Shelling The Grass Flats

I enjoyed showing Susan and her daughter Rachel the grass flats, explaining the live shells and the botany of the mangroves.( No live shells were taken) After exploring the grass flats we traveled to Cayo Costa. The water was calm and  inviting. The beach was quiet and relaxing. The shells found are pictured above- Lightning whelks, rose tellins, olives, a large banded tulip, pear whelk, Susan's first angel wing, and a beautiful large kings crown. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the conversations as much as the azure water we traveled on.

Beautiful Day

Today I enjoyed shelling, talking, and exploring the Islands with many unique passengers. I will blog about our travels and finds soon.

Clear Water and Seashells

The water has been pleasantly clear around Cayo Costa. Here are few photo's from the beach.  My trips are filling up fast for April and May.  I have been scouting for trips I will be doing in May.  It is always fun exploring. You never know what is just around the next mangrove corner.

Sunrise Captiva Island

Always nice to be on the water at sunrise.  Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight. This means more time on the water in the daylight and on Cayo Costa.

Shelling Charter

I traveled to Cayo Costa Island today with five eager shellers. We traveled along North Captiva in the Gulf of Mexico.  The magnificent Frigate bird was enjoying gliding over the dolphins while we all tried to capture a good photo of he dolphin.  The dolphin show was great.  Many times we could hear the dolphin breath before we saw it. The south southeast wind made the shelling challenging on the gulf side . We walked the beach and explored another spot. The shelling turned out to be better at another spot. Shells found were ... Moon shells,  two surperb olive shells, baby's ears, worm shells, bubble shells, two sandollars , half of a rose tellin, angel wings ,sunray venus, and a beautiful key hole limpet. The south wind picked up to 25mph , which made for a rather wet trip across Captiva Pass .We traveled back to Captiva hugging the sandbars, observing many birds like the rare redish egret, brown pelicans, osprey and more dolphin.  We also had the opportunity to see two baby manatee's. What a beautiful day to be on the water!

Sanibel Sunset

Sometimes it is just nice to sit and watch the sunset.  Like Shel Silverstein wrote'' This is where the sidewalk ends."

More from the 74th Annual Sanibel Shell Fair

I thought I would post more photos from the Sanibel Shell Fair. Some of the top shell artists in the world were there this week. One of the best shell artists, Sandy Moran, known  for her sailor valentines was there as well. The pocket watches are a favorite of mine. I hope you enjoy the photos. Next year I plan on entering an Alphabet Cone I found on a remote beach in the Florida Everglades.