Heavy winds and rain with tornado watches whipped through Sanibel during the first day of the 2014 Shell Festival yesterday. They had to close the show around 1:30pm because the storm caused power outages throughout the island so the Sanibel Community House was completely pitch dark. What a fluke!
But…. those same whipping winds caused hundreds of seashells to wash up at Lighthouse Beach this morning. Yay!
All sorts of STARFISH, PEN SHELLS, DISK DOSINIAS and SEAWEED piled up to form a nice thick wrack line to pick through…
I always love to sift through all the BEACH BLING to see what sorts of cool things from the deep belly of the Gulf Of Mexico make an appearance. I found a gorgeous treasure in this mess of sea debris so I thought you might enjoy picking through it for some CYBERSHELLING too. Get picking by CLICKING on the pic!
Did you find this stunning TRUE TULIP too?
Here’s another CYBERSHELLING photo to check out such an amazing pile of DOSINIAS. After I got home and looked at this photo a little closer, I realized I missed a very cool WORM SHELL, Dang it! Oh well, I hope someone else snagged that piece of yumminess up…
I love to look inside the PEN SHELLS for hidden gems too. This one had a tiny TRUE TULIP laying inside like a precious pearl waiting to be found. Once I picked it out of the PEN SHELL, I realized this baby TRUE was still alive and well protected so I put both together back in the water to hopefully get lodged in the sand.
It was so much fun to see so much bling and shells wash up at the Lighthouse Beach again… especially for the many shellers in town for the Shell Festival.
I promise I’ll get back to showing more exhibits from the fair on my next post but I had to shout out about the shelling news at the Lighthouse… and here are my favorite finds from this morning.
Clockwise- a GIANT ATLANTIC COCKLE filled with BUBBLE SHELLS, a BUTTON and a little itty bitty juvie FIGHTING CONCH; 2 juvie FIGHTING CONCHS; TRUE TULIP; CALICO CRAB SHELL; the smallest CARRIER SHELL I’ve ever found on Sanibel; SHARKS EYE; LACE MUREX, oodles of SUNRAY VENUS, SEA URCHIN and then another LACIE.
I have some other great news too… there are spots available for you to join us for Shellabaloo! It’s the most fabulous Shelling Adventure on the planet! Come join us April 24-27, 2014 to experience this awesome event. CLICK HERE for more info.
Okay, I can’t resist…. I have to show you a few more shell pieces from the show. They are exquisite!
exquisite work! I love the true tulip!!! &i actually thought about y`all everytime i saw the Weather Channel yesterday&knew today would bring goodies to all..njoy!
2 words… true tulip!!!!!!
Your shell photo is fabulous Pam! Boo on the Wormie Frame entry as well. I saw your famous Wormie Mirror first hand and if that Wormie Frame is indicative of it, then you was robbed!!! That said, if your only criteria is choosing Super Sheller and Real Estate Agent Clark, then I fully expect a Wormie Frame as a housewarming gift eventually:-)
See ya soon girlfriend!
I figured there would be some good stuff today. Almost went out to the beach one last time before heading to catch our flight out, but I didn’t dare. Might still be there … already miss Sanibel and only been home a few hours!
OH!! The photo of your fave finds on the sea grape leaf….
So pretty… such vivid colors that I feel I could touch each shell !!
Shellotte
I just found my smallest Xenophora ever too, this past tuesday. Looks to be about the same size.
Glad the tornado didn’t touch down. Great finds-true tulip, lacies, carrier shell and the sunray venuses. Did you find any more half naked pen shells? I went through some pen shells that I found in 2000 and ID 3 half naked pen shells. I used the muscle pictures. Hope the good shelling continues. Pat
Pat- I’ve found one more so a total of 4 including the one I do stead to the shell museum. Good for u for collecting the pens and having THREE! Are they all smaller than the other pens? Size of ur hand or smaller?
Pam-Back then I picked up pen shells because they were so different from anything I’d seen before. I picked up some big pen shells, then medium and then small. The 3 half naked pen shells were medium-one 3 inches along the flat edge( 3 1/2 inches overall length). The other 2 are 4 1/4 and 4 inches-flat edge. My baby ones are overall between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 inches. I’m not sure of the ID of the small ones-they’re closed. It’s fun going back over the shells I’d collected after you post new information. I’ll try to remember to bring these to Sanibel to show Jose next year when we come back. Pat
Glorious images Pam!
So many sunray venus! They have been quite sparse during the times I have visited. Are they found more often at the Lighthouse beach than other areas around the island(s)? Their color and pattern is really awesome. It would be fun to see a post showcasing your sunray venus collection, Pam. :-)
Lovely finds!! Just curious, is the wormie in the top left of the picture? It’s driving me nuts if not!! Lol
It must be well disguised…. I can’t find it either!
It’s a brownish wormie in the top left corner. See it?
Oh , now that I look back at it, it’s still a little blurry. Hmmm I tried to download the clearest cybershelling photo but it’s really not that clear. Sorry!!! I’ll redo my settings for the next roundof cybershelling and hopefully you’ll get a better view. :)
I am fairly new to your site. I have watched every video you’ve posted and am now working my way through your posts. I feel as if I’m there with you and you can’t know how much your site means to this landlubber who only gets to the beach a few times a year. Thank you, thank you!!!! Sanibel is on my bucket list.
Great to see you again at the lighthouse….wow – wentletraps, babies’ ears, and you name it – first really good shelling day for me since we arrived! What fun people from all over, too!
PLEASE SHOW MORE BLING SHELLING-LOVE TO CHECK IT ALL OUT. THE 2ND GROUP EVEN HAD A CHICKEN BONE AND MIDDLE, ALMOST TO MIDDLE BOTTOM
LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A BABY PEN SHELL- VERY FRAGILE.
AS ALWAYS, WISH I WAS THERE. JANET/AZ
PS: 2ND PICTURE-LOoKS LIKE YOU HAVE LARGE “WHAT WE CALL PEARLY CLAM” SHELLS WITH THE ABALONE CENTER. A little work and all the loose covering comes off leaving a beautiful shell. And the inside is great for serving seafood appetizers especially ‘CLAMS CASINO’
Janet/AZ
Hi Janet,
Can you pls direct me to the “pearly clam” in the second pic? It sounds SO interesting & would love to know what to look for on my next trip :-)
Thanks so much for sharing!
Ooh La la! A Lacie and a true tulip? Gives me the chills! Packing my bags!