Double Rainbow and an Imperial Venus

Double rainbow

The one good thing about rain and thunderstorms is that they produce shells like crazy, AND rainbows. This double rainbow made its appearance as we were shelling at low tide at Blind Pass. Pretty, right? (That’s my niece, Kaitlyn, making the funny face as she didn’t know I was taking the photo!)

Here are a few of our finds:

fighting conchs
Fighting conchs by the handful

While those fighting conchs are nice (and empty!), here is my favorite: an imperial venus.

Imperial Venus
Imperial Venus

I’m going to do a post on these elusive shells (at least here on Sanibel, imperial venus clam shells are elusive)! This one is super pretty, and glossy, as it must be newly empty. Ever found anything good under a rainbow?

Blind Pass at Sunrise

blind pass sunrise

There is something magical about being on the beach before the sun rises over the horizon. It’s quiet. So still. All you can hear is the sound of the waves and the wind. It’s my favorite time of day.

This morning, I was shelling at Blind Pass on Sanibel and I found some interesting items. The first one was this shell fossil. I like it!

FullSizeRender

Then I found this absolutely gorgeous Florida cone. As you know, I’m really attracted to the orange shells (Go Canes!) but I about lost my breakfast when I turned it over and there was actually a critter inside! NO WAY! UGH! Critter was orange, too. Stupid critter! So, I took a good photo and put him back. Dang!

Florida Cone Shell, occupied!
Florida Cone Shell, occupied!

Oh well, he’ll be there again someday…empty. Until then, go to shell!

It’s Golden

Golden olive

Is that pretty or is that pretty? That, my friend, is a GOLDEN OLIVE. She is so shiny and golden! I found it while shelling at Blind Pass in the middle of the day, with lots of other people around. It was in the surf and hard to get with the waves, but I got it with my bare hands. I really should invest in a shell scooper.

array of olives

Here is an array of olives that I found today. All colors and all sizes. Of course, my favorite is Miss Goldie Locks 🙂

Whelk-come to the Weekend

whelk occupied

Happy weekend shellers!

I got a warm whelk-come to Sanibel this morning. This lovely lightning whelk was in the water near shore at low tide at Blind Pass on Sanibel. Unfortunately, as you can see, it was occupied by a critter, so I had to put it gently back in the water. As you know, it’s against the law to keep live shells in Lee County. Florida law states that you can keep live shells in every other county IF you have an offshore saltwater fishing license.

Do you keep live shells where you are?  Yes, or no, I hope you can go to shell soon!

whelk side view