The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

This year Earth Day falls on Thursday, April 22nd. There isn't much celebration for the Holiday here in Big Sandy. Here in God's Country. Here in the middle of farm and ranch country. I get it. People living in the city surrounded by cement don't have much earth around them to influence them, even if it's just a tiny patch of green in their backyards. I can understand why they would want a day to express the importance of the earth, the importance of nature because they see too little of it.

On the other hand, we are surrounded by nature, and hopefully, we celebrate and find joy every day because of that. Just yesterday, I saw a wild turkey beside the road. A place where I have never seen a turkey before. I enjoy the Robins return each spring and how they cock their heads, listening for worms! Although I scream at the deer for eating my flowers in the summer or destroying a haystack in the winter, I still find them to be beautiful creatures when I see them in the fields! I enjoy the first yellow flower and often think of the many dandelion bouquets I had received from my children when they were growing up. I'm always awakened by the alleluia chorus of the birds early in the morning before the sun is even up. I love the smell of rain and the dance it makes on the window, especially when we need moisture. I love clouds and the color of the sky. I could listen to the ice on a reservoir for hours as it sings its music. Even this morning, once again, the snow covers the branches of the trees, and the sunrise with all it's orange and pinks reflects on the snow. We celebrate the earth because it is a part of who we are. Although I don't think it hurts us to slow down and notice it more.

Darin Genereux

So what should we do to celebrate the day. Take a walk just to breath it in. But in the spring, it's also a great time to take a walk to pick up trash. We don't see it because we aren't looking for it, but it's easy to see in the spring. One of the ugliest trash is cigarette butts. I was reading an article recently and learned that cigarette buts are primarily plastic.

"Cigarette butts are small and tend to go unnoticed, but they are hiding almost everywhere. Contrary to what many believe, cigarette butts are not harmless. They are made of cellulose acetate, a man-made plastic material, and contain hundreds of toxic chemicals, including arsenic. While cigarette filters, or the plastic part of butts, can take up to 10 years to completely degrade, the chemicals they release can remain in the environment for many more years beyond the life of the cigarette butt itself."