Some of my favorite things---Friends, Birthdays, Pets and Trash!

Monday, June 22, 2015

Happy Birthday to someone who has made a difference on Wrightsville Beach and has rippled change into the world.  Hope you have the best day ever, Danielle Richardet!  So glad we are friends!

Wow! Has the weather ever been hot!  And so it was on our sea turtle patrol walk this morning.  We did not find turtle tracks, but we did find this sand sculpture with a message.  I hope this brings us good luck tonight.

The beach is full of beauty in the mornings.  Today, we saw dolphin, black skimmers, runners, yogis, and families waiting for the sunrise.  It was a good morning.

We did find trash too, of course.  But, I got a little help sorting it from some of my furry friends.

Sasha Bear, Gigi Dog, and Ringo Starr.  Everyone is avoiding the group photo.

Gigi loves her pink blanket with the sun.  We found this abandoned on the beach a few years ago and it has been Gigi's ever since.  She always lays on it when I sort the trash.

Gigi just noticed that she needs braces.  :-)

Sasha Bear and Me.

Today our litter bags included:
16 cig butts
29 food wrappers
1 plastic food container
8 plastic bottle caps
2 metal bottle caps
12 other plastic lids
29 straws/stirrers
4 plastic pieces of cutlery
2 pieces of actual silverware

2 plastic bottles
1 glass bottle
4 aluminum cans
1 ziplock bag
3 plastic cups
1 cigar tip
2 plastic zip ties
7 foam pieces
17 plastic pieces
3 plastic packaging
26 paper pieces
2 wet ones
1 bandaid
1 beach umbrella wire
1 plastic contact lens case
1 piece of surf wax
6 artificial flower petals
3 strapping bands
1 hair tie
1 plastic flosser
1 chapstic
1 panty liner (yuck)
1 comb
4 clothing articles
16 toys (including a whole set of measuring cups which I may use)

We also got to enjoy the presence of a butterfly today.

Peace and Clean Oceans.

Ginger

Beach Bunny spotted at Access 44

Volunteers, Jim and Lucretia take care of the sea turtles, birds and the beach!   Here are some pics they took around access 44.  Look at all the trash they collected.

Turtles on the beach!

KIC volunteer Beth W. sent me this photo of turtles she has found on the beach during her morning patrols.  Aren't they adorable?  :-)   Thanks Beth for rescuing these turtles and for Keeping It Clean.

Pat keeps the beach clean.

Dedicated KIC volunteer, Pat T. keeps her zone clean.  Here are pictures of the trash she has collected over the past two Saturdays.  (I love the volleyball!)

3 sweeps in zone 4

Monday, June 8, 2015

We had a very pleasant patrol morning.  It was not as hot and muggy as last week and the noseeums seemed to absent, which is always a good thing.

So glad Wrightsville Beach is a non-smoking beach.  Since this ordinance was passed, we find much less cigarette and tobacco related litter on our beach.  The signs are nice too.  Kids can teach us a lot.

We had some interesting trash finds this morning; not the least of which was the bottom of a fiberglass boat.  It did not have any sea life attached, so we assume it had not been in the ocean very long before washing ashore.  We did carry it to the trash can so that the town workers can dispose of it properly.  It was heavier than I thought!

We also found this coconut that had sea life attached.  Wonder from where it traveled?  This is a first in my beach sweeping experience.

But perhaps my favorite find of the day was when we were approaching the end of the walk and something caught my eye in the soft sand.  I said, "What is that?" and walked up to investigate.  I'm glad I did because it was a sea turtle who needed to be rescued!  :-)

Total items in our litter bags include:
15 cigarette butts
39 food wrappers and packaging
5 plastic bottle caps
2 metal bottle caps
2 plastic lids
13 straws/stirrers
2 plastic cutlery
2 plastic bottles
1 glass bottle (non-beverage_
1 plastic grocery bag

2 plastic cups

2 foam cups

3 pieces of rope

4 balloons

1 cigarette lighter

3 strapping bands

1 cigarette package 

1 tampon which I picked up with a stick!

