Archive for March, 2011
The Thrill Of Seashell Victory
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Blind Pass Captiva seashells
The Gulf of Mexico was twisting, turning and churning all day today so I was chomping at the bit to get to the beach to see where the good shells were going to show up. I got to the Captiva side of Blind Pass around 4pm to find …… a seashell frenzy!
Nolan (WI)
Nolan was a very lucky boy to find a perfect ANGEL WING. I’m always so surprised that this fragile shell can stay completely intact with such rough waves tumbling and tossing so many shells together like a washing machine.
Ella (WI)
Nolan’s sister Ella sprung into action too and found a FLAT SCALLOP and a fantastic HORSE CONCH.
Avery and Max (Orlando)
Avery and her brother Max had already filled up two shelling bags filled with FIGHTING CONCHS, COCKLES, OLIVES, MUREXES, SCALLOPS AND CLAMS within an hour or so. Adorable!
Captiva seashells washing ashore
The shells weren’t that easy to snag since the waves were pounding on the shore so it was helpful to have a scoop like Nolan in this picture. Another good option was to feel around in the water on the edge of the surf like you see the two girls in the picture above.
Tanya (CA)
Looky what Tanya found getting in the water on the edge of that surf (she’s one of the gals in the picture above in the water). A perfect ALPHABET CONE!
Yulia (CA)
Minutes later, Tanya’s sister Yulia found her own ALPHABET CONE. They deserve those ALPHABETS and all the other shelltastic shells they collected after being punished by those pounding waves for hours. Determined girls! I Love it!
Griffin and Kris (Chicago)
Griffin found a KINGS CROWN, a beautiful TRUE TULIP and together with his mom they found a big bag full of ….. well, there was just too many shells to name. They had another bucket full too!
Caroline (Chicago)
Not to be outdone by an ALPHABET CONE, Caroline found the most beautiful carrot colored FLORIDA CONE.
Caroline's Forida Cone
Honestly, this photo doesn’t do Caroline’s CONE justice. I wish you could really see how magnificent the color was of this shell. Outstanding.
Doug, Caroline and Laura (IL)
It’s always such a pleasure to watch families have so much fun together collecting shells…. ahem, well I should this time say “body surfing for shells”. Take a look at Caroline’s happy picture above with her FLORIDA CONE. Now look over her shoulder …. that’s her dad diving and body surfing to scoop big handfuls of shells. The thrill of seashell victory is very addicting. 
Clark with his best shells
Clark has been celebrating victories not only with the shells he found today but with the VCU basketball team. VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) is in the Final Four!!!! That’s Clark alma mater and he is hog heaven seeing them succeed. Go Rams!
Our shells that we brought home
What a victory of seashells. This is what we shellers dream about….. days like this.
Captiva crouchers
Southwest Winds Bring Seashells To Sanibel
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Kings crown conch
I’ve had a little dry spell finding mid size shells lately but today…. The shells are back! Yippee! We had nice southwest winds the past few days and now the shells at the lighthouse beach on the pier side have started rolling in, baby.
Crucifix shell near the pier
I knew it was gonna be a good day today since I found a CRUCIFIX SHELL (which is really not a shell- click HERE or on the name for more info). It’s a good luck charm!
Beautiful True Tulip
It’s a great day when you find a KINGS CROWN and a red TRUE TULIP!
Sunray venus clam
I saw quite a few pairs of SUNRAY VINUS CLAMS that were still together. Lucky again!
Lightning whelk
This gorgeous LIGHTNING WHELK rolled up on the beach just waiting to be picked up by a lucky sheller.
Jim, James, Katie and Connie (MI)
This was a lucky shelling family enjoying gulf treasures washing up with every handful. They were having a blast! And me too!
Jim and Connie's fabulous finds
Check out those beauties. Okay, I know you didn’t miss that butterscotch yellow TRUE TULIP sittin’ pretty in the middle of all those other shellicious shells, did you?
