Merry Christmas from Captain Brian

Merry Christmas from the Islands! The shells in the photos were all self collected in the last 17 years from my favorite beach. I am thankful to walk on this beach as much as I do. Every day is a gift.  May your days be filled with low tides and blue skies. I thought I would share a quote from a lady who used to explore the beaches of Captiva.
I think of this quote often, as I walk my favorite beach.
    "The waves echo behind me. Patience- Faith -Openness...
      is what the sea has to teach. 
      Simplicity - Solitude - Intermittency ...
      But there are other beaches to explore.
      There are more shells to find. 
      This is only the beginning."
                                            -Ann Morrow Lindbergh.

Captain Brian Shelling

The December full moon is today, December 11th. It's also the birthday of the great American writer and poet Jim Harrison. Throw in a negative low tide and you have three great things going on today. Last week I spent some time camping on Cayo Costa and exploring the plant life with my camera .I was back from the island for a day before I felt the urge to go back and explore the south end on this negative low tide. I left the dock at 8:50. Robert Earl Keen was riding shotgun singing " Come on Willie, can't you hear the thunder".  The trip up was a little bumpy, but worth it when I saw the shells at the south end. The tide was lower than expected. The point of the island was good in the usual spots. The finds of the day were a Carmel colored worm shell, a large alphabet cone, and two olives with unique markings. One of the olives has a white stripe at the edge of the shell, the other one has a white mark in the lettering part of the shell. I hope to get some photos of last weeks exploring trip up soon. Enjoy the full moon, it's the last one of the year.

Photography and Shelling

Evette and Sun traveled with me exploring many unique spots. Evette wanted to find a pair of angel wings. We managed to find some angel wings but not a "pair". Evette found some nice kings crown shells. They look a little dirty in the photo but will clean up nicely. I enjoyed talking to her husband Sun about photography. He gave me some great advice that I appreciated greatly. We covered a lot of ground on this trip. The shells tell the rest of the story.

The Johnson Family

Another enjoyable charter with the Johnsons. We started at secret spot number 4 where the shells were great and we walked farther than I had anticipated.  Along the way taking photos of the birds, mainly white pelicians, before heading to the Tarpon Lodge for a delightful lunch.  A most enjoyable trip with the Johnson Family.

Talk Latin to Me

I found it Susan and Christine!! The lost dichotomous guide for Cayo Costa. Many years ago I was lucky enough to participate in a two day plant class for the rangers of the island and nearby state parks. I relished every moment. ( still do)  The state botanist has long since retired but his work still lives on. Like the great Botanist Jonathan Kunkel Small. I look forward to exploring the island in December looking for plants that both botanists observed.