Water, Moon, Sunrise, Feathers

The skies and water were inviting the last couple of weeks. The moonlight on the water was measmerizing. I took many photos while cleaning my boat. Then just put the hose away and watched  day become night.

Shelling Two By Two

I enjoyed shell collecting with Marti and her daughter Dana.  The winds were strong out of the northwest. We got sand blasted by the 30 mile an hour wind. Hat's were flying off, sunglasses lost, then found, then lost. It was a shell of a day! Dana has a superior shelling eye. I was most impressed. She not only found cool finds, but managed to find two of each. Like two small horse conch, two turbines, three banded tulips, two sand dollars, two sharks eyes and many olives. We also found a large tusk shell.  It was a fun windy day of shelling.  Thanks Marti and Dana.

Geocaching The Islands

The second day of the year was filled with a beautiful sunrise, the first cold front of the year, and geocaching on Cayo Costa.  Kim at snug harbor sent some friends down to travel with me and enjoy the Island of Cayo Costa while geocaching. I enjoyed the company of Dena, Barry, Margie, Tony, and Mary. The cold front rolled through while we were on the island. This did not slow down the geocachers in finding there cache. However the cache was not in the spot it was supposed to be. So after a little more looking around the landscape we found the cache. I enjoyed learning more about geocaching and listening to there stories.  On the trip back we observed many dolphin. A big highlight for myself was watching Dena see her first bald eagle in the wild.  A great way to start the new year.

Last Days of 2011

The weather on the last day of the year was picture perfect. The skies were amazing and the seas calm. You could have skipped a rock to Mexico. The moon beams in the gulf ushered in a new year.  Happy New Year to all!

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.