Sanibel Beach Prime Time

This afternoon, we went to do a couple of errands and since it was so nice out, we went on over to resident access 2 on West Gulf Drive.   The sky was a beautiful blue today with only small fluffs of clouds floating around.  There was a pretty strong breeze blowing and it didn't feel too hot.

 

You have to call this time of year, 'Prime Time on the Sanibel Beach'.  I only saw one couple walk past while we were there.  There were plenty of birds though.  I love it when they get used to you staying in one spot for a while and start walking right past, or standing close.  That's what they did when I was on my knees, looking through the shells.

The selection of shells wasn't great, but I picked up a few mini shells, and had fun doing it. :) 

It was so nice and peaceful  on the beach that I wasn't ready to leave, but after being in the sun for a while, I started getting too hot, so it was time to go.  I suffered from heat exhaustion eons ago when I thought I was invincible. I had a habit of working out in the hot sun all day, because the heat never bothered me, and now I get very annoyed when I can't be out in the heat of the day. During summer months here, I try to be careful not to be out very long at a time. In the winter, I do better, but still can't stay in the direct sun too long if there isn't much air movement. 

Some symptoms of heat exhaustion are, feeling weak, clumsy, and confused. Since I have to deal with those things on a regular basis, it's a little difficult to know when I actually have a problem from the heat. :) Seriously, I have to be careful not to get dehydrated and usually the first warning I get is weakness, dizziness, nausea, and blurry vision. If I notice any of those things, I know it's time for me to head for a cooler spot. Thank goodness for big umbrellas, beach chairs and bottled water.

After one glance back toward the water, I headed back to the access path.

This evening we went to spoil island B on the Sanibel Causeway to watch the sunset.

The sunset was very pretty, but the usual rainy season clouds were missing.  I truly love those clouds, but when the clouds leave, the humidity drops and that's a good thing.  The breeze was cool, making a pleasant evening to relax as the day ended.

Well, that is until this couple, probably in their late 60's, came roaring in beside us.  After a few minutes, they shut the noisy thing off, got off for a couple minutes, then he got back on and fired it up again, drove a circle around her, parked it closer to the water and shut it off again.  Now, I've seen lots of people taking photos of each other with a sunset in the background, but this was a first!  They stood back, while he took pictures of the cycle (by itself) as the sun went down.  After that, he got back on, cranked it up, revved the engine several times, she climbed on and they roared away.  Yep, another one of those things that make you go......hmmm.

After the sun was down, I walked along the water's edge to see what was there.  Usually there are no shells worth picking up in this area.  I found one little cone, so that made me keep looking.  In just a few minutes we had picked up 17 of them.  One Florida cone was fine, there was a little color left on a couple of others, but the rest were white.  There was also a Rose petal telin and (I think) an Eastern Nassa.I could use some verification on that one. :) I looked until I didn't have enough light to see very well.  I had found little minis in a couple of other areas on the causeway islands, but none right there.  That turned out to be entertaining and fun.

Sanibel's Gulfside City Park

This morning, I had a short bit of time to spare, so I went to Gulfside City Park.  It's located on Algiers Ln, just off Casa Ybel Rd. There were a few cars in the parking area, but wasn't crowded at all.

The first thing I noticed was SHELLS!!

The Shell Gods had made a visit!

My excitement was short lived, after I looked through some of the shells.  There were a lot there, and many that most people would like.  But, I had to quit taking the kinds that we have an abundance of.  Anyway, I think it's better they are left for

someone else. :) I know there would have been some little treasures hiding there, if I would have spent more time searching.

This is a beautiful part of the beach to go to, and great shelling much of the time.  Also a nice area to stay.  Ocean's Reach is right next to it, and I have it on good authority that it's a great place to vacation.  You might also want to check out their BLOG, it's is very informative and also has many great reviews from recent visitors. 

Gulfside City Park, has may nice features that make it a fun place to go for a beach visit and a picnic.

