Trash is complete and ready to hit the road.  He debuts at the Longboat Key Turtle Watch members meeting this Sunday, 17 November.   Wonderful news.   This Red Snapper is coming along for the ride.  Stay tuned for photos of TRASH after his debut.   Turtle Trash Blogger Out

Yes indeed.  With only one eye left to go, Trash the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Sculpture took it upon himself to keep his one good eye on the Tour de Turtles.   Can you believe it?  He is not even complete, yet he is already swimming for the starfish.   Must be that log of a head he has. 

He insists that he be fully prepared just in case the Sea Turtle Conservancy calls him to enter the race.   So be ready...Trash will have his own trashy version of satellite telemetry.  If that happens, you can bet that the  Longboat Key Turtle Watch volunteers will be cheering their Trashy turtle all the way.

Holy flippers turtle lovers, you can even bet the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring and every other turtle watch group will be all over Trash, urging him on. Trash is so full of holes, he thinks he might even get a nod from the LBK Observer or the AMI Islander or even the AMI Sun.  I had to tell him to pull up his plastic plastron when he went so far as to start with being on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  He didn't even fall apart.  No siree, this trashy turtle just looked at me with his one eye and then started straightening his trashy carpace just in case.   As he says, who knows, maybe Broadway some day.  At that point I didn't have the heart to tell him that Broadway is a Longboat Key Beach, not the big stage.   Ahhh, out of the mouths of babes...trashy ones at that.    

It's hard not to fall in love with this guy.  He may be trashy, but he is a turtle ambassador and educator with messages for the young and old.  He wants to go out into the world and tell about how he became the sea turtle that he is.    He will never need to fill out an application to do that, that's for sure.  Why?   Well, one look at him says it all.   He knows it so he is preparing to go out into the world...in a cloud of dust and a herd of turtles...educating one and all.   As he says, if one person can make a difference, well then ONE SEA TURTLE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, and he is that...ONE TRASHY SEA TURTLE. 

AND finally...tomorrow, Veteran's Day, Trash will get his other eye and be complete.  Check back later for more updates.

From Trash and myself--a US Army veteran who served this great nation--of ours for 28.5 years--we wish all those who have served and who are currently serving and to their families and friends who supported them, a peaceful Veteran's Day tomorrow.  Remember those who are not with us...those that gave their lives so that we can live free...NEVER FORGET.    Hans Taeger and Cory Ortiz...always in my heart.

Flippers are flapping everyone.  Only three scutes and two eyes and Trash the Turtle will be complete.   It has been a long journey but so rewarding.  I am looking forward to Trash debuting his trashy shell...quite impressive if I say so myself.   17 November 2019 Trash will make his debut at the Longboat Key Turtle Watch Members Meeting, and what a story he will tell.  So, no more photos of Trash until he is complete and has made his debut then I will post photos here so please check back.    In the meantime, here are some fun photos of some of Trash's relatives who can't wait for Trash to tell his story about what they have to swim through.   

We turtles may be slow but an artist building a sea turtle sculpture from trash is slothful. Word around the turtlehood is that wendell may be incredibly creative, but she sure is lousy with tools.   I won't even bore you with some of the names Olive, Kemp, Flat, Hawk, Green, Leather and I came up with after watching her trying to figure out how to turn on the electric screwdriver. Jiminy flippers!  Entertaining to say the least...glue, thread and needle, screws...holy turtlehood.   Well, enough about an artist's tool skills, let's get to the good stuff.

Do you know how fast we sea turtles can swim? according to sharkreef.com, sea turtles can swim in bursts of 22 mph...not bad eh?  AND...we swim thousands of miles each year...WE KNOW HOW TO SAVE ON GAS!

Did you know that there are 7 (seven) species of sea turtles, and I being a gorgeous LOGGERHEAD am one of the seven.  My cousins are named, Olive Ridley, Kemp's Ridley, Leatherback, Flatback, Hawksbill, and Green.

