Archive for Jingle
Captiva Cruises Boat To Cayo Costa
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Another Spring Break adventure! On Wednesday, Lori, Hayley, Culter and I went to the secluded island of Cayo Costa to relax and enjoy another gorgeous day on the islands.
I had problems getting out our own boat (Clark was busy at work so he couldn’t help) so we decided to take the easy route and hop on the Captiva Cruises shelling boat Play Time for the afternoon trip.
Low and behold, guess who our captain was… my buddy Captain Brian Holaway! It was a nice surprise!
After securing the boat on the south tip of Cayo Costa, Capt Brian walked over to our shelling spot to join us for a few minutes and immediately picked up an ALBINO YELLOW PRICKLY COCKLE. Wow, can he spot those albinos! Remember he won a red ribbon for his ALBINO WHELK at the Sanibel Shell Show this year? Amazing!
I didn’t find an albino but I quickly found a handful of my own fave honeys.
BABY’S EARS and FALSE ANGEL WINGS (they look like cute little juvie ANGEL WINGS)…
Lots of beauteous JINGLES…
A couple of CLOUDY PERIWINKLES…
I also found a PURPLISH SEMELE (left) and a CANCELLATE SEMELE (right). I’m not sure why I don’t find more of these on Sanibel but I have better luck finding them on Cayo Costa, North Captiva and in Marco. hmmmm
I had thought at one time that this BRYOZOAN COLONY was a type of CORAL but as you can see side by side… it’s not a piece of CORAL like the branch on the right. I found both of these past the tree roots on the Gulf side of the beach. (click HERE for more info on Bryozoan Colony)
Okay, this one might not be your taste but I thought this SOUTHERN RIBBED MUSSEL was just so pretty for some reason. One day, when I get a fancy camera to show you the nice details up close and personal, I promise…I’ll be able to capture more of the beauty in some of these obscure seashells.
After combing, sunning and shelling this gorgeous beach, Hayley, Cutler and Lori (VA) headed back to the boat with me after one more climb on the BLACK MANGROVE tree roots.
On the boat ride back, I couldn’t help but see how excited Margie, Kristi and Mike (California) were about their seashell loot!
They found oodles of ATLANTIC GIANT COCKLES…
Quite a few humongus SUNRAY VENUS CLAMS…
And a really big LEOPARD CRAB shell.
It was a perfect day on the water with calm aqua seas, warm temps in the 80s and DOLPHINS surrounding the boat.
And to top if off, it was great being with good friends and having lots of seashell souvenirs to bring home to remember the day.
Mingle With Jingles
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Seashell treasures come in all sizes and colors that can be overlooked so easily. I had to remember that because I was only finding lots of broken shells and live shells this weekend but not the Sanibel Six or anything close. Then I realized that the beach was looking a little different…. a bit darker. I looked a little closer to see there were gobs of JINGLES washing in but instead of being the usual white, yellow or orange (my fave), they were the black ones.
They look like deep, smokey gems to me so I went a little crazy picking them up.
This is how many live FIGHTING CONCHS there were at low tide…
Clark found a live white FIGHTING CONCH. This might be called an albino even though it’s got a little color.
But maybe I should just call it albino-ish.
Even though I found lots of broken shells, I found a really good broken shell… piece of a LION’S PAW.
That still doesn’t come close to the beautiful ALPHABET CONE that 9 year old Zenith (MN) found. Congrats Zenith!
Lucky Beach Girl Finds A Milk Conch And Sanibel Bobcat
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Finding a MILK CONCH on Sanibel is not an every day thing… but Robyn (Toronto) seemed to have luck on her side on her vacation on Sanibel last week because she found a pretty perfect one off West Gulf Drive near White Caps cottages.
It is rare that I hear about MILK CONCHS washing up on Sanibel since they are more common in southeast Florida and the Keys. On our trip to the Florida Keys in June, we saw lots of them. I think Hurricane Irene must have had something to do with stirring up those Caribbean waters to push it up here on the west coast of Florida, don’t you? What a find, Robyn! Congrats!
