May 1, 2018

Comments for a Cause – Trails, Lighthouses, Sea Turtles and More

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I know what you are here for today. After all it is May 1st. This past month we have enjoyed spring like weather but had plenty of days of rain (and snow in the colder states) to allow some great reading weather snuggled under a blanket with a couple of cats which fit right in with my April Comments for a Cause – Imagination Library.

There is nothing better than a book and Imagination Library, the brainchild of Dolly Parton, allows children early access to books of their own. I shared more about this amazing program in my post that you can read by clicking here.

Chris and I are happy to report that we will be making a donation of $150 to help get books in the hands of children . How wonderful is that? Books and children just go together, don’t they? Thank you for your comments and your dedication to coming to read about my little piece of life here day after day. It means a great deal to me.

We do love to travel and my blog has become a sort of travel journal at times. If you have followed me for any length of time you know of my love of everything beachy. It is my happy place and these past few days I have had the luxury of being on vacation with the family at Fripp Island, South Carolina. While on Fripp we have visited a place we love that we have been to several times in the past. Hunting Island State Park is located just before the bridge that we take to Fripp Island. It is a lovely state park and we have really enjoyed our visits there.

It seems only fitting that I select the Friends of Hunting Island as a Comments for a Cause recipient this month. What I was really trying to figure out was how to help support the wildlife, specifically the loggerhead turtle population. If you are unfamiliar with the efforts to help preserve loggerhead turtle nests it is a massive effort in various places where they nest. The area on Fripp Island and Hunting Island are the perfect habitat for nesting loggerheads.

This video shows how all sea turtles lay their eggs and how hatchlings find their way to the sea. The loggerhead turtle is not featured in this video but the process is the same.

There are plenty of suggestions of how to help save the loggerhead turtles and their nests.

Remove all debris from the beach especially including plastics. Plastics and plastic bags primarily can resemble jellyfish which the turtles eat and can be deadly to them.
Remove all chairs and umbrellas from the beach so they do not become entangled in them.
Fill in any holes from umbrellas and sand castle building as these are huge obstacles for hatchlings on their way to the water.
Avoid any nests or nesting activity even though it is very tempting. Tampering with marked nests is a violation of state and federal law.
Artificial lights are very hazardous to the turtles and hatchlings so they are not to be used during the active turtle season
Ghost crabs are predators and traps can be made to catch them. How to build a Ghost Crab Trap.

Supporting the efforts of The Friends of Hunting Island will not only help with turtle preservation (hopefully I will be able to adopt a nest) but will also help keep the park running. The lighthouse, grounds, restoration, beach maintenance, educational experiences are all things that will be aided with donations. It seems like the perfect Comments for a Cause for a nature and beach lover like me.

This month for every comment made on any post on It’s Just Life we will donate 50 cents to The Friends of Hunting Island (capped at a $500 donation).This will be a great effort to make a small difference in many areas and I hope that you will come back often to read and leave a comment. As always, thank you for your support.

Please feel free to connect with the social media avenues that are listed at the bottom of the post to stay current with the efforts and activities of The Friends of Hunting Beach. I have also included some other links that might interest you as well.