03/12/2012 - Upper Dog River

Header Image is a panorama merge of 3 photos. The scene depicts the failure of modern land based automated trash collection systems. It also shows the result of not having any water based trash removal system whatsoever. What would your yard look like if no one ever came by to pick up the trash? Like this? Who is in charge of this waterway? City of Mobile? Corps of Engineers? Fish and Wildlife? Coast Guard? Marine Police? Navy? Why aren't they removing the hazardous materials out of the water on a regular basis? Someone should be fired!

I didn't have to paddle very far north of Dog River Park to see the result of this morning's brief rain. It wasn't gully washer type rain so trash was light.

Someone removing litter away from their dock. 

The incoming tide pushed this trash into a little cove.

Not only does someone have trash on their shoreline, but they have to look at this trashberg stuck in the middle of the river.

A fallen tree does well at trapping some of Mobile's drainage ditch litter ... until the tide pushes it back up river.

This is the beauty you get for paying higher taxes for waterfront property in Mobile. Instead of putting up fences to keep in dogs, you have to put up fences to keep out the litter.

Another corner on Dog River where the tide has pushed litter.

A wood duck and his wife. That is a television in the water behind them. Believe I'll start a poll. How long will the TV sit rotting in the water before the authority in charge of the waterway decides to remove it? If you say, Never, you might be the winner.

It is rather sad that when I finally do get a closeup photo of a wood duck, the scene is ruined by litter. Thanks Jonesy!

If I was taking photos in the middle of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, I could spend an entire year up there and probably not be able to get a photo of a turtle surrounded by trash. Thanks to Mobile's broken storm water system, it is difficult to photograph wild life in upper Dog River without there being trash in the photo. Yeah, I keep whining, but let me remind you, some of the litter has hazardous chemicals in it.

A couple of red-eye'd coot seeing green.

Another wood duck photo with the obligatory background. Keep Mobile Beautiful my a$$...it is more like the City Council wants Mobile to be known as the trashiest city in the country. Ahh, I remember back in the day where there was no litter and Mobile was known as "Azalea City" and everyone wanted to live here.

Above: A short video showing litter seen in Dog River after today's rain.

The leaders cry, "Don't expect any funding next year, we're broke." Mobile is so broke they are cutting city employee work hours and may shut down parks. Oh, speaking of parks... Mobile found 1 Million to buy Dead Lake Marina and found another 1.5 Million to renovate the Marina. With Alabama oil money, another 2.1 Million was found to build a boat ramp in Baldwin County. So much for fiscal responsibility when money is tight. Houses will be burning to the ground because of planned fire station brownouts, but at least Mobile will have an expensive boat ramp so people can access it's polluted waterways. If you want to bring people back to Mobile, get the LITTER cleaned up!

Congressman Joe Bonner is quoted as saying, "There is a reason people live by the water, and that’s the love of nature and the environment." Hey Bonehead, have you ever been to Mobile's urban waterways? That is the reason people are leaving Mobile.