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Have you ever found a shell with a perfectly round hole drilled in it? It was probably the victim of a Moon Snail. Moon Snails are carnivorous predatory snails that drill distinct bevel-edged bore holes into the shells of prey before consuming the contents. These holes can often be found on small bivalves like clams.
Moon Snails are a group of shells named for the half-moon shaped aperture (or opening) that they feature. These shells spiral clockwise, or to the right, and when the animal is living it possesses a large foot that is used for digging and locomotion. The most commonly found Moon Snail shell in Florida is the Shark Eye.
A sand collar egg casing held in the air by a person.
Sand collar egg casings
Florida has the unique benefit of receiving shells on multiple sides, from multiple bodies of water. The Gulf of Mexico provides smaller Moon Snails than the Atlantic side. The average size of Shark Eyes found on the west side of the state average about the size of a gum ball as opposed to their Atlantic counterparts which are normally the size of a a baseball. This size difference could be due to the variance in food source, water temperature and depth variation of the two habitats.
In the spring, sand collar egg casings can be found along the beaches indicating the Moon Snail breeding season. These are created with mucus from the mother snail mixed with sand from the surrounding area. The sand collar is created around the mother snail’s shell and left in the sand on the ocean floor until the eggs are ready to hatch. After hatching, the mollusks begin their life on the ocean floor hunting for food and the sand collar is left to dissolve.
SHARK EYES
The most common Moon Snail in Southwest Florida is called the Shark Eye. Shark Eyes are a grey-pink color, and their round shape resembles an eyeball. These may occasionally be seen with a blue “eye” at the center of the spiral in which case it’s referred to by shellers as a “Paul Newman” after the famous actor’s iconic blue eyes.
When seen alive, the snail has a large beige foot and brown, soft operculum which covers the aperture when the mollusk takes shelter inside its shell.
I went out for a quick walk around the block to look for pictures on the Sunday before last. I ended up spotting this partially broken snail shell on the ground, and I moved it to a more picturesque location. I think I should have pulled off that randomly long piece of dried grass, however.
"I find the spiral to be very mystical. It fills me with a deep sense of mystery... Like nothing else in nature... Like no other shape..."
Junji Ito, Uzumaki
Theme Of The Week - Macro/Close up
I was going to take a picture of a tiny toad I found in my yard, but he jumped out of my hands before I could get my camera.
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They may not be used or reproduced in any way without my permission. If you'd like to use one of my images for any reason, please contact me.
Shot w/ a Wanderlust Cameras Pinwide on an olympus EP-1. The Pinwide is a ultra wide pinhole cap designed to fit on any micro 4/3 camera (except Panasonic AG-AF100 or AG-AF101 videocamera). To turn your micro 4/3 camera into a pinhole camera visit us at www.wanderlustcameras.com
I don't even remember how long ago now, but Snail Shell solicited a new product, Milk Tea Girl. I'd basically stopped buying anything from Snail Shell since the two pack, not so much because they're bad, but rather there really isn't much variation in the engineering, and the prices, while were fair, still were kind of higher than I'd want to spend.
Milk Tea Girl was around the usual price point, which is generally over $100 USD on Japanese sites, which really wasn't a problem in that they weren't exactly any cheaper even on Chinese based pages. So the price, coupled with the very bare bones content meant very easy pass.
Well, something must have happened, because in January 2023, I got bored and just poked around to find that all the non Japanese sites seemed to have a more reasonable price for the set, around $70 USD shipped, which puts it around Figuarts level. So I did what any normal person would do, and bit.
I'm certainly glad I didn't pay Japanese MSRP, or BBTS pricing for that matter because Milk Tea Girl is really bare bones. Most of the effort is on you - you get the fully finished figure of the lady herself, with two extra pairs of hands, an extra face, and a pair of feet that you swap out so you can use the included stand. Otherwise, the only other items that come with the set are a lithograph and various plastic model kit parts that are used to build her weaponry, both appearing to be paint guns of some sort using Boba Tea as its primary ammunition source.
The actual assembly of the models isn't horrible, but putting on those water decals is a true test of patience. I couldn't do them all - when the decals start getting smaller than the tip of a grain of sand, I tend to get a bit annoyed when I have to apply 20 of them.
I also didn't have plans to paint or seal this, so there's a very likely chance that every time I touch the weapons they're gonna lose a decal or two.
The actual figure itself is pretty typical for Snail Shell. You have very standard swivel/ball joints where you'd expect them on this type of body, which unfortunately means no waist articulation, which is great for the lines of her waist, but the ass cap ruins things in that area of the body. There's double jointed knees and elbows, along with pull down hips and shoulders, so you can do some decent stuff there. No articulation at the base of the neck though.
Like other Snail Shell figures, Milk Tea Girl also has adjustable eyeballs for further posing variations.
The body itself certainly looks great. I mean, she's a pin up model, so if she didn't look good it would mean the modelers failed at their job, though I wish they had opted for curvier hips. The Camel Toe also makes me cringe a bit - it's not the prude in me, but it just seems so pointless and is there for shock value.
Use of sun tanned skin is appropriate given the character. Paint work overall is acceptable. Snail Shel l isn't exactly known for their quality control - they're very much a new comer making their name known for value proposition.
