How does Donnie keep finding such incredible shells? On August 20 post, I showed yall all of the incredible shells he found right after Hurricane Isaac passed us by…but now this huge HORSE CONCH too? Wow! Debbie Yuhr said it best… “he should be named The Shellinator!” Bahahaha Perfect!
As you can see, The Shellinator had some competition.
Okay, Beeep Beep (the sound of a truck backing up) before I go any further I have to tell y’all what else happened this past week. My iPhone died. Long story short… I lost all of my voice memo notes. You see, when I meet someone on the beach for the first time, I have to take notes on my iPhone because I am terrible at remembering names. I also have a hard time spelling names so it’s become a crutch to just talk into my phone recorder. So all of my notes were lost when I iPhone died and the guys at the Apple store couldn’t recover them all. Aawk-Waaard! So I’m going to show you some photos of people with only nick names. You have no idea how embarrassed I am so… please, please, please comment on this post if you are one of these people to tell me your real name so I can recover from this mess. Okay, now on with the story of the awesome shelling this week.
The Shellinator had some competition… I saw our friend Mary walking down the beach with a huge HORSE CONCH too! She told me that a German guy gave it to her after she commented on how pretty it was. Yes you read that correctly. The German guy just gave it to her because he said it was too stinky to take it on the plane tomorrow back to Germany. Wow! Here is “The German Guy” (heehee) and Mary with his gift to her…
UPDATE: “The German Guy” has a name now! Glad you had a great time in Florida, Andrew (from Bavaria)! And yes, Mary loves that shell!
“Fort Myers Shelling Mom” and her daughter “I Live In Texas But I Want To Be Back In Florida” were finding shells on the beach, in the water and every where they looked.
Deana and her daughter Valerie (whew, I recovered a few!) found an ALPHABET CONE and their first ANGEL WING.
I saw cutie Shelling Sister Leanne pull this gorgeous dark orange FLORIDA CONE out of the water just a few feet from me.
Shelling Sister Kathy (Oh please tell me I got your name right!) used this strainer to scoop up her goodies.
I love the shell bags! They have a strap for cross shoulder handsfree shelling. These “Strappy Happy Shellers” had plenty of room for all of their treasures.
I saw Shellcrafter Jean collecting minis for her art.
She’s holding two nice DUSKY CONES in her hand but her bucket looks empty….oh no it isn’t. Lots of WENTLEPTRAPS are hiding in that round container inside her cute pink bucket.
Then I visited Blind Pass Captiva again to find our friend Sue (Illinois) with a really cool HORSE CONCH. It’s white with a yellow top!
Then I saw Shelling Sistah Lauren with bags of shells… with her iLoveShelling bag and tee! Adorable!
But Wait! What? One of those bags was filled to the brim with SAND DOLLARS! Yowza! See how grayish they are? They arent completely white but you could tell they all had been dead for a day or so since their “fur” (it’s really their feet which is how they breath) was gone. Score! And she found dried MILLIPEDE STARFISH and everything in between not even to mention a huge chunk of JUNONIA. She said she found them all walking from Bowman’s Beach to Blind Pass. That is quite a hike! She deserves all of these treasures!
As I was about to leave Blind Pass, my friend Diane and her visiting girlfriends (they call themselves “Chicks On The Go”!) Juli, Denise, Marsha, Vicki, Diane and Jackie from St Louis swarmed the beach to instantly find great shells. Let me tell you, these chicks know how to have a good time!
And like most shellers at Blind Pass this week, they found their SANIBEL SIX.
PS- Happy Labor Day… gone shelling.
What fabulous finds for all of these people! Looks like everyone was having a great time. Thanks for sharing all the great pictures. Makes me want to hop on the next plane to Sanibel!!:)
What fabulous finds for all of these people! Looks like everyone was having a great time. Thanks for sharing all the great pictures. Makes me want to hop on the next plane to Sanibel!!:)
How fun!!! What a great super shelling experience for everyone! Thanks so much for sharing :D
Ok – that was too calm for me! AAAAAHHHHHHH HOW KEWL!!! All of those great shells, the weather looked great, people sharing their shells….verrrrryyyyyyy neat! I’m hoping for a non-damaging tropical storm to kick up the shells in early May next year! WOO HOO!!!!!!
Awesome finds for everyone!!! So glad I ran into you Pam so you could see all the sand dollars. I took your advice and stored them in 2 small bins for the plane ride home and they actually all arrived safely. Still can’t believe there were so many. I collect sand dollars from NJ beaches, but they aren’t nearly as beautiful and big as Florida sand dollars. Love reading your blog and seeing what everyone finds. Can’t wait to see upcoming posts…it holds me over til I can make it to Sanibel again :)
Happy Shelling,
Lauren
Love those giant horse conchs. That is my dream shell!! Maybe someday soon…..
