Curtis Cove Report - Dec 4, 2012

Tuesday, December 4. 7:45AM, ~45 minutes before low tide. Another gorgeous sunrise.

It's always a privilege to see this

A weak energy week. The low foreshore pebbles & cobbles were re-exposed, suggesting that all of Sandy's cast-up sand & mud had filtered back down to the sea. Higher up, Sandy's wrack was high and dry, rotting away nicely.

This does not smell good

Lower down the foreshore, especially in the central part of the cove (the southern end of my 150-ft "zone"), lay well-defined bands of wrack laid parallel to the shoreface. These are usually a tell-tale sign of a busy day. They signify just the right kind of energy for lots of small bits of debris to wash in and stay in. Too little energy, they don't form at all; too much and they get pulled back into the ocean with the receding tide.

So, what was it this week? Was the signature accurate?

97 pcs of rope, about 130 ft total

121 pcs of nonrope debris

218 finds:

• Bldg material/furniture: 0
• Foam/styrofoam: 0
• Fishing rope/net: 97 (130 ft)
• Fishing misc.: 90 (8 claw bands, 70 trap vinyl scraps, 7 trap parts, 2 bait bags, trap netting, owner tag, bumper)
• Food-related plastics: 10 (2 bottle scraps, 7 cup scraps, fork handle)
• Food-related glass/metal: 1 (can)
• Nonfood/unknown plastics: 8 (4 bag scraps, toy shovel handle, silicone caulk, crate seal, twist tie)
• Scrap plastics: 12 ( 5 > 1" , 7 < 1" )
• Paper/wood: 0
• Non-plastic misc./unique: 0

70 bits of vinyl lobster trap scraps! The most I had collected since mid-October. It seems the wrack-bands are indeed a good tip of a busy day to come.

There were many disturbing "gems" amid the mess this week.

Mangled & eaten garbage bag lip

Another crate seal - have many so far

Long-traveling/suffering shovel handle

This is our world.

Friday's tragedy broke my heart. I have a 5-year-old daughter who came home on the bus Friday, with a gingerbread house in her hands and a smile & light in her eyes. I write this post today not because I think the world is still normal and plastic on a deserted shore is major news. But because this is what I do. Ours is a beautiful world. That beauty, and the love spawned by it, are eternal. They come from the first spark that permeates all life. Hate & pain & violence & ugliness -- they can't sustain themselves; they can't last.

My heart goes out to all those grieving today.

Running YTD counts:

• Total pcs of litter -- 11237
• Pcs fishing rope -- 2758
• Vinyl lobster-trap scraps -- 4678