Over two years ago I posted a little note about two little seashells that I had photographed for use in my Seashell store. That one little post now gets hundreds of views a day and I don’t know why. Unfortunately, even though I have updated it (and greatly improved the writing over what I had thrown together back then), it’s not very noteworthy. It bothers me Continue reading “When A Little Post About Shells Gets Big Visits”
The enormous and sad task of watching the birds of the gulf coast struggle to survive the oil slick is partly the job of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Now, more than ever the sightings and nesting habits of the pelicans, roseate spoonbills and many others will need to be watched.
Watch a slide show of birds gradually becoming covered with the oil that is washing into their territory among the mangroves of Louisiana.
On a brighter note, the seabird colonies of Breton Island are being protected and I guess that is the most we can hope for, that a few of the many important areas of bird habitats can be left untouched. I am still wondering about the mollusks, and of course there is so much more being destroyed.
If you live along the Gulf coast and want to help with reporting or donate to the clean up efforts, or just want to see what’s going on, visit the Cornell site.
Apparently the media has had restrictions imposed on covering the damage. Read more here.
Seashell Identification
Seashell Coloring Page
I am not a seashell expert, just an everyday person who has taken an interest in identifying the Florida shells I have collected over the years.
This page is about how and why the seashell identification blog began.
The east coast Florida beaches never offered up a lot of shells, but coquinas and arks were regular finds. Of course back when I took my kids to the beach, I didn’t know any shell names. I knew the popular sand dollar and starfish (sea star) but never found those. And I certainly didn’t give much thought to the marine snails that made the shells.
When I began working at Zazzle, back in 2007, I used some of my photography to make products to sell. That led to beginning this blog. I began writing from my New Hampshire home and used photos of the shells I had collected over the years.
Believe me, I barely knew what a blog was, and it’s been a learning experience for me. My about page has more info, so I won’t go into my life history, but these days I use the blog for more than writing about seashells. It is now also part of my online stores where I have linked pages at the top menu of this site.
Once I returned to Florida to live, I knew I needed to get away from the crowds by escaping to the water. So, we bought a boat. It’s a Hewes Redfisher flats boat. That may mean nothing to you, but basically it’s a small boat with low sides made for fishing. The draft is shallow so we can go into some quite shallow water. It allows us to travel through the backwaters along the Indian River lagoon area and stop at sandy beaches that show up during low tide.
Now, I can also write about my travels to find shells and sea life because I live in Florida again. Instead of only combing the ocean beach, I can now explore islands along the river. Because they are rarely visited by beachcombers, I find lots to photograph.
I began trying to identify all kinds of seashells, but have narrowed it down to the shells of Florida. Some of these shells are also found elsewhere, but the variety is too massive to cover well.
Once I had enough photos, I could create pages to help readers identify common shells they might find while visiting Florida.
I’ve also created free, printable coloring pages for home and homeschool use. I like to think that kids would enjoy learning about marine snails and other sea creatures. See more at the dropdown links at the top of this site.
Here are some truly wonderful and favorite creatures of the sea I encountered while beach-combing.
Every day out on the water is a good one, but sometimes I get lucky and see some unique creatures. The Giant Red Hermit Crab was one such find. I see hermit crabs a lot, but none like this one!
The Spider Crab was another odd creature I encountered while beach-combing in shallow water. Click the photos to read more.
Photos from our March camping trip to north Florida during a very hot spell. We head up each year for the Gator National Drag Races.
It’s time to sell our camper and downsize. It has me wondering about buying new vs. used. I’m all about saving money, and I could have saved a bundle buying used.
Getting the boat ready for some river trips. It’s been a while, and the Redfisher needs some fixing up first.
