Now who in their right shelling mind could not think that this little baby LACE MUREX shell is not THE cutest thing that ever washed up at the Sanibel Lighthouse Beach? heehee What a cutie petutie!
I even found smaller baby shells in some of the LIGHTNING WHELK EGG CASES that have been washing up this week…
Most of the disks were empty but some of them still had tiny dried shells in them…
One was torn open so we could see the teeny tiny babies. They only look like grains of sand at this point… or honestly they remind of those little bits when eat corn on the cob. Errrr, Okay, I cant really explain that well so let’s move on and get back to the point… they are tiny LIGHTNING WHELKS!
I got to share these little WHELK EGG CHAINS with a couple of gals that came to visit us from Virginia Beach. Kathleen was a good friend of Clark’s over 40 years ago and they haven’t seen each other since. What a hoot to meet Kathleen and her friend Jan and to hear about “the old days” and to catch up on all of our mutual friends while walking the beach…. and to find out they both love shelling!!!
Today, I ran into Roma with a shell bag full of BLING!
I peeked at her “Bling Bag” and saw all of this…
Holy Crab! She loves BEACH BLING as much as I do! She was collecting all of these different CRAB claws and shells for her daughter who makes jewelry out of them. There is a HERMIT CRAB CLAW, STONE CRAB CLAWS, BLUE CRAB CLAWS and some LEOPARD BOX CRAB shells. Ha! Love it!
I found one more piece of cool BEACH BLING.. a MERMAID PURSE! Okay, it’s a SKATE EGG CASE but it sure is more fun to think of it as a MERMAID PURSE, right?
Oh, and I almost forgot to show you my fave shell today… A BROAD PAPER COCKLE. The colors on this sweetie are awwwwwesoooome…
PS- Shellers Unite! There are still a few spots left on the iLoveShelling cruise to Cayo Costa this Sunday the 17th from 9am to noon. Come join me and lots of other spectacsheller folks that love shelling! Call Captiva Cruises to book your shelling spot at 239-472-5300.
For more iLoveShelling Cruise dates and info on the Shellabaloo click on the next image…
Beach bling rocks!!! Love the itty-bitty shells! Little creatures making little homes!
Minis, big shells, beach bling……it’s ALL GOOD!! I’ll be there in 10 days!! WOO HOO!!!
The coloring on the Broad Paper Cockle is definitely quite gorgeous, especially up close! The baby shells are just precious! Thank you for sharing.
I was drooling over the baby murex until I saw the last pic!! pant pant, I want!
Love the minnies…
Pam- Neat finds! Did you have your magnifying glasses on to do that?! LOL! Another question. Red Tide: Since you are the woman on the sand! Have you seen any of it the past couple days along the beaches? I have family visiting and wanted to go shelling, but am leary because of the “red tide” alerts I’ve been seeing. Thanks!
Cool bling!
Very cool minis. I so wish I could go with you on Sunday but we don’t arive until Monday. We are going out with Captain Brian on the 22nd, so I am feeling lucky about that.
I too have been reading the Red Tide alerts. Hopefully the winds will blow it away. Are you noticing any problems or dead fish??
I’ve heard of skate egg cases being called “sailor’s purses”, with the observation that they are usually empty!
Up here in Virginia Beach, VA, we call the skate egg case the “Devil’s Pocketbook!” They’ve been washing in a lot lately.
Pam, LOVE the babies…Are you thinking about having a iloveshelling cruise of any kind in June, I’ve noticed you have something set up for every month through May. I”ll be there in late June and would be so exshelluated ( excited) if my husband and I could join you. I enjoy your made up names so I thought I would give it a try, Thanks once again for the time you put into keeping all of us in winter land warm and in touch with the beach.
I have been trying to find this little shell, now I know what it is . Tks
That broad paper cockle is one I’ve never seen before! I thought I had seen every kind of cockle there but not that one, and I love it! Absolutely love the baby lace murex! Just nature’s perfection, isn’t it! I think I’m using too many exclamation points but I still get so excited seeing your finds.
As always great finds, I love mini’s. My favorite here is the baby murex:-)
I love broad paper cockle( formally known as spiny paper cockle) . The only one i found was very worn as were the 2 lace murexes. Haven’t ID the purple shell l found friday. Miss Sanibel!
PAT
A friend helped me send a picture of the purple shell. The shell is less than one inch.
I just found your website and can’t stop reading everything. Thank you so much for the educational information and wonderful pictures of all the beach bling friends you have met along the way. I can now look up the names of shells I have found at the beach.
Have you kept any skate egg cases? I’m wondering if I can add them to my shell collection.
I love this so much I cannot even begin to contain it. Sanibel is magical. You are one cool cat for this website!!! VERY INSPIRATIONAL