4 articles of clothing

12 toys

1 hair bow

11 pieces of paper

1 wet one

1 clothes pin

1 fiberglass boat bottom

1 winning lottery ticket totaling $2!

1 brittle and broken non-disposable plastic cup

Friday, June 12, 2015

I was at the beach for a walk on Friday, June 12th and picked up some trash as I went.

4 plastic bottles

2 plastic cups

1 wet one

1 surf board leash

1 cleaning brush

Monday, June 15, 2015

On this morning, I patrolled the beach sans John.  The day was already bright when I arrived at 5:35AM and there were already quite a few people enjoying the start of this new day.  AHHH….the summer season has arrived.  Kids are out of school and families are enjoying their beach vacations.

Today my litter bag included:

15 cigarette butts

27 food wrappers and packaging pieces

11 plastic bottle caps

5 plastic lids

10 straws/stirrers

1 plastic spoon

2 plastic bottles

1 aluminum can

2 plastic ziploc bags

2 plastic cups

4 foam cups

2 tobacco packaging

1 balloon

1 firework

5 articles of clothing including 1 sock and 2 matching pairs of flip flops

12 toys

1 plastic zip tie

3 balloon strings

1 chap stic

4 wet ones

1 champagne cork

1 plastic hotel key

2 hair ties

1 pair of kids sunglasses

Foxy Cat joined me for the trash sorting today.  She is 8 years old.

I also found two seashell treasures.

Peace, love and clean oceans,

Ginger

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Well, arguably, that is! When you live is such a beautiful location and climate, it's hard to complain about any season!

Friday, May 15, zone 0

I was so excited for my first morning beach walk of 2015. It was cold, cold, cold on the beach at 6 a.m., and I bundled up in long pants, a sweatshirt and a jacket.

Overall, there was no a lot of evidence of activity on the beach. The litter I did find was in the wrack line or below the tide line.

The most discouraging find was this Publix balloon, which was entangled in some grass at the wrack line and had obviously already spent some time out at sea. Notice the "choking hazard" warning. You're kind of missing the mark here, Publix!

My litter pickup for the day included:

-1 plastic hanger

-1 balloon with plastic cord

-1 tennis ball

-1 lid with straw

-3 snack wrappers

-4 cigarette butts

-4 plastic bottle caps

-1 metal bottle cap

-1 plastic bottom of a container

Friday, May 22, zone 0

This morning was a first for me: I only found two littered items in my entire zone! Yes, just two! I could not believe it. I wondered if perhaps an organization did a beach sweep to prepare for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Whatever the reason, it was great. I picked up only one pink polyester flower petal and a shred from a snack wrapper.

Friday, May 29, zone 0

Ah, the first blissfully warm and summery morning of the year! The warm sun and gentle breezes were perfect. And check out the sunrise! (Yes, that's me doing a headstand, my favorite yoga asana.)

Someone left behind a very pretty sandcastle on the far north end. Fortunately they did not leave behind any large holes, buckets or sand toys. :)

My litter pickup for the day included:

-1 rusty bucket handle

-2 plastic drink lids

-2 headbands

-3 styrofoam chunks

-2 plastic pieces

-1 ping pong ball

-6 straws

-4 cigarette butts

-1 glow stick

-1 plastic spoon

-6 plastic food and straw wrappers

Friday, June 5, zone 0

Today there was more litter in zone 0 than I would normally find there. I found this disconcerting because the tide came up very high last night-- all the way to the dunes in some spots-- so I realized that most of the trash I picked up had washed in from the water. In a few cases, I very carefully reached underneath the ropes around the bird sanctuary to remove trash from the designated bird area. This always makes me uneasy.

On a much brighter note, I saw this guy riding a unicycle on the beach. I mean, seriously, how wild is that?!

