Today's blog is dedicated to the Thames Tiger who we came across lolling on the banks of the Thames (at Cliffe Pools in Kent) today - and to all of the beautiful wildlife that lives near this part of the river. When we decided to set off for a walk along the River this morning, we were fully expecting to see plenty of wildlife, and not many people. That is part of the lure of this lesser frequented part of the Thames. But...when I say wildlife, I am referring to the oyster catchers which frequent the old disused piers, and the many waders that stalk up and down the mud, looking for tasty morsels ; the seagulls and terns, and the bright white egrets..... We were not expecting to see a tiger! Neither was Misha, our dog! But, here he is, resplendent. His orange fur blending nicely with the orange lichen to create a crafty camouflage. We quickly turned into wild life photographers :)
The Thames tiger was very cooperative and happily posed for photos without trying to eat us. Once that excitement was over, and we left our tiger relaxing by the water, we carried on our way, and by the time we had covered 2 miles, we had built up quite a collection of plastic characters and other brightly coloured odds and ends. It is somewhat sad that us humans are seemingly unable to dispose of our rubbish in a more responsible way, and although this is a beautiful walk along the river, the detritus and amount of miscellaneous discarded items that we were wading through was quite astounding. Below are a few of the presumably once cherished characters that we singled out from the plastic piles:
And guess who just had to make an appearance, in late November!! Just as we had been complaining about the early advertising of Christmas (it seems to get earlier and earlier each year), then even in the back of beyond of Kent - Father Christmas makes an appearance from beneath a pile of seaweed!!
Once we had eaten our picnic, finished the photo shoot with our new collection of funny/furry friends, we made our way back along the river, back home to Greenwich.
So anyway, on a more serious note, I wonder how much longer our poor planet can put up with this plastic stuff we are inundating it with. Let's spare a thought for the fish, birds and animals that might mistake these brightly coloured inedible morsels for food, and take our rubbish at home.... There is still hope if we decide to look after our rubbish and not throw it in the river!
There is still hope for our planet if we look after it!!
Lost and Found by the River of Amazing Dreams....... I will leave you with a picture of some of the other lost possessions picked up along the river banks. And also, here is a great website which I recently discovered. It is well worth a look.
Enjoy.
http://backoftheocean.weebly.com/
Good bye for now!
Have a great week.
x
Enjoy.
http://backoftheocean.weebly.com/
Good bye for now!
Have a great week.
x