Tim Adams, author of this post, took this photo on the day that he helped clean up a section of the Monocacy River.
Hey there, folks! It’s been too dang
long since we last visited – it’s like I always say, time flies
when you’re playing in mud with your dog. Speaking of which, I was
at the river not too long ago doing just that when I noticed my
white-bearded, wiry-furred Scottish terrier, Tattles, had excused
herself from the river party for two and was gravitating toward a
patch of tall, thick grasses. With her ears pinned back so far that
they looked like they were taped to her head, she continued toward
the grasses transforming into a creeping and methodical prowler that
would have made a queen lioness proud! By this time, I had quietly
speed-walked and caught up to her to see what the big deal was and,
just in case, to protect that black and white fur ball from any harm
or evil-doing. Tattles looked up at me with her wise, but sharp dark
brown eyes piercing through her overgrown, unkept brow, then returned
her focus back to the mysterious dancing grasses. She began to lean
her wet snout in for some good old fashioned olfactory
reconnaissance, but, before she could, I stepped in front of her and
reached out with both hands and parted the green grass fountain like
a bad hairdo – I couldn’t believe what I saw! To Tattles delight
and my absolute dismay, we stumbled upon an all too familiar beast I
dread coming across at the river, in the woods or anywhere else for
that matter: a dirty, rotten, filthy collection of loose garbage
tucked into the grasses and scattered along the scenic part of the
Monocacy River shoreline!
Now that my detective work was
complete, it was time for Tattles and me to get down to business –
Operation Spick and Span (her idea, not mine) was now in place.
Stocked with rubber gloves, trash bags and a basket for recyclables,
we began our crusade for a crystal clean river. From the get go, the
bearded lady and I had our had our gameplan in full affect. I picked
up every piece of water-logged trash that my eyes spotted, while
Tattles sniffed out and hunted down the more hard to find pieces.
Good Girl! We came across everything from a tire to baking sheets to
a foldable chair, and everything in between – this is surely no way
to treat Mother Nature. After about a half hour or so, Tattles
thought it would be best if she lay down, stretch her paws and pass
out in the cool dry sand like she was hit by a tranquilizer dart. Bad
girl! With Tattles napping, I was left to scoop up every scum-soaked
piece of waste in that quarter mile radius. Five trash bags and a bin
filled to the brim of recyclables later, our little slice of the
river was back to the way it should be – clean and shiny.
Look at all the trash that Tim managed to gather by himself as his terrier, Tattles, took a nap!
Listen, I didn't tell you this story to
shine a spotlight on how awesome I am or how easily being great comes
to me – my illustriousness is a bonus gift just for you (wink). But
seriously, I decided to tell this story to remind people that we only
have one planet and we should treat the blue and green ball with the
utmost respect. We can all do our small part by cleaning up after
ourselves and properly disposing of our trash and/or recyclables.
Plus, if we all chip in and give our best effort, that will free up
even more time for Tattles to catch up on her beauty sleep – not
that she needs it. Good girl!
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