Slipper Shells for Blanche

At the beach, I rarely sit, but rather collect shells, watch wildlife, swim, walk, etc. I  enjoy picking up shells and finding an unusual one or an especially pretty one. 

I don't have any particular favorites, but my dear Friend, Blanche especially likes Lady Slipper shells or also known as the Common Atlantic Slipper, slippersnail or boat shell.

Here's one at the bottom left corner of this photo:

This is the same shell close-up:

Before a recent visit by Blanche, I made a small collection of Lady Slippers for her, that I had found at the Cape May Point beach:

I discovered this beautiful glass box to contain them at the lovely gift store in Stone Harbor called Stephanie's. It is the perfect box to display them and present them as a small gift.

Regarding the Slipper itself, it is a snail like creature and can be a nuisance and impede the growth of oysters by competing for the same food sources or directly attaching itself to the oyster shell. They can be found from Canada to Texas in shallow waters with low surf and also on NW European shores. They are filter eaters, feeding on algae and phytoplankton.

Here are some excellent sites for additional information:

(http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/gallery/invert/shell.htm)
(http://www.mitchellspublications.com/guides/shells/articles/alphabetical/)

Here is a fun site for shell lovers and she, too, collects Slippers:
http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/category/slipper-shell/

Treasures to Share

Combing the beach for items recently washed up, always brings me joy and I'm always feel the urge to collect everything that is beautiful or unique to me.  Before long though, I have so many items, that they are spilling out of my pockets.

Why not leave them for others to admire and enjoy! At least some of them!

By capturing them in a photo, I can visit them anytime and also share them with you.

I hope you enjoy:

A closer peak: 

Christmas Beach Tree

The sun was fading fast and we raced to the shore to see the sunset, 

but only to find a wisp of color, 

almost a comet in appearance.

Off to the left stood oddly a tree on the beach, in need of investigation . .

It was a Beach Christmas Tree, 

adorned with shells, conchs, sea egg casings, and other treasures from the sea.

And all along, the sunset was expanding and unfolding into this masterpiece!