And the shelling never stops..

So I was able to get some shelling in, thank goodness! I hit Wrightsville Beach twice and was able to go to my all time favorite beach, Topsail. I had shark teeth on the brain and I never seem to find many at Wrightsville. Anyway here are some shots from my little adventures!

A lovely sunset evening for some shelling

I found another live moon snail! I love how I've never seen a live one before and now I've found two within a week! They are such cool little creatures.. I really enjoy finding and observing them.. and then of course releasing them!

I was also super excited to find this guy. I just learned about the scotch bonnet and have been dying to find one! Too bad a big ole hermit crab was residing in there.. but thats okay, at least I've actually seen one now! Very beautiful shells!

Some of my findings from an evening trip to Wrightsville

More findings.. Most of this is from Topsail. Lots of jingle shells, they were just so shiny and pretty I couldnt resist!

Didn't find many shark teeth, but I did find some. I will take what I can get!!

Im sure glad I stocked up on my shelling this week because with the holiday over the weekend the beaches will be very crowded.. and well.. I don't do so well with crowds. So until next time...

My fix

I finally made it out to the beach yesterday to squeeze in some shelling time. I hadn't gone in like five days which is quite awhile for me! I was hoping in that time the ocean would turn up some new stuff. The beach definitely had more shell beds than the last time I was there. Low tide was at like 8PM, which I particually like because I will go a few hours earlier than that and the crowds have died down and I dont have to pay to park after 6! I was there for a good 3 and a half hours! Found some cool stuff. 

I really enjoyed finding this guy.. its a moon snail and was still alive and a big slimy mess! His shell was beautiful, Im sorry I didnt get a better pic. It was pretty neat holding him. I took him a little further down the beach and released him in a safer spot

 

 

 

A sand dollar I found. I thought he pretty nifty while his splat like shape and all those barnacles.. but alas the barnacles came off as they always do.

It was just so damn pretty I had to take some pics! It was so wonderful and peaceful.. I had a good half an hour of shelling with NO ONE around, it was incredible! 

Heaven

 

This was everything I found at the end of the day. Not a huge lot, but I was able to get my fix and that is all that matter!

Another glorious day

So I managed to squeeze in a couple hours of shelling yesterday. Went to the same spot that I went to the day before that I found all the whelks.. Found a bunch more.. and that was it. I'm using the whelks as a decorating project. They are so neat, I love them. Here's a look at my finds!

So that's all I got.. I'm ready to start finding some shark teeth. I may have to make a trip to a different beach to switch things up a bit!

Whelk city!

So I went shelling this afternoon.. it was a good few hours before low tide.. and the tide pools were PERFECT hunting grounds for whelks. There were lots and I made out like a bandit!

Hold this thing just right and you don't even know its broken! Ive never found one of these types of whelks before.. its pretty nifty

I found this big guy on my adventure.. he was pretty big.. a lot larger than a lot of the washed up jellyfish i see.

Yesterdays finds

I went shelling yesterday and had a pretty weak day.. some whelk skeletons, a few scallops and some swirlies. 

Here is what I found...

I did really like this broken shell.. I've never found anything like it so I had to keep it!

Birthday Shelling!

Soo, I was supposed to be posting my daily shell findings but I had some company and it was my birthday.. so I am a little behind. I still did lots of shelling and took some pics. Normally I dont really collect broken shells but I've decided to start collecting  broken snail shells, as long as the swirly is still in tact and broken welch shells as long as they look neat.. not sure what I am going to do with them but something awesome no doubt!

These were my findings from May 12, 2011

This was my favorite find of that day.. a very worn olive shell with some attached coral.

My birthday sand dollars! That little one made me particularly ecstatic!

The rest of my birthday loot!

I really liked this whelk that was covered in coral bits.

My shell bowl thus far! Its coming right along!

These are from May 16, 2011.

The ever weird pen shell

The largest whelk I've ever seen and or found.

So thats all I got! But I plan on getting a few more hours of shelling in if the weather permits.. who knows what i will find!

My first post!

I went shelling yesterday for about three hours.. the only reason I stopped was because the sun was setting and I could no longer see very well! I was VERY excited to find a mostly there sand dollar.. and then towards the end of my adventure I found a starfish! That definitely was the highlight of my day! In all my many years of shelling, I've never come across a starfish on the beach. He wasn't near the tide line, but he was still alive! As much as I wanted to keep him, I just couldnt.. I'm not that kind of person! And I hope no one is. If its still alive, ALWAYS put back.  I also found a couple shark teeth which excited me. I have only found one shark tooth on Wrightsville Beach.. which is weird because at the beaches surrounding it, I find them all the time. There was also an abundance of Augers. Here are some pics of my finds!

The sand dollar

My loot!

The starfish!