Now the latest in the family gossip is that there is a new sea turtle species being created...by humans, no less.  Can you believe it?   Yes indeed, word has it that it is going to be called a Plasticback.   Hmmm, I wonder why they would think of naming something that?   Of course all the Longboat Key Turtle Watch,  Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, and the many other sea turtle conservancy group volunteers know why....hint, hint...PLASTIC TRASH. 

Be sure to stay tuned to the Turtle Trash Blog for more news on sea turtles and the building of a sea turtle sculpture out of recycled beach trash.   www.fineartbywendell.com ... oh and maybe some more turtle gossip (shhhh...about the artist even).    Remember...BE DIFFERENT...MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  

Happy 4th of September Turtle Trash Bloggers:  Today's efforts went into adding on to the plastron (Turtle belly) using plastic bottles, aluminum cans and other odds and ends--food wrappers and pens--which seem to work well.  All bottles and cans need to be flattened before they are attached which is very time consuming but fun once I start putting them together.   You will see rows which at a later date will be secured together by screws, wire, glue, and/or thread as the plastron of the turtle.  

As this sculpture build gains momentum, I see what I am working on but at the same time, see in my mind where I want that particular piece to fit in the sculpture farther down the road.   I am still in the beginning build stage.   As the sculpture moves along, you will see it come together and that is the fun part. 

 As we near the end, I will put out a call for name suggestions so put your creative turtle caps on and be ready.   Thanks everyone.   Until the next blog, here are some photos from today. 

2 September 2019
Hello, hello Turtle Trash Followers...it has been a while but we are making progress.   It took a while to come up for air especially with all those plastic bottles I had to swim through.   Good news is...we have light at the end of those bottles.  Yes, indeed.   Those plastic bottles are now part of the PLASTRON...the underside (aka belly) of the turtle.  Bet you didn't see that coming.  One thing I learned and am passing on to you is, the plastron is made up of nine "9" bones.

(Love Wikipedia at times...see below or go to:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_shell to read more.)

The plastron is the nearly flat part of the shell structure of a turtle, what one would call the belly or ventral surface of the shell. It also includes within its structure the anterior and posterior bridge struts and the bridge of the shell.[4][5] The plastron is made up of nine bones and the two epiplastra at the anterior border of the plastron are homologous to the clavicles of other tetrapods.[24] The rest of the plastral bones are homologous to the gastralia of other tetrapods.

There about 90...yes 90...bottles included in this part of the plastron with more to come.   THAT IS A LOT OF PLASTIC THAT OTHERS LEFT BEHIND ON OUR SHORELINES and in our GULF WATERS that our Longboat Key Turtle Watch volunteers picked up on their daily patrols.  THANK YOU LBKTW.    Ninety less bottles for sea turtles and other marine life to swallow.  

Well, that's it for today turtle trash followers.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for tomorrow's progress on our sea turtle sculpture.
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Only one more turtle trash haul after this one and I start the build of the sea turtle sculpture.  I can't wait especially after this past one...it was nasty.  Read on, AND be sure to watch the video.

I was away for the first week of August but our faithful LBK Turtle Watch was out patrolling for turtle nests, false crawls, and hatchlings, and yes, still picking up trash along the way for my turtle trash art sculpture....THANK YOU.   Surfrider joined in on 3 August for trash pick up...THANK YOU Tahniya Smith and her Surfrider volunteers...and between the two groups...what a haul.   YUK!   It was nasty everyone, really nasty.  We had toys, buckets, towels, plastic bags, plastic bottles, diapers, sanitary napkins, condoms, cigarette butts, cigar holders, cans, balls, shirts, flip flops, pool noodles, and more.  What has gotten into our society?   Why do people do this?    We can all make a difference.  If this blog, these videos and photos, make at least one person change something for the better, say something to help, make a difference then the work by so many on this project will be worth it.   Chime in here and share your thoughts and ideas on how we can make a change. #turtletrash #noplastics #amiislander #amiturtlewatch #lbkturtlewatch #mote #fineartbywendell #turtleart

Turtle Trash haul from the first week of August 2019.