I braved the chill this past Saturday and joined the Treasure Island monthly beach cleanup. The weather was less than ideal and I was very tempted to stay put in my warm and cozy bed but my insatiable curiosity won. I just had to go see what kind of treasures the last storm left behind.

The recent agitation of the waves must have disturbed the sea floor because the wrack zone was filled with interesting items. There were pieces of sponges and soft corals, even large chunks of hard corals (both stag horn and brain), some wormy driftwood, Sea Urchins, the smallest Moon Jelly I’ve ever seen, a diminutive Brittle Star, a Calico Crab carapace, a lobster claw, a sea turtle scute, some Baby’s Ear Shells, and even two young and brightly colored Horse Conchs.

I filled two bags with trash before I allowed myself any beach combing fun. As you can see, I found lots of treasures (including a shirt that is my size and color)!