Brrrr Beach Therapy

We're actually having a Spring season here in NE Florida, and I'm not complaining! Even if it was only 42 degrees on the beach Friday morning . . . isn't that why they invented layering?! There were a few other shellers on the beach too.

Seeing the sunrise never gets old, and makes it worth braving the chilly morning . . .

This lightning whelk was a bit rough, and I left it . . .

Have I mentioned that I'm always excited to find a calico scallop? They're like snowflakes; no two are alike! (And on the Gulf coast, there are several species and colors.)

Now this lightning whelk, I did keep . . .

A speckled crab carapace . . . Yes, I do collect crab carapaces!

A shark's eye with a striped acorn barnacle attached . . .

A well-worn knobbed whelk . . .

It's pretty rare to find a horse conch on Florida's E (Atlantic) coast; I was lucky enough to find a whole one a few years ago. This is the largest piece of one I've ever found. Even pieces are rare.

A small piece of green sea glass . . .

I was wondering if I'd see the wintering bald eagle that likes this post near the Matanzas Inlet Bridge . . . it wasn't there when I walked by into the Inlet, but when I came back and was standing right there looking over some shell hash, who should come along but ! This is the 3rd year I've seen baldie.

This shark's eye has suffered some shell "bioerosion" . . . scattered perforations like this were likely made by a boring sponge. These sponges partially acid-digest living and dead shells and invade them as living space. (From Florida's Living Beaches)

This royal sea star is probably deceased ~ the purple body and orange marginal plates are faded ~ but I put it back in the ocean anyway.

An angel wing . . . fairly common, esp. on the Intracoastal side, but hard to find a whole one.

Definitely my favorite find of the day! A "perfect" heart shape made out of an oyster shell.

I have a large collection of shell apex pieces, like this shark's eye . . . some day I'll make something crafty with some of them!

Another calico scallop shell . . . this pattern reminds me of a lace-edged skirt.

A second piece of small green sea glass . . .

A lettered olive . . . I usually find at least one . . . I did find a really shiny one but it was occupied so I put it back in the waves . . .

I think this is an Atlantic bay scallop; I'll have to count the ribs to be sure . . . they have 17-18 ribs, the calico scallop has 19-21 ribs.

. . . And a 3rd piece of sea glass, this one brown.

Most of the shark's eyes I find have a blue "eye", but this pretty golden shell has an orange eye.

Heading back towards my car, the Croc sandals came off and I was able to enjoy some bare-feet-on-sand-and-sea time . . . crucial for mental rejuvenation!

Winter has arrived in NE Florida . . . This morning we've awoken to our second overnight frost. North Florida is not the same as South Florida! This is true for most if not all of the states that I've been through both the N and S ends of. Anyway, after some weeks without, I finally had some chilly, overcast Beach Therapy earlier this week at "my" usual strip of shoreline at the mouth of Matanzas Inlet . . .

Even though it was slim pickin's, I did find some interesting bits . . . starting with first a white and then a black beach heart! Both are pieces of shell . . .

Another pretty blue-eyed shark's eye . . .

This was a nice surprise! Pricklycockles are very common on the Gulf coast, but at "my" beach, they are pretty rare . . .

This is also a rare find, the color that is! Slippersnails are pretty common but I don't think I've ever found a white-ish and mauve one . . .

This is about what my face / mood was that morning . . . I needed another shirt layer against the crisp morning air . . . This is actually an ark shell that a gastropod nibbled on . . .

It's always a thrill to find true seaglass (no sharp, no shiny), esp. with print!

The only thing better than a piece of sea glass, is two! No matter the size ;)

No colorful sunrise this morning . . . it even looks chilly . . .

And Another Six Months Later . . .

Rather than trying to play catch-up as I've been doing, I'm just going to share my latest trip to Sanibel Island, on the Gulf side of Florida. Sanibel is one of the top shelling places in the US; the best time to go is after a storm that is blowing NW, in the winter. When it's low tide at sunrise. No problem, right?! Hahaha. I arrived on the island at lunchtime on Sunday, the 5th, and left Tues. morning after a visit to Ft. Myers Beach. Sanibel Island is reached by a causeway that begins at Ft. Myers.

After having lunch at the Blue Giraffe, I found Algiers Beach, which I hadn't been to before in my past three visits . . . the shells were already well picked over by then.  :(

Sunrise at Sanibel Lighthouse Beach Monday (a week ago) morning . . .

Even though I got to the beach right before sunrise, there were already a handful of shell seekers scouring the shoreline. But I managed to find a few nice shells! Below, L to R: Apple Murex and a Pear Whelk.

L to R: Sunray Venus, Lace Murex, and a Florida Fighting Conch . . .

A Banded Tulip! I have a few of these but they're still an exciting find to me . . . especially the orange ones. The gray ones are easier to find, and not as pretty.

L to R: A small common nutmeg and a chestnut turban. I have a few of both.

My first full-size Colorful Moonsnail (top); I found two that day. Bottom: A piece of finger coral.

Sanibel Lighthouse Beach

The orchid hanging outside my hotel room . . .

Back home, a couple days ago, I cleaned most the shells I'd found . . . here's the two moonsnails . . .

And half of the shells I'd found in all . . . including sand dollars from Ft. Myers Beach.

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.

March in November . . .

I'm recently back from a four-week trip to my hometown in No. Calif.; I managed to be gone from NE Florida before, during, and after Hurricane Matthew tore through here! Our county was one of the hardest hit in Florida, but since we live west of I-95, our home (and my hubby) stood strong in the Category 3 winds, and the only damage was the loss of two smaller trees in our backyard and a fairly new microwave (and the power for 4-5 days). . .

So, here I sit, almost a week back home and aching to see "my" beach after both a long absence and after the storm tore up much of the coastline in the area . . . I do believe my beach fared well, considering . . . I'll get there this week, but in the meantime will continue my attempt of "catch up" with my photos from March . . .

This lovely knobbed whelk was buried in "muck" (sand submerged in shallow water) near the spot where I placed it after pulling it out and rinsing it off . . .

A wentletrap! I now have two of these gastropod shells . . . this is the larger of the two at 7/8". Yep, not even an inch long! They only reach 1" max., too.

From what I've seen on Facebook, in groups for seashell / beach lovers, finding and collecting heart shapes is kind of a thing . . . I have very few; they aren't easy to find! This one looks nearly perfect, made from an oyster shell.

Sunrise over the Atlantic . . . cannot wait to see one again!

Speaking of oyster shells... here's a cluster of striped acorn barnacles on an oyster shell . . .

Another small beauty, the thick-lipped drill. . . a not-so-pretty name. They reach 1.5" max. This pinkish tone is their natural color.

Another baby's ear . . .

And another lettered olive . . .

An angelwing . . .

. . . A small lightning whelk . . .

And a very nicely "carved" whelk piece.