Archive for Video
Sensational Seashells, Sunshine and Sunsets
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If there is a better souvenir than finding an awesome LIGHTNING WHELK like this to remember a wonderful vacation… I dont know about it.
Therese told me she only saw a tiny bit of the top of this shell and thought it looked interesting enough to start digging around it. Then she realized it was this perfectly empty WHELK! Congratshellations Therese! She and her husband Dan (visiting from Minnesota) had an exshellent afternoon at Blind Pass Captiva under the bridge at low tide filling up their shell bags with WHELKS, CONCHS, OLIVES and one nice piece of a JUNONIA.
She even found one of the biggest CHESTNUT TURBANS I’ve seen in a while too…
Wendy (a local Sanibelian) found a few goodies to take home to make into jewelry…
She also found a SHIVA SHELL (which I didnt even get a picture of – darn!- so CLICK HERE if you want to see one) and this incredible DOUBLE JEWELBOX. It has pieces of CORAL growing on it!
Clark found a few nice shells too but the one I got most excited about was the WHITE CRESTED TELLIN in the top left corner. We have found them more on Cayo Costa but to find one at Blind Pass is pretty rare. The shell in between the two OLIVES is a huge and thick weird shaped JINGLE I thought was interesting too. I love that weird stuff!
You really couldn’t see how big the NUTMEG was in the last photo so I thought I’d show you how big it is in Clark’s hand. It’s shellacious! It measures in at a whopping 48mm… which isn’t like a world record size (Susan H?) but it’s the biggest one we’ve seen in a long time!
I found a regular sized NUTMEG that I thought I’d keep along with a BITTERSWEET, a CALICO CLAM with a cool pattern, and my new faves- the CALICO SCALLOP.
We ended the evening watching another gorgeous sunset over a big pile of Sit ‘N Sift shells on the other side of the jetty rocks at Blind Pass Captiva.
The sky turns a lucious orange right at the horizon when the sun sets over the Gulf Of Mexico.
Then it melts into the water to end another sensational day on the island.
Oh Wait! I did take a short little video right when we first got to Blind Pass at 6pm yesterday. It’s just a little something to show you exactly where we were. This was right before Therese showed me her WHELK! Have a wonderful weekend!
Super Sheller Clark Is Back
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Happiness! Super Sheller Clark was like a giddy kid when he found this big HORSE CONCH on a low tide sand bar last night at Blind Pass Sanibel. He heard that HORSE CONCH calling his name.
I would NOT suggest shelling when the rip currents are strong and the water is rough but Clark waited until the tide got low enough last night and knows how to read and maneuver our local waters….
..to bring this baby to shore.
I’ll clean this gem up like I did in this tutorial… CLICK HERE.
As Clark was in the water, I on the other hand, decided to stay safely close to the shore line to watch the shells roll in with the current and found a few shells lodged in the jetty rocks on the Captiva side…
The high north west winds (20-30mph) and cold weather (50s… I know, might not be cold to everybody!) hadn’t brought in huge piles of shells (only small piles as of last night) but the rushing current waters were bringing in nice shells like this…
I was actually “catching” them in the current as the tide was going out from Pine Island Sound through the pass (channel) into the Gulf Of Mexico at a pretty fast pace. Now you’ll be able to see why every day and every hour the shelling changes. The water, sand and shells roll in… then the water, sand and shells roll out to expose a different view every second. Enjoy the video! 
Oh and PS! As of today 3-27-13, There was one room cancelation for the Shellabaloo so you have a chance to join us May 6 through 9! For more info CLICK HERE
Uber Cute Sand Dollars to Dimes
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Uber Cuteness! If “they” named SAND DOLLARS because of the similar size of a one dollar coin piece, then I found me some SAND DIMES this morning! LOL
But then, they are even smaller than a dime.
I know some of them are still a little dark in color but don’t worry, they weren’t still alive. They were all in different stages of losing their “fur” (that’s what I call it but they actually have fine hair or cilia that cover their bodies) so that’s why they are all different colors as well. In probably one more day they will all turn white… if they don’t break apart first.
Tara (St Louis) was showing her daughter Vivian something she just found and I got very curious because they looked so excited…
So I had to ask what they found. She had a few mini shells and lots of these mini SAND DOLLARS!
Tara introduced me to the gal who found this little treasure trove of gems first this morning, Kay from Iowa. Kay’s daughter was cleaning some shells she brought back to their place yesterday and one of these little SAND DOLLARS dropped out of another shell. Wow! So Kay went back this morning about half a mile east of Gulfside City Park (Sanibel) to see if she could find a few more. Yes! She found the spot and shared this little seashell honey hole with all of us that walked by. So sweet! Kay was a little shy of the camera but she showed me the little darlings that she had in her hand…
Kate and Ken from Michigan were finding the bigger shells on the same beach.
