Atlantic Mud Piddock
We used to find lots of ATLANTIC MUD PIDDOCKS on the flats of North Captiva and Cayo Costa when we boated there regularly but rarely on Sanibel. That’s why I was tickled to find one on the Sanibel Lighthouse beach this weekend. They can get up to 2.75 inches but this one is only 1 1/2 inches.
Atlantic Mud Piddock Aperture
This was is a little broken (on the right tip you can see it’s a little jagged) but I’ve always loved these since they are like a special ANGELWING and in the same family… but with “Spock” ears….. hmmmm. both have that …..”ock” too.
It was a beautiful evening on the beach with our friends Joe and Manuela.
Those cute little Zippy Minis (remember the video? ha!) with the HERMIT CRABS were in full force so they were mesmerized by them…..
Joe is not only a really good friend of Clark’s, he’s Clark’s business partner at Rambo & Ginsberg Realty so he has to hear about all those “schmanonia” stories (albeit well deserved stories… I guess) as much as we do. I still sound bitter very envious, don’t I. heehee
They found a few minis like WENTLETRAPS, a MELAMPUS, a wormie, SLIPPER SHELLS, CERITHS, AUGERS, WHELKS and a CONCH. I gave Manuela the APPLE MUREX and the OPERCULUM (which I had to explain that it was the “door” to a WHELK) and they ended up keeping the MUREX but they weren’t too thrilled about the OPERCULUM so gave it back to me. They looked at me like “Why the heck would we want to keep that?” I guess I like the weird stuff too:)
Right before we were leaving the beach, we saw a small part of a rainbow…..
This was followed by hundreds upon hundreds of dragonflies. If you can’t see them, click on the picture to enlarge it, then I hope you can see how many there were. Go, dragonflies! Eat those skeeters!
Beautiful pics – wish I could be there now…
Pam, I can’t believe all those dragonfies. I’ve never seen anything like that.
I just received my tee shirt and tote bag in the mail. Thank you! Love them both. Makes Sanibel seem just a little bit closer. Keep up the great posts. You help so many of us survive between visits. (No pressure!)
Yes, keep the posts and pictures coming! We just returned from Ft. Meyers Beach and had a wonderful time! We visited Sanibel and Captiva too, everything was just beautiful! {Loved all the shells at Blind Pass…there were so many!} I am still truly amazed what each day brings down on the beaches! Each day we found different types of shells! We loved seeing all the birds, foliage, and of course the water. I miss my walks on the beach already! I love checking in with you, it makes me feel that I’m still there! Thanks!
Sharlotte
Wow, that Atlantic Mud Piddock sure looks like a Angel Wing. Learned something new today :-)
Lee
Hi Lee, It does look like an angelwing but I forgot to put the size…. it’s just shy of 1 1/2 inches. So it’s a little guy. I’ll add this to the post.
What is this Atlantic Mud Piddock?????? I have a large basket of what I thought was angel wings~~~~~~could it be???????? In my 50+ years I have not heard of this one…… where have I been hiding???? Teach me more……you are never too old to learn. Especially when it comes to shells!!
I LOVE OPERCULUMS!!!!! Silly people…they are the bomb! Oh well, each to his own. And the dragonflies are awesome. I love it when there are so many like that. They are magical and mystical, not to mention beautifully colored AND they eat mosquitoes. Thanks for sharing!
The clouds and the water look amazing!! I love dragonflies as well. Don’t remember the post but you had a picture of a dragonfly on the beach and the detail that you captured left me speechless. The blue and the green and the transparent wings – one (of many) of my fav’s.
Pam- My sister and I were on the beach at the Lighthouse the same time you were when you took all these pic’s. I had to laugh because we also got pictures of the million dragon flies along with the picture of the white boat zooming across and under those storm clouds.!! We were trying to catch the lightening against that beautiful orange cloud. Ain’t that something! Small world.. Also saw Clark with the blue scooper! Didn’t get much as far as shells but I was hunting for wentletraps. With the super low tide I was hoping for more. Found mini’s but they had “visitors” inside. We come down one weekend a month and cry everytime we go over the causeway heading home. Next time I see Mr. Blue Scoop I will yell hello!!
Oh Karla! I wish we had known it was each other! errr did that make sense? Well you know what I mean. Clark is so easy to spot with his blue scoop or big backhoe when it is rougher. You didn’t happen to have a straw hats on did you?
Very nice. The dragonflies are a great bonus!
Your photos are always so lovely, it makes me feel as if I am there with you, so thanks. I had a day like that with dozens and dozens of dragonflies, last fall at Long Beach, Long Island, New York State. I would imagine that the dragonflies all fly over from freshwater areas whenever there are a lot of tiny insects they can eat that are flying over the beach. Cool!