A Semele Sunrise

Looks like I'm only getting beach therapy one day this week . . .

Another red sunrise on Tuesday . . .

Some shells, esp. some bivalves, are hard to ID but I'm pretty sure this is a (not-so)-White Atlantic Semele.  It just happens to have some discoloration due to being buried.

This tiny almost-whole gastropod shell is a thick-lipped drill. Their max. size is 1.5 in.

Another nice shark's eye was found, sitting in some shell hash . . .

And I found a good-sized Atlantic calico scallop, along with a few smaller ones.

Seeing Red

It wasn't my best couple hours of beach therapy this morning, but nice all the same, and full of reds . . .

. . . Like the sunrise . . . in an otherwise dark horizon . . . it didn't seem this sinister in real life!

I found another calico scallop with an acorn barnacle attached . . .

On the Intracoastal Waterway side, this reddish egret flew in and landed out in the shallows . . . This is the first reddish egret I've seen since living in NE Florida 3 years . . . too bad I didn't have my SLR camera with me . . .

Another shapely piece of a whelk shell . . . even though I'd prefer to find a whole whelk, the curly pieces definitely have their own unique beauty.

Willets, Whorls and a Wentletrap

Another two days of beach therapy this week . . . sunrise on Thurs. was simple but lovely . . .

…One of two whelk whorls found Thurs.; the other is white . . .
(The spiral end of the gastropod shells are called whorls)

I found this wentletrap on my way back up the beach, where many people had already passed by . . . my first wentletrap! The shell only reaches 1" long, the length of this one.

…Short razor clam shells (stout tagelus) aren't common and when I find them they're usually broken...

Both visits to the beach this week had me finding a lot of whelk "bones" . . .

The partridge pea, a dune plant, is in bloom now.

Coral and a Touch of Cobalt

I enjoyed a couple more trips to the beach this week…good thing I go in the morning, because the 3 pm summer showers are hitting like clockwork these days…

I'm starting to find several disc dosinia shells each visit…but so far this is the only rusty colored one I've found…the rust color is from prolonged exposure to the air...

The sunrise on Mon. wasn't overly "fancy" but they're still always impressive to see…

This is the largest piece of coral I've found so far…it's approx. 1 1/2" wide, and it's Northern cup coral.

A heart from nature…a well worn piece of shell...

Cobalt blue sea glass is supposed to be "rare" (red, orange, and yellow are "very rare")…

this piece is small (½" wide), but I was thrilled all the same!

I find a few whelk "bones" -- as I call them -- usually, but only 1-2 have a more lovely, graceful shape overall...

…On the inlet side of the beach, a lone snowy egret seemed to be meditating…

While nearby, this large, battered knobbed whelk "bone" silently rested its weary soul.