The Essential Beachcomber

(Credit:  National Geographic) It is said that one only finds a junonia "once in a blue moon".  Well, tonight a blue moon graces our skies - the last one until July 2015 and there are pictures of 3 junonias found in the after-Isaac-shell-free-for-all out in blogville.  The post-storm shells are rolling in on SWFL.  For a good look at the shell-action run over to Seashells & Salty Air facebook page .  Stephanie hit it big time on Little Hickory with a 4 foot shell pile.  She also found a coveted junonia. Woohoo!! Further north the shell pile at Blind Pass on Sanibel/Captiva has been hopping as well.   My shell Sistah Pam of iLove Shelling has some pictures that will make you green with shell envy. Thanks to Pam & Stephanie for their coverage of the post-storm shelling bonanza.  I'm hoping I'll have some pics of my own to share soon as well. (Credit:  Seashells & Salty Air facebook page)     ...

As a native Floridian, it's possible I've grown a little too accustomed to hurricane season.  It's always better to be safe than sorry so I had a couple extra cases of water & new batteries for the flashlight. Hurricane seasons starts on June 1st.  August & September are the most active time of the season. Some are questioning the wisdom of the RNC for bringing the convention to Tampa during the peak of hurricane season.

Rising like huge exclamation marks on the beach,  the towering Australian Pine trees on the end of Stump Pass State Park   beckon you past the main beach and on to the the beach less traveled. As a non-native species of tree, the park service started eradicating the pines some years back because they emit a chemical that kills all nearby plants and inhibit the growth of new vegetation. The island is now thriving and blooming with native trees, mangroves, & flowering bushes but the landscape near the southern end of Stump Pass is a surreal driftwood sculpture garden of huge fallen trees and their gargantuan root systems.   The entrance to the park is a good base camp for walking the mile out the the southern end. The Weston Wanna B Inn Resort ( see my last post ) where I stayed last week is located a shell's throw from the park & the end is an easy walk from there as well. Stump Pass State Park is a bare bones facility with only a soda machine for refreshm...

You could be here (It's closer than you think)  Find your own little slice of paradise in SWFL. On the small Key of Manasota on Englewood Beach, it's virtually impossible to get lost.  And yet it is blissfully easy to lose yourself on  it's laid-back beaches with seagulls & pelicans flying by. When it comes to choosing a beach resort for my out-of-town vistors to lodge at, I stepped on a pop top & blew out my flip flops a long time ago. I do look for a comfortable place but I like the old-Florida style where the boating-fishing-beach combing lifestyle is embraced and even celebrated.  The Weston's Wanna B Inn Resort sits at the most southern end of Manasota Key right at the entrance to Stump Pass State Park . The resort is a sprawling compound of condo-type apartments, bayside fishing cottages, & gulf-front efficiencies smack dab on the Gulf of Mexico and Lemon Bay.  The new owners are in the process of updating & remodeling their wa...

In honor of the start of  Shark Week on Discovery Channel I am sharing the watermelon shark my creative genius bestie Momma Gee whipped up for her son's 11th birthday.  Her son specifically directed that he did not want a cake but wanted a watermelon fruit basket like his momma had made for a family party.  Because of Pinterest   I knew we could do better than an ole basket. The best part was the blue jello jiggler waves & Swedish fish candy garnish. The hook & sinkers were found on a beach walk & were the perfect finishing touch.  Click here for more watermelon carving ideas.    

      Shell pile, Oh Shell pile. How I love thee. Manasota Key is famous for fossils & sharks teeth. Only 20 miles north up the SWFL coast from Sanibel some of those shells straggle onto the  beaches of Manasota Key as well. I stumbled upon a stray shell pile up against the seawall at the motel my family is vacationing at on the south end of Manasota Key. Using my Haviana's to sit/kneel on & having my little hand rake to dig with, I attacked that shell pile with all the energy a St. Arbuck's lite mocha frappacino could give me. Stay tuned for a full report of my new favorite beach resort on Englewood Beach.  (Posted from Mobile Blogger via iPhone)

Sargassum seaweed has piled up on Blind Pass Beach in Englewood, Florida. Seaweed is piling up on the beaches of SWFL.  It's called sargassum or aka "gulfweed" and it's typically found out in the deep blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  Tropical Storm Debby not only rearranged our beaches with the storm erosion but she is now redecorating with a scratchy, matted carpet of sargassum seaweed.  It don't smell so good either. Found mostly in the Atlantic Ocean and  greatly concentrated in the Sargasso Sea, Sargassum seaweed's name originated from it's grape-like appearance which Portuguese sailor's called salgazo.  Huge rafts of sargassum naturally float about a mile off the shores of our SWFL beaches.  It acts as a transport system of sorts floating thousands of miles around the Gulf Stream current.  Marine life off all kinds take refuge and find survival in sargassum weed.   Sargassum is the destination of baby turtle hatchlings once they...