Low tide isn’t the only game in town when it comes to beach combing. For us, the best time to shell is whenever we have an hour or more of free time. This weekend that free time ended up to be early evening (my fave time of the day) at high tide.
Long walks on the beach are always lovely, but to find sweet little shell treasures along the way… that’s priceless.
I loooove to sort through the high weak line among the SEA WEEDS and SEED PODS… ooooohhh… a SEA PEARL!
And more little beach treasures near the Sanibel Lighthouse…
The beach was Bubblicious! There were thousands of BUBBLE SHELLS lining the beach.
There are always little surprises on the beach whenever you take the time to look … whatever the tide may be.
Coming soon… (just a few more details) and then new Shellabaloo dates!
Excellent finds, Pam! That’s usually where the lighter shells show up, and treasures like Mermaid Purses. Also, keep an eye out for Lion’s Paws on the high tide lines – they tend to get wave tossed to the highest tide line. Happy shelling! :)
I love the way you arranged the shells!!
Here we come on Saturday!! High tide, low tide, any tide!! We will be walking the beach;)
Oh those are awesome finds!!!! Luv it. Keep sharing!!
Happy shelling everyone
Mary Ann
East Granby. CT
Lovely! Lovely!
I have been shelling Sanibel for many years and rarely see bubble shells. This past visit I found the most I ever have,which was about 20. I only got those from digging at lighthouse. Omg I can’t imagine thousands of them!
Pam I have enjoyed following your shelling website. I’m leaving this beautiful paradise tomorrow after a month spent relaxing and, of course, shelling! Our visit was topped off yesterday when we were swimming in the Gulf off of Tradewinds and a manatee swam by not once but twice! It was wildlife day as there were plenty of birds and even two manta rays that leaped out of the water.
Very pretty shots! I see you found two land-snail shells. :)
your right again that you can find gems anytime -low tide-high tide as long as your looking and enjoying the fun of being on the beach relaxing shelling or just walking in the sand because you never know what you might see whether it is a shell or a sunset or just a walk in the fresh air in a place that you love-FLORIDA and I cant wait to do that.sincerely r.g.stein
Lighthouse Beach is my favorite place for exploring the wrack lines as there seem to be at least 3 of them each time I have been there. I never would have thought to look for shells there until I started reading your blog. Being a desert dweller I thought all shells were where the sand met the water! Thanks for continuing to give great shelling hints and sharing your treasures through pictures.
Bubble shells may look boring on the beach, but Ken noticed they glow hot pink under a backlight. In case anyone wants to do some crazy 1970’s style shell art…
Hey experts…is the white spiral shell just above the bubbles a land snail…if not…what ?
Yes Susan H! i found 2 land snails on the beach in the thick mulchy wrack.
And Marie, yes! that one top left is a land snail- a cuban land snail- http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2014/07/30/lucky-family-found-time-for-an-island/
The other land snail is to the right of that cutie bright coquina inside the cross-barred venus with that pretty orange interior…. I think it is a SOUTHERN FLATCOIL. although I haven’t done much research on them to know if I could be mistaken- thats what I call it. fingers crossed I’m right. (“HotLips”? Are you out there and reading this? Do you think its a Southern Flatcoil?)
P.S. Pam, Sis Martha and I signed up for the Dec 10 trip…can’t wait.
Yay!!!! it will be so good to see you both!
Hi Pam,
I just wanted to tell you that your site is wonderful! I didn’t know a thing about Sanibel until I found your site. Now I’m hooked!
We were longtime shellers because we spent many years on Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands. Now we’re landlocked in AZ and NM and have been away from shells for 10 years. We are planning our first trip to Sanibel this coming winter and I’m so excited! I do seaglass and shell crafts.
What wonderful sweet finds. One day I hope to visit and find some of these wonderful shells.
Great pictures with beautiful arrangements of the shells. :-)
These bubble shells are really nice. Haven’t seen them before at Sanibel.
I’m not from the area, I currently live in Iowa, and plan to move to the Cape Coral/Fort Myers/Lehigh Acres within the next five years. I fell in love with be with the area last April when my partner and I visited Sanibel. Just beautiful! Anyhow, my question is about what exactly are sea pearls?? I haven’t noticed them before only because I may have looked them over. I’ve tried to google what they are but not really getting a definite answer. We watched your videos on YouTube before we visited last spring and it was very informational. We knew what we were looking for and could identify many shells while we were there. The videos are great and we enjoy them a lot! Thanks for your help with the information.
Hi Tim, on the top of my blog page you will see tabs for information- just click on Sealife/ beach bling ID to lead you to all sorts of identification photos. Just click on any of the photos to get to all of my posts I have talked about that particular ID. Check it out- http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/sea-life-beach-bling-identification/
I love the littles!! They are my favorites and I always find lots at the light house! Praying for all of you during this time of bad weather!