My litter pickup for the day included:

-5 plastic cups

-1 styrofoam cup

-2 plastic shopping bags

-4 straws

-3 plastic shovels

-3 plastic bottle caps

-19 cigarette butts

-1 eyeglass cleaning cloth

-2 styrofoam chunks

-1 balloon

-2 plastic straw wrappers

-1 snack wrapper corner

-2 toys

-1 aluminum bottle

-1 aluminum can

Peace,
Susan

KIC Volunteers LOVE the Ocean!

For the past two weeks, KIC Volunteers have been diligently monitoring the beach for sea turtle tracks.  They don't always find tracks, but they do always find trash!  And plenty of it!

I always say that KIC volunteers love the ocean in a way that others don't.  We enjoy the ocean because it is beautiful, fun, inspiring, peaceful, powerful, inviting, soothing---all those things.  But we love the ocean by Keeping It Clean.  We give back to the ocean.  We take care of the ocean.  We LOVE the ocean!  When you really love something, you will protect it and take care of it.

Here are a few pictures that a couple of volunteers took of the items they have been cleaning from the beach.

Saturday, May 23--KIC Volunteer, Pat Tillery removed this trash from WB.

Saturday, May 30--Pat removed this trash from the same stretch of beach.  What a difference in the amount of trash in just one week.  Guess beach season is upon us!  Please Keep It Clean and double check the sand to make sure you only leave your footprints.

KIC Volunteer, Suzanne Gooding and her daughter, Isabel removed this metal oil container from a tidal pool at WB.  Thank you Suzanne and Isabel!  We all know that oil and water don't mix well.  

Both sides of the Atlantic--June 1, 2015

Today was our first walk of the season because we have been in Ireland for the past two weeks.  Yes, we picked up trash there too--we couldn't let the other side of the Atlantic go unswept!  We had a great time in Ireland and it was absolutely beautiful!  But, we are both glad to be back in the warm, sunny climate of Wrightsville Beach, NC.  We are also thrilled that WB got a nest while we were gone!  Woot Woot!

Powers Court water fall hike and Clean-Up, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher hike and Clean-Up, Ireland

Inch Beach Walk and Clean-up, Ireland

Although it was nice and warm this morning on WB for our sunrise walk, there was no breeze; so the noseeums were almost intolerable.  However, a few bugs have never stopped us!

We continue to see some of the same old things (litter) and patterns on the beach.  But, if we focus beyond the trash, we are reminded of what is familiar and good--the warmth, the beauty of the sunrise, and people with whom we have been sharing our morning walks year after year.

Every year, we see this man exercising with weights on the beach and I'm sure he sees us with our litter bags.  Neither of us have ever spoken to the other, but we exist on this strip of island together, enjoying the natural beauty that it offers.  I mean, if you have to exercise, you might as well do it with a view; and if you are going to pick up litter, that is better with a view too, right?

Gigi was glad to return to her patterns as well.  She is happy we are home and she is happy to once again be a part of my "Trash Sorting Monday".

We collected the following trash:

18 cig butts

73 food wrappers (I count any kind of packaging that was around food products including the sippy straw sleeves)

1 foam take out container

13 plastic bottle caps

4 metal bottle caps

7 plastic lids

18 straws

7 pieces of cutlery

3 pieces of rope

1 piece of fishing lure

1 package for fishing lure

2 balloon pieces

1 cigar tip

2 cigarette lighters

13 foam pieces

19 plastic pieces

3 plastic bottles

2 aluminum cans

1 plastic grocery bag

1 Ziploc bag

1 plastic cup

1 foam cup

2 strapping bands from chairs

1 cigarette carton (our beach is non-smoking and these weren't smoked)  :-/

1 bikini top insert

23 toys

2 towels

1 flip and 1 flop

1 pair of sunglasses

1 pair of reading glasses

2 plastic zip ties

2 long balloon or gift ribbons

20 pieces of paper--lots of tags from purchased items

1 plastic flosser

2 tubes of chap stick

We also saw a Portuguese Man O War!  There are lots of reports on our coast this year of this jelly.  Please be careful as a sting from this beautiful guy is quite painful!

Happy Picking and Clean Oceans!

Ginger