Archive for Sunsets
So Many Rare Shells Found On Sanibel This Week
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I have said countless times that the beaches of Southwest Florida change every day and by the hour so finding shells becomes a fascinating treasure hunt. So I would say Tam Tam from Michigan has had quite a treasure hunt this week! She found so many shells that aren’t found on our beaches all that often like that sweet baby LIONS PAW (top left), a CABRITS MUREX (middle), a LONG SPINED SEA URCHIN (okay, thats not a shell but its just so beautiful and big for that type of URCHIN) and a THORNY OYSTER (bottom). The ALPHABET CONE isn’t rare at all but it is just dang gorgeous…. and same for that BABY’S EAR. And of course you see she found a JUNONIA too!
Tammy found her LIONS PAW along West Gulf Drive and found her JUNONIA and CABRITS at BLIND PASS SANIBEL. Her friend Barb from Virginia found a CABRITS MUREX at Blind Pass Sanibel too!
I think this is the tiniest, cutest CABRITS MUREX Ive ever seen. Wow!
Oh but hold on there’s more… Sue found a LIONS PAW as well!
Her LIONS PAW is soooo pretty, right? The CONE is just as spectacshellar and both were found off West Gulf Drive. That is a very dark rich color variation of a FLORIDA CONE. Shellicious!
Lisa and Derek from Kansas were very happy to be finding such a variety of shells at Blind Pass Sanibel.
They are very new to shelling but as you can see, they already have a great eye for such pretty shells. They found out about all the seashells on Sanibel from Derek’s dad Darrell who caught the shelling bug about 5 years ago on his first visit to Sanibel. Hey Darrell! Thanks for spreading the shelling love on to your kids- Derek and Lisa cracked me up!
Lisa could identify most of their other shells but she showed me this little mini shell and asked me what it was. Its a PITTED MUREX! I don’t find these all that often but I loved that even as new shellers, they both were so interested in this tiny shell that turned out to be not all that common in our area.
Every day is a new adventure on Sanibel, Captiva and all of the beaches in southwest Florida. What I find even more rare than these shells that my lucky shelling friends found, is that our islands are filled with so many friendly, smiling folks that enjoy every gift from the sea whether its rare or not. (oh…and the view aint half bad either 
)
Weekend Of Wonder
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When you enjoy the outdoors and comb the beaches on Sanibel as often as I do, every single day becomes a wonder. I wonder if there is going to be a magnificent sunset today? Oh yes. There often is. I wonder if dogs do the Sanibel Stoop while on the beach too? Oh yes they do. LOL
I wonder if I will ever get tired of watching people do the Sanibel Stoop? Oh no I won’t!
Those to Sanibel Stoop-ers I was wondering about were Lindsay (NH) and her mom Vickie from Georgia. They were watching in wonderment over the live LETTERED OLIVES making their trails through the sand when I caught them stooping on Gulfside City Park over the weekend.
I told them to keep going a few more yards to find some SAND DOLLARS and other shells that I saw Cheryl and Dick (Cape Coral) collecting…
I loved what they had collected…. seashells AND bling- SAND DOLLARS and a FEATHER. I know so many people get very concerned when they see folks picking up dark colored SAND DOLLARS but trust me, these were not alive. Cheryl even asked me to look over them just to be on the safe side before she put them in her bag. I’ve heard so many people say lately… “I wonder how you can tell whether a SAND DOLLAR is still alive or not”. I’ve found that it’s easiest to describe a SAND DOLLAR that is not alive as being “bald” (Mr Clean style!) so there isn’t any “hair” on them. Cheryl’s SAND DOLLARS may be dark but they were all “baldies”. LOL There was one of hers that still had some cilia/hair/fur around the sides but the complete front and back were completely bald ….. I’ll call that the George Costanza style! LOL The SAND DOLLARS breath through that cilia so if most of it is gone, they are not alive and you can collect them. So to sum it up…. Cheryl had about a dozen “Mr Cleans” and one “George Costanza”. hahahhaa
Yesterday, I checked out Blind Pass Captiva only to find a very sandy beach with just a few shells rolling up. You can still find shells in the water but you have to snorkel for them. There were so many fishermen near the jetty rocks, it’s a wonder how anybody could have shelled that area any way. Ack!
I walked over to the Sanibel side of Blind Pass near the old wooden sea wall and tree roots only to find lots of sand but a flock of beautiful IBIS birds. It’s such a wonder how the beach changes so quickly.
