Tag: beach shells

Pictures of Seashells on Beaches

Why is it that we enjoy seeing pictures of seashells on beaches? One guess would be that we dream of walking along a deserted beach, either all alone or with a special love, and come across a fabulous shell. It makes the walk all that much better, right?

The beaches I walk are mostly deserted, but they are along the Indian River, which is saltwater, and they are beaches without waves, unless made by a passing boat, or from storms. I do see lots of shells, in places, but they are not extraordinary like the helmet shell pictured on the beach in the photo below. Most photos online, like the one below, are staged. At least I assume the photographer didn’t just happen to come across this beautiful shell lying on the beach. But it makes for a nice photo.

Photo credit: Quangpraha @ Pixabay

Some beaches have few shells and lots of sand. Others can be mostly made up of shells. I suppose there are places where one can find big beautiful shells that have washed up, but I don’t know where that would be. Big shells are heavy, and the snails that live inside crawl along the bottom of the ocean. It would take a lot to wash that empty shell onshore.

My Photos of Real Shells on Beaches

I took the photo below while walking on a very windy day. The sand was really blowing and shells were being covered and uncovered by the wind. I was walking at Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach.

shells in the sand
The wind was covering, or maybe uncovering, shells along the beach
seashell berm
Shells left by the high tide

In the image above, lots of tiny shells and broken bits have created a little berm at the high tide mark. This was on an island beach in the Indian River. It’s one of the camping islands, but I love to stop here when we are boating to search the shoreline for interesting shells. It’s where I once found two olive shells, a beautiful knobbed whelk, and always see lots of hermit crabs in all kinds of shells.

Below: I do not recall where I took the photo but probably on the dog beach at Smyrna Dunes Park. It looks like a dog print and foot traffic that have walked past, and over, these ark clam shells, which are by far the most common to see on this beach.

cleaning seashells

Photo below is not mine, but is typical of something you’d see walking along a Florida East coast beach.

ark shell
Ark on the beach: Photo credit: Free Photos @ Pixabay
grass on island
My photo: Sea grass and small shells on island near Ponce Inlet
olive seashell buried in the beach sand
This is an olive shell partially buried. It would have been easy to bypass this little shell, which is a rare find where I live.

More Pixabay Free Photos With Shells on The Beach

Visit Pixabay to find these images and more like them.

Seashell Puzzles For Kids and Adults

Before this blog became a seashell collecting and Florida beaches site, I planned to share a lot of my Zazzle products. Because I lived in New Hampshire, and not Florida, my work was made up of my seashell photography images. Since I couldn’t travel to Florida beaches, I took pictures of my seashell collection. Later I added them to puzzles.

About These Puzzles

I have designed them with my images and they are sold through Zazzle, who prints them and mails them out. Zazzle offers various size puzzles so you can choose what type you want.

Each puzzle will be shown in the size I selected as the sample image, but on each product page you will see options, such as oversized pieces, or more difficult puzzles with over 1,000 pieces. It depends on the original size of the photo, but in general, you will have lots of options.

Back then, Zazzle didn’t offer puzzles for sale. In fact, Zazzle’s inventory was much smaller than it is today. Now I can add my images to many types of items. I choose only the products that seem to sell well for me, and lately puzzles have been popular.

These puzzles contain my photos taken of my own seashell collection. Often I have learned right along with my readers about the shells I photographed. For instance, the two lightning whelks in the photo above have their own story.

Sometimes I can remember exactly where I collected a certain shell. And I do have my favorites. Some of the shells pictured here are at the bottom of a glass bowl and I haven’t seen them in years.

I’ve taken hundreds more photos since I’ve moved back to Florida and will be adding them to new products as time permits. Is there something you’d like to see on a puzzle? Leave a comment.

Add Your Own Photos Puzzle

The puzzle below is made up of two photo templates, so you can replace them with a favorite photo of your own. This photo puzzle is one size only because of the nature of the design.

View all my puzzles here

And please help yourself to seashell coloring page printouts by going to the links at the top of this blog. Pass them out to your kids, grandkids or students as you wish, and please only use them for personal fun.

Seashell Boat Wall Art at Goodrich’s

seashell wall art
Seashell “boat” on wall at Goodrich’s Seafood Restaurant

Recently my sons and I went out to eat at Goodrich’s Seafood Restaurant in Oak Hill. As I was admiring their new open deck eating area (see my photos below), I noticed this seashell boat art on the post near our table.

Because I spend a lot of time searching for seashells and write about them, readers often ask, “How do you display all those shells you collect?”

Personally I put them in glass bowls, or decorative platters (like in the photo below), and set them on tables. It’s a simple and uninspired way to show them off, but it works. So that’s my answer. Some people buy display cases or shelves their prettiest seashells. Other than using shells to create crafts (mirror frames and box lids), that’s about all I can think of for display ideas. The little boat art was something unique.

seashells in a big round bowl
My Seashell Collection

This “boat” looks like it was made by weaving sticks together and filling them with shells. This simple and creative idea would be worth trying if you like a rustic look.

I should have asked the waiter about the decor, but I didn’t. Many of the shells inside the decoration don’t look like shells I collect in the area. I’d like to think they are local shells and the item was put together by a local artist.

I will have to remember to ask next time I eat out.  Goodrich’s is one of the Places to Eat on the Water in the New Smyrna Beach / Oak Hill area which I wrote about in a previous post.

They made this new deck eating area after the Hurricanes of 2017 damaged their old deck.  The old boat docking area is gone, but there is a new one at the end of the deck.

new deck at Goodrich's restaurant
New deck eating area

view from deck at Goodrich's
View from the table out to the ICW

fig tree on deck
I love fig trees!

I didn’t know that fig trees could grow out in the direct sun, but this one seems to be thriving.

Their food is good and the atmosphere is casual, with a view from the spacious deck you just can’t beat.   There is usually a breeze near the water and our visit in September was very comfortable.  I’ve only had one bad experience with a grumpy waitress on a busy weekend day.  Since then, we’ve been served by super friendly and attentive folks.

Looking out on the water to the south is Mosquito Lagoon and Cape Canaveral.  To the north is New Smyrna and Ponce Inlet.