Just Shellin'

Growing up in the G, we'd go to the beach frequently, but we never really went shelling.  We'd find shells and sometimes take them home with us, but it was more of a "Oh, that's pretty!!!" spontaneous or happenstance moment - not a dedicated activity. 

We have some friends visiting and since we are at the beach, we had to go.  

My friend Harriet taught me how to shell.  Her family has been taking beach vacations for years and that's an activity they enjoy.

My first day's haul:

Harriet turned me onto the shells known as Kitten's Paw.  They are the ones on the bottom row of the picture. The shells are found in nature attached to coral. They are a bivalve - like clams and mussels, but instead of a hinge holding them together, they depend on their attachment to the coral.  

My second day's haul:

I found a plethora of Kitten's Paws - in many different colors and sizes.  They really charmed me, as you can tell.  I picked up about a hundred of them. (There's a penny in the picture for scale.)

I got lots of the doubles:

I like this double that has a smaller one attached:

Here's the teeniest one I found:

My third day's haul:

Shelling is fun...

...I highly recommend it.

MK out.