That video was so dang exciting when I found that gargantuan TRUE TULIP the other day…… BUT WAIT!!!! Yes!!! I found a JUNONIA ……… AND I got it on video too! I was so excited to see those brown dots buried in the sand, I couldn’t help but grab at it so you’ll see three finger indentions in the sand. Then…. I stopped, took a breath to relax, then started rolling the video. As soon as I started talking to you guys, I started getting so excited again as I dug it up!
Okay, it has a hole in it…but still!!! It’s the whole body! Hip Hip Hoooray! That video of the tulip was so long, I couldn’t add this (and I didnt want anyone to have a heart attack) so this is sort of Part 2. If you missed how amazing the rest of the morning was at the beach by the Sanibel pier and all of the wonderful comments on Part 1 …. CLICK HERE.
Boy, you do have the luck. I’m so excited for you. What a great morning!!!
I’ll do windows….and cook…if you adopt me
Yea!!!
Wow, that is amazing! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing :)
Congrats. That is great.
So fun! I have been lucky enough to find one much like the one you found today and a half one in my 20 years of visits…. very happy I found your blog! Now I can live vocariously between visits!
Hot-Diggity-Dog! Congrats!!!!!!
What a treasure!!
I really need to find time to come down shelling with you and find lots of goodies. I guess I could bring my mom too :)
Can you hear my groans of envy (and excitement for you) from here?
How beautiful! I hope we can drive down to your area this year…it’s on my wish list of places to visit! Thanks so much for coming by and looking at my tiny shell, too! ♥
Was it a kitten’s paw actually? That was the only thing I could come up with.
That’s it make room for one more car on the road headed your way. As soon as the next new moon, full moon hits. Luck you!!!!!!!
Wow!! Congratulations!! Do you have a lucky rock or do you Tebow? I tried singing to get my shells to come to me. Amazing!! What treasures!!!
Congrats and what a great video.
I do have one question that I’m curious about. Just what do you do with all those shells? I had a dream when I was in Sanibel in October that I moved there – my kids visited 2 years later and I had to go on the hoarding show because there were boxes and containers of shells all over the house :)
Well I for sure will have to go on that show, because we live in an L-shaped studio apartment in NYC and our living room is totally lined with shoe boxes full of shells from all over. The shells are genuinely starting to take over from the humans! Our cat doesn’t seem to mind though! :)
Congrats Pam!!!! So thrilled for you!
Pam!! You have been sprinkled with shell dust!! Lucky girl.
Pam, this is going to be your year!! What a way to start out 2012 with such great finds! Thanks for the videos, the sights & sounds are so relaxing and transport me there every time.
YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
You’re on a roll!!
Oh, how I love the sounds of the beach, too….
You’re my favorite blog and blogger :)
How exciting and you got it on video. Congratulations!!!
Whoooo Hooo!! Did you capture your Junonia Dance on video too? Congrats!!!
Hi Pam, We were in Sanibel from Dec. 31 to Jan. 7. We went to Bowman’s Beach that Tuesday. It was really windy and cold and there were not many people around. I found a gorgeous shark’s eye in perfect condition. Are they easy to find or among the rarer shells. I wish I took a photo of myself when I found it. It just plopped onto the beach from the waves.
I’m not an expert by any means, having only had one visit to Sanibel, but I would say from my limited experience and talking to other people while I was there that yes, the shark’s eyes are a little bit on the rare side on Sanibel, especially one in perfect condition like you found!
However, I did want to say that the exact same species (Neverita duplicata) ranges from Massachusetts all the way to Mexico and Honduras (!), and in some places it is quite a lot more common on the beaches than it is on Sanibel.
Also it turns out there is another shark’s eye species that is very similar but a little bit smaller, with a higher spire and a callus that looks a little different and that has the scientific name Neverita delessertiana. It ranges only from Florida to Texas. That also occurs on Sanibel, but is even rarer there than the regular shark’s eye is.
There’s a lot more info and lots of images of both species here:
http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=286
Thanks for your reply Susan H!
P.S. Congrats on your junonia.
You are on a roll….that is for sure! Congratulations!!
