Archive for Angel Wing
Cayo Costa Shelling Cruise Finding Seashells By The Seashore
Posted by: | Comments
It was a gorgeous sunny day on the iLoveShelling cruise to Cayo Costa yesterday! This beautiful HERMIT CRAB found a nice home inside this CONCH shell for lots of us to ooooh and ahhhh over it then see it go safely back into the water. But Debbie was soooo fortunate to have found this gigantic LIGHTNING WHELK completely empty!
Yowza Debbie! So happy for you! She also found a GAUDY NATICA (aka COLORFUL MOON SHELL) EGG COLLAR and a shaggy parchment worm tube.. but that gorgeous WHELK stole the show.
Holy mackeral! Super Sheller Clark found an empty LIGHTNING WHELK too. When we got back to the boat, Clark and Debbie showed their big finds of the day…
It was a day for finding big shells because Erin found another big LIGHTNING WHELK. After letting everybody see this beautiful creature alive and well with the original mollusk still inside, she walked it back into the water to live out its healthy life to breed more WHELKS. Way to go, Erin!
Like I always say… Every day the beaches change. One day the shells are piled on the beach and some days you have to work at finding them. I have to admit, we never found a huge pile of shells but this was an awesome group of shellers because they not only found those huge shells, but they found other beautiful shells they were happy with as well…
Did you notice in the last picture that little tiny SCALLOP SHELL? Love it!
Others were finding FIGHTING CONCHS and SUNRAY VENUS CLAMS…
Aaron from Kansas City was finding the mini shells for his mom…
He found BABY’S EARS, FALSE ANGE WINGS and an ALBINO LIGHTNING WHELK. I think that other shell is either and OYSTER or a big KITTENS PAW but I didn’t even look at since I was inspecting the fab ALBINO WHELK.
I know this is a broken shell, but as soon as I peeked inside Shanna’s shell bucket on the way back to the dock and saw this piece, I woooped it up! She found the lip of a DEER COWRY! DEER COWRIES are very rare in Southwest Florida since they don’t live here. They live further south in the keys so for it to travel this far north… I always think any piece found here is a fun find. Especially the lip.
Here is Shanna and her mom Patricia (both from Georgia) with her fave find.. a WORM SHELL 
I was thrilled to find a SPECKLED TELLIN! This is another shell I don’t normally find on our beaches. Between Clark and I, we only have about 4 that we’ve found around here (SW Florida) so to me, it’s a pretty rare find.
This is how I found it so if you see it with the interior side up, you will know to pick it up too. Errrr… Now that I look at it this way, doesn’t it look like Spock lost his ear? Weird. haha
Speaking of ears…There were quite a few people that found BABY’S EARS for the first time ever…
So let me show you a few of these beautiful souls that Clark and I got to spend some time with to exchange stories and treasures…
I had to get my picture taken with Jeanine and Della from PA. They came geared up with their iLoveShelling tee shirts just like me. Thanks you guys!
There are 3 shellers in the next photo too. Jody and Melissa will be having a baby next month so their newest addition will already have shelling experience. Doesn’t she look great? Lucky baby!
Thank you Captiva Cruises‘ Captains Keith and Kelly for a perfectly safe and smooth boating morning.
And thanks so much to these fabulous folks for joining us for this spectasheller day!
Don’t miss this experience! Join us on our next cruise May 19 from 1pm to 4pm. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
The Wonder Of Sanibel Beach Life
Posted by: | Comments
After the rain stopped and the warm sunshine filled our weekend, the Sanibel Lighthouse beach was very popular for watching wonderful wildlife like this huge live HORSE CONCH Bijou is showing us in the first photo (with fresh sunscreen protecting that sweet little face!). Bill from Michigan found a different one moments later…
Three young girls look like mermaids calling the dolphins to tell them secrets…
Bruce from Eugene, Oregon was crouching in the sand filling up his University of Oregon cup with hundreds of shells…
Look at his collection of COQUINAS!
Allison from NC found everything from WENTLETRAPS to LEOPARD CRAB shells but wanted to find a pair of ANGEL WINGS to give to friend but couldn’t find them. So instead, she was collecting COQUINAS since they were like colorful wings.
Not one minute after she told me about the ANGEL WINGS, I looked down to find a pair of tiny ANGEL WINGS practically at our feet. What are the chances! We placed the wings inside one of her double DOSINIAS to keep them in her bag for safe traveling until she got back to her room. Best Wishes Allison!
Shelling worlds tend to come together and when they do, Sue and Ken tend to be there. Ken was busy collecting the miniature shells as well…
He found lots of other shells but he showed me these WENTLETRAPS, a SHARP RIBBED DRILL and a GULF OYSTER DRILL. I realized I don’t have the GULF OYSTER DRILL on my SEASHELL IDENTIFICATION page! This week, I’m going to work on getting that up to date, my friends.
You may not think the beach looks pretty in the next photo because it looks a little “dirty” at the surf line… but to me, that looks like a gold mine! That’s where all of the mini shells are hiding.
This is just a small assortment of what Clark found the beginning of the weekend. I haven’t had time to sort out our finds yet so I’ll try to get those posted soon too.
