Our Daily Ocean: Day 226

Having grown up in the midwest, I have always expected winter to be... well, wintery.  Bones chilled, fingers frozen... type of cold.  And growing up, that freezing cold more often than not seemed to set in long before winter arrived.  But now having lived in coastal North Carolina for the past 14 years, I have come to expect the unexpected.  Yes, it may be winter.... but on Sunday, December 22... it was 81˚.

Unfortunately, because of the ocean water temperature being in the 50's, it didn't feel quite as warm at Wrightsville Beach.  But who am I kidding?  It was nice.  It was really really nice.

It was also nice once again to not find much to pick up during our 20 minute beach cleanup.  But no matter, the amount we pick up... it's always worth our time.  Little beach cleanups matter just as much as the ones where we leave the beach with our bags overflowing.    

These little cleanups help to create focus.... remind us that the problem is still there... to look harder and to do more.  We can always do more... 

20 minutes on December 22, 2013 at Access 39

Litter by weight: 1.9 oz

Cigarette butts: 32

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 226 days:

57,348