“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth.  We are all crew.”

— Marshall McLuhan

It would be remiss for this Summer Creek SOLV volunteer to not pick up some trash on Earth Day. It would be even worse if that volunteer missed a chance to dawn his waders, brave the mud, and get out in the beautiful Oregon sunshine.

A lonely post.

There were a few interesting pieces of trash, most notably a tire. (How does a person drag a tire out into a swamp? Maybe I need to watch more Swamp People.) It was also interesting to see how the drains, which run directly into the wetlands from the streets were also a source of pollution. The vast majority of trash was close to one of these drains, or along the neighboring sidewalks.

Thanks to the removal of a beaver dam, the water was so much lower than last year. That let me go out farther. The reward was a little mystery. There was a single post with barbed wire on it in the middle of the mud.

I associate barbed wire with prisons and ranch lands. Perhaps a farmer owned this piece of suburban heaven in the days of yore. A good mystery is hard to beat, so I’ll keep my eyes out for any old maps which might explain the barbed post’s presence.

No mystery. Just beauty.

The final interesting discovery wasn’t a thing of mystery at all, just a thing of beauty. Several trees were blooming of which I was unaware before today.  I don’t know what make of tree it is, but it made my day.

For better or worse, the earth is the only home we have. It’s packed with surprises, mysteries and beauty. If we keep it clean, it will stay wonderful, rather than becoming landfill.

Happy Earth Day!

Today’s gift of time … Celebrated Earth Day by picking up some trash in the wetland behind our house.