Beauty and the Beast

Beauty - Heron at Arboretum Pond

I was standing by the railings of the Arboretum pond in Nottingham watching the Mallards do very little - yes my life really is as exciting as that, when a thing of beauty happened, which really is a joy for ever.

A Heron gracefully flew in and landed on the central island. This was the first time I'd seen one in the park and it stayed around for over an hour.

It really was a thing of beauty. The Heron belongs to the Ardeidae family, and there are 64 recognised species in this family.

I have no idea which species is in my photograph, except that it seems to be very common in many parts of the country. I was captivated by it, and probably spent far too long watching it walk around the island, as well as slowly walking in the shallow waters of the pond. I guess that its rarity in the pond makes it more interesting and exciting. It really was beauty in the park.

Beast - Bottle in the Arboretum

If only it could have stayed like that. I took this picture as a symbol of the couldn't care less attitude exhibited by many human beings.

Most of the park looked beautiful, with the sun showing up the changing colour of the leaves on the trees, and the laid out flowered areas in full bloom.

However, look at various grassy areas and you could see discarded bottles, cans, plastic bags and a polystyrene chip plate. All of these were in a few yards of one of the many rubbish bins that are in the park.

Some will blame the park authorities for not clearing up the rubbish quickly enough, but I won't, as it was people who made the mess, and my ire is directed firmly at them, for causing a blot on the landscape. I was talking with someone who agreed that rubbish was terrible, and that people were so thoughtless. I disagreed: I preferred to say that people were disrespectful. In what way?

• It is disrespectful of park regulations which says that there should be no glass bottles, and that people should dispose of any litter in the bins provided
• It is disrespectful of other park users who come to enjoy the beauty and peace of the place
• It is disrespectful of the safety of young children who are brought to the park by their parents, and who are inquisitive of things lying around
• It is disrespectful of the dangers to wildlife in the park
• It is disrespectful of the risk to everyone who walks through the park

Now I'm no eco-warrior, but I do try and take seriously environmental matters, as I do believe that we are custodians of this planet. Every one of us has a part to play, and leaving rubbish around for someone else to pick up is being disrespectful of the planet. I was taken aback at how angry I was, as we see rubbish everywhere, but I love that park, and to see parts of it blighted in this way was shocking.

The Heron and the beer bottle showed the Beauty and the Beast today. I know what I'd prefer to see.

Nottingham Arboretum