Dear Litter Bug

Dear Litterbugs,

Do you really believe that tossing your trash out of your car window into the brush of our country road hides it?

It might be out of sight and out of mind for you, but it isn’t for us.

Sometimes it isn’t hard to find at all, like the balloons you release in town that land in the middle of the road. Unless, of course, a bird or other wildlife finds it first and either chokes because it tried to eat it or gets itself tangled in the colorful strings. Believe me when I say when you release these in memoriam of someone, they don’t end up in heaven, but they do help spoil paradise when they return to earth.

Did you know helium balloons can even cause house fires? There was one in Lodi, Calif. not too long ago.

And what about you, the inconsiderate smoker who tosses out butts onto the ground: Have you never seen the heartbreaking photos of wildfires? We would just as soon not lose Our Little House, our lives or that of our animals because of your negligence.

Speaking of fires, how about you, illegal campers who think because property is owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, you are entitled to camp at the end of our road, in an undesignated camping area, leaving remnants of a campfire under a cedar tree (for god sakes). Not only that, you cut a boat launch into a beautiful unspoiled shoreline and leave toilet paper strewn about as if you are the only “public” who would like to have use of the land. This is all illegal, of course, but since you don’t have respect for the wilderness, we doubt you care about laws.

You see, the phrase, “Leave no Trace” isn’t just a catch phrase for us. When we realized our dream of building a little cabin in these beautiful Ozark Mountains, we did everything within our financial means to leave the land untouched. We don’t have a basement because we didn’t want to blast the mountain.

We actually paid someone to monitor the builder and utility company to ensure they didn’t take down any tree that wasn’t absolutely necessary. We could have a lake view, but we don’t. We would rather see trees and live in harmony with the land and animals.

You see, we know we are simply temporary caretakers and feel it is our mission to preserve the beauty so future generations can also live their dream in paradise here.

So, we will continue to pick up the garbage that you leave behind, although we would rather just take in the breathtaking tranquility that surrounds us on our daily walks. But, wouldn’t it just be nicer if you respected it too?

Peace.

A Temporary Caretaker of the Earth