The Essential Beachcomber

              (Credit:  www. cfnews13.com)                                                                      The resident manatees at Mote Marine in Sarasota have made their Super Bowl predictions again this year.  Buffet the manatee has a 5 year winning streak going.    I am re-posting (again) my Super Bowl post from Febuary 6, 2011.  It's still my favorite s helling day of all time.) Usually Superbowl is a big deal around our house. The Hubbs is a real football fanatic but mainly for his college team - the Florida Gators. Our first real date was  31 years ago on Superbowl Sunday.  My dad was a football coach so I know my way...

The tide was rising at Blind Pass and it was getting a little too crowded for my shelling sensibilities so Jenonia, Pookie, & myself moved south to Lighthouse Beach.  Lighthouse Beach is on the opposite end of Sanibel Island from Blind Pass.  It's about a 15 minute drive.       Jenonia was happy to hold her first sea star or starfish.  Of course, the sea star went back in the water where we found him. After taking my advice to look on the wrack line for what looks like coffee grounds - Jenonia got the eye for Wentletraps immediately.  Lighthouse Beach is loaded with photo opportunities.  We arrived to Little Hickory beach access #10 to find the shoreline littered with fighting conchs left behind by the receding low tide. The fighting conchs were all alive.  They hunker down until the rising tide washes them back to the water. This little spit of sa...

The day breaks revealing a busy morning of shelling at Blind Pass on Sanibel/Captiva. Can you remember being a kid and playing a game of  hide & go seek?  The best hiding place was always a closet.  As you sat in the closet being quiet and trying not to be found did you ever try to see your hand in front of your face?  That is dark.  If you are at Blind Pass on Sanibel/Captiva at 5am it's called "pitch black".  The 5:45am lowest minus tide of 2013 coincided with a new moon which means no moon - no light at all except for the hundred's of thousands of incandescent stars glowing across the sky.  As we stood in the empty parking lot of Turner Beach g earing up for our shelling expedition on the beach below our eyes slow ly became accustomed to the early morning pre-dawn sky and the outlines of shell pil es started coming into view .   My strategy for being the first one on the early morning  beach is to do a quick scan the...

  Sanibel Island is my Disneyland. I feel just like the little girl in the video when I find some time to visit my happiest place on earth. Thanks to planet position and gravitational pull,  I am heading to Sanibel for the lowest tide of 2013. The minus -1.1 low tide won't drain the pass but it will be significantly lower uncovering more beautiful shelling loveliness. Follow me on Instagram or Twitter for real-time updates.  Who knows - I might be jubilati ng like the little girl in the video by finding my first junonia. Me in front of the giant junonia on Bowman's Beach last year at the Shellabration .

Our hearts are with you. Take a moment to pray for peace, comfort, healing & restoration for the 46 families that lost loved ones &  the millions affected by Hurricane Sandy. Early morning full moon over Blind Pass on 10.29.12 Jackets - check. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches - check. 230 lumen's LED flashlight - check. My alarm went off (well cathedral bells went bong - bong - bong - bong from my iPhone) at 3am crazy early Monday morning.  The truck had been packed the night before so it was just a matter of brushing my teeth, grabbing a coffee for the road and pointing the truck south for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Sanibel.  Winds from the storm, a full moon  & a 6 am low tide were too much to resist.  The Weather Channel had forecast the winds to die down overnight from 25-30 mph to 10-15 mph.  That weatherman was a tad too optimistic. As Pookie & I drove across the Sanibel Causeway we were awestruck at t...