John (Florida)
We had more 15 mph cold winds blowing from the north west all day yesterday. That means shelling at Blind Pass should be pretty good. So that’s why Clark and I headed there this morning at 8 a.m……. which was a little too late to snag this huge LIGHTNING WHELK John found. He got there at 6 a.m.!
John's Scotch bonnet
Geez…. AND he found a SCOTCH BONNET! This shell is pretty rare to find here so to find a whole one is shellicious. He and his wife come to Sanibel or Captiva to do a little shelling on the weekends from the middle of Florida.
John's Scotch Bonnet aperture
I always get the warm and fuzzies when I meet someone who reads my blog. Look who else I ran into!
Christine with live horse conch
It’s Christine Kieffer! She’s one of our shelling sisters who leaves fun comments and adds lots of joy to this blog.
Christine and Rick
Here she is in the picture above with her husband Rick who helped her get that live HORSE CONCH back safely in the water.
Julie, Conner, Katie, Brenden and Kevan
Do shelling families get any cuter than this? I hit the jackpot this morning running into my blog friends. Julie is a shelling sister too and brought her whole family out to gather the shell goodies.
Conner's nutmeg
Right away her son Conner found this huge colorful NUTMEG.
Katie's flat scallop
Her daughter Katie found one of my faves…. a baby FLAT ZIGZAG SCALLOP.
Shells on Blind Pass beach
Yep! There’s Joan that I introduced to you 2 weeks ago (on my post As The Seashells Turn) looking for her treasures in that shell pile right next to the jetty. 
It was so much fun to run into so many shelling sisters and shelling brother John (shelling brother just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it. Maybe “sheller bro”… er…. uhhh… nah)…. I’ll just go with” my little shelling family”. So nice to see yall.
Our Christmas weekend fave finds
I’m getting waaarrmmer…..
I found this piece of Junonia
Come on! That’s a beautiful piece of Junonia! Those abc cones are beauties also. I can wait to come down and see the new sandbar for myself. I’m making a birthday trip down in a couple of weeks.
Thats a nice piece of junonia…I am sure just a warm up for the big one you will find some day.
VERY, VERY, VERY jealous of the whelk!
the animal in the horse conch is alive??
Yes, “he” was alive and healthy so Rick and Christine put him back in the water. Hopefully to breed more pretty horse conchs!
LOVED visiting with you and Clark, highlight of our trip!! Remind me when we return in June, and I melt into a puddle of sweat, of how cold we were today!!! I hope you are blessed with a Junonia before we meet again.
What fun for you to meet up with some blog friends!!! And what a perfect way to spend a weekend! I can not believe that shell that John found. Holy cow! I am sooo anxious to get down to my beloved islands this spring. I hope that there are some shells left! lol!
xoxo laurie
Wow what great finds,even the junonia :)
I love how the winds have been helping the shellers find some lovely shells. Looking at the shell pile is just amazing!!
What a fun day we had! Blind Pass was amazing. And that Horse Conch, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw it! Pam, it was so nice to finally meet you. You are as sweet and kind as I imagined. It really is in the details…you have to develop an “eye” for noticing the “special” shells amongst all the myriads of shells coming in. Of course they’re all special, but you get my drift. After you left I found a wormie, a tiny wormie and a couple of nutmegs…wow, can’t wait to get out there again today!
What an awesome Bonnet, we don’t get to see those very often…Very Lucky Man!!! Wish I had one!
Looks like the good shells are still on the island. We are cold in Jupiter but we have no shells here. Can’t wait to get back – that piece of junonia may be just the piece you need to spur you on – you go girl!!!
My daughters and I have been enjoying the shelling on the east end of the island, but now want to venture out after coming across your blog. Love reading it, thank you! Are your t-shirts and tote bag sold on the island or only online? I have your awesome notecards already…
I don’t sell the shirts and totes in any stores…. yet. I only sell them online but I can sell them to you directly so you don’t have to pay for shipping. Just contact me again and let me know… I’ll deliver them to you.
Pam:
I just found your blog and love it! We’re coming down for our once-a-year-get-us-out-of-this snow shelling adventure for a few days. Does the sand bar at Blind Pass mean worse or better shelling? Thanks! Cathy
I hereby proclaim 2011— The Year of the Junonia —and for all you’ve done to promote and share our passion for shelling, I predict that this will be the year you find the PERFECT Junonia and then there will be dancing in the sand and dancing throughout Blogland as we celebrate with you!
Happy Beachy New Year Pam and Clark!
I cannot believe you found another wormy worm….