I don't even remember how long ago now, but Snail Shell solicited a new product, Milk Tea Girl. I'd basically stopped buying anything from Snail Shell since the two pack, not so much because they're bad, but rather there really isn't much variation in the engineering, and the prices, while were fair, still were kind of higher than I'd want to spend.
Milk Tea Girl was around the usual price point, which is generally over $100 USD on Japanese sites, which really wasn't a problem in that they weren't exactly any cheaper even on Chinese based pages. So the price, coupled with the very bare bones content meant very easy pass.
Well, something must have happened, because in January 2023, I got bored and just poked around to find that all the non Japanese sites seemed to have a more reasonable price for the set, around $70 USD shipped, which puts it around Figuarts level. So I did what any normal person would do, and bit.
I'm certainly glad I didn't pay Japanese MSRP, or BBTS pricing for that matter because Milk Tea Girl is really bare bones. Most of the effort is on you - you get the fully finished figure of the lady herself, with two extra pairs of hands, an extra face, and a pair of feet that you swap out so you can use the included stand. Otherwise, the only other items that come with the set are a lithograph and various plastic model kit parts that are used to build her weaponry, both appearing to be paint guns of some sort using Boba Tea as its primary ammunition source.
The actual assembly of the models isn't horrible, but putting on those water decals is a true test of patience. I couldn't do them all - when the decals start getting smaller than the tip of a grain of sand, I tend to get a bit annoyed when I have to apply 20 of them.
I also didn't have plans to paint or seal this, so there's a very likely chance that every time I touch the weapons they're gonna lose a decal or two.
The actual figure itself is pretty typical for Snail Shell. You have very standard swivel/ball joints where you'd expect them on this type of body, which unfortunately means no waist articulation, which is great for the lines of her waist, but the ass cap ruins things in that area of the body. There's double jointed knees and elbows, along with pull down hips and shoulders, so you can do some decent stuff there. No articulation at the base of the neck though.
Like other Snail Shell figures, Milk Tea Girl also has adjustable eyeballs for further posing variations.
The body itself certainly looks great. I mean, she's a pin up model, so if she didn't look good it would mean the modelers failed at their job, though I wish they had opted for curvier hips. The Camel Toe also makes me cringe a bit - it's not the prude in me, but it just seems so pointless and is there for shock value.
Use of sun tanned skin is appropriate given the character. Paint work overall is acceptable. Snail Shel l isn't exactly known for their quality control - they're very much a new comer making their name known for value proposition.
I don't even remember how long ago now, but Snail Shell solicited a new product, Milk Tea Girl. I'd basically stopped buying anything from Snail Shell since the two pack, not so much because they're bad, but rather there really isn't much variation in the engineering, and the prices, while were fair, still were kind of higher than I'd want to spend.
Milk Tea Girl was around the usual price point, which is generally over $100 USD on Japanese sites, which really wasn't a problem in that they weren't exactly any cheaper even on Chinese based pages. So the price, coupled with the very bare bones content meant very easy pass.
Well, something must have happened, because in January 2023, I got bored and just poked around to find that all the non Japanese sites seemed to have a more reasonable price for the set, around $70 USD shipped, which puts it around Figuarts level. So I did what any normal person would do, and bit.
I'm certainly glad I didn't pay Japanese MSRP, or BBTS pricing for that matter because Milk Tea Girl is really bare bones. Most of the effort is on you - you get the fully finished figure of the lady herself, with two extra pairs of hands, an extra face, and a pair of feet that you swap out so you can use the included stand. Otherwise, the only other items that come with the set are a lithograph and various plastic model kit parts that are used to build her weaponry, both appearing to be paint guns of some sort using Boba Tea as its primary ammunition source.
The actual assembly of the models isn't horrible, but putting on those water decals is a true test of patience. I couldn't do them all - when the decals start getting smaller than the tip of a grain of sand, I tend to get a bit annoyed when I have to apply 20 of them.
I also didn't have plans to paint or seal this, so there's a very likely chance that every time I touch the weapons they're gonna lose a decal or two.
The actual figure itself is pretty typical for Snail Shell. You have very standard swivel/ball joints where you'd expect them on this type of body, which unfortunately means no waist articulation, which is great for the lines of her waist, but the ass cap ruins things in that area of the body. There's double jointed knees and elbows, along with pull down hips and shoulders, so you can do some decent stuff there. No articulation at the base of the neck though.
Like other Snail Shell figures, Milk Tea Girl also has adjustable eyeballs for further posing variations.
The body itself certainly looks great. I mean, she's a pin up model, so if she didn't look good it would mean the modelers failed at their job, though I wish they had opted for curvier hips. The Camel Toe also makes me cringe a bit - it's not the prude in me, but it just seems so pointless and is there for shock value.
Use of sun tanned skin is appropriate given the character. Paint work overall is acceptable. Snail Shel l isn't exactly known for their quality control - they're very much a new comer making their name known for value proposition.
This bee makes its' nest in a snail shell, and once completed it disguises it by covering it with a mound of grass stems or leaves. I couldn't see the snail shell, but the bee was busy for a long time bringing in grass stems and making a pile - very interesting to watch, but tricky to photograph!
Shells on shore of Bailey Island.
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