Where there is one, there are usually more. That was the advice handed down in the truck as we headed off to practice. A good-sized buck ambled across the road not far from our farm.
After midnight on Sunday we caught a glimpse of a coyote jutting over Wellington Road 125. It is the season where wildlife and longer nights intersect. Drivers beware.
This past Monday on the way back from the top end of Brampton there seemed to be a black mass edging onto the road from the ditch. It wasn’t a bear – breaking from the theme of this column. Instead, it was a heap of man-made laziness.
A quick count on the way by suggested about eight tires, disposed of in the countryside.
While the incidences of roadside dumping are less frequent now, we wondered if this signaled the beginning of another cycle where side roads afford a cheap yet illegal method to dispose of refuse.
We have never quite understood the personality type that finds this kind of activity acceptable. Depending on the nature of discarded items, there could be a very harmful outcome for curious wildlife. The offloading of garbage may save a cheapskate the obligatory fee at a transfer station, but it adds to the cost of fellow taxpayers. Someone must clean these drop zones up and often it will be the municipality with a truck, one or two workers and their time. In the case we saw, there was also a safety imperative for the workers involved caused by a narrow road with no place to safely pull over. But hey, somebody got out of paying – aren’t they the clever one.
As the darkness lingers longer, be cautious of wildlife and if you happen to come across an illegal dumper, get a license plate. Those engaging in that disrespectful pastime should be punished harshly.
Memorable experience marred
We attended the World Association of newspapers in 2019 when the Golden Pen of Freedom award was granted posthumously to honour Jamal Khashoggi.
The Saudi-born journalist was murdered in part for his critical columns in the Washington Post.
The outrage of that incident was seemingly rewritten this past week, as U.S. President Trump welcomed the Saudi prince to the White House. We find it incredible that economic interest can so easily wash away past sins.
If that display of incredibly poor taste weren’t enough, the admonishment of a female reporter as “insubordinate” for questioning this crystal-clear hypocrisy was telling. It lends credence to the notion Trump thinks of himself as king.
Authoritarianism is no longer an obscure concept.
It’s on our doorstep.