Just in case you were worried about what happened to those large live HORSE CONCHS…. after I took a photo of Bijou’s HORSE CONCH, she immediately walked it out in the water as far as she could and gently placed it back in the GULF OF MEXICO (without her mom Deanna having to tell her).
And Bill did the same thing. From all of us, Thank you for being good stewards of the sea.
Oh, and…. Join us for our iLoveShelling shelling adventure to Cayo Costa Island next Saturday! Click on the next image for more info…
Shelling Day Trip To Lovers Key State Park
Posted by: | Comments
I felt like if was raining ROSE PETAL TELLINS at Lovers Key State Park this week.
We pulled up to one of the little islands and saw the sand dotted with pink. We didn’t find many pairs of ROSE PETAL TELLINS but it was so much fun seeing so many singles…
The ANGEL WINGS were out by the dozens as well! I still havent had time to soak them overnight in a bleach solution (1/8 bleach to water) to start cleaning them but I wanted to show you how many we found…
We found the smaller FALSE ANGEL WINGS too. Clark found most of the sweet doubles…
And WORMIES!
Johnny Rescue and Jane wanted to take their new boat “Not His” out for the maiden voyage so they asked Clark and me if we wanted to tag along to Lovers Key. Errrr…. Well I should say “Jane’s new boat” hence the name “Not His”. LOL Even though it was a little chilly, of course we wanted to go. We bundled up and headed out. Here’e Jane in her new Mako…
We don’t get out to the beaches of Lovers Key often but we were pleasantly surprised how many shells and bling there was…
It’s only about 30 minutes from Sanibel to get to the island. I’m not sure about the parking or main beach since we went by boat but I’m sure we will be taking another trip back there soon by car to find out about those details.
But until then… how about a little CYBERSHELLING! Find your own ANGEL WINGS (you know I’ll never be able to write “Angel wing” any more without checking the dang spelling- ha!). Anyway, all along this whole stretch of beach, this was a typical site. Happy CYBERSHELLING! Click to enlarge…
PS- Hope to see you at the Sanibel Shell Fair and Show the next few days!
Pen Shells and Beach Bling
Posted by: | Comments
It has been an unusual week on Sanibel. The winds are changing directions and speed by the second which makes for an interesting site to see of all the different things that wash up on our beaches. I showed you lots of different EGG CASINGS in my last post but I found another one today… a SHARK’S EYE EGG COLLAR…
…oodles of PEN SHELLS…
but we also are seeing PURPLE SEA URCHINS…
And weird fish like this SHORTNOSE BATFISH
EEEEK! And an EEL! Yall know I love me some BEACH BLING… but EELS? They kinda creep me out for some reason.
Blllaaaahhh, Okay, now that I’m completely creeped out… I have to change the subject because I have some happy, happy stuff happening here too that I dont want to ruin! Okay.. here is a happy picture to get back in the mood of what Sanibel is NORMALLY like… having fun doing the Sanibel Stoop!
I met some awesome folks on the beach this week at the Sanibel Lighthouse Beach! This is Shelling Sister Donna R from NY…
She was on her way to finding the Sanibel Six. Yes, that ALPHABET CONE is pretty beat up but It’s still a CONE and it’s whole and HUGE!
I also met sweetie pie Katherine Haskins with her husband Tom.
Katherine love the minis so she was finding lots of different miniatures like WENTLETRAPS along with AUGERS, CERITHS and a little perfect WORMIE.
It was fun to see them on the beach together with their iLS shirts on! (teehee) Warms my heart.
I also met another awesome couple while walking on the beach today several miles west of Lighthouse Beach. Here are shellers Linda and Glen from Ohio…
Linda found an ANGEL WING! They also were happy to find their first KEYHOLE LIMPET along with these other goodies. Notice they even collect the broken SHARK’S EYES if the “eye” is still intact. Yep, they really are beautiful. I told them that when the SHARK’S EYE is brilliant blue in the middle that I’ve heard it called “Paul Newman’s eye”. This one is definitely a PAUL NEWMAN’S EYE!
Oh wait… I feel so badly that I never introduced you to Shelly (love that name!) and Kayle whom I met last week at Blind Pass when the weather was a little cooler…
I found a PYGMY OCTOPUS inside a PEN SHELL and Kayle offered to take it out in the water to put it back. So sweet!
Here are Shelly and Kayle’s gorgeous treasures from the sea that they were collecting. Keep the image of this gorgeous PAPER FIG (in the middle of this green bucket) in your mind to leave you with a happy day. See? I told you I had happy happy stuff to show you.
Saving a Live Angel Wing
Posted by: | Comments
I found this ANGEL WING pair the same day I found those cute little RAGGED SEA HARES in my last post but I kinda got distracted in showing this cool find for a few days. Things have been a little crazy here in on the west coast of Florida since Tropical Storm Isaac has been trying to make his mind up if we were going to be his target or not. It doesnt look like a direct hit for us, so before I get distracted again, I’ve got to show you what happened with this cool juvenile ANGEL WING!
