A Changing Sunrise and Other Treasures

Another pleasant beach therapy session was procured on Tues. I arrived a bit earlier than usual, and it was a little too dark to see what was under foot very well…at first. But then, I was on a mission to reach the shell "hot spots" before anyone else did. It's summer now, and the tourists are showing up at the condos just north of my favorite beach-combing beach. I was first in line this day, however . . .

The pre-sunrise skyline was awe-inspiring, as usual . . .

I actually didn't find hardly anything on my way down the beach along the water's edge,

but on my way back, I walked the high tide line and found this lightning venus shell (a first!)

I've found several favored tellin shells, but not like this beige-ringed one.

Normally they're white. So, another first of sorts!

Once the sun was above the horizon, the colors changed notably . . .

I never tire of finding Atlantic calico scallop shells…esp. ones with barnacles attached…

Look closely, the two barnacles on the left are striped acorn barnacles (white with purple
stripes), and the one on the right is a rock acorn barnacle (solid purplish-reddish).

I found two very nice, good-sized shark's eye shells . . . this one was covered in sand

and I almost didn't see it . . .

At one point I did go back to the water's edge on my way back up the beach . . . and found two little hermit crabs cruising along near one another . . . this little guy stopped and went into his shell when I neared for a photo . . . I didn't realize until I cropped the photo, that I'd had two beady little crab eyes keeping a close eye on me!

Shell-Shocked

One of this week's visits to the beach proved to be really exciting…it was truly one of those magical moments (well, three hours) as I found awesome sea treasures one after another...

I could see this large piece of whelk shell from 40-50 yards away…the early sunrise light was hitting it just right, so that it really stood out..

…I found some more hermit crabs…it wasn't easy letting this little green shell go!

I also found my first sea beans! Above, a sea heart bean with goose barnacles attached…this bean is from a monkey ladder vine's bean pod, which is the largest bean pod in the world!

I was esp. excited to find my first hamburger sea bean! This is a brown hamburger bean, which can be from American tropics, the West Indies, or W. Africa. There is also a red hamburger bean ~ these beans contain an alkaloid called L-Dopa, used to treat the tremors from Parkinson's disease.

…I finally found another whole whelk! These are a lot harder to come by on the E coast of Florida than they are on the W. coast. This is a lightning whelk, approx. 4" long.

I found 3 royal starfish that day...

…I always find a small handful of scallops, and once in awhile I'll find one with barnacles on it…which I think gives them a nice added design...

At least half of the cockles I find, don't have the pretty contrast pattern they're noted for…esp. the larger cockles…but this one was nicely patterned...

…Besides the 4" whelk, I also found 2 very small whelks...

And one set of coquina shells with the radial rays, which are pretty scarce here…this pattern, that is. The coquina shells are very common, in shades of white, purple, and yellow. They're quite small, 1" max. Mostly smaller.

Blue for the Blues

On the home front…I was lucky to get one shot of papa bluebird fairly close-up, as he was checking out the tray feeder…nothing in there he wants, unfortunately. Don't think he and the Mrs. ate any of the mealworms I put out, but maybe I just never witnessed it. The past few days I had the feeling they were gone, and I finally got up the nerve to open the birdhouse door…empty. No egg shells, in there or on the ground, not a single downy feather. Just a perfect, neat grassy nest. So I'm feeling blue over the fact that if there were babies and they've fledged, I never got to see a thing.  :(  I do hear a lot of squeaky bird chirping in the trees around the house, so maybe they're out there nearby.

…On the beach front, I've been continuing my early morning visits to the beach, in time to see the sunrise, 3 times a week lately…

…I was recently thrilled to find this hermit crab, heading into the surf…it appears to be toting a tatty shark's eye shell, with an anemone on the back of it! This was my first hermit crab sighting…I just love how the beach is always changing, like a magical playground, displaying the sea's endless treasures at its whim….

Even though they're somewhat "plain", I really like the cross-barred venus shells…they're normally white, but this one had a cream color and looks nice on the orange shell hash…the criss-crossing lines make a lovely pattern…lately I've been finding several Venuses per visit...

…Besides the venus shells, I also find a few scallops and a few lettered olive shells at each visit to one particular beach, so there can be some consistencies on the beach as well as the surprises.