A Tale of Two Aprils

Wow, I didn't realize six months have passed since I last posted on my Blog...I can now play catch-up with two separate years, April of '16 and of '17, gads. I no longer go to the beach on a weekly basis, but do try to get there every two weeks. And I've been to the Gulf coast twice since January, to one of two major shelling spots in S Florida, Sanibel Island. But that comes later... first things first!

April 2016

Beach therapy is about 90% uplifting time with the sand and sea...and 10% less pleasant moments, like coming across this barely alive hermit crab. I placed the crab and shell right by the incoming waves and walked away. I know it must've been washed into the ocean, but will never know if it survived.

The sunrises continue to amaze . . .

I made a rare visit to N. Peninsula Beach last year, just south of Flagler Beach, and found these three whole angel wing shells that someone had collected and left behind...or so it appeared anyway.

There are many types of egg casings from many sea critters...this one is from a tulip snail...

Late winter / early spring seems to be when the royal starfish shows up the most . . .

The sunrise is always changing . . .

Sand dollars also seem to appear late winter / early spring . . .

It's always fun to find a heart shaped shell piece or rock . . . I see on Facebook that many beach-combers like to collect these hearts.

I'm still enjoying seeing the unique color of each shark's eye (a moon snail) . . .

Another egg casing, aka a mermaid's purse... this is a skate egg case.



April 2017

Last month, my regular shelling beach at Matanzas Inlet and other NE beaches had an invasion of Portuguese Man-O-Wars. Beachings are most common Dec. thru May; April and May are supposed to be peak months for abundance. I saw dozens, lots of tiny ones, to these larger sizes.