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ULTRA! Cypraea poraria hawaiiensis #1 24.2mm, Linnaeus 1758, GORGEOUS GEM BEAUTY from Hawaii
. Found at low tide under rubble, Nanakuli, Oahu, Hawaii, 2014. Well, I grew up shell collecting in Hawaii, and my lovely wife, Leanna, didn't. Nope, she grew up in the high-plains deserts of the Sierra Mountains, so as you might imagine, I had a bit of an expert edge when it came to shell collecting in Hawaii, I mean, I could tell just by looking whether or not a spot was worth spending our valuable low tide time on, (a commodity that waited for no man!)--but---all of that valuable expertise was just wasted on Leanna. If she wanted to stop and look for shells in the wrong spot, no amount of wisdom would prevail. We would stop.
. And I mention all of the above, because that's what happened---Leanna wanted to stop at a beach no larger than a postage stamp, the kind of place that was picked over for shells dozens of times a day. Too small to have anything, and too busy to have anything even if it did, that's where she wanted to stop.
. And we did.
. And of course, it had nothing worth picking up, and a great spot was only 10 minutes away. But, there we stayed as Leanna enjoyed looking for what wasn't there. Naturally, I expressed my opinion to her about this total waste of time both before and during our time there, as the minutes of that great low tide continued to tick away. But, a married man can only go so far with such complaining before he realizes that the look in her eyes means, if I keep on complaining, I will be doing it as a single man. So I gave up trying to change her mind and just wandered around on that tiny beach---the water being too rough to look for shells anywhere else.
. And wouldn't you know it, as I stood at the edge of the shore break just staring out to sea, a live cypraea poraria was washed up on to the beach right in front of me. That's right, still alive, and the first one I had found after 4 decades of looking for one. Huh.
. True story.
. Well, they say the Irish have a strange sense of humor, and we do... because when I saw that shell lying there and realized what it was, I laughed and laughed! The irony of finding a shell I had never found before on a beach I had rather pompously declared was a total waste of time, was just too much.
. And Leanna? Huh, that's the problem with being an expert. Make the smallest mistake and...
. But that beauty still takes my breath away whenever I look at it, wow!
. And this beauty, a very gorgeous, glassy, ultra-GEM poraria found by someone else who got to know what it was like to win the lottery, is just as beautiful as the one I found, and it will look terrific sitting on your shelf!
The ultra-perfect shell for a first-rate collection.
As for normal disclaimers, we do the best we can with photos, but color is tricky, especially since cell phone cameras automatically lean towards flesh-tone coloring, (that's why so many of the photos of shells on show up with more orange than is really there, the camera changes the color, and damm if I can figure out how to stop that from happening, but I try, honest!
As for response, as your know, sellers live and die by the response you leaved, (please leave fives!) so if you have a problem, just let me know! After all, I'm retired, and all messages go directly to my phone, so unless I'm out shell collecting I will get back to you pronto-like!
Shell collecting! Now there's a phrase that brings smiles to your eyes, doesn't it!
Anyhow, if you have read this far, you have my apologies and best wishes from those of us at IslandShells323. And don't forget,
Home is where your collection is!
ULTRA! Cypraea poraria hawaiiensis #1 24.2mm, Linnaeus 1758, GORGEOUS GEM BEAUTY from Hawaii
Buy 3 or more shells, get free shipping promotion---This promotion applies to any 3 shells bought at the same time, but unfortunately, this is a promotion we are doing, not , so, we have to refund the shipping after you the buy 3 shells! If you have questions, we are here to answer them!
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