The Evolution of a Name

Today I will tell you why I call my blog "Lava of Ocean Dawn".
Have any of you read Anne of Green Gables?
If you haven't then you should, because it's a GREAT book! But to get back on track- "Green Gables" is the name of Anne's house or farm.
Therefore, "Ocean Dawn" is the name of MY house. Got it?
And "Lava", because that's the nickname that I have come up with for myself and that only my best friends use.
Therefore, my name is Lava and I am from a house which I named Ocean Dawn.

Might be strange, but I like it!
No, scratch that, I LOVE it.

Now, I wanna show  you the sign I made and hung up in front of my house to tell everyone that it's named Ocean Dawn.

Soooooooo, first I got a board and drew the design that I wanted on there: (Ocean Dawn in English and Russian, pictures of sunrise and shells). Then I used my woodburning pen to wood burn the design into the board.

Then I painted it with acrylic paint, I think...

And now the shells that I drew from top left corner clockwise: Angel Wing, Thick Lucine, Lettered Olive, Florida Horse Conch, Shark Eye, Turkey Wing (Zebra Ark), Paper Fig and True Tulip.

And finally, I hung it over our house number on our wall. :D

I like it a lot, what about you.

 

And now, thanks for being patient, a few shell photos:

 

 
 
 
 

This here is a Knobbed Whelk. It looks like a Lightning Whelk but there is a key difference between the two shells.
                                     
                                                        Here is a Lightning Whelk.
Lightning Whelks are one of the few Left-handed shells, while Knobbed Whelks are right-handed. Whether a shell is right-handed or left-handed can be determined by holding the shell, apex (top of the shell) pointing up, in front of you so that you can see the opening of the shell. If the opening is on your right then the shell is "right-handed" and vice-versa.
Also, the Knobbed Whelk is found farther up north than the Lightning Whelk. I found all my Knobbed Whelk on Assateague Island and all my Lightning Whelk in North Carolina or Florida.

Here is a right-handed Knobbed Whelk.

 

And a left-handed Lightning Whelk! Got it?

 

 

And lastly, the cute Lace Murex! I found these two on my trip to Sanibel Island, FL last March and I'm hoping to find more this year.

 

See ya soon,

Lava of Ocean Dawn :D