There is no doubt about it, Spring has arrived in the north.
The snow is melting, the mud is returning the birds such as the red-breasted robins are singing their songs and searching for food.
The days are getting longer and the temperatures are getting warmer.
However, where there are positives in life there are usually negatives to balance things out and there is one big yuck when the snow melts and that is all the garbage that seems to be uncovered from so many throwing their trash out of their windows or their pockets.
While I will never understand the logic behind this for those who do this, I do know every year I am continuously amazed at the sights the ditches behold.
While out riding our bikes this past weekend it seems that every few feet there was some kind of rubbish laying in the melting snow or mud.
Now I know that there are many programs such as adopt a highway and that the many schools always get out and take their students to clean up sections of our northern roads and of course the Ministry of Transportation
and Highways picks up the bigger stuff such as tires and car parts that seem to have been lost in the winter weather.
Yet, when it comes to trails and many of the side roads or our town streets, it would be great if we all helped out.
If one is out hiking in the woods or on trails and they see a wrapper or bag, it sure would be great if everyone took a minute and picked it up.
At this time of year I never go out without a least a few plastic bags in my pockets and I make sure if I see it, I don’t leave it.
While this works for most things there are two things that people probably shouldn’t pick up, cigarette butts and dog dodo.
However, when it comes to these two things, they should never be left behind in the first place.
In cities dog owners must pick up after their dogs, it’s the law.
Yet up in the north we don’t have those rules and while dog poop in the woods and along the roads will eventually disappear it sure is an unpleasant thing to smell or step in.
While many people no longer smoke now a days, there are still a few diehards out there and as for their cigarette butts, I really wish they would carry their own bag and reconsider throwing them on the forest floor or at the edge of the lakes, parking lots and streets.
They take up to 30 years to disintegrate and really are quite disgusting for many of us.
So if smokers could keep their butts in the garbage cans, it would be great and if dog owners can take their dogs remains with them when they are in a public place, it would be appreciated by many and Spring will smell and look that much better for everyone!