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"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Monday, July 5, 2010

Old roads...

(Note: I have spared you the disgusting 'before' pictures and leave you with images of the present day site.)

B.C is littered with roads of the past...old logging roads are everywhere thanks to our history in the lumber industry. 
Some are accessible by vehicle and others are not much more than a wide footpath. These are my favorite, which the woods are slowly taking back, with alder, salal and salmon berry.
 Once logging has been completed, some roads are decomissioned  by placing obstacles such as gates, tree trunks or large burms which cuts off access to vehicles.
The roads that aren't blocked quite often fall victim to the garbage dumper. This is a mentality that I CANNOT wrap my head around.
This mound used to be high with bags full of garbage, old tires, lots of plastic, and general refuse scattered about.
I try to pick up the bits of garbage that I can but usually don't have a very big bag.
Picture this....someone fills up the back of their pickup truck with an old couch, a broken t.v, old roof shingles, large plastic bags of household garbage and drives out to an old logging road.
It could be in the dark or in the light of day.
They dump all their shit out into the bush and drive away. 
I guess for them its 'out of sight, out of mind'.
 One such place was King Creek, a tributary which flows into Kemp Lake, directly up the road from me.
  Some people just don't think that there are other living things around besides themselves...
About a year ago a local organization, called The Juan De Fuca Trail Society, decided enough was enough and cleaned the place up.
 I think they took away 5 large dump truck loads of garbage and built a few burms to keep traffic out.
 It is now a lovely place to walk with the sound of birds...
 ...and  glimpses of bear and deer once in a while. I found this bit of bear fur on the trail today...
 I thank these people for their random act of conservation and I now try to pick up any trace of garbage left by the side of the road here so as to dicourage others.
These woods are being respected and reclaimed.
The society has posted signs and encourages others to get to know this lovely spot...
Of course Rosie and Griffin love to go for a ramble any day...



One way or another we can all do something small which adds up to something big.

2 comments:

Cobalt Violet said...

How happy do your puppies look? That last shot is classic! Such a happy dog! ... the daisies and purple flowers are so pretty. I am feeling the need for a walk in the woods Kerry!

Sherry O'Keefe said...

where i grew up, we had to drive the road to the dump (but then, kept driving along the missouri river for another 4 miles). could never understand why people would drive PAST the landfill to dump their garbage in otherwise pristine gullies and ravines. argh!