Toes in The Sand and Heavy Surf

The tropical system that passed by out in the gulf is bringing heavy surf  to Cayo Costa. Yesterday the wind was blowing 25 with gusts up to 30. The wind was out of the south. The water went  high up on the beach into the dune area by the sea oats. The shelling should be good by the end of the week at Cayo once these waves settle down. I am curious to see how everything looks on Cayo Costa after all this high wind and heavy surf.

Farewell to Captain Butch

Few people  knew  his real name. He was the last person I knew that still carried a bag phone, that is until it broke, just a few short years ago. He preferred this to the new because it worked better in the mangroves and he could carry a pistol in it as well.  The only reason I know his real name is because of a transaction involving his boat many years ago.  Butch was selling his boat because he had a new one lined up. Some guys came down from Boca Grande and wanted to buy it. Of course he had them meet him while he was on a shelling trip. They wanted the boat and had a cashiers check. Butch said, "he wanted cash." I happened to be in the marina that day, so by default or just plain marina luck, I took the prospective buyers by jeep down to Sanibel to the bank to cash their cashiers check. I happened to notice the check was written out to someone other than Butch. I took them back to Captiva where they got in their boat and went back up to where Butch was shelling and gave him the cash. One of the many stories with Butch .  He was an excellent story teller. He guided on Captiva since the 1970's. Butch  had his own little cogerisims,  at the marina we called them " Butchisms". Things like "when in doubt chicken out" when talking about the weather. There were many, and they always "hit the nail on the head". I always enjoyed listening to his stories whether it was his observations on smuggling in the 70's, the late nights  at Cabbage Key or Captiva in the 70's  It was all good. He has been  a part of Captiva and Sanibel since the 1970's. He always took the good with the bad. But he would ALWAYS be there to help. Like when I was a young guide, he let me use his boat trailer. Sounds simple, but there are a few things guides really don't let people borrow, one a boat trailer the other an  ice bucket.  He let me use both. Thanks for all the Butchisims and advice old friend.  I 'll see you on the other side- Wade.

August Photos

Here are a few of my favorites photos from August. I am looking forward to taking out some California shellers this month.

The Johnson Family Nancy and Melissa

The Johnson family, Brian ,Nancy and Melissa have traveled with me on many trips over the years. Every August it's Nancy and Melissa. We always manage to find something off the beaten path in our travels. This trip was no exception. We left Captiva bound for Cayo Costa with dark clouds to the south(we were traveling north). The plan was to go to secret spot #3 on Cayo.  The rain clouds were starting to move closer so we back tracked and waitied out the storm under a protected shelter on Cayo Costa.  After the storm passed we headed back to secret spot#3 and explored a beach empty of people. Nancy loves to shell and Melissa loves to photograph nature and wildlife. Melissa has an excellent eye for birds on the landscape. She was thrilled to shoot many pictures of the black skimmer, pelicans on the beach, and a very close shot of an immature osprey eating a fish and then flying away. The clouds were equally as satisfying as they cast there shadows close to the sea oats. Cayo Costa is amazingly beautiful before the sun sets. ( One of the many times the island is beautiful. Lets see there is sunrise,moon set, moon rise,8 o'clock am 9, 10 11, 12. O, then 1:00 pm then it starts all over until you get to sunset.)  Sorry I got sidetracked by the 24 hour Cayo Costa kaleidoscope. Melissa took some excellent photos as usual. She even got a picture of a belted kingfisher. I seriously think she is the kingfisher whisper. I can rarely get a picture of one of these undulating anxious birds. Meanwhile Nancy was barefoot in ankle deep water shelling with the sun over her shoulders, when she said'" I found a sand dollar". She also found a beautiful lighting whelk. The time seemed to fly and everybody was hungry so we motored over to Barnacle Phil's on North Captiva for a satisfying diner. Then we watched the sun cast its last shadows on Cayo Costa.

4-H Photos, Shelling, and Fun

I enjoyed taking four Native Floridians from the panhandle exploring on a photo, shelling, and wildlife outing.  Our trip started with rain clouds lurking in the gulf . We traveled to Cayo Costa and let the rain pass while we took shelter. The younger ladies are very active in 4-H and were interested in taking photos for different categories in 4-H contests. This was music to my ears! One of the girls used 35mm film and her friend used digital while the mom was shooting digital pictures. Grandma was just having fun.  The mom is an excellent sheller and has found great finds in the panhandle of Florida. I put this on my list of places to go shelling.  She also collects miniature shells like the "Sanibel Sisters" do. Believe it or not she showed me a picture of miniture shells she had collected that all fit on the head of a penny.  One of the miniatures was a sand dollar- AMAZING. After an enjoyable walk on the beach collecting shells and photographs we motored back to Captiva.  I enjoyed three generations of Floridians and listening to the stories of 4-H and the beaches of North Florida. Good luck girls on the 4-H photos!