Lightning whelk found on Sanibel
Diann Lawson, of Palo Alto, California, found a large lightning whelk on Nov. 27 just past the second sandbar in front of the Colony Inn on East Gulf Drive on Sanibel. Lawson reported that she found it while looking for sand dollars with her husband and 12-year-old son, Alexander. She continued that the shell was completely buried in the sand under the water, but the area around it looked different. Once the top of it was uncovered, it looked like a white rock but turned out to be a big empty shell. Her son researched how to restore it, which the family did. Lawson added that the shell’s beauty reminds them of the joy of discovery and their fun memories on Sanibel.