I’ve heard that the water is still filled with shells but you have to swim around and/or snorkel for them… but I didn’t have time to do that but I always enjoy my beach walk and I still have a few SAND DOLLARS of my own to clean up. So put on your suit and grab a snorkel if you want to find your own wonder-ful day!
Blind Pass Flat Out Beautiful
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This ZIG ZAG FLAT SCALLOP is flat out gorgeous. I saw Barb from GA coming off the beach last night at Blind Pass with a bag filled with shells so I had to ask what she found.
She found five FLATS, OLIVES, TULIPS and a few other goodies (including that awesome piece of CORAL) as she waded in the water along the shore of Captiva. Now you can see how big that beautiful purple FLAT is…
There is a beach renourishment project on the northern end of Captiva right now so I’m sure some of that sand has shifted south already with the wind and currents. I haven’t been shelling near the dredging site since it began because there is no public parking. Rats! Besides the Blind Pass (Turner Beach) parking, there is only one other Captiva public parking lot – Alison Hagerup lot… but that is closed to the public until they move the project equipment. Can you believe how much sand has filled in near the jetty rocks? Hmmm… but not many shells on the beach- only sand. Yall know how fast the beach can change so if I know of any shell piles showing up, I’ll keep you posted. But remember, Barb found her shells in the water.
As Barb and I talked about her shells, the sun was setting right in front of us. Ahhhhh. I love a Captiva sunset.
PS- I just heard there are a few shells at Bowman’s Beach as well. After adding this sunset photo, I saw that Lisa S. posted this next photo on iLS Facebook page. She said “I had to really work for it, but these beauties were all found on Bowman’s Beach today! I was so excited to find my first Alphabet cone!” Congrats on finding your first Alphie Lisa!
Artists Painting Sanibel Sunsets
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Watching a Sanibel sunset is like watching an artist paint their interpretation of paradise on canvas.
Each night a different artist’s painting is featured…but for only a few minutes.
The feeling of peace is expressed in each piece of art to create the perfect ending for each day.
A momentous occasion is witnessed in each evenings performance.
Running For The Seashell Gold
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The Sanibel sky after sunset last night had an amazing effect on the clouds and reflection on the water. My lens caught this little boy raising down the beach like he was running for the gold in the sky as it changed colors. This morning I felt like I was running down the shore line at Lighthouse Beach trying to find my seashell gold. I finally found some!
I started at the tip of the island at low tide to find just a few beautiful SCALLOPS…
After walking a 1/2 mile or so, I started to find a few shells like this little HORSIE (HORSE CONCH) and another perfect BANDED TULIP but htey both had cute little HERMIT CRABS in them so I put them back where I found them in the water.
I saw plenty of shells in the high tide line dried out on the beach so I walked over to see if there was anything there besides white bivalves like ARKS and bleached out CROSS BARRED VENUS CLAMS (not that there’s anything wrong with those! ha). I spotted spots! OOOOO I found little piece of JUNONIA.
That’s when I met Robin and John from Texas…
They found some nice shells like a double SUNRAY VENUS, LACE MUREX, APPLE MUREXES, FIGHTING CONCHS, a juvie TRUE TULIP and a couple of PEAR WHELKS.
After seeing that JUNONIA piece, admiring their shells plus seeing that horsie I couldnt have, I knew I had to put a move on it and start searching a little harder. Ha! Thats when I saw those pretty APPLE MUREXES AND that bigger orange HORSE CONCH half buried in the sand. I rinsed them off when I got home to see how pretty they are. Yup! Not too shabby…
But I still have to show you some of the other photos from last night afterglow of sunset…
It was dreamy…
We just had to stand there and stare at the brilliance…
If you are in the area of Sanibel, Florida, join us tomorrow (Thursday Sept 12, 2013) for the iLoveShelling cruise to Cayo Costa! FYI- We are now leaving from the dock at South Seas Resort instead of McCarthy’s so be at the South Seas entrance gate by 12:30 to catch our 1pm boat launch. Hope to see you.
Also, this is the final day to enter the Shelltastic SW Florida Giveaway! So if you havent entered yet, CLICK HERE!
I took a little video of how far I walked from the tip of Lighthouse Beach and how I found that nice HORSE CONCH. It’s just raw footage but at least you get to see what I saw this morning. If you want to walk along with me, here ya go…
Sunsets Of Sanibel Island
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I love the laid back days of summer on Sanibel when the big events of the day are either finding the perfect seashell while strolling the beach or watching the colors change in the kaleidoscope sky at sunset.
There’s just something about seeing the sun melt into the water on the horizon through the swaying fronds of palm trees.
This is what I dreamed about as a child.
You were right, Eleanor Roosevelt… “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
