Having family visit is always fun, trying and hectic, I packed up the kids and went to a neighboring town to a lovely park/greenspace/bird sanctuary thingy for a picnic. After stuffing our faces we went for a wander down one of the trails. I explained again to my children why we don't pick flowers in a park or what i mean to say as i pointed to the signs that say don't pick the flowers as I snuck closer to a large clump of bull rushes. Sighing to myself I remember my mother saying " When I said be an example, I meant a good one" and pouted as I walked away from the rushes and went to take pictures of the turtles and the osprey praising myself for not damaging the eco-system. Turning around we watch a police zodiac towing an over-turned stolen boat into the area and watch 2 tow trucks chug, tug, pull and lift the boat out and load it onto a flat deck. Looking back over the well manicured lawn, planted flower beds and paved parking area as the tow trucks, police cars and bylaw officers each take their own vehicles and drive away, then glance back at the trodden path through trees and bird droppings, I wonder how any of it survives all the pollutant crap we dump into it on a daily basis. How much crap do they spend, spray and wash into the sanctuary and yet the little turtles still swim and the ospreys and herons still eat. Some may see it as a good example of how we can co-exist with our natural planet but maintain the leisures of picnic tables and flushing toilets. I see it as us forcing what our ideals of nature should be and a good demonstration how yes nature can be forgiving, but it still suffers.