To start, living in Florida again has allowed me to really feed my passion for collecting seashells, and I've had some pretty good luck in just a few months, thanks to some passing storms. Here are some examples:
The next two pictures contain some rather special finds. In the upper right corner of the first picture, there is an albino fighting conch. Sometimes, you'll find white-ish looking fighting conchs that are white because they've been beach worn, but this one was shiny (not worn), and totally white all over.
The following photo contains a lion's paw, which is a rare shell found on Captiva Island. I've never ever found one before, so I was pretty excited to find this one, even though it is not in good condition.
Incidentally, speaking of lion's paw shells, there is an excellent children's book that I love called The Lion's Paw. It was written in 1946 by Robb White and is about three escaped orphans who sail through the inland waterways of Florida in search of freedom, adventure, the lion's paw seashell and, in one child's case, a parent. It is a charming book that was out of print for years, but fortunately is now in print again, and it even has its own website! Definitely worth reading no matter how old you are!!
Ok, back to seashells. I've also spent some time working on shell crafts out of my recent finds. Here is a piece of driftwood that I actually bought at an orchid and bromeliad shop and embellished it with various shells and a starfish.
And here is a seagrass basket in a hexagonal shape, also decorated with seashells. What else would it be decorated with?? :) Incidentally, these seagrass baskets are hard to find. This one is vintage, and I purchased it on Etsy. So far, that's the only place I've been able to find them, but they are great for shell crafts.
That's it for now, but more shells to come later!
"May you always have sand in your shoes, and a seashell in your pocket."
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