Memorial Day 2016

May 30, 2016

Two years ago on Memorial Day, John and I found a sea turtle nest.  We had high hopes of doing the same this year, but that was not to be the case.

Today was a beautiful cloudy morning on the beach, with a nice sea breeze.  Tropical Storm Bonnie is brewing somewhere out there, but our world seems like any other overcast day.

I was listening to the sound of the ocean as I removed plastic bags from the dune line and wondered if the ocean's song had turned sad.  It is hard to imagine all of the garbage that rests in the belly of this beautiful beast.

Oh well…I am thankful to be able to do my part and to collect what I can before it is swallowed up by the ocean's tide.

A helium balloon whose paint has been washed off.  It now looks like a clear plastic bag or perhaps a jelly fish to a sea turtle

American plastic toys are littering our planet.

Here is a total of what we carried off the beach today:

21 cigarette butts
45 food wrappers/packaging
10 plastic bottle caps
11 plastic lids
12 plastic straws
5 paper straws
1 plastic spoon still in plastic wrapper
3 balloons
2 pieces of plastic construction ribbon
5 foam pieces
9 plastic pieces
8 plastic bottles
2 aluminum cans
3 plastic grocery bags
3 other plastic bags
1 paper cup
10 plastic cups
3 foam cups
38 plastic packaging items
1 strapping band
3 tobacco wrappers
8 articles of clothing (mostly shoes, 2 bikini top inserts)
1 towel
14 toys or toy pieces
1 surf wax glob
1 chap stick
1 dog treat rawhide
2 band aids
4 hair ties
1 pair of cheap sunglasses
1 battery operated candle
4 wets ones and 6 paper towels
1 fishing bobber and 1 fishing lure
1 huge plastic raft that is pulled behind a boat
1 plastic shower cap

We remember and thank all of those who have given so much!  Please Have a Safe Memorial Day.

Peace and Clean Oceans,
Ginger

Below are some of my sights on this Memorial Day…

Runner dressed for Memorial Day.

John looking for trash after our turtle walk.  Love him!

Nancy Faye Craig, Wrightsville Beach's all time best and favorite volunteer.  Love her.  She rides her bike almost everywhere and she can run faster and further than many people years younger than her.   We see her most every Memorial Day and July 4th riding with the American Flag on her bike.  So glad we got to see her today!

Beginning of KIC Season 2016

KIC Season starts at the same time the sea turtles start returning to our coast to nest!  That makes me excited!  And although the trash is an irritant--I do it for the sea turtles, I do it for the whales, I do it for the dolphins, I do it for the birds, I do it for me and I do it for YOU.  I don't mind so much because I owe a lot to Mother Ocean and picking up trash is the least I can do.

John and I have been walking our zone for two weeks thus far (on Mondays).  It has been a wee bit chilly, but the trash has not been so bad (yet).  As usual, the sunrises have been Amazing!

We love returning to our patterns on the beach, such as running into good friends year after year and  the return of the American Oystercatchers.

John and Ralph talk early morning story.

American Oystercatcher if I identified correctly.  :-)

Here is what we collected in our reusable trash bags for the past two weeks:

One of our rescue cats, Ringo Starr is suspicious of all this trash sorting.

19 cigarette butts---WB is a non-smoking beach
40 food wrappers
13 plastic bottle caps
4 plastic lids
12 straws
2 cigar tips
1 firework (already???)
11 plastic pieces
9 plastic bottles
1 glass wine bottle
3 aluminum cans
2 plastic grocery bags

2 Ziploc bags

1 foam cup

7 pieces of plastic packaging

4 strapping bands

3 tobacco packaging

1 pantie liner (YUCK!)

8 articles of clothing

1 towel

14 toys or toy pieces

1 credit card knife (who carries this???  I didn't even know this existed.) 

 9 pieces of ripped tshirt fabric

1 pacifier

5 paper towels

3 wet ones

3 plastic tent stakes with very long ropes attached

1 hair tie

1 pair of scratched sunglasses with leash

1 pair of broken sunglasses

John almost missed the man sleeping in the hammock.  Look closely, at one point the ocean was underneath him--how relaxing!

Keep It Clean Y'all!

Peace and Clean Oceans,

Ginger