Florida shelling after days of strong winds. The beach was full of amazing treasures!

Hello beach friends! I hope you had a great week and I can't wait to share this beach walk with you. I know some of you are watching from a really cold, snowy, and icy part of the world, but just for a few minutes let's wander a beach together and look for treasures. Today we're going to find one of my bucket list shells. Even though it's a little beat up it's still really exciting to find and I'm going to need some help identifying a couple of other things I find on the beach. And then my favorite shell of the day is literally the very last one I find, but I have a bunch of great treasures to share today so let's go to the beach. It had been really, really windy for a few days and that wind combined with a negative low tide meant I had to come to the beach and see what kind of things I could find. I'm back again at Fort Myers Beach and look it didn't disappoint yet again. So this is the third week in a row we're coming to the same beach so I promise we won't come next time, but let's see what we find today. We're going to start off with this sand dollar. He is deceased. That little guy is perfectly safe to take home if you found something like this and so chose to. There's a bay scallop. That's a fabulous, really fabulous shell. Nice size, nice color. That's a pretty good, pretty good find. And a Florida fighting conch. And here's your standard run-of-the-mill guy. Looks like on the inside kind of purple, kind of like a dark, I guess like a, I don't know, brown purple type color. There's your Florida fighting conch. Yeah, the surf. It had been really, really windy like I said. It's all frothy. You can just see even like that foam is getting pushed all over the place. So it was, hey, I'm not complaining. It was still fun. It's a little chilly. We'll get to that in a minute. Although again, no complaining. Here we have a five-hole keyhole sand dollar. He's perfectly safe to take home. He is not alive. So he is perfectly safe to collect. And this is just a big old chunk of a horse conch. Yeah, probably one day that was pretty awesome. But he's been beat up for a little while. So that's all that's left. And what do we got here? A Florida fighting conch. That's a handsome little fella. Looks like we got a whole bunch of them. And I don't know if you've never found one of these guys. Like they're heavy. I mean they're just these sturdy thick kind of shells. These Florida fighting conchs. So that guy, he was a little orange on the inside. And this guy, he's a little bit beat up. But I'm sure we're going to be able to find a whole bunch of other goodies. Oh, a quahog. It's got that iron color. So that's why it's blue. From being buried in sand that was oxygen depleted. It really kind of draws out that iron and dyes the shell blue. That's really cool. And I really like that. Now check this out. I never, I don't think I have ever found a yellow scallop. That guy is awesome. I'm totally in love with him. Usually I love those oranges. But just because I never find yellow. Here's another sand dollar. Yep, he is also deceased. He or she is also deceased and perfectly safe to collect and bring home. I like that guy. But that's a little chip. So we'll leave it for somebody else. I don't need to take all of them. So today I did it. It was a little chilly. But not, you know, I'm still on the beach. Not gonna complain. I did have sneakers on. So I wasn't really kind of like wading around in the water. I was trying to keep my feet dry. Doesn't quite work out that well. But that's okay. So at this point we're still just, or I'm still just kind of trying to figure out what we're gonna find. Now check that guy out. That is an Atlantic wing oyster. I've never seen one of those before. It looks like it's pretty beat up. But I thought that was kind of cool. It looks like we got ourselves a lightning walk. Yep. Oh he's, that's a great show. Nice size. He's a little chipped. But still decent, decent size. He's got those little knobs on him. There's a Florida fighting conch. Another fine specimen. He's a little bit orange on the inside. All right looks like another. Got him at least inspected. Oh they're so pretty. I can't help it. I just like them. They make me happy. And a little angel wing. And that worked out for me because I, someone had asked me to get them some angel wings. So I was on the hunt on this day. So I was happy to see that angel wing. So it's only 56. It's not terrible. It was fine. It was very windy. And there's the tide. Looking at it was zero at 9 50. And this is a little bit before then. So tide is still going out I guess at this point. Here is a little Florida fighting conch. That is a juvenile version of that snail. And here we have another lightning whelk. Again a nice size shell. Definitely a keeper. Right on. And wow look at everything whipping around. And another lightning whelk. All right he's not quite as pretty as some of those other ones we found. But still nice size. A little bit of color. And what do we got here? I always hope, you know, you love seeing those lumps on the