What great shells!! Congrats to Donnie on the horse conch. I remember when I was there this past May and found one it was thrilling. And Mary how nice that man let you have that horse conch too. We’ll be there in 3 more weeks and I can’t wait to hit the beach!
Woweee, great finds!
Pam,
The picture of the two horsies….are they a little different? The shape of the openings seem to have different shapes? When I was there in July my husband and I went to the shell museum and I think we saw two different types? Just cant remember the names of them.
Pam and Denise, I hope you both don’t mind if I try to answer this?
In Florida there is only one species of horse conch, scientific name Triplofusus giganteus, and that species occurs from North Carolina to the Yucatan in Mexico.
However, there is another very closely related (and rather similar) species within that same genus, and it lives on the tropical Pacific Coast, from the Gulf of California to Peru, and that is Triplofusus princeps.
I think the apparent difference in the shape of the aperture in the two horse conchs in Pam’s photo is mostly to do with the angle each shell is being held at, although of course it is true that you naturally get a fair bit of variation within one species, especially if the lip was damaged at some point while the animal was still alive.
The shellinator is gonna have to give up his secrets :-). He definitely knows how to find the horse conchs.
Just being there and luck
Shellinator is modest, but to find what he finds requires having a really good eye for shells, having excellent relaxed concentration, being dedicated (getting up long before dawn), and… having a good relationship with the Ocean and her daughter the Gulf. :)
Perfectly put Susan!! :)
Im with Donna, well put Susan! I’ll add one more requirement… patience.
Its ironic that i completely forgot about the patience part, especially when i have patience for so few other things… :)
While on the subject of horse conchs…. Has anyone tried putting vaseline on the shiny inner part of the shell before soaking it in bleach? I read that it will protect the gloss. Does it really work? My large horse conch looks like the one Mary got, it had a great dark orange color and dark exterior. I’ve already dunked it once, and have worked to get more of the small shells off and want to dunk it again to bleach the newly revealed periostracum, BUT I don’t want to lose the orange color inside. Sorry for the lengthy post. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I soak my shells in a little bleach and a lot of water for 24 hours (except shiny ones like Olives and Shark’s Eyes). I rinse them well and let them dry 24 hours. I then apply a coat of triple thick gloss and it really brings out all the colors. My mom like the natural look of shells but I like them shiny, like the day I discovered them. I recently found a large Conch in the Keys. It was nasty!! I revved up the bleach and let it soak for a week. It is beautiful and all the pretty pinks are there. But you bring up an interesting point and would love to hear how others care and clean their shells.
I do think the vaseline thing is worth a try, in order to keep the interior of the shell nice and glossy.
Glad the shelling has been so good after the Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac. Thanks for sharing. It is so much fun to see what everyone is finding.
Kathy is the name, my shelling sistah Pam!
Wowee!! My eyes just about popped out of my head when I saw that huge bag of sand dollars!!! That is just amazing!….I would feel like a kid that just got a visit from Santa Claus!!!!
Wow! where were the horse conchs found?
Steve ….also we found the large horse conchs and welks along West Gulf Drive beach accesses ….4-7 were best. Only residents can park at them but you can ride bikes there.
ahhh! secret spots! will have to bring the bike next time!
Pam – glad you liked my name for Donnie (the Shellinator) – he’s probably really strutting as he shells now that he’s officially “titled”. I can’t wait to come back to Sanibel!
Lol…too funny…I now have a new name….an I’m getting my”shell swag”on.
And so you should!! Now go forth and find more wonderful shells for Pam to post! You know we are all shelling vicariously through you, oh great Shellinator!!
This is the truth!
Wow! Beautiful! Does anyone there collect and sell smaller shells? My friend and I could even use pretty bits and pieces. We incorporate shells into the jewelry that we make.
Etsy.com is a great place to look for craft supplies. I have found several seashell vendors on there. Just type in seashells into the search on etsy.com, and then click supplies over on the left. Some of the vendors are from Florida. I’m sure some of them go to Sanibel to shell for what they sell.
Pam, do any of the Sanibel shells shops, like “Sanibel Seashell Industries”, sell small local shells?
When I was on Sanibel I was told that some of the local collectors pick up and sell locally-collected “craft-supply” shells to one of the shops.
I think all the Sanibel shell shops have an online presence too.