Remember I told you she had luck on her side? Not only did she find this MILK CONCH, but she saw a BOBCAT just a few steps from her cottage to capture this magnificent animal through her camera lens. That’s rare too!
As this lucky girl would have it, A MANATEE surfaced in the water right in front of us as we were standing on the beach looking at her seashell finds and an OSPREY swooped right over our heads. I wasn’t able to get a photo of the MANATEE or OSPREY but here are some of her other treasures…
… and a few JINGLES and other goodies too.
I’m telling you…. this chick is like a coolness magnet. I think it all has to do with the magic of her beautiful seashell tattoo that says “Beach Girl” in Finnish.
She told me she comes to Sanibel twice a year with her boyfriend Rick so I can not wait until next time to hear about what she finds!
Beachcombing!
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Beach sponges and stuff
This is what I love to see on the beach! Lots of SEA SPONGES, PARCHMENT WORM CASES, SEA PORK, and PEN SHELLS. Why? Because it means there will be great shelling in the next few days!
Double Jingle Shell in pen shell
See that JINGLE SHELL on this PEN SHELL? This jingle has both sides and is attached to the Pen shell….. and this isn’t even the most exciting part of this whole picture. I’ve never noticed a 2 sided jingle until MurexKen showed me. Yes! You read that correctly! Clark and I met MurexKen and MurexAlice (celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary) on the beach and he showed this jingle to me.
MurexKen showing the Jingle shell
For those of you who don’t “know” MK, he is a seashell identification wizard and educates us on the scientific gastropod and bivalve names with his comments on my posts. That may have been the first time I’ve written “gastropod” and “bivalve” in the same sentence…. huh? He’s rubbing off!
Paper-thin jingle shell side view of both sides (my fingers)
Clark had to break out the big shelling backhoe and found this TUBE WORM.
Tube worm in Clark's backhoe
I thought this was a PARCHMENT WORM but I think it’s a different MARINE WORM.
Sea Cucumber Sanibel
Clark also found this SEA CUCUMBER in his backhoe. This guy was still alive so we put him back after I snapped this photo. Lots of fun stuff off Middle Gulf Drive near Gulf Side City Park!
Allen and Julianna (San Francisco)
Julianna has been collecting shells all over the world so she and Allen were happy to finally be in Sanibel.
Renee, Carol, Kathleen and Julie (Connecticut)
A great shelling Girls’ Trip! These gals take a girls trip the same time their husbands get together and do a guys trip at another destination. How fun for all of them!
Pen shell pile
OK- I’ve got to get to bed so I can be up for the early morning low tide. I hope to have lots of goodies to show you…. or maybe just one… I’m not giving up on that JUNONIA!
Treasure Hauled to Alabama
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Lisa's (Alabama) Treasures
“Shelling has always brought me such simple pleasure”……a quote from Lisa’s email to me.
I met Lisa and her family last week and she told me they had found lots of treasure. Yes, they did! This is what they “hauled” back to their home in Alabama after being washed and sorted. I love how she turned the COCKLES upside down to display her KITTEN’S PAWS, JINGLES and AUGERS. Look at those 2 big HORSE CONCHS! Good finds! Along with 4 APPLE MUREXES, she has 2 LACE MUREXES in there too. Nice.
Lisa's total haul. Wow!
Jingle Shells at Casa Ybel
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Casa Ybel Resort's Shell cleaning station
How come I never saw this at Casa Ybel Resort before??? It’s not like it’s new! I guess I always walk out to the beach from the pool bar (after listening to Danny Morgan). Any way, it’s pretty convenient to clean your shells up there instead of the kitchen sink.
More Beach Art
There are lots of JINGLE SHELLS on the beach in front of Casa Ybel Resort right now. JINGLES have an iridescent shimmer and some times just look like a worn CLAM or SCALLOP shell. They are beautiful if you have lots of them together displayed in a glass jar or bowl. I’m partial to the bright orange ones….I think I just love any shell that color!
Jingle Shells
Jar of Jingles
