sand dollar on a Sanibel beach

After late afternoon rain showers in the summer tropics of Sanibel when the setting sun peeks out from the clouds, the colors of the sky seem to magnify the brilliant colors of the water, beach, sand and shells.

Sand dollar sanibel

I didn’t find many empty shells along the middle island beach of Sanibel but I made up for it finding the perfect SAND DOLLAR. Or maybe I was so amazed by the living SEALIFE that I couldn’t focus on picking up shells. I’m still in awe over the baby KINGS CROWNS so my focus has been on stopping at every living thing to inspect it closely just to make sure I dont miss anything. WOW! I usually walk right on by the SEA ANEMONES at low tide trying to find half buried shells but this one stopped me in my tracks. Look at the color of this one! The shallow water waved the tentacles back and forth so I could get a view of it’s magical dance.

purple sea anemone sanibel low tide

The turquoise blue color caught my eye on this different one. I think it’s a SEA ANEMONE because of the size, shape and texture but I never saw it open (I waited for about 15 minutes) and it didn’t retract when I gently touched it. Hmmmm. Something new again. Have you ever seen one this color?

turquoise blue sea anemone sanibel florida

I found this BRITTLE STAR wrapped up like a ball in the water that was lapping up on the beach. “He” looked like he had seen better days but I untangled him then placed him in shallow water without the wave action. He started coming alive again! You can see he is already starting to bury himself in the sand.

brittle star seastar sanibel

I could have taken hundreds of photos of live sea creatures during the low tide evenings this week but to experience such beautiful late afternoons with the cool breeze says it all in this next photo. It takes my breath away. Happy weekend to you all.

sand dollar background