James with a sea cucumber
In with the shells, came live SEA CUCUMBERS, STARFISH and a few SEA URCHINS. James was a good sheller and gently returned this live sea critter to the water to help it survive. What a cutie!
My shells from today
I’m sure you can identify most of these shells but I’m especially tickled by the bright orange CHESTNUT TURBAN and the little candy HORSE CONCH. There is another shell I’m also pretty tickled with but it’s broken. It is the second one down on the right side…….it’s a CARRIER SHELL! I didn’t get a good shot of it so maybe I’ll show you tomorrow if I can get a good picture. Don’t know all the other names all of the shells above? Try looking at my SEASHELL IDENTIFICATION page. Good luck ….. Tag! You’re it! I’ve now passed my good luck from finding that CRUCIFIX SHELL today on to you. Have fun.
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
When It Rains, Make Shell Crafts
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Shell Fair Seashell mirror
We finally got some much needed rain this morning to water the plants and to refresh the island. Whenever it rains, I get excited about doing an art project since I know I’ll be inside all day. I revisited my photos from the Sanibel Shell Fair and Show to get inspiration and a few ideas… then I realized… I never showed you most of the winners from the craft division of the show.
Blue Ribbon best Seashell flower arrangement hobbyist
Can you see how this artist made the cacti? SEA URCHINS with TUSK shells poking out of the holes! What a fabulous idea to use TUSKS as thorns. I love creative people.
Sharon Thomas blue ribbon
Take you time and browse through the rest of these magnificent works of shell art.
Blue Ribbon Hobbyist Lucy Ann Read
ROSE PETAL TELLIN butterfies!
Deborah Yamin Second place winner
This one by Deborah Yamin is simple yet so elegant. Look at the OPERCULUM leaves.
Blue Ribbon Leslie Anding, Hobbyist
I love boxes of any kind and this one is especially sweet, isn’t it? I bet Leslie self collected those little WENTLETRAPS and ARK shells. I met her at the beach last year looking for those shells and BABY’S EARS on post Mixed Shell Bag.
Brandy Llewelyn blue ribbon winner
I also met Brandy Llewelyn last year looking for mini shells at the lighthouse.
Blue Ribbon winner Elaine Alvo
This is an adorable mermaid with her SEAHORSE and seashell treasure chest.
Blue Ribbon winner Victoria Ross, Hobbyist
Blue Ribbon single stem hobbyist Donna Carey
Blue Ribbon for Tyler Schoenherr
Have you gotten inspired yet? Well, I kind of went in a different direction. Instead of getting inspired to make shell crafts, I got inspired to do more posts about shell art and crafting so we will know what to do with those beautiful shells we bring home. But for now, the sun has come out …. so off to the beach to try to find another interesting shell or two.
Shell Ladies by Leanna Sherrill -blue ribbon
Zippy Mini Seashells Video
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Miniature seashells
These are just a few little minis that we found along the beach in the tidal pools at low tide on Sanibel. Obviously they are empty without their original inhabitants. Sometimes after the mollusk dies and leaves the shell empty, another creature takes up residency…. HERMIT CRABS! Check out this short video of these little mini shells inhabited by tiny crazy hermit crabs zipping here and there.
They are so cute, aren’t they? I just love seeing that little WENTLETRAP running around! heehee Here are a few more we found that didn’t have any live creatures inside them that we were able to bring home. Please remember, do not take any shell with a live animal inside it. It’s not fair to kill them and it’s against the law here in Lee County.
Orange Ribbed Cantharus
Tusk shells
Single tusk shell
Baby horse conch shells....Candies!
Periwinkle seashell
While Clark and I were walking along the surf line looking for minis, we had a fella that swam along us for quite some time…
Cownose ray in surf
ABCs Of Alphabet Cones
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Eileen's Alphabet Cone
I doubt you recognize this APLHABET CONE ….. but I posted a picture of this seashell in February. This is the same gigantic gunked up CONE in my post The Alphabet On A Cone Shell that filled “shelling sistah” Eileen’s hand. Here’s the “before” picture…..
