Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Sound of Silence

There's an image floating around in email boxes everywhere. Niagara Falls, Silenced. The image is startling. And to be there in person, one can only imagine what it must have looked and felt like standing on the brink...

It brings to mind some feelings that came to me last week, when the county workers brought in their heavy machinery. I wondered what in the world was going on - all that NOISE! Nitro and my little band of Corgis were going CRAZY with yipping and barking!
I looked up the road from our lane (seen on the left of this photo). Oh, they are doing some road repair - that is good! Michigan has received some government stimulus money to repair some roads and highways in the state...but this hardly qualifies as a "Major Road"...wonder what is up with that?Hmmm. It doesn't look like the usual "patch job" that is done out here in the country. Underground cables??? I don't THINK so!Tubes! DRAINAGE TUBES! I am horrified at what they have done! This has been a wetland for years - home to countless species of turtles, spring peepers, frogs and tree frogs,Mallard families, and also families of lovely Wood Ducks!
How COULD they?!?!? The area down below us was FILLED with water! Deer and fox visited, wild turkey would parade by with their young - it was a joyous area each spring when the peepers sang their merry tunes in the early morning and late into the evening...And now...a murky mud hole, quite probably on its way to being a dry dirt cake, useless to landowners, useless to the wildlife. I took my camera with me to check out WHY....and there is no reason I can find for the county to do this to me, to the creatures who are now homeless. We own half of this particular wetland, and I was always told it is against the law to mess with wetlands or to change them in any way by removing water, adding soil to build it up, or other things some folks dream up to get rid of bogs, marshes, and swamps. I am furious this has happened to something I love and hold dear - and I'm going to be looking for answers!
A lovely wetland - SILENCED.

10 comments:

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Those rotten commie bastards! That, in a nutshell, is our government at work....or rather, your state government.
Don't they consult with soil and conservation, sheesh! All that life, thriving....now forever stilled.
Where's my gun.....?
Lord, I need coffee!

Angela said...

I didn't know that it had ever gotten that cold to freeze Niagra Falls! Now that is some serious cold!

Who knows what our governement is up to? I tell you they tell us to stay out of the creeks and to not clean things out of it but yet they can do anything they want to do. I am of the opinion that if it is your land and it runs through your property that it belongs to you! I hope you can get some answers to what and why they did what they did!

Hugs,
Angela

Chatty Crone said...

Don't you wonder who the heck the high ups are - why they decided to do it - and why they don't spent the money on something important - I am so sorry - you sound so heart broken. If you find out the answers tell us.

Long after Saturdays gone . . .

Debra Howard said...

Here in Texas they allow it if they will build another place of the same amount that was disturbed. Sometimes we end up with much better wetlands sometimes not. The nice ones get planted with natural plants and wildflowers which really draw the critters in. Maybe they will do the same there. Sorry it happened. I know it must be disappointing.
Debbie

Scout and Freyja said...

In our neck of the woods it is nearly impossible to touch wetlands. I am so very sorry that a place you love has been disturbed.

farmlady said...

This is such an effective post and your point is well taken. I sure would yell and scream about this to someone. It's outrageous!
How could they do this????

farmlady said...

Oh, and I forgot to say that I love you header and background. It's just beautiful!..., and those angel Corgis, well, little horns would have been just as appropriate but they are really cute.

Old Time Cindy said...

Come on over and visit with me. I'm sharing an award with you!
Living it up at Lakewood,
Cindy

Karen The Graphics Fairy said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your lovely wetlands! Is there anyway that it could be reversed?
What an amazing picture showing the Niagra Falls, I no idea that was even possible.
I love your Corgi Angel header, so cute!

Freya's Human said...

Oh wow, I've heard about Niagra but never saw the pictures of it. Scary!

I hate that they disturbed nature so much in that road project. I wonder if they ever consider the ramification of their work even a little bit.