Ahhh Shucks. Gold rush down south and I’m ‘a out shucken’ potatoes! :) Keep it coming, but if I see any more Junos or +10 inch Horse conchs I’m quitting my day job and gonna become a beach bum on y’alls door stop.
I plan on making the 6-hour trip to Sanibel next week. I have never been there before. Can anyone give me some pointers? Specifically, where is the best place to look for seashells?
Hi Mandy, Well you’ve found the right place to see where shells are often found. I’ve got some great tips right here at http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/best-seashell-shelling-tips/
Thank you Pam. It’s so true. What is amazing is the shells may be there for a few hours and then poof, all gone. Your suggestion of wind was something I had never considered before, just always watched the tides. We have tried digging and dredging but think a little bit is just being in the right place at the right time and that may take many trips to Sanibel :-).
:)
Thanks so much! I’m off to read it now!
Oh my goodness! Y’all leave me some! I’m planning a 2 – 3 day getaway down there in a couple weeks!
Susan H,
Thank you again for giving great advice and answering questions!!! We love your knowledge! xo
Denise, the openings to the horse conchs we have all vary slightly and some vary quite a bit because of how Susan explained when the mollusk experiences some sort of damage and repairs its shell. Our horse conchs inside (the aperture) and outside also vary in color tremendously… from white, yellow, orange to brown. They are amazing shells! But this is the funny thing about horse conchs… its really not a conch shell. It’s in the tulip family! Maybe thats what you remembered about the horse conch, Denise!
Janet from IL, I have soaked horse conchs for days in water and bleach and the aperture stays shiny so I’ve never used vaseline. So guess what! I’ve been cleaning a few horse conchs and I took pictures through the process so I will try to post that next. Voila!
Kathy, Aha! I was almost positive! So glad you let me know I had it right! ;)
Steve, Sanibel Lighthouse beach
Lauray, Seashells.com on Sanibel (Periwinkle Way) has awesome bags of craft shells and lots of anything you want. Yes Susan H. their real name is Sanibel Seashell Industries and they have a big presents online. Amy has a good point too- Ive never looked there.
Doug, Shuck more taters so you can have a longer vaca to hunt for your junonia! LOL
We’re saving lots of shells on the beach for all of y’all for when you get down here. It might not be just like this past week but… you never know…. you just never know. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Pam, Well, your wonderful post on Sept. 5, 2012 is quite appreciated and your newly cleaned horse conchs are beautiful! Happy shelling to you!
Wow – I’m not sure how I am going to survive until April when I can come again!!!! I absolutely cannot wait to open my email in the evening to read your post and see all the beautiful pictures! Can anyone tell me where I can get one of the “I Love Shelling” tshirts and the bag? Thanks!
Diane, look at the upper left of this website and you will see I Love Shelling Shop. There are lots to choose from…enjoy!
Thank you so much Leanne!
Thanks for saving some shells!!!
I have made my plans and will be on Sanibel for 4 days the week after next. I will be on my own and it would be fun to connect with others. Perhaps we could meet for a coffee or some such thing. I am there from the evening of the 15th to the morning of the 19th.
Thank you all for the comments and congrats to all who have enjoyed the bounty Sanibel, Isaac and Mother nature had provided in the last couple weeks.
I promise to do my upmost to live up to my new name…lol.
The winter winds will be here soon enough…I can’t wait.
Donnie (The Shellenator)
I’ll be back…gettin’ my shell swag on…with my daughters…lol
You can also try mineral oil….this will not turn a yellow color after several years….I found a cowrie on hollywood beach on the east side of FL several years ago…It had beautiful coloring while wet but was very dull when dry…I oiled it and gosh what a beautiful color it is to this date no yellow…hope this helps…
PS….Thank you so much for you shelling posts Pam…..since moving from FL to MA, I have never felt so landlocked……Happy Shelling!!!!!!
Love your posts! Sharing!
Wait…all you people…put my shells carefully back on the beach where you found them. I’ll be there the end of October to collect them. Thank you.
Keep calm and shell on!
LOL! Isn’t that part of the fun of finding live shells on the beach? You know eventually they will come back as “empty gifts” from the sea!
I am SO bummed! We were on Sanibel from the 25th to the 29th and I was praying the winds would hurry up and change and the shells would get dumped before we had to go to Palm Beach…it was a business trip so we could not skip it and stay on the island or I would have in a heartbeat!
Just now have had time to check out what washed in since getting home on Monday and I’m almost feeling sick that I missed out on the fabulous gifts the ocean washed up. You lucky guys who got to be there – what gorgeous things you found!
Already planning our next trip back – hopefully in January or February!