Eileen's Very Large Alphabet Cone
It cleaned up pretty nicely, huh? I joked that this ALPHABET CONE was so big it probably spelled the whole alphabet on it. Did you know sometimes the patterns on them really look like letters?
Words on an alphabet cone
I have proof that each letter of the alphabet has been found on these shells from a display by Amy and Bill Tripp at this year’s 74th Sanibel Shell Fair and Show. Check out this video from the Shell Fair in March (and then I’ll show you more photos)…….
It is so much fun seeing all those letters! Thank you Amy and Bill for making such a great display for those of us who love, love, love ALPHABET CONES!
Robert and Eileen (PA)
So after all that, guess who I saw on the beach visiting from PA again! Robert and Eileen…. looking for more CONES.
Robert digging for cones
He was so smart by digging around this buried crab trap near Sundial Beach Resort hoping to find another monster shell. There are lots of good shells that roll up and get stuck near any buried objects. He didn’t find a big CONE but he did find TULIPS, MUREXES, OLIVES and CONCHS.
Eileen's Purplish Tagelus
She found this perfect PURPLISH TAGELUS. They aren’t rare for this area but I always think they are a very nice find.
Low tide local shellers Sarah and JB
We also ran into long time Sanibel locals Sarah and JB looking for beach treasures. They know all the ins and outs of the islands since they publish the Sanibel Captiva Handbook. Sarah is showing off a beautiful PAPER FIG she found. Cute!
Sanibel locals Sarah and JB
Super Sunrise, Sunset And Super Moon
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Sanibel sunrise
It was a super weekend with a “super moon”, super sunrise, super shelling, super dolphins and super sunsets. I am still over the moon (heehee) after seeing that dolphin rushing towards me yesterday morning at sunrise so I’ve added that video again at the end of this post. Hope you don’t mind.
Super moon seashells
The full moon was setting over Sanibel leaving a low tide and live shells exposed on the beach. I always love to see live shells at low tide and especially when they are healthy and happy eating a scrumptious meal (sorry Mr Fighting Conch).
Lightning whelk eating conch
I was so amazed at how black this WHELK was devouring the other shell . It looked like a tar blob oozing out of his shell. Okay, let me make sure you know….this is not tar…this is a MOLLUSK!
Live Pear Whelk
Look how cute this live PEAR WHELK is! He’s doing a great job of making his way to deeper water.
Diana (Oregon)
Diana got out on the beach at 5:30 with a flashlight to take advantage of the full moon low tide yesterday morning. Notice the moon setting behind her right next to her ear…. I think she is listening to what the moon has to say. She found lots of FIGHTING CONCHS, a gorgeous double SUNRAY VENUS, BANDED TULIPS and lots of other shells.
Diana's seashells
Right after I took this picture and admired the moon again, I turned around to ogle at the sunrise view again and that’s when we both saw the dolphin splashing in what looked like golden water. I lost track of exactly where I was since I followed them along the beach a little ways but it was somewhere between Holiday Inn and Sundial.
Sanibel Dolphin at sunrise
It’s so much fun to see Dolphin so close to the beach whether they are feeding or playing. They corral the little fish up to the beach so they can easily pick out the ones that want to enjoy for breakfast. I happen to think they have a great time putting on a show as well.
Beachcombers with dolphins
Shellers watching dolphins
Since there were two low tides yesterday, I went back to the beach in the evening….
Sanibel shell seeker Todd
Todd (PA) was searching for shells in the low tide surf while his girlfriend Courtney was on the beach finding goodies.
Sanibel beachcomber Courtney
She found a beautifully colored PEAR WHELK, CANDY (JUVENILE HORSE CONCH), TURKEY WING, LIGHTNING WHELK, NUTMEG, BANDED TULIP and a little tiny OLIVE.
Courtney's beachcombing shells
So along with all of the other super-ness of the weekend, you can see I met some super shellers.
Super Moon over Buck Key
