Dave and I were shelling near the Outrigger on Estero Island when he found this beautiful crown conch. Normally we find the Florida fighting conch but this is the first time we've ever encountered this shell. It has blue-gray and brown spiral bands and spiky points that protrude at the top.

Last week I was looking for shells near the Sanibel fishing pier when I met a nice man named John Oths. He seemed to know quite a lot about shells and mentioned that he was a biologist and judge for the Sanibel Shell Show. He gave me a couple of shells and identified the above shells as "bubble shells". He also explained the wentletrap shell and that its name derives from the German word for spiral staircase. When I get a nice looking wentletrap, I'll post it. He encouraged me to enter a seashell wreath in next year's show. Perhaps I may enter. How about you? John also is known for finding and identifying Sanibel's 300th shell!

These olives pictured vary in size from 3/4" to 2" long. Pristine ones are very shiny and smooth. Usually you find seashells stuck inside. What I do is get a butter knife and break apart the those shells over a trash can.
 
Often you'll see a hole one end of the shell. This is caused by a sea creature looking for food by actually drilling the shell.