beach because you just never know what it's going to be. That is a fantastic lightning whelk. Great color. Pretty good size. That's a great find. And another. All right color's not as fantastic as the one we just found. And it's got all sorts of other things going on the inside. But still a decent find. Okay this, this is kind of cool. This is what I believe. I'm pretty sure that this is a shark eye sand collar. So those are eggs from a shark eye. They breed in the surf zone. And their eggs get kind of mixed in with the sand. And they make that curled gelatinous ribbon looking thing. So pretty sure that's what that was. We know what that is. That is another lightning whelk. Doing really good on the lightning whelks today. And this guy. And I felt so bad because it's alive. This is a pair whelk. And the color was just stunning. And I didn't think it was alive. And I felt real bad because I kind of just like, you know, kind of picked them right up. So I'm sorry buddy. But look at how pretty. Gorgeous, gorgeous shell. So we'll just put him back and hopefully he'll forgive us. This is a real pretty scallop. You like that dark color? Yeah. Oh well. We'll just stick that pretty scallop in an angel wing. Cool. All right. Now check this out. It's facing, I don't know what you would call that. You call that right facing? I guess that's the right side of the wing. It was really windy. So that got away from me for a minute. But I found it again. And here's another angel wing. Again, it is right facing. Got a little bit of a better hold on it that time. Pen shells. And so this is the point where my feet get a little bit wet and it's fine. I couldn't resist. I really needed to be over in the water kind of looking at all the stuff that's over here. So I figured out a heck with it. So my feet get wet. Big deal. Another angel wing. That's got a little bit of a hole. I'm probably going to be able to be picky because I'm probably going to find quite a few of those angel wings. So now I'm just kind of scanning to kind of see. I see some cockles, some Florida fighting conchs, a pen shell. There's another angel wing. And here's a lightning well. Wee little guy. And there's that angel wing. It's got some pinholes in it. But again, it was right facing. It's like it was weird. All right. Speaking of weird, I didn't quite know what was going on here. I wanted to check out the lightning welk and it was kind of like attached to the pen shell. Nobody's eating anybody because lightning welks eat algae and pen shells are filter feeders. So maybe they're just hanging out. They're whispering in each other's ear. I don't really know what was going on, but I thought that was a little bit interesting. All right. Back to the angel wings. Again, angel wing, right facing. So it was odd that most of the ones that I found were those right side ones. All right. Let's see what else we find. A piece of a lightning welk, a sun ray venus, a hinged sun ray venus. That's kind of cool. I like that black horizontal line kind of going across. It's kind of different. I can't hold on to it. And another right facing angel wing. And a hinged disc docinia. And Florida fighting conch. Can't resist. He's kind of cool. I like when they have those like those patterns kind of, I don't know what you call it, a zigzag pattern. Here's a lightning welk. Lovely lightning welk. And another that one's, I'm going to say a little bit lovelier. Sorry, but I'm going to say it. I like that guy. Look at this little guy. Oh, he's got real pretty color. He's got that dark pretty color. We are doing fantastic with the lightning welks today. And yet another. He's a little worse for wear. We'll probably leave him. Broken angel wing. Okay, finally. Okay, a left facing one. Okay, woohoo. Yes, we found one. Right facing. Right facing. Crazy, right? Don't know why. Here's another right facing. What happened to all the other ones? Where'd they go? Maybe somebody else came and took all the left ones? I don't know. What else we got? Okay, we got ourselves a wee little broken. Looks like it's probably an old Florida Fighting Conch, a little guy. More angel wings. More right facing angel wings. That was left but it was broken. What about this one? Okay. That's decent. Those clean up so easy. Just kind of soak them in bleach and they are good for your project. I know these are people will ask for them a lot to make projects out of them. So they're very popular. Okay, now look at this. Here's a pen shell with a whole bunch of eggs. I think, I think that those are horse conch eggs. Kind of thought it might have been a tulip but it doesn't look like to be the right shape. So I think what that was was horse conch eggs. And here we have a channeled duck clam that is very discolored. I thought that was kind of different because it's pink of all things. So I thought that was kind of neat. Normally they look like this. They are a white color. They are, they really remind me of angel wings. They're both very delicate, thin, white material. We have a shark eye that probably got drilled into at some point and then that just kind of got broken up. We have a scallop