Captiva Great Blue Heron
I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that I’m catching you up on the good shelling from the week and if you are coming to visit, there are still shells at Blind Pass (Sanibel and Captiva), minis at the lighthouse and just west of the lighthouse we’ve been finding lots of other shells that I’ll show you.
Brianne and Kelly shell collecting
Brianne and her mom Kelly (AZ) were at the lighthouse  beach finding SCALLOPS, WHELKS and CONCHS but the most unusual find for Kelly was part of a CRUCIFIX SHELL. It brings good luck!
Kelly's crucifix shell
They also found some beautiful PAPER FIGS in the low tide pools…
Paper fig
You’ve got to do The Sanibel Stoop to be able to spot good ones in the tidal pools.
Sanibel Stoop at dusk
The Stoopin found her this one….a double SUNRAY VENUS!
Kelly's Sunray Venus
Brianne was finally able to find and hold a live STARFISH for a minute or two to admire it before she safely put it back in the water.
Brianne starfish gazing
After talking to Liz and Sergio (central FL) while they were admiring a live SAND DOLLAR , Liz told me she was a record holder for the largest ALBINO LIGHTNING WHELK and received a Best In Show award at a Florida shell show. She found it at Lover’s Key about 10 years ago. Dang it! I forgot to write down how big it was so maybe she’ll comment and let us know.
Liz and Sergio (FL)
As we were walking west from the lighthouse the tidal pool got wider and wider for us to see live creatures and empty shells as well. This is Katie from Houston without a shell bag but making due by lining her treasures on her arm like a shelf…
Katie (TX)
Katie's shells
This area (around the Seaside Inn) was about where I found the live SHARK’S EYE I showed a video of yesterday. If you didn’t see the video, it’s a cool one you don’t want to miss so CLICK HERE.
Tidal pool Sanibel Island
To catch you up on Captiva’s Blind Pass, I stopped there on Thursday to find…. ahhhhh- such beautiful calm, aqua water with a pile of shells by the jetty.
Captiva aqua water
Sharon (Orlando, FL) was having a great time replenishing her shell collection since she just used most of her shells….. this is so sweet….. to decorate for her wedding last week. She is on her honeymoon!
Sharon (FL)
She was happy as a clam finding ….well finding CLAMS…and SCALLOPS….and CONCHS….and this COLORFUL MOON SHELL.
Colorful moon shell
With all this happiness, I don’t even want to give you the bad news. It’s just that my little Smittie the Kitty is sick again so that’s why I haven’t been keeping up with getting out all the shelling news too timely. I think she’s going to be okay now… oh it’s too much info to go into …but she’ll be a RadioCat next month- and that’s some good news!
Smittie the pretty kitty
Only two more weeks and we’ll be there shelling. Cannot wait.
Where is the tide pool? Blind Pass.
sending prayers your way , much love
Awww thank you mary.
Love, love, love the photos again today!
Glad to hear Smittie is getting better. I have three dogs (no kids) and they are my babies!!
Looks like great shelling, hopefully your heart has been lightened and you can enjoy it fully!
Thanks for sharing again!
PS – I love her “mask” :)
All our best wishes for Smittie the Kitty to improve. I know how hard it is to have a sick fur baby!! Love her beautiful face!!
Love the photos! I have always wondered what was going on down there the rest of the year! (I have always come in February in years past). Guess I always felt that the beach was folded up and put away when I wasn’t there! Also loved the picture of Smittie. She looks a lot like my cat, Kiddie. I didn’t think he was going to be staying with us long, and I didn’t want to get too attached to him, so I didn’t want to name him. That was five and a half years ago!
Such a nice story about Kiddie! We almost didn’t keep Smittie either since our other cat at the time hated other kitties. Turns out he loved her too so she got to stay- and Clark begged to keep her-heehee. We found her in South Beach (Miami) at Smith & Wollensky parking lot- hence the name Smittie ( ie since she’s a girl, of course)
The water looks amazing, and the shelling, too! I wish I could be there now.
I wish Smittie good health, she looks like a sweetie :)
A RadioCat, huh? hmmm
what is a radio cat?
I just learned about RadioCat this past week. Of everything I have read and asked the doctors about this week -it sounds like the magic pill (but it’s not a pill). It is a radiation therapy for cats with hyperthyroid. It’s 98% success rate with basically no side effects. I feel so much better that this might solve all of her health problems. She is 12 years old but she still acts like a kitten… and she’s my family. It’s a little pricey but she’s worth it since we won’t be paying for her college or her wedding. ;)
Awwww. Your little baby kitten is growing up. I am so glad of you that you could do this radio cat thing.
Prayers your way,
L <___^.^
The water looks great! Best to your sea shell kitty.
Sorry to hear Smittie has been sick. How she is doing better. We sure worry when our four legged fur babies are sick. She is really marked pretty.
I am keeping my Hope on D-mannose which is a supplement for her UTI’s.
Lee
What is a radio cat? We are on our way home, only 345 more days until we get to come back!
Smitty? He looks like he’s wearing a mask–Zorro comes to mind! He is beautiful..I have a Willard..Blk and white also..He showed up as a 1 1/2 lb kitten in my hubby’s herb garden..last July. He walked right into the have-a heart trap we had in the garden trying to catch some pesky varmits..hence the name Willard..they become a quick member of ones family, so i will keep my fingers and our paws crossed for you all..Kitty prayers..
sending well wishes for Smittie!
Pam – Best wishes for Smittie! He’s a cutie kitty!!
We were at Lighthouse Beach on Thursday night – I found my first little wentletraps there! We didn’t see ANYthing like the others have found! Blind Pass, on the Sanibel side, was “ok”. Anyone who is up there should be sure to look at the high tide line and in the mangroves! We found lots of keepers – murex, whelks, olives and others near the roots. Also check by the bridge supports at low tide. That’s where we found the kings crowns – 2 keepers and one live.
Keep up the good work on your blog – I told Dru at Ocean’s Reach about you! She said she put a link to your blog on their website :)
Sending our best to Smittie… I hope all is well with her soon. Do what you need to do and don’t look back, animals are an important part of our lives.
xoxo
Great photo of your pretty kitty! She is a beauty & I pray she will be well soon!
Pam and Clark, I hope your kitty gets better real soon. She will be in our thoughts……
Terri & Dennis
Always great pics, Pam! And the aqua water on Captiva looks really fine. Yeahhhhh, Sanibel is on our list!!! We’re on AMI for vacation now and planning our shell tour to Sanibel/Captiva for tomorrow! Can’t wait to see these beautiful Islands again!!! By the way: We loooove The Island Cow, too – great place to be!!
Glad that Smittie is doing better. My cat is 16 years old and very healthy (thank you, Jesus). Your shelling sistas understand. :)
Pam.
Radiation therapy is DEFINITELY the way to go with hyperthyroidism. I had to pill my 20 year old cat for almost 10 years for this problem. Its wonderful that it is finally widely available now. Good Luck!
Maureen
Hi Pam…sending good vibes your way for Smittie the Kitty…she is so cute! Our kitty, Max (short for Maxine) could be her sister with similar black and white markings…something else we shelling sistahs have in common.
Thanks again for all the beautiful pictures/words/info!
I’ll say a pray for Smittie! Hope she’s back in the pink…
Radio Cat is a fantastic step to take. My 14 year old male was there this past October, he has now gained renewed energy and a bit over two pounds.
This was almost 2 years ago that Smittie had the Radio Cat treatment and she is doing great! We’ve had some bumps in the road but her thyroid levels are normal now and she’s a very happy kitty. It does work!