Sky

The clouds and colors tonight at sunset were spectacular. I took over 150 shots as the clouds painted many pictures.

Sanibel Shell Fair 2013

Captain Brian and Rachel with her ribbon winner sailor valentine.

 

Rachel's Sailor Valentine

Sea Urchin Spines

 

Pocket Watch

 

Sailor valentine by Sandy Moran.

A sample of Sandy Moran's beautiful sailor valentines.

 

 

More Artistic Shell Crafting by various talented artists.

The Scientific Division amazes me every year.

Can you believe the size of this tulip?

The lovely and talented Karen Robertson

     Here are a few photos from the Sanibel Shell Fair this year. It was great seeing old friends and meeting new friends. Rachel, in the first photo,  had been on a trip with me over eight years ago. She recently took a class on making sailor valentines with the talented Sandy Moran. This year she entered a beautiful piece of work as you can see.  Great job Rachel and congrats on a ribbon!  

     I enjoyed meeting the lovely Karen Robertson. Her work is amazing. I look forward to talking with her again and seeing more of her beautiful creations.

I always find it rewarding to mingle with fellow shellers and artistic creators of the sea

at the Sanibel Shell Fair.

Mindy and Erica

What a fun time with Mindy and Erica. Mindy was been collecting seashells on Sanibel since the mid 1970s. The trip started by seeing many dolphin on the way to the out islands. Erica was the mammal whisperer. She spotted the dolphin and also wanted to see a manatee. Sure enough later in the trip a manatee appeared as I was pulling the anchor. Mindy is an excellent photographer. It was a pleasure positioning the boat for her to get great shots of the birds. I enjoyed the conversations as we walked and shelled. Thank you ladies for a fun day on the water.  Keep on shelling!  Capt Brian

Long Time Visitors To The Islands

Carol and Max have been frequent visitors to the islands for decades. We started the early morning out by walking the flats on a low tide. It was perfect conditions with the wind in our favor. Carol and I walked and took photographs of the beautiful sea life on the flats while shelling. Max went exploring barefoot over the flats like a true native. I enjoyed talking to Max and listening to his stories. After walking the flats we went to the beach where we found many excellent shells. Carol was happy to find a few new shells, two large specimens of a large whelk and a horse conch. The shelling and beach combing were great and the conversations just as good. Thank you Carol and Max for a great day of exploring. Hope to see you at the Shell Fair this week.