Gaudy Nauticas and small Horse Conchs. Not too Shabby!
Stay Tuned, another adventure awaits!!
::Shelllady Hugs::