As soon as I saw this double ANGEL WING on the beach, I got out my video camera and started filming since it isn’t often that you find the pair together laying on the beach. It seemed so weird to me…. and it got weirder when I saw that the body of the MOLLUSK was still inside the shell. So walk along with me while we watch what happens to this “shell” …
He was alive! It’s that so cool he survived?
Remember when I said I thought he lost his MESOPLAX(which I probably mispronounced the word but hey, I was happy that I remembered the dang thing 
)? That is the little plate or cross bar that is attached to both valves when the animal is still alive. I thought that was gone when I didn’t think he was alive. I quickly put on my cheater readers (thank goodness I had them with me!) and saw that the MESOPLAX was still in place. To show you what it looks like, here’s a photo of an ANGEL WING pair with its MESOPLAX that MurexKen and MurexAlice found and I posted in Angels On The Gulf Coast.
As I write this post in my home on Sanibel Island, it is rainy, dark and dreary with scattered wind gusts effecting us already from Tropical Storm Isaac which is just starting to hit the western part of the Florida Keys. The storm track has now moved further to the west so we are not in “the cone” as we were yesterday and early this morning. We are far enough away from the storm now that we don’t have any evacuation warnings. Oh. Thank. Goodness. We don’t have to evacuate but we were prepared to leave and would have left in a heartbeat if we were still on track for a hurricane. We don’t mess with Mother Nature. Now our thoughts are with the folks that are in the new path and wishing safety for everyone. Please be safe!
So now that they are only predicting tropical force winds here similar to what we experienced with Tropical Storm Debbie in June, I expect to see shells rolling in but not until a couple of days. Right now the shells are being taken out with the east winds so there is nothing really on our beaches at this point. The storm should pass us tomorrow afternoon but it may bring storm surge flooding which can be very dangerous so we always have to consider safety first. It should take a couple of days any way for the shells to arrive since they have been pushed out with the eastern winds so they have to have time to get pushed back on to our shores. I’m thinking late Wednesday afternoon or Thursday… then game on. I cannot wait to share with you the shelling effects of this storm later this week! Do YOU have a time prediction for this to happen? …
Sanibel and the Rambos in The New York Times!
Posted by: | Comments
“A Florida Island Draws An Array of Seashells And Their Hunters“….
The “Island” is Sanibel. “Their Hunters” are Super Sheller Clark (aka Mr Rambo- heehee), me, and YOU in the top National story of the New York Times! Dr. Leal and The Shell Museum were in it too. Wahoo!
How did this happen? Well, first of all, let me introduce you to the talented folks that made this story happen.
The brilliant writer/reporter (17 years with The NY Times) Lizette Alvarez who threaded this beautiful piece together with her gift of words and Angel Valentin top notch photographer from Puerto Rico and South Florida …
I’m still boggled by the whole thing but… Out of the blue we got a call from Lizette to introduce herself and tell us that she would like to do a story about shelling on Sanibel. She said she’d like to come to Sanibel to interview us and she was hoping to get a photographer to cover the story. Heck Yay-ya! Two days later we were hanging out at Lighthouse Beach showing Lizette and Angel the treasures of Sanibel.
It was a gorgeous low tide evening with lots of shells for collecting as well as exposed live mollusks. We couldn’t have placed an order for a more perfect evening to share the wonders of our island. Hunting along side us was my new BFF Isabel (which happens to be Lizette’s daughter) perfecting Sanibel’s signature stance… The Sanibel Stoop.
It turns out that Isabel is an excellent sheller. Within minutes of being on the beach, she found a nice sized unbroken ANGEL WING…
In the article, Lizette wrote about a 13 year old boy that found a STARFISH. This is the BRITTLESTAR STARFISH that Hunter from Mulberry, Florida found…
Hunter and his sister Audrey showed us all of the other STARFISH and CRABS they were finding and learning about too.
Shelling Sistah Denise Kisko from North Carolina made it in the story too!
This next photo is Denise being interviewed by Lizette… meanwhile, “a 13 year old girl” got curious about her abandoned shell pile she had been digging in. Okay, this is funny… Denise was quoted saying “Don’t find anything in my pile” kiddingly to a 13 year old girl. That 13 year old girl was Isabel! LOL Isn’t that so cute?
If you haven’t read the story yet, a black-and-white photo in our house was mentioned (well, Mr. Rambo’s “shell-festooned house” was mentioned- hahaha). We have a wall in our hallway with photos of our families and special memories.
In one of those frames is a photo of Clark’s shell collection on his bed at age 7.
He arranged all of his favorite shells on his cowboy bedspread then asked his mom to take a picture of it. A-dor-a-ble.
After 3 hours of laughing, learning, sharing and seashell hunting, we had to say goodbye. It was an evening that we will never forget especially because we really had a fantastic time. I’m not saying I wasn’t nervous…because I was totally shaking in my flip flops at first. But then after being with such fun down to earth people…
Who genuinely love life…
It was easy to relax and share what we love… Shelling and Sanibel. Thank you Lizette, for contacting us.
To read the New York Times story, click on this next image….
Note to self: remember to get a photo of me too with the gang when something big happens … like being interviewed by one of the biggest publications in the world. ;)
