As I was taking Houdini for his morning walk, I couldn’t help but notice that the side of the road that borders our long field was littered with dozens of bottles, cans, fast-food containers and various other pieces of garbage. During the summertime I clean up the roadside at least once a week so that I can mow, but this fall and winter I have sort of let it slide. Big mistake!

Of course we drive down our road every day and see pieces of trash here and there, but until I actually took this rare daytime walk along the edge of the road I had no idea just how bad it really is.

I have always wondered why people feel compelled to litter. Is it an irresistable, childish urge to degrade the look of someone else’s property? Is it because they are too lazy to drive two miles to the landfill? Or perhaps they are simply too dumb to even realize that throwing garbage out their vehicle is a dumb thing to do? Your guess is as good as mine.

I really have no idea what motivates these people, but one thing is clear: They obviously take no pride in their neighborhood whatsoever or they would want to do everything they can to help keep it clean, not mess it up.

Oh well, I guess it’s time for me to shut up, grab a garbage bag, and get down to business. I can only imagine what our place will look like come spring if I don’t!