litter

A while back I decided to use a picker and go out and occasionally pick up the bits of litter around our condo complex. One of those “If you want something done, do it yourself” things that has become a primary philosophy of mine. I usually do every Sunday and other days as needed, covering most of the complex and the sidewalks.

Today’s haul looked like this:

I also watered some of the trees in the heritage courtyard this afternoon using a hose with a spring-loaded nozzle (the only way to water with Stage 3 water restrictions in effect). Shortly after I started a crow showed up and stood just inside the range of the water, lapping it up as it fell down on her/him. Eventually three other crows joined in, drinking from the small puddles that eventually formed, showering under the spray, or even attempting a bath in one of the bigger puddles. It was cute. Hopefully these crows won’t attack me now when I enter their turf.

Anyway, this is what I post when I can’t think of anything else. Hopefully my brain will be more inventive moving forward.

And I feel bad.

When I was at the store, I bought a regular-size Aero bar, because I’d just walked something like 4 km and felt I’d earned the bubbly chocolate calories. But I kept the wrapper in a pocket of my hoodie, because I wanted to enter the calorie particulars into my food total for the day, as I do. If I’m going to indulge, I need to track it!

It was sunny and surprisingly warm wearing my lined hoodie, so I took my hands out of the pockets and just let them hang at my sides, like some clever ape. When I put my hands back in the pockets later, the Aero wrapper was gone. Apparently I’d either pulled it out without noticing, or it had just quietly slipped out on its own.

I thought about retracing my steps, but the wrapper could have been anywhere along a 1+ km route and might have blown onto the road or something, so I just kept walking home, feeling guilty.

And it made me wonder, how much litter is accidental? Maybe not a lot, but I know for sure now that some of it is.

In the meantime, enjoy this 1976 McDonald’s anti-litter commercial. I remember this!