Holy jumpin’ Junoias!!!!! Lucky, lucky, you! Once again, you give me hope! To the rest of your fans that have never found one like I haven’t, I say:
Our day will come, and we’ll have everything… (imagine Ruby and the Romantics singing this)
Thanks for sharing!!
Sanibelle, I read this comment to Clark ( we read a lot of the comments together) and he started singing ruby and the romantics to me! So cute!!!! And thanks to you all for so many fun comments that make us smile, laugh and sing!
That song is stuck in my head now, ha ha. I’ll be smiling all day long with images of Sanibel.
WOW…..I hope I get to find all these shells when I come down in 6 weeks!!!!
You and Clark are such super shellers! I love it!
Keep the posts coming.
Congrats Pam! While I was sitting in a very boring training class today (slow death by powerpoint), I was thinking about walking the sandy beaches there doing the Sanibel stoop. Meanwhile, you’re out walking those beaches and finding treasures! How about a house swap for a couple of weeks. It was only -22 C / -8 F today. Everyone should experience a winter, lol. Well I suppose I can live vicariously though your blog. Keep the happy news coming!
YES!!! Fantastic!! What about all those pen shells?? :)
Did I ever tell you I found one on Marco and got in the newspaper?? Then I found another one on the same trip!! I didnt have the heart to tell anyone about the second one!! he he he So I have a shadow box with my newspaper, my 2 junonias and alot of pieces I have found over the years!!
ILOVE SHELLING too!!!
Best shelling morning ever!! Wow!!! Happy dancing for you! :-D
I watched this video 4 times and I am sitting here still grinning! That junonia was almost in the same exact spot that I found my treasure on a cold January morning five years ago- I know the feeling :D
Man oh man!!! You have the luck of the irish!!! re you? :) First, a bunch of awesome tulips and then, another junonia. I’m jealous!!!! We were there on the island from Saturday morning till Monday morning. We hit the lighthouse, Blind Pass (and caught the beginning of a lovely wedding in blue, tan and white), Tarpon Bay road beach access, and Nerita street beach access. We had most of our good luck at the lighthouse though. I saw the pen shell pile you found all your beauties near and we found some really great ones near ther too.
I came home with: 5 teeny tiny horsie candies as small as my pinky nail… 4 really great nassas… a couple paper figs… 5 or 6 cantharis shells… 2 small moons… 4 tiny banded tulips and 1 tiny true tulip… a couple really nice little nutmegs… a few tiny wentles and 1 teeny tiny urchin that is smaller than a dime. I’ve got a picture to share on your facebook page and will put that out there tonite. I’m addicted to searching for the minis and wish I lived near the Sanibel Light so I could search every day for shellsthat you need a magnifying glass to admire. :)
Leah, what a wonderful collection report! Thanks for sharing your finds too! I would love to see that teeny tiny urchin
I posted the picture last night to your facebook page… the urchin is right of the quarter.
oh… and I just identified one I wasn’t sure of… I found a white melampus the size of my pinky nail too along with my first sea bean. Of course we also found a bunch of murexes and a good number of olives too. I can’t wait to get back down there again.
:)
How fun watching as you found that junonia!! Felt like I was there. I am SO jealous! I can’t wait to get back to Sanibel… but it won’t be till May, sniff. Keep videoing your shell searching!!
Ha ha! Fantastic!!! I can’t believe you were kind enough to stop and think of all of us out here and then start that video so we could watch you dig it up and wash it off!!!! That was really great! You much be the first person who has ever shot video of finding a Junonia… Only Pam would even think of such a thing!
Well done and thanks on behalf of your happy viewers. Smiles all round.
OMG! You are the luckiest woman! Congrats! and thanks for the videos…they were superb!
Way to go Pam … congrats on you second treasure !!! Loved the videos , closed my eyes and listened to the waves & birds … AAAHHH , almost there ! I got so excited today , booked our room for July . Thanks again for helping me keep my dearm alive !
Hey Pam!! I know this is very late but……..congrats on finding 2 BEAUTIFUL Junonias!!!!!! I miss you Captiva so much!
So happy that you shared your find with us via video. Love your blog and hope to meet you one day on our travels to Sanibel!