Mixed feelings

I have mixed feelings about these photos. On the one hand, this is pollution. Possibly deadly to plants and animals, probably a sign of the lack of concern on the part of the neighbouring farms and businesses. I worry about it, and rail at the blindness that makes short-term monetary gain so urgent that we merrily go about fouling our own nests, or the laziness that refuses to take the few extra steps to discard our leftovers where they won't endanger our neighbours.

But somehow, in spite of that, they have their own sad beauty. I love the way the sluggish current swirls those soapy suds in the first photo, the patterns they make.

Another ditch. A study in blues and browns.

At Steveston pier, Richmond; bits of rope fiber, wood and other flotsam between a boat and the wharf. The to-and-fro of the waves has pushed them into a feathery pattern.

One more. A ditch dug between new industrial development and the Fraser River, through old bush. Oily, slimy water eroding away the soil. No fish, no ducks in these ditches. But beautiful reflections, browns and greens.

When I was a little kid, I used to love wading in oily puddles, watching the kaleidoscope of colours on the surface of the water. Pure enjoyment.

I didn't know any better.

Now I do; I still see the beauty but it makes me angry, too.