dredge spout sanibel

 Okay, Folks, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is… the dredging of Blind Pass has begun. But wait. Before you get all excited and envision the seashell fountain of youth spewing out your favorite shells into your shell bucket…. the rules have changed. Here’s the bad news…. the whole area is fenced off for safety reasons and you can’t get near the new sand (and shells) they are pumping on the beach.

Sanibel fenced dredge area

This area is right in between Blind Pass and Bowman’s Beach so either way you cut it… it’s a long way to walk to look at some heavy equipment and an orange fence. I know… bummer, right? I’ve always heard about the fun times people have had waiting for the good shells to pop out of the pipes and grabbing handfuls at a time. I’ve never experienced it and I guess I never will now because they’ve put an end to it for liability reasons. I really don’t blame them. That water is gushing out of that pipe so fast it’s crazy. I heard there was an accident with a sheller at the Fort Myers Beach dredging last year so they realized it was too dangerous.

construction site sanibel

 This is how I see it… for me, waiting outside fence is not a fun way to shell. After these guys do their job, move the big equipment and move the orange barricades off the freshly laid sand, that’s when I will enjoy looking around for shells. I’m not saying it’s not fascinating watching the heavy equipment move around the beach. I felt like I was watching one of those children’s videos that showed tractors and backhoes moving dirt with Hard Hat Harry. Remember those? My nephew was crazy about them!  It kind of put me in a trance  too.  LOL

heavy equipment bowmans beach

I tried to ask a few questions but my camera made him very nervous so he was a little short with me. He warmed up after a while and told me he really couldn’t give a date that the new sand would be “available” to the public to sift through because they had been slowed down because of the heaviness of the crushed shell. So y’all, that’s all I really know about this project right now. If I find out anything else thats not worth a whole post, I’ll make comments here.

But hold on. I’ve got other good news. On my way up to the pumping area, I met Sherry Ann, Abby (GA)and Pam (Indiana) who found a shell spot to Sit ‘N Sift.

bowmans beach shellers

 They didn’t mind that things didn’t work out collecting shells with the dredging. They understood the situation and made the best of a little shell pile they found…

shelling Bowmans beach Sanibel

 Sherry Ann even found this sweet little HORSE CONCH. Can you spy that candy?

bucket of shells

 Low and behold, Abby found an ALPHABET CONE! See? It all works out.

alphabet cone bowman's beach sanibel