Archive for March, 2012
Sea Hare Raising Experience
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I’m not sure if I’ve ever found a fossil SHARKS TOOTH at Bind Pass before….But my fossil-hunting buddy Susan (Sanibel) found one there! I think she can pluck out a fossil on any beach!
This was a pretty nice size TIGER SHARK TOOTH she found in the wrack line on the Sanibel side. Can you make out the serrated edge on the tooth on the pointed side?
Louise ad Debra (Maine) found lots of shell treasures including a really nice ALPHABET CONE…
Another Shelling Sista Susan and her husband Gary (Maryland) found two big LIGHTNING WHELKS out on the sand bar.
Congrats! These babies will clean right up with sharp pick and a little bleach.
My fave find of the day was this sweet little baby KING’S CROWN…
Oh wait! I take that back. This would be my favorite….We saw a SEA HARE at Blind Pass! It was a SEA HARE raising experience. heehee
I made a video for my post See A Sea Hare (check it out- you can see pictures of the ink squirting out) a while back but I wanted to show it to you again just in case you missed it. Enjoy this funny little creature…
Shelling Day Trip From Sanibel To Bonita Beach
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This past weekend we drove 35 minutes from Sanibel to Little Hickory Beach in Bonita Springs, Florida in search of seashells.
Walking north to the pass from the public parking lot (a bargain price of $2 for 2 hours) only took about 15 minutes to find loads of FIGHTING CONCHS.
After a few minutes more, Clark found a SAND DOLLAR…
I couldn’t get over how many MOSSY ARKS were washed up on the beach mixed in with a few pieces of CORAL and my fave of all faves… WORM SHELLS! They were only tips of WORMIES but any piece is a good piece in my book.
I don’t think I have ever seen so many MOSSY ARKS in one place on any beach before so I gathered a few together to show you exactly what they look like.
I know, I know…. not the prettiest of shells but I don’t see them all that often on Sanibel so I was intrigued with them.
Did I read your mind and know that it reminds you of another shell? It looks like the TURKEY WING! The TURKEY WING and the MOSSY are both ARK shells so they are very similar but unfortunately, I think the MOSSY ARK got the short end of the stick when it comes to looks. ;( Here’s a comparison so you can see them side by side. The TURKEY WING is on the left…
Oops! I switched them in this next exterior photo, the MOSSY ARK is now on the left in this photo. You can now see how similar they are!
We had a wonderful day walking the beach and seeing different shells and the beautiful SANDWICH TERNS and BLACK SKIMMERS…
Along with the SAND DOLLAR, sweet Clark gave me a yellow DAISY that he found on the beach…
We weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the beautiful day in Little Hickory…
Okay, while we are on the subject of Bonita Beach, I have to show you an article about iLoveShelling.com that was published in Coastal Life magazine of the News Press. Weehoo! Click on the logo to read it!
Shelling On A Sanibel Sand Bar
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There are swarms of seashells on the sand bar at Blind Pass Sanibel.
I took my first steps on the beach this morning then spotted shellers on the sand bar with shell bags busting at the seams. It wasn’t even a really low tide! It was a 1.36 and usually this sand bar doesn’t start showing until it gets down to a .5 or lower so this was a nice surprise.
Wading back to the beach with the seashell loot wasn’t too bad either.
Evelyn (Delray Beach, FL) was thrilled with her shelling victory.
Along with FIGHTING CONCHS, COCKLES and WHELKS, she found a SCOTCH BONNET! Great find, Evelyn! Congrats!
We’ve seen this sand bar change so often, haven’t we? It has built up slowly but I haven’t found the collecting to be as productive in the last months as it has in the past……until this morning! I shot a quick video just to show you how long the sand bar is now and how many people were shelling on it.
Melinda Graham’s Seashell Wedding Dress
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This wedding gown embellished with seashells would be any bride’s dream come true.
Artist and interior designer Melinda Graham made this stunning dress for the 2012 Shellabration fashion show celebrating the 75th Sanibel Shell Fair and Show earlier this month.
She painstakingly sewed and glued shells, beads and pearls for an extraordinarily elegant silhouette.
Her artistry in every detail is phenomenal.
I’m in awe of how beautiful she and the dress are in this back drop of Sanibel and Captiva.
Breathtaking!
Melinda made flower girl dresses embellished with seashells to complete her bridal collection.
Heavenly.
Laura and Valya were seashell princesses of the beach.
I was tickled to tag along on a photo shoot at Captiva’s Blind Pass beach with friend and producer Ilene Safron of Main Sail Video Productions as she and her team filmed Melinda for a national television segment. I have no idea what this shoot will be for or when it will air but I’m sure Nancy will let us know when she has details (fingers crossed!).
It was a day to remember with Nancy from Lee County VCB, Melinda, photographer Doug, Tracy (from Main Sail Video as well) and Ilene.
These talented folks have a lot of fun!
It was a beautiful day for Melinda to share with her mom as well.
melinda graham with her mom
To see her dress on display on Sanibel, stop by Melinda’s beautiful retail shop inspired by the sea called Surroundings.
Shells And Smiles
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I’ve been trying to remind myself not to ignore the BIVALVES in search of “CONES and JUNONES” (as my friend Rob calls them) so when I saw this BROAD PAPER COCKLE on Sanibel I smiled as big as the gulf. We just don’t have many in our collection so it’s nice to find something different.
Alicia (St Louis) and Lamont didn’t ignore the BIVALVES. They were enjoying every moment of collecting the riches on the beach of Sanibel’s east end with smiles from ear to ear.
Alicia was thrilled to collect SAILOR’S EARS, ARKS, DOSINIAS, YELLOW PRICKLY COCKLES and SCALLOPS.
The wrack line was loaded with all of the shells…
There were a few BABYS EARS mixed in there too…
Throughout the last couple of weeks I’ve run into shellers as crazy as I am about shelling. Rob was proudly wearing iLoveShelling Junonia and Lions Paw Club buttons he made. How cute! And so was his smile too.
Smiling Carol and Terry are showing off their shelling love too!
I saved the best for last with Janet and her huge smile showing off her first JUNONIA she found on her birthday in February. Congrats to you Janet!
Blind Pass Captiva Still Stirring Seashells
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That seashell pile on Captiva’s Blind Pass jetty rocks is the gift that keeps on giving. Suzanne (Ft Myers) found a tiny bright orange HORSE CONCH with that cute little white tip about the same time I found my “candy” too.
Get ready, cyber shellers! This is the shell pile I saw my little treasured “candy”. I was doing the Sit ‘N Sift in that big pile when I saw a little sliver of orange peeking through. Can you find it too? (Click the pic to enlarge. It’s a big file so it might take longer to download)
You got it!
Dave and Colleen (PA) were practically digging to China to strike buried treasure.
Eureka! They struck gold! He pulled out a golden HORSE CONCH and said “There are 2 famous lines for shellers. The first one is… ‘Oh my gosh that shell is absolutely gorgeous!’ and the second one is…’Awwww. If this shell were whole, it’d be perfect!’” hahaha How many times have we all said those line??!!!!
While I was on the shell pile digging around, Clark was in the water with his infamous shelling backhoe…
I knew he had something unusual when he came up to give me a shell. A BEAUTIFUL CRASSATELLA! We don’t often find these on Captiva.
Another beautiful day in paradise!
