Friday 14 January 2011

What makes people act like this?




From the three photographs above you will see that yesterday our lane looked absolutely exquisite. There was a warm breeze and the sun shone as Tess and I went on our afternoon walk. As the sun caught the top of the stand of alder trees, it was possible to see the first faint tinges of red - Forty Acre Wood looked magnificent and the ride was full of pheasant who have so far escaped the guns.

Walking down the lane I kept meeting people out with their dogs or walking a few cattle up the lane to winter housing and all stopped to ask after my health; news travels in these parts and it is not nosiness, it is genuine concern. I arrived at the wood feeling really good.

Why then was my feeling shattered by the fact that some idiot had actually dumped an old refridgerator by the side of the lane. If we ring the council here they will collect old fridges etc., or we can take them to our local tip. Why then is it necessary to spoil the lane for everyone by dumping it on the verge?

Then coming back home I counted eleven cider tins thrown from passing car - I presume all from the same car as they were identical. Sometimes one's belief in peoples' good sense is sorely tried.

today's aros: alder catkins shine red in the low sunlight.

22 comments:

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I don't know, it's a shame but your lane, oh it is calling me. I can hop on a plane and be there sometime say, Sunday probably. Is that too far to go just to enjoy a stroll down a delightful lane?
Your post reminded me of a story. One time, about a week after Christmas, my father was taking our now dead tree out to the recylcing plant. When he got there, it wasn't in the back of the truck - somewhere along the way it must have flown out or something. He couldn't find it anywhere. It's still a mystery to us (though I'm guessing a fridge flying out of the back of a pickup would have been slightly more noticable).

Tess Kincaid said...

Your lane is just magical. I don't understand why lazy idiots do what they do. Sad. (However strange, I actually found myself wanting to see a pic of the said dumped fridge.);)

Pondside said...

We have the same problem over here. People don't want to pay to dispose of large items so they come out to the country at night and leave them. Our very small rural community, with its very small budget then has to pay to remove the junk. From time to time the dumpers have been caught and shamed in the newspaper, but still they go on dumping...mattresses, fridges, bags of trash.....

Dominic Rivron said...

I'm with Tess. Wot? No picture of the fridge??

ps does it work?

MorningAJ said...

Pretty soon the petrol price will be so high that people won't be able to afford to drive to the countryside to dump rubbish. Unfortunately my village is en route to a lot of places so I suspect that our abandoned refuse will increase. It's the same everywhere, sadly.

Heather said...

It's the same in many parts of the country Pat. Find a lovely dell in a wood and it will probably have an old mattress or half a motor bike in it. Lay-bys are another handy dumping ground. There is little excuse for tipping rubbish these days when our councils' refuse and recycling collections are so good and many of us have easy access to a recycling tip. Some people are just lazy, selfish and ignorant. Apart from the dead fridge, your walk sounded lovely and the lane looks beautiful.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

As much as these types are a blight on the world, they are really to be pitied. It must be dreadful to live without an appreciation for beauty.

Jo said...

"Sometimes one's belief in peoples' good sense is sorely tried."

I'll try very, very hard to remember this sentiment when next the thought rises up within me, "People are such f***** idiots!"

Your lane is so pretty, much like the path I walk. So glad it has you there to protect its beauty.

Ann Grenier said...

In our small country town in Rhode Island there is a wonderful lady who picks up cans and such on her daily walk. She leaves the trash here and there at various driveways on her route for pickup by other neighbors, which allows her to collect more trash than she could otherwise carry. She has learned which neighbors appreciate her "service" and who is quite upset by a pile of junk beside their mailbox. Makes one ponder the motivations of all involved in the transaction ---

Elizabeth said...

On the whole most people are OK
and not anti social
one rather wants to take the offending item and dump it on the dumper's doorstep.....!!!
Sadly, I'm with the gang who want to see the ugly fridge pic.....
Are we very perverse?
Still cold here.

word verification
rerapper

I never knew you raped in the first place....
(rather lame joke on my part!)

George said...

The fridge was left by an inconsiderate idiot, Pat. Perhaps you can take solace from the fact that we have more of that species per capita in our country than you do in yours.

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

Our continuing anger at people hurling trash out of their car windows is what started us on our pick up the trash campaign, and it seems to have had an effect. We have not walked our regular road for several weeks because of our son's health issues and bitter cold but no new trash has appeared on the road. Of course, trying to pick up a refrigerator is a different matter,

steven said...

yes weaver it's difficult. jo - it's a really good next step to move out of anger and into frustration and especially the question . . . what can i do to help prevent this or manage it? i gather garbage (or rubbish as weaver would know it). it's unlikely i'll meet the people droppng it or the people following me along the path who will never know that it was there in the first place. that's how things can be done . . . gently!!! steven

Mary said...

The first photo is so beautiful - looks like an oil painting. I visited the most amazing house in Northern California last Summer - all the interior woodwork was alder, absolutely stunning!

I can't recall ever seeing trash in an English wood when growing up - makes one realize many people have too much stuff and too little pride these days.

Anonymous said...

Found you via another site, and had to have a nose! Love your dog, and so agree with your feeling annoyed and upset, your mood altered, by the sight of litter thrown on the side of the road, and the fridge! Presumably the council would remove it if you reported it?
But like you, I don't know why people do it, can only assume it is the kind of people who live in those dreadful council estates with front gardens littered with old cars and so on, and so the thought 'how would they like it if we threw rubbish into their garden?' probably carries no weight. They wouldn't even notice!
But I live in a rural area too, drive through woodland to get home from town, and to see bottles, tins and fast food containers just thrown out onto the grass verge really ticks me off! I'm the kind of woman who, if she sees someone dropping litter,would be the one to pick it up and give it back to them, with a polite smile and a 'Think you dropped this?' comment.

Dave King said...

I suspect that there is no answer to your question, or that there are as many answers as there are people who do these things. Whatever causes such behaviour it seems gross to dignify it with the tag "reason". I am sure that reason does not come into it. Perhaps we should teach reason as a life subject in our schools and sacrifice a few of the frills?

weaverpat said...

Hello, Pat!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
I have come here and read your blog from time to time but have never left a comment, mostly because I feel rather awed by those of you who write so well.

What a shame that someone chose to dump a fridge beside your lovely lane. As if there are not enough other things that need to be done, you are now responsible for disposing of a large unsightly item. I can only imagine your dismay when you came upon it!

I hope your lane is restored to it's usual beauty in a very short time.
How nice that you can stroll and enjoy chatting with your neighbors.

Golden West said...

We have a similar problem along our railroad tracks... People leave mattresses and big sofas and lounge chairs constantly, all much less impervious to the weather than a refrigerator - it's disgusting!

Happily, our beaches are almost pristine and it is rare to see trash of any kind along the shore.

bibbitybob said...

I just discovered your lovely blog. I am almost a next door neighbour (if counties count, I'm in Lincolnshire!) so thought I'd say hello :) x

Rarelesserspotted said...

There's as much if not more effort to dump it in the lane than take it to the tip... People do it deliberately - to cock a snoot at society and order.
Great pictures.
X

The Weaver of Grass said...

Do you think Rare Lesser Spotted is right? I had never thought of it like that - but if so, then what a sad reflection on society.

Thanks for the comments.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I hate all the rubbish too, I filled a whole bin bag with discarded bottles from along the Water of leith today.

Thanks for your comment on my post about the hornbeam, it's only native to the south of England, so you may be too far north, unless there are some introduced in your area like they have been to Edinburgh