with fantastic white, those little three white stripes on it. Very cool. And guys, here it is. That, that beat up scotch bonnet. I have never found one. Not one. This is the only one I've seen and I realized it is a bit worse for wear. But I still was really, really psyched because I've never found one. So I thought that was really cool. It's got a couple barnacles, color's terrible. It's broken. I don't care. I'm still really happy that I found a scotch bonnet. And look at this short spined sea urchin. He got also a right facing angel wing. Good job guy. We're on the same page. Okay. And here, Ooh, like a blonde Florida fighting conch. That's a pretty shell. I'm going to keep that one for sure. And more Florida fighting conchs and some cockles. Find a bunch of pear whelks at some point, probably coming up. All right. Here's another lightning whelp. And another, look at how different that one is. That's so like lemon yellow versus like the orange and a right facing angel wing. It's a little chip, so I'm probably going to put it back. Okay. Here's something else I want to share with you. Periostracum is the name of that beach stuff that is typically all over those Florida fighting conchs. So I just wanted to let you know, yes, I like calling it beach stuff, but it really does have a name. Periostracum. Here we have, Ooh, a discocenia and it was a big, a big hinged one. So I was going to keep that guy. And another little lightning whelp. Very sandy lightning whelp. And a little Florida fighting conch. I thought for a hot second, that might've been a Florida fighting conch. And here we have a little lightning whelp. A little one. And we have, Ooh, so much more beach to explore. Another lightning whelp. That's a decent find. Ooh, I like this one better though. Cause he's darker and I like when they're pointy. Pretty. It's probably alive. And Oh, hi buddy. Look at that beautiful shell. And it was purple on the inside. So that's just all sorts of awesome that we can't keep because it was alive. But look at this guy. Ooh, pretty. Like that zigzag pattern. Oh, I just think it's beautiful. That guy is definitely coming home with me. And that, that was an operculum I wanted to show you, but I wasn't going to chase it down the beach. So, Oh, well, did you see that crab? And another lightning whelp. He's kind of, he's kind of beat up. And pear whelp. There we go. There's another pear whelp. A little piece of something, something in there. And a right facing angel wing that's a little scallop. Oh dear. Oh dear. Well, we'll just leave him. The birds will get to him or something. Oh, here is another pear whelp that looks like somebody snacked on him. So something drilled a hole into that. A couple of different characters could have done that, but at least we get to keep this pretty shell. And another one. All right. Great size. I mean, that's, they are not that easy to find. I don't find them all the time. It's not that they're rare per se, but to find a couple like this in that size is kind of unusual. And another one. Okay. Fantastic. On a crown conch. Awesome. Love the color on those guys. And if they're spiky, oh, they're the best. But we'll just stick with that guy for now. What else we got? Okay. Apple murrex. It's a fun little shell. They do drill holes in other shells. So that is one of the shells that is a driller. And here is a knobless Florida finding conch. He is missing all his knobs. And those knobless ones almost always also have like that light, like zigzag kind of pattern going on. Don't know why, just unusual. And we got, all right, here we have, looks like a spotted slipper snail has adhered itself to a little Florida fighting conch. So we've got a live critter coupled with one that's not so alive. So we're just gonna check them out and leave them alone. We've found plenty of those today. So probably just leave it. Now this one, look at the color. And I learned from the first time, I'm not just going to go, you know, pick them up. That is a live hair whelk. And the color is just ridiculous. It's beautiful. So he's alive and doing his thing. All right. We got some purple on the inside of this Florida fighting conch again. I think it's stunning. I love that white along the edge and this scallop. I am pretty sure, and I don't know why I think this will correct me if I'm wrong. I think that is the other side of a flat or a zigzag scallop because they're supposed to be dome shaped with which it is. It doesn't look like a bay scallop or any of the other scallops. So I'm thinking that that is what that particular scallop is. And this beauty is a noblest Florida fighting conch, but doesn't have that zigzag pattern. It's just kind of that light orange color. Oh, it's beautiful and alive. So we'll put her back. Let her do her thing. Well, hi, gorgeous. Here is a mottled purse crab hanging out looking pretty. And another pear whelk. Yep. Dang it. That was a good size too. Wow. That is a huge dystocinia. So I'm definitely going to keep that guy. I know someone who can put that to good use. Oh, another pear whelk. Yay. Great color. Nice size. That's very exciting. Another pear