Hurricane Sandy ripped through Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas and is giving the east coast of the United States a huge scare. All we can do here on the west coast of Florida is hope that she doesn’t do any major harm to anybody else in her path… and wait for her north west winds to bring us shells. I took a short video of the winds from yesterday at Blind Pass Captiva which looks just like this today so far as well.
Ohhhhhh. For 2 days, we’ve had strong northwest winds up to 30mph so I can’t wait to see what Sandy will bring us! She’s appropriately named because all she’s brought us so far is … sand… but I’m hoping tomorrow she will give us the seashell goods we’ve been waiting for!
Pam, when clicked on the video it comes up saying “this video is private”.. and doesnt open!
Cathy
Yes, me too, and I’ve never had trouble seeing your videos in the past. Help!
Oh No! I just fixed it! So sorry y’all! That private thing sneaks up on my videos some times. I dont know why…. any hoo… enjoy! xo
Well… I hope Sandy is able to deliver lots of really nice shells for Sanibel, although a lot of new sand is always kind of nice to have too.
Here in NYC today it is overcast and very warm, about 67. The remnants of Sandy won’t arrive here until Monday through Wednesday, at the same time a big cold front will be moving over us from the west. The front is supposed to merge with what’s left of Sandy and become one big stormy messy super-storm, but I expect in reality all we will get is a great deal of rain and a lot of strong winds for 3 days. I do expect there will be some coastal flooding. Many shells will get tossed up on Long Island after the storm, but it won’t be as pretty as Sanibel!
Oh we will be watching your post to see if the shells come while we here in VirginiaDC metro area ride out the storm. Only major concerns around here with this massive storm is the winds. We have a lot of trees in the subburbs..I mean lots of trees and winds bring them down on power lines..houses..cars and people. Happens everytime we have any significant winds.. we expect power to be out around here for about a week come monday nite/Tuesday daytime hours.
Enjoy the treasures Sandy brings and cross your fingers for us up north!!
Be safe everyone from VA to Maine!
I am a little bit jealous! I have only been home from my Sanibel vacation and I want desparately to be there for the shells Sandy is set to deliver! Have fun and post lots of photos!
Sigh, my birthday is Thursday & tried to book @ my fave spot, the Blue Dolphin for a couple of days, but they’re sold out (as they should be). Going to head to the Atlantic beach instead and live vicariously through your posts of all the wonderfulness going on in my place of peace next week!
We got out of Dodge (NYC) yesterday to come home to VA. It’s been overcast all day, and the big event will move in tonight. Thank goodness we have a generator, ’cause we live in the country and there’s no rush for the power company to get here. Heading to Sanibel on the 10th, so I’m hoping the shells will still be churning in!
Can’t wait to see what treasure troves Sandy delivers. I’m waiting for someone to find a doubloon! Have fun and good shelling!
I’m up here in CT preparing for yet another freak storm. Last year we had Irene and a random snow storm that also happened on the 29th of October when Sandy will be in full swing, one year later. We didn’t by a generator because we figured we wouldn’t need it again… I hope Sandy does in fact bring you shells instead of power outages!
I don’t understand how come the big pile of shells deseaper and come back all time
Mother Ocean is very mysterious! Anyone who has lived by a beach and walked on it every day will tell you that a beach often looks quite different from one day to the next, not only in terms of what shells are there and how many are there, but also even in the shape and profile of the beach itself.
A beach is of course changed to some extent every time the tide comes in and goes out. Then in addition to that you have the unpredictable effect of changing winds and currents of various kinds, and the radical effect of storms, whether large or small.
Sometimes a shell pile can get covered in sand, as seems to have happened this time. On other occasions the tide just sucks a shell pile back out to sea over the course of a few days.
it’s all very amazing and that’s part of the thrill of looking for shells. Like Pam says: it’s always a treasure hunt. You never know what you will find or where you will find it.
