“The best things in life are unexpected - because there were no expectations.” Eli Khamarov

Ranger Betty of Stump Pass State Park

I have exciting news!!  There was another spectacular junonia find. No.... Not on Sanibel Island.  Not on Captiva Island.  Not even close. I told you about  Ranger Bob from Stump Pass State Park a few months back.  He's the one who found a huge megalodon shark's tooth on the beach at Stump Pass.  Bob had the shark's tooth wrapped by a jeweler and proudly wears his necklace to work every day.

Ranger Bob has recently added another large sharks tooth to his hat

 Recently Ranger Bob went garage sale-ing and bought a box of shells for $2.00.  Not a bad deal right.  Guess what was in the bottom of the box....that's right a huge perfect junonia.  Ranger Bob had given the junonia to his fellow co-worker Ranger Betty. I finally got a picture of his find. 


 Ranger Betty told me a cute story.  Since Stump Pass is a state park they close at sundown.  The rangers cannot go home until the last car is out of the parking lot.   Ranger Betty was impatiently waiting for a straggler to come off the beach  after sundown so she could go home. As the dilly-dallying sunset offender made their way to their car she offered up an apology to Ranger Betty for her tardiness. Ranger Betty said she held out her hand and she was holding the largest most perfect junonia she had ever seen.  All was forgiven.   Now Ranger Betty has a junonia of her own -  from a garage sale but a junonia none the less.

Ranger Betty took a break from the long line of cars waiting for a parking space to show off her gorgeous junonia

Scaphella junonia
(Lamarck, 1804) 

PS- If you would like to see a little more on Stump Pass visit my shelling sistah Carla's new blog Love Letters From the Sea.  Carla, her mom Susan, & I had a very successful sharks tooth day there on Wednesday morning.