Humans who leave their trash in nature

The sky is dark with few breaks from rain. It's been like this for days.

Mud has completed its annual takeover of the park. All the trees are bare and even the great Willows have broken branches from the weight of the snow.

The lake sleeps. At its edges, ducks huddle in the brush. Silence can be heard in between the sound of rain on wet leaves.

Neo and I meet only a couple people and their dogs. Smiles are shared as the dogs sniff.

Few people come here on days like this. Neo would stay in his bed if I gave him a choice, curled up like an armadillo by the old baseboard heater.

The photographers come in the fall when the leaves begin to change but only on sunny days. They try to capture the beauty. They all miss moments like these when it has rained and the clouds break with no one around to witness the land light up, like a fragile crystal. I swear, in those moments the trees celebrate.

I'm at the lake almost everyday. It's more like a giant pond than a lake. The land used to be marsh, before people "improved" it by cutting off the natural watershed. Thanks to them, I can enjoy a park with everyone, but the lake is stagnant, sitting in a small valley.

Levels of human garbage and animal waste are high enough that on some days the park board closes the lake to swimmers by placing signs warning of the health risk.

On sunny summer days people flock to the park. It's quite a sight to see all the people. There are families, partiers, ball tossers, slack liners, hoola hoopers, loungers, dogs, and on some days, the circus people show up to balance and juggle.

One day a man in a 19th century suit, complete with top hat and cane, walked briskly through the park while loudly whistling a jaunty tune. Going to the park in the summer can be an experience.

But when they all leave Sunday night, the regular park users, who rely on the park daily, are left with boxes, bags, cups, straws, cigarette butts, beer cans, scraps of all kinds of food, chocolate, cake, and chips scattered around the oasis. Many times, the worst mess is left by family parties.

The stupidity is mind boggling. Maybe some people think the park board cleans the park.

Some human foods are poisonous for dogs and wildlife and I don't think everyone knows this. One couple was surprised when I told them that feeding the ducks Wonder bread was bad for the ducks and the dogs who ate the scraps.

Another time I had to stop a family from hiding chocolate Easter eggs in the grass in the off-leash area. But how were they to know? There is one sign with a map showing the off-leash boundaries, and it's always covered with flyers.

Human food attracts coyotes too. Last summer two were shot. The poor things were starving. Maybe they would come for the baby ducks anyway.

Still, the ecosystem is being poisoned.

The park board has a "master plan" to "improve" the park, which has been in the works for three years now. More and better signs is on the agenda as well as a fence for the off-leash area.

I'm skeptical the garbage problem will be solved. 'Do not litter' signs can be counter-productive. So, maybe I'll try making a funny sign for this summer. One that informs rather than imposing a rule that can't be enforced.

Regular park goers I've talked to agree, we don't want more by-law officers patrolling in bullet proof vests. Yes, they really do wear bullet proof vests, in case you think that's unbelievable.

I don't know if signs will have any effect though. It can be so frustrating.

It's such a beautiful park. The business of humans surrounds and threatens it.

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@skypal

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