Archive for August, 2010
Dash To The Beach
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Roseate Spoonbill feather
We had a little window to dash to the beach last night before the rain came again ….. so we took the chance to run down to West Gulf Drive and parked at the local’s beach access #7. I found my first Roseate Spoonbill feather within the first 5 minutes! I’m lucky. I feel lucky I found the feather and I’m lucky I have a wonderful husband to share these experiences with in my life.
My dash
I was reminded today of just how fortunate we are while attending a funeral service of an island friend who lived a long life and enjoyed every minute. As the Reverend remembered some funny stories and all of the joy he gave to so many people, she pointed out that when a person is remembered you always see the date after their name like this …..1931-2010. Their birth date and the date they died. In between those dates is a dash. That dash represents their whole entire life…. birthdays, holidays, weddings, family reunions, trips to the beach, dinners with friends … everything. Our friend Bob had a very big dash.
Banded Tulip seashell in surf
I like my dash too.
Hermit crab in a Murex shell
We meet such nice people enjoying their dash.
Don (St Augustine, FL)
Our best shells last night
Every moment is a collection of treasures.
Indigo sky falling on aqua sea
Even if we only have a few minutes to dash to the beach, we like to take it. I hope you are enjoying your dash too.
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Manhattan Island… less than 1 mile from Sanibel Island
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Jeff (Manhattan)
In between rain showers this week, Jeff was finding some shells but most of the really good ones were alive like this big LIGHTNING WHELK he found in front of Island Inn.
Jeff with a live fighting conch
a photo of Jeff of a photo of conch
While I shot Jeff taking a photo of this conch, he told me he was from New York, New York. Manhattan Island. I shared a little fun fact with him.
Did you know that Manhattan is about the same size as Sanibel?
Manhattan
Sanibel
Manhattan is 13.4 miles long and 2.3 miles wide. Sanibel is around 12 miles long and 3 miles at its widest. Weird concept, huh?
Don’t forget…
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Day Trip For Shark’s Teeth
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Shark tooth enthusiast David (Canada)
Eleven year old David was the perfect guy to meet on the Blind Pass Park beach in Englewood to ask about finding SHARK’S TEETH. Clark and I took a day trip up to Manasota Key (about an hour and a half from Sanibel) to look for shark’s teeth yesterday and met David while we were searching (and finding!). He knew everything there was to know about the history of a shark’s tooth and how to find them. “Every time a shark bites something, he loses teeth. Then that tooth is replaced by another in the row right behind it…..like a vending machine!” He even saved $250 of his own money to be submerged in a cage surrounded by sharks in Orlando. Now that tells you how crazy David is about sharks!
David's shark's teeth
You can see how long David had been hanging out in the water….look at his finger tips! LOL But better yet, look at all the shark’s teeth!
Joanne (Port Charlotte)
This is David’s grandmother that he was visiting in Port Charlotte. She’s a collector too.
Shark's tooth on the beach
This is what the good “tooth piles” (I’m so used to saying “shell piles”!) look like. Did you find the tooth?
Shark's tooth screening
This shark’s tooth screen that blog buddy Karen (The Essential Beachcomber) gave me (see it on Shark’s Teeth Treasure post) was so easy to use. Clark’s pointing at two teeth in one scoop. It works great, thanks Karen!
So, can you guess how many teeth Clark and I found together in about one hour? No?
Our shark's teeth loot
One hundred and eighty three …. that’s 183! …and a fun little rock with a hole in it (top left) that Clark picked up.
Blind Pass Beach- Englewood
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The Cone Collector
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Clark's cones
Clark found 2 fantastic ALPHABET CONES and a pretty FLORIDA CONE to boot this afternoon at Gulf Side City Park (aka Algier’s Park) all within 20 yards of each other. “Nothing better than finding cones” Clark always says.
Clark, his shelling backhoe and his cones
He also found the TULIPS, OLIVES and MUREXES and found them all by using the backhoe at the surf’s edge……unlike me. I was up on the beach searching the shell lines but came up with a big goose egg, nada, zilch, zippo for shells but I did get a few nice shots of the the surf and sky.
Path to Paradise
Sea blues
Shells at the jetty
I stopped by Blind Pass this morning and saw shells in the surf, a brilliant blue sky with puffy white clouds and absolutely gorgeous water. Ahhhh.
Sea Shells and Sky
Don’t forget to sign up for the Write From The Beach GiveAway! Click on GiveAway !
Write From The Beach GiveAway!
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a Sand Dollar.... breathes through its feet
I have been combing the beaches all my life finding seashells and beach treasures, viewing sea life and beach birds. This summer I was so inspired by all of these beautiful beach creatures I photograph and blog about that I decided to pick up the paint brush again. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had 16 designs that I packaged into notecard gift packs with FUN FACTS about each sea creature for a fun twist. Check a few out…..
a Horse Conch ... makes ocean sounds if it's next to your ear
a Dolphin ... sleeps with one eye open and one eye closed
They really do! Half of their brain sleeps while the other half is awake…. so the half that’s asleep- the eye closes.
a White Pelican ... has an average wingspan of 10 feet
They are HUGE!
Here’s what the front of the Sea Life box looks like…
a Seahorse ... has a single mate for life
There are 4 designs (2 each) in each 8-pack box of Seashells, Beach Treasures, Sea Life and Birds.
Back of the Beach Treasures box
So now you know what I’ve been up to when I’m not blogging. I am very excited that some of my favorite retailers already have them in their stores- check them out! Click on Store Locations .
AND now for the GIVEAWAY!……
Win 4 boxes of Write From The Beach notecards as a “thank you” for your inspiration….
- i Love Shelling Seashells
- Sea Life
- Hello, Birdies
- Beach Treasures
- Free Shipping in U.S. (outside U.S.?- We’ll work something out)
Here’s how to win……
Go to WriteFromTheBeach.com to look at all 4 boxed notecards and photos of each individual card, then come back here to make a comment HERE ON THIS POST (comments on Writefromthebeach.com will be disqualified-sorry!). Just tell me which ones you like best…or any comment will do because the pick will be random.
That’s it! Just make a comment HERE on or before Friday, September 3, 2010
If you don’t know how to make a comment- Click on the Title of this post (Write From The Beach GiveAway!) and scroll to the bottom then follow directions. Or you can click on the number in parenthesis (for example (1) or (0) ) after where it says “By pam – Comments” under the post title.
What is this Stuff on the Beach?
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Sea Pork surfing
This Sea Pork looks like tar
Is it an organ of a marine animal on the beach? Is it a tar ball that got washed up on the beach? Is it the beginning of another attack of The Blob? Nope, it is Sea Pork. It’s a TUNICATE. They are rubbery globs of cellulose that house tiny zooids that filter seawater as food. Wild! If you want more technical info visit http://www.mitchellspublications.com/guides/shells/articles/0084/ . For me? I just like to look at their weirdness. Have you seen them on the beach too?
This Sea Pork looks like a sponge
Sea Pork orange
Sea Pork curly
Sea pork brainy
Sea Pork black
