Another beautiful day in paradise. Enjoyed the sunset while walking through the shallows of Estero Island, with the sand between my toes, stopping now and again to examine a shell or two. I was able to collect 5 discarded beer cans, all which where stuck in the sand, or rolling around in the surf.
One of the cans however contain a little surprise. By the looks of it, this can had been rolling in the ocean for quite some time now, covered in barnacles and deteriorated. I wiggled it out from the sand beneath my feet, shook it out to properly dispose of any watery muck left inside, then realize it was rattling. A little leopard crab had made this particular can its home, so long, that it had gone in, grown a little, and was now way to big to get out. Luckily the can was so deteriorated that I was able to tear bits and pieces of the side of the can away enough, so the little guy could get out. After he had been freed I quickly walked him out past the surf, and set him free.
The sun had set by this time, and I was on my walk back to home. The sky had turned dark, and it began to rain gently on my face. I was almost back to the Best Western (which is beach-side across from my house), and I realized that I had stumbled across a "field" of whelks in the tide around me. The smallest one was around 8 inches, the largest over a foot, they all had egg casings around them so I could only assume they were all female. I have never seen so many beautiful shells so close together. I picked every last one up to make sure they all had something living inside. Sadly, there where no empties today, just a beautiful display of Floridian mollusks to enjoy all by myself, due to the rain. Maybe back again tomorrow to see if any have died.
The evening was truly amazing, and to top it all off, there was a magnificent lightning show as mother nature's grand finale.
One of the cans however contain a little surprise. By the looks of it, this can had been rolling in the ocean for quite some time now, covered in barnacles and deteriorated. I wiggled it out from the sand beneath my feet, shook it out to properly dispose of any watery muck left inside, then realize it was rattling. A little leopard crab had made this particular can its home, so long, that it had gone in, grown a little, and was now way to big to get out. Luckily the can was so deteriorated that I was able to tear bits and pieces of the side of the can away enough, so the little guy could get out. After he had been freed I quickly walked him out past the surf, and set him free.
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