I know, I told you I would have posts for you and they have yet to materialize. They are in my head, I swear!
I have found it hard to write this blog -- because I care about the subject matter so much. I spend all day living and breathing this topic at work and the hugeness of the problems facing the natural world leave me often overwhelmed such that I have to flip the off switch when I walk out the office door. It's a self-preservation thing.
Then when I begin writing posts, I find I want to explain EVERYTHING carefully so it is clear and I want to make sure subjects are appropriately placed in context. The result is an entry so long, I don't think anyone would read it and I give up, daunted again.
But I still believe in the project and I hope I have not lost all of you as I try to figure this out! There is so much going on that I want to write about. There are also things going on that I won't write about. I'm not even going to try to elaborate much on the giant oil plumes spewing about the Gulf of Mexico at the moment because I have no words for either my anger or my lack of surprise.
As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill. -Helen Keller
Speaking of feathers...
I will share with you today though, some simply exquisite pieces of wildlife art that I covet with the depths of my soul. I am quite sure that I could not even afford half of one, but that does not stop me from drooling over them. Each is
painted on a feather by Idaho artist Deb Otterstein. She has somehow captured the magic of these wild animals on a medium that is so fitting in its delicacy and grace. If you ever want to just buy me a present, you know, cause who wouldn't buy an extravagent present for a random internet person, you are free to mail me one of these!!
Ok, I work in rivers and streams, this much we know. To get into said bodies of water, there are not always nice easy access points like ramps or trails. So the default method of accessing a stream without trespassing is to enter at a bridge crossing, since the land under and directly around it is owned by the state Department of Transportation, we are legally able to cross that land.
What I have learned from bridge crossings is that people remain lazy, messy, and are terrible spellers to a one. Apparently in the human psyche, a bridge over a stream is synonymous to a landfill entrance. Any particular item you no longer have a use for or would just like to be rid of can just be tossed over the edge of the bridge, either from a moving vehicle or by driving down the embankment. Of course, while you are there, it is also necessary to spray paint your lasting wisdom onto a bridge support. It is best to open yourself up and share your innermost beliefs in these messages. For example, "I love marijuana" or "Tommy Hanson sux" (any intimations towards Tommy Hansons alive or dead are purely accidental) are excellent ways to show the world the depth of your character.
After you have finished this message, you may then feel free to leave your empty fried chicken box and used condom tucked away next to a pylon. That way we will know the exact composition of that enormous turd you left for us in the middle of the trail (Please! Is it that hard to walk 6 feet into the woods when nature calls??!).
Apologies if I have now appalled you, wanderers, but I do not exaggerate. And this is not just one or two bridges we have visited. No, I'm afraid this is a standard issue road crossing.
Other things we have found hurled from bridges (and most of these are relatively common):
Bowling pins
Dead dogs
Dead ducks (that one was a mystery -- maybe they were poached?)
Televisions
Air conditioners
Refrigerators
Cars (this is a KY specialty -- why pay expensive wrecker fees when old Bessie quits on you?)
Cell phones (she meant it when she told you to get OFF the phone or it was going out the window)
CD's
Shopping carts
Shoes (and it's always just one)
Enough coke bottles to replicate Buckingham Palace
Bicycles
More tires than NASCAR uses in a year
Lawn chairs
Clothes
Diapers
Coolers
Mattresses
Basketballs
Street signs
I could go on, but I think we've found just about anything you can think of at least once with the except of perhaps dead people. And that one is just a matter of time, I think! And before you have a mental urge to try to pin this on one particular demographic or another, I can promise you that in the many many hours I have spent at these charming intersections between man and nature, I have seen ALL social classes and types guilty of said hurling. Sometimes furtively, sometimes...not so much. It's both fascinating and depressing -- the former because it appears to be lost on all the hurlers that they are throwing this always-nasty, sometimes-toxic stuff into their own water supply, a poetic twist at which I can only be sadly amused.
I wish I got a quarter every time I found one of those stupid plastic worm cups from the bait stores, I would never have to work again!
Next time you are tempted by euphoric visions of humanity as a noble species, I beg of you, drive to a bridge and keep it real.
A new study reported at
National Geographic News shows that inhaling polluted air (like that normally encountered in cities, that grey haze we have all witnessed) can mutate your DNA in as little as 3 days. This can lead to cancer and other respiratory and cardiac problems.
Awesome.
You could just hold your breath. But then, chances are, asphyxiation will take a lot less than 3 days. So, breathe we must then.
Folic acid (vitamin B9, found in leafy vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens, lettuces, dried/fresh beans and peas, fortified cereal products, sunflower seeds and certain other fruits and vegetable) has promise, showing that it slows down the damage done by pollutants, so keep that one in your diet.
More importantly, we need to put our foot down and demand that air pollution is reduced. Less driving, stricter emissions rules, cleaner energy sources -- be noisy and be noisy often. It is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, so you, wanderers, need to squeak at your elected officials in counties, cities, states, and in Washington to make these issues a priority.
...cause I don't even KNOW what to call this weather. Snow in NC should be illegal! I wave my magic wand and...nothing happens. So happy March, I hope it is sunnier wherever you may be wandering. I have no deeply insightful resources to offer today, but I do have a heads-up for all you gardeners who also like your dogs in the living state:
Many landscape stores sell cocoa mulch -- however, this mulch contains high concentrations of a toxic cocoa compound that, if ingested, can harm or kill your dog. It's sweet smelling stuff with its distinct chocolaty aroma, so Fido will most certainly be tempted. As with all garden products, be sure to check your labels and avoid putting an inadvertent poison within reach of greedy doggy maws!
Speaking of feathers...
