I was shocked when Alyssa showed me a SANDERLING she was cradling in her hands. She had found the little bird on the beach unable to fly so she picked him up because she thought his wings were broken. Oh my! But hold on, the story gets a little crazy so let me back up a bit so I can explain the whole experience.
Clark and I ran into Donnie and his two daughters Alyssa and Holly at the lighthouse beach this morning.
Holly couldn’t wait to show me her shelling bucket full of cute shells she found…
Alyssa is an amazing sheller so she was finding all sorts of great shells but she had befriended a tiny little LEOPARD CRAB…
As I was talking to another couple that hangs out here at iLoveShelling, Ken and Sue……
Then the craziness began!
Alyssa brought the little SANDLERLING over to show me, so I called Clark back over to help with the bird. Guess who he brought back with him…… Mother Earth Marilyn!!!! OMG Do you remember her? I met Marilyn last year because she helped me rescue Sandy The Sanderling! What are the chances?
In the midst of all this, I saw Karen from Kansas with an iLoveShelling tee on so I had to call her over to say “hi”. So before I knew it, we had a whole group of iLoveShelling-ers standing there all together! From left to right- Andrea (Pompano, FL), me, SS (shelling sister with her tee!) Karen, little Holly, Donnie, Allysa (with the Sanderling in her hands!), Ken, Super Sheller Clark and Mother Earth Marilyn who cannot take her eye off that Sanderling ;). I would have loved to stay and talk to this fabulous crowd but we had to get ….. errrr… “Andy” The Sanderling to CROW asap.
The doctor at CROW said his wings were not broken. She said it was it was probably neurological issues caused by RED TIDE. Yikes! She said there is no medication for this but keeping him warm with fluids will be the best way to nurse him back to health to release him. She didn’t see why he wouldn’t make a full recovery. Thank you again CROW! But the big Thank You goes to you, Alyssa, for rescuing this handsome little creature, Andy the Sanderling.
This s a great story! I will be passing it on to my sister as she gets ready for her yearly visit to Sanibel!
Really nice story and yipeeeee for CROW!
I am homesick for Sanibel (I spent a week there in October)
Talk about fate, huh?!? That’s so cool all the right people were there at just the right time. Not so much about the red tide though. Hope it clears soon.
Donnie–your girls are adorable!
Thank You Sooooo much :-)
We had so much fun today and it was great to see everybody including…Andy.
Wouldn’t you know….I even found a great Alphabet cone after you guys left :-)
I’m glad you were able to get to CROW in time. I found a little sanderling a couple years ago but it died before we made it to help. I have never found a live leopard crab! Both of those girls have the kind of ‘eye’ that makes a good scientist!
What a lovely story. I like happy endings.
What fun! You connect people wherever you go. I’ll be there in a week–can’t wait! I’ve got my “i Love Shelling” sweatshirt and t-shirt packed and ready. I hope I’m lucky enough to run into you, too. :-)
Donnie – you have beautiful daughters, they are lovely. We saw some birds that were affected by red tide, our last trip – a very sad sight.
Thank you Molly…the red tide took a heavy toll this year….and I hope we are at the tail end of it.
Such a great story, thx bunches for sharing!
This rocks! Better than Disney!!!
xoxo
Never underestimate the power of large groups of people in aqua blue t-shirts :D
I met Earth Mother Marilyn at Blind Pass last Monday. Very sweet lady & a passionate iLS fan. She asked me if I had ever heard of the website iLS? and proceeded to share the joys of the iLS website.
Sounds like Miss Alyssa needs to add “critter saver” after her name too!
“Like”
Great story! My 6 year old son found a leopard crab in front of Ocean’s Reach last year. I always wanted to know the name because I think it’s such a cool shell. Now I know. Great find, Alyssa!
Wow! Love this website! My mom, friend and I had the great fortune to meet Donnie and his beautiful, sweet daughters on our trip to Sanibel in September. Hope to see you again this September! Happy shelling!!!!
It was nice meeting you all too….glad you guys are coming back :-)
Thanks for sharing this story… I love it and hope that Andy the Sanderling makes a full recovery!
Yes, I do hope the little bird gets better.
Sounds like Divine Choreography to me!
Once again Pam, sweet stories! Such cute and brave little girls, Donnie! Pam, Loved how a group of iLS’rs ended up on the beach at the same time…. how incredible is that?! This site of yours, along with everyone’s comments has grown into such a sweet ‘family’ over the last year or two, hasn’t it? Looking forward to the day when I can shell with both you and Clark and some of the other iLS fam. So have my heart on next month, but it will take a miracle still due to health issues. Have a great week all.
It was kind of cool that everyone showed up in the same place at once… :-) I hope your health improves so you can make it here this year…
Thanks Donnie… Loved Pams story today, also Ken’s Junonia and the rest of yesterdays story. Amazing that Kens sister Chris was so instrumental in bringing everyone together also, and how the Lord blessed them not only with the Junonia, but with the Angels Wings in that spot… deep sigh… such a blessing! By site and medical reports, even from this morning, health is getting worse and not better… but I file those reports and then get on with living…. the sea is an incredible healer as you all know here… so my goal, is to get over there to Sanibel, Captiva soon…It’s only a 3 1/2 drive….not a flight… just have to find a sea loving~sea treasure hunting soul to go with me!..until then, my daily therapy is to follow all of the iLS’rs journeys there! So thank you iLS’rs and Pam for all your amazing reporting!
I’m getting verklempt over this story. :) What wonderful teamwork to get little Andy back on the mend. I didn’t realize that the red tide was still hanging around – Go AWAY! It was heartbreaking to see the damage it caused when I was down there in December.
To Allysa, you are a true Florence Nightengale. Nice job! You and Holly look like a couple of sweethearts.
To Pam, I need to get myself an ILS tee so that if we’re down by the lighthouse at the same time, I can get a chance to meet you! I rave about your site to anyone that will listen.
Does anyone know if CROW is on overload with all the wildlife affected by the red tide? I think my husband and I need to send them a donation.
Hi, just droppin by to say this sure is one great site!. Cheers and more power always with one of mother nature’s small wonders. We share the same interest. Cheers!
I love this story!!
Donnie – I have to agree with everyone else your daughters are beautiful.
What are the odds “mother earth” would be there for the second rescue.
:)
Have a great week everybody!!
Thank You….and the odds were great and in our favor :-)
Such a heartwarming story! Isn’t life great when you can share such amazing things with other people?