whelk. Abandoned tulip. All right. It's like perfect. No chips or anything. Oh, yay. So happy with that. And a moon snail, a shark guy to be exact. He's kind of what I would call a mirror shell since he looks great from just one side. We can use him in a craft. Look at that. That is a Florida cone and it's real pretty. It's got a little bit of color. He's a little bit chipped on the ends there, but I'm really happy with that. It's a fine, fine find. Okay. This poor dystocinia, he got hit twice. Those holes that are drilled into him by some other critter or thing. I don't know that I've ever seen two holes in it. And look at this chubby little beauty. Here we have a lettered olive. Fat, beautiful guy. And look at that. A paper fig. I don't find those over here that often. They're real delicate. Please be empty. Please be empty. That's me chanting. Oh, it's empty. It's beautiful. It's mine. So happy. That is a true tulip. I do not find those often at all. So really psyched that I found that guy. All right. All sorts of great stuff here. You have another, all right, it's broken. It's an angel wing, but I see dystocinias and very, let's help a little urchin out. Let's flip him over. Yep. Tons of hinged dystocinias and Florida fighting conks and cockled pen shells are everywhere. They're everywhere. So this is, for me, it's like a kid in a candy store. It's just really, really fun. And I'm grateful that I can bring you guys along with me. Oh, now this poor guy, I don't know if he was going to make it because he was really quite stiff, but let me put him back in the water just in case. And look at how much the sand whipped around. It just like covered everything. Now that is another, actually a really great find for me. This is another, it's a true tulip, but it's pretty beat up. That's the biggest one I've ever found, but it's very chipped. It's not great color, not in great shape. So I'm going to leave that for somebody else and I'll keep searching for something better. Ooh, seapork. There's a and another pear whelk. All right. Very cool. Fantastic little find. And another, I'm being careful to make sure it's not alive. Look at that. That is just stunning. It's empty. Perfectly okay to take home. Fabulous color. It's a great size. That is a fantastic find. So here we are. We already mentioned earlier at Fort Myers beach, which I love. I do. If I was, it's kind of like my home beach. It's warming up a little. It's only like 57. High surf advisory. Yay. Yay us. We're going to be out here. Let's see. Let it get kicked up as much as we can. That guy is alive. That is a live sand dollar. So that needs to go back in the water. You can tell from all it's kind of furry on the bottom and it's got like fringe along the edges and the key holes. So if you see a sand dollar like that, and there's any kind of movement going on needs to go back in the water. So at this point I'm having myself a great time. There's just stuff everywhere all over the beach. I'm finding things. I'm nice and snugly in my warm sweatshirt. Like, I couldn't ask for anything more. Well, all right. Maybe if that was actually intact, that would have been just the cherry on top, but that is okay. So we're down here. Look at how windswept it is. The sand really kind of got pushed around a little bit. A bunch of seaweed urchins guys. I don't know what this is. I don't know if I've ever even seen one before it is hinged. It's pink. As you can see, it's kind of got those radio dials on it. If anyone can tell me what that guy is, I would appreciate it. All right. Now check this out. It is alive. That is a live apple Murex. But what's even cooler is that. Look at that. That is a Lace Murex. That is, I don't, I think it's probably the laciest one I've ever found. Oh, I was just over the moon. I thought this was just stunning because you find them. And when you find them in this condition, you can kind of really see why they're called a Lace Murex because of all the beautiful extensions on that. Oh, how fantastic. And then we haven't seen our little dolphin friends in a long time and I was really happy to see them. So they were seeing, saying, uh, thanks for coming to the beach. Come back real soon. I'm quite sure of it. I'm almost positive. That is exactly what they were saying. So that concludes our little trip to the beach. We found tons of the right facing angel wings, not so many in the left, a bunch of the Florida fighting conchs, a couple of noblest ones, which is always really fun. We've just still seen yet that shark eye. I bet you my husband found that because I don't think we found that. We got all the pair walks were awesome. And we got a bunch of the distal seniors. We were finding lightning walk after lightning walk. So we did great with those. The scotch bonnet, totally awesome. And then these, the cone, the true tulip, the banded tulip, and that Lace Murex. Forget about it. It was awesome. I really had a fantastic time guys. Thank you so much for coming with me next week. I'll bring you to a different beach and we'll have fun all over again. So I will see you then. And again, thank you for being awesome.