Sunday Sanibel Sunset

It was a hot, 91 degrees here today, with a little rain.  The sun was shining brightly this evening as we drove over to resident access 5 on West Gulf Drive.  That is the access where we saw the spider web and the Spiny Orb Weaver spider last week.  It was still there.  We had to duck under it again.  What a creepy spider.

We saw lots of neat looking clouds when we got to the end of the path.  Obviously we were going to see a pretty sunset.

But, we could get wet!

As we were walking out toward the water, I saw a small pile of shells that someone had left behind.

There were some shells scattered about, mostly at the high tide line.  They were all small shells, and since I like them, I looked around through those for a while and picked out just a few to take home.

 The clouds quickly changed shape and colors as we wandered around looking at shells. 

Kind of looks like snow covered mountains in the distance.

We were feeling a few drops of rain off and on, but not enough to send us running.  The cooling wind, was very nice.  It was a good evening to be out.

I had been watching the sun, as it started peeking from behind the clouds; then turned to look behind me, at just the right time.  There was a huge rainbow.  I could only get a small part of it in the picture.

The sun was shining brightly again, just before it started to disappear.

At this point in our evening, we met a lovely couple that had just moved into a home on the beach.  They have lived on the island for a number of years, but just moved to a different location.  We had a nice time getting acquainted as we watched the sun go down.

Below are the tiny shells I took home.

Just a little piece of a Florida worm snail,

tiny Kitten paws, and one the size of a grain of rice that I think is a Velie's Marginella shell.

Sanibel Wednesday Sunset

The video and photos were taken at resident access 5 off of West Gulf Dr this evening. The high today was only 79 degrees and there was a steady cool breeze. The water is still really clean and clear and there were some small shells at the water's edge and also on two of the high tide lines. The beach seems to be getting back to normal again, as the busy season comes to a close.











Much better viewed in HD on YouTube, by clicking on screen below.


Today's sunset.

Wednesday Sanibel Sunsest

The photos below are taken near West Gulf Drive, Resident Access 2. It was just a short time before sunset when I arrived. The high temperature today was 80 and the humidity was in the 90's. It was in the upper 70's this evening and windy. There is another weak cold front coming Friday; maybe that will bring more shells in. :-)

There was a little wave action still going that was beginning to wash sand off of shells that had previously been covered up during the higher waves. There were shells at the high tide line, along with a lot of other curious items. There were whelk egg cases and two other kinds that I've searched and searched for and every time I think I have figured them out, doubt comes creeping in again. It seems like it's hard for any two people to agree on some of these things. Anyway, I'll point them out, above each of the photos.

There had been some beach erosion, that made it very obvious the sea grasses certainly do help keep the sand from washing away. There was one cluster of tall sea grass and sand had been washed away, except where it was.

There were a lot of people out on the beach, around access 3 and 4. Some were walking and doing the Sanibel Stoop a lot. One happy lady that had been looking through a couple piles of shells, said that those were two piles of incredible, incredible shells! It's fun seeing others so appreciative of sea shells. I left with a pocket full myself. Most people were just standing around to watch the sunset.

You can see 'Happy Lady' in this photo. I'm guessing that I saw 3 generations of her family there in a huddle. We see that a lot here. :-)

More fun beach art.


Could there be campers living on our beach? The sand was dug out from inside and it looked quite cozy and welcoming with the deco along the approaching walkway.


I thought this was Juvenille Horse Conch eggcase clusters, attached to a rock, but now I'm undecided again, because the Tulips looks similar, but maybe a little smaller. The Lace and Apple Murex look similar but I think they are quite a bit smaller; best I can tell from the photos I've seen.

This was a cluster of short stacks of egg cases that had a lot of thick, waxy looking covering on them. That wax looked like it was holding them together or keeping them sealed from the water. At this point, I'm thinking they must be some type of whelk, but I've never seen them attached together like this. I need an expert! My curiosity may kill me!

The sunset was pretty pastels of blue, pink and yellow this evening.