Ken was especially happy he found that awesome baby LIGHTNING WHELK and the rich colored LETTERED OLIVE (grrrr… I wish you could see that one better because it is gorgeous). I know, that’s a gorgeous PAPER FIG too, right? It’s a keeper even though it has a tiny hole on the other side of the shell. It’s always a good day to find a PAPER FIG!
I met them just before we found the SAND “DIMES” (heehee) so they joined in on the fun too.
It was like we were finding real money out there! I actually think is was better than finding money (hmmmm, well, better than finding pocket change … let’s be honest! 
) I got so excited to see this adorable BLING, I figured you would too. So I took a video for a CYBERSHELLING hunt for a few minutes so you could go with me. Enjoy!
Florida Cold Front Brings Seashells!
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We woke up to 45 degrees on Sanibel Island this morning after strong northwest winds all day yesterday. So I threw on my hoodie sweatshirt and hit the beach to see what Mother Nature had in store for us today. Yippee! Seashells!
I took a video to show you Blind Pass Captiva late yesterday afternoon at high tide when the wind was whipping and the Gulf Of Mexico was churning. I didn’t even want to get near the pass side of jetty rocks since the waves were breaking so hard and wind was so strong but there was one brave wind surfer having a blast. Flash forward to this morning… I took another video at Blind Pass Captiva (on the pass side of the jetty rocks) this morning at low tide as the wind calmed and the waves were not as choppy…. and the seashells arrived! What a difference! Check out the video then I’ll post more photos of some of the treasures hopefully tomorrow…
Blind Pass Changes Again!
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Do you remember that shellacious shell pile at Blind Pass Captiva I showed you on yesterday’s post “As The Seashell Piles Turn“? If those photos of the changes in the beach knocked your socks off yesterday… hold on to your flip flops today. It’s now gone. Wiped clean. Covered with sand. Goodbye shells.
Both yesterday and today, I took these photos at low tide in the morning about the same time. All these changes happened within 24 hours! But the good news is… the shells shifted to the other side of the jetty rocks. Crazy! Look at the change for yourself on this video.
The hide-n-seek seashells couldn’t hide from Lauren and Jesse from Atlanta.
This BANDED TULIP was Jesse’s fave shell along with a few other beauties…
I had to giggle at Rhonda from PA (lots of shellers from PA lately!!) sittin’ ‘n siftin’ in a wet suit while the waves brought the shells to her. It was 45 degrees this morning!!! Seashells or Bust!
Then I heard a voice behind me that said “Shello, Pam!” LOL It was Mike Ryan again. Remember he found that beautiful SEA FAN the other day?
The shore was peppered with LADY-IN-WAITING VENUS CLAMS so he was picking them up and so was I. They aren’t uncommon to find on our beaches but it was amazing to both of us that there were thousands. I don’t know… errr… maybe hundreds… whatever, there were oooodles of them washed up.
My fave of the day was this dark brown LACE MUREX…
This is always a special find since we rarely find this blackish dark brown “LACIE”.
I couldn’t wait to show you the changes today but check in with me again tomorrow because I’m working on the 2012 top 10 iLoveShelling days to finish out the year before we move on to 2013. Wow. Another year is about to begin. It’s gonna be a good one!
Jumpin Junonia!
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Throughout every year, there are many days the seashells rush onto the beach forced by waves from the Gulf Of Mexico forming mounds of shells deeper than you can dig. Every single time it happens, I’m in awe. I have to stand still and stare at the power just like this little girl.
I get mesmerized by the shells rolling onto the beach where some remain then watch the rest roll back out into the bubbling sea foam.
Mesmerized. The waves never stop… in and out, in and out. Back and forth, back and forth… the shells roll on the beach. Beautiful.
I’m so happy I could film this amazing sight with my video camera to share with my shelling friends. But Whaaaaa! I see a familiar pattern and shape! My brain wakes up and my heart starts pounding! Is that? Is that? Then my mind goes blank and all I can think about is the next wave taking away my treasure. With the camera rolling, at lightning speed I spring off my jetty rock perch with wet flip flops, cold drenched pants and nothing but brown spots in my vision. Looook oooouuut beeeelooooowwwww!!!!
You’ll have to see the rest for yourselves… LOL .. here’s my video from yesterday and you’ll see Eric find a HORSE CONCH and give it to Michelle (I showed both of them in my last post)… then hang on, the view gets a little bumpy. hahaha
Heehee… Okay, so you see it was only the top of the JUNONIA, but I didn’t know that at the time of course! You just never know and you have to be quick to get the good ones when the shells come in that way.
Today was another excellent day at Blind Pass Captiva so I have more photos to show you tomorrow!
Happy Holidays, y’all!