We went to Lowes to buy one thing and saw everyone buying generators so we bought one too. Last year after Irene our neighborhood was ok just some down trees. But, a couple of blocks over people were without power for 5 days or more. Better safe then sorry. Hope everyone will be safe if the storm heads your way. And hope everyone on Sanibel gets lots of shells
Be safe Barbara, normally we worry about folks who live around Pam’s neck of the woods, but this time it’s us in the crosshairs of Sandy. For your information, I know that the town of oyster bay has declared mandatory evacuations for those south of sunrise highway, so please take care!!
You too Donna and good luck Barbara. I think Ed and I will be OK since we live literally only a few blocks from Mayor Bloomberg, and so I reckon we are unlikely to lose power, and likely to get it back on again fast if that does happen. I am going to try to stay indoors the whole time if I can, because in Manhattan goodness knows how much stuff will be blowing around in the winds, stuff blowing off the rooftops of high rises, off of constructions sites and so on.
Be careful running generators as they pose a risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. Catch up on all your laundry ;-). Have enough provisions on hand for 7 days. Communications may be out, cell phone, land line, cable tv, Internet. Radio will come in handy. We’ve went thru many storms, sometimes without power for 3 weeks. Stores may be closed and if they are open after the storm, slim pickings. Bread could not be found along with meats, ice cream and dairy products. Prayers sent your way.
My 10 days on Sanibel comes to an end Monday :( I was so excited when I heard the NW winds were coming, but from the looks of it the *shellapalooza* won’t be here soon enough for me.. I’m at Mitchell’s, and not only is there no shells, but there’s barely enough beach left to put a chair on..Strolling 1/2 mile in each direction today resulted in nothing but a wind burn and that awful spray of stinging sand. Pen shells, dead fish + turtle eggs everywhere, and slim pickin’s among the sparse and broken shells. Time to say a prayer, go beddy-bye, and hope for a shelling miracle when I wake up.. Prayers and good wishes to all in “Sandy’s” path.
Hoping for the best for all of you East Coasters – and Pam, save a few shells for me….I’ll be down the 15th! Johnnie
I’m here! Checked in to Sundial yesterday–hope the shelling ‘picks up’ soon cause I am ready and I am willing. Waiting for your best spot update, Pam.
We are here till Friday & hoping, hoping that there’s a harvest of shells just waiting to come in…Went to Blind Pass on both sides for low tide this morning & was just about the only one there…most came & checked & left as I did but I’ll be back…DId meet several kindred souls with our I Love Shelling tee shirts…Just hope I can figure out where and when to show up! Keep us Northerners informed with your expertise, Pam, & we will be ever so grateful!!!
Sandy has me a little baffled at the empty beach at Blind Pass too. I thought for sure we would see soooommmething coming in…. like just pen shells scattered around to give a clue that things were getting ready to wash in. But there wasn’t!
There is good news. I went to Gulf Side City Beach (Algiers beach) today and there are lots of pen shell lines and a few good shell piles. I’ll have photos and a post tomorrow about my finds from today. There should be more good shells coming in there and all along the middle of the island (Sanibel) beaches tomorrow.
It’s just a guessing game with Blind Pass!
Sundial had shell piles and seaweed by midday.
And please! You guys up north… be very safe and over prepare! Batten down your hatches and please let us know how you are after this Super Storm Sandy passes. xoxo
Went shelling this morning, real early about 5 a.m. Richard found some juv. horse conchs, and we both found some small lightning whelks, couple of tulips, Florida cone and I found a bably lion’s paw. Tomorrow is my birthday so I’m hoping I can find the mom or dad of the lion’s paw.
which beach?
It’s west of West Wind Inn, there’s still a small shell pile there.
West of West Wind Inn. There’s still a shell pile there this morning.
Pam, I know you’ve addressed this before but if you don’t mind, just once more. What wind direction is best for shelling? We will be coming over this week. To all those in the path of the storm, we are praying and hope you and your families stay safe.
Thanks for thinking about us. We holding our own with “Sandy” So far so good over here just lots of high wind. Lots of down trees but, we’re lucky enough to still have power. People around the block from us had a transformer blow and now are in the dark. A crane is dangling from a high rise building in Manhattan. You could see it on tv just as it was happening. Very scarey.
How are you Donna R?.Are you near Oyster Bay? I’m on the Queens/Nassau border. And Susan H how’s thing in NYC?