I try not to do too much lawn care - especially pulling weeds. To be honest, I hate the laborious backbreaking job of weeding, which, by the way, takes a toll on my manicure. So I was really impressed when I saw a commercial touting a new gadget. It’s a push spreader that in order to load you simply drop the bag of fertilizer, weed killer or whatever into a slot and start walking. Kill the weeds before they sprout – no weeds - no weeding…I’m impressed.

When it comes to picking up trash, there’s a plethora of cool grabbers that don’t require bending over or squatting. However, most homeowners aren’t bothered by a whole lot of trash in their yards – that is if they don’t live along a highway – then it’s a different story.

We see it everywhere – crumpled fastfood bags, cigarette packs, liquor bottles and soda cans taint our beautiful landscape. If left alone, our highways would be mountains of debris but thanks to the efforts of a few, the mountains are at least, being kept to a minimum.

There are plenty of people (including myself at times) who complain about the lazy, despicable people who disrespect our environment. It’s so much easier to complain about another’s actions or our own circumstances that have been affected by that person’s actions than to do anything about it. Personally, I wish I could throw the culprit into an overgrown blackberry bush but I suppose I would get into trouble with the law. Instead we rely on the efforts of a select few to do the dirty work. And there are countless heroes who have made it their mission to keep our world a cleaner, better place.

When I think about their silent vigil, I am reminded of my own shortcomings. As I sip coffee on my back porch, these individuals are probably preparing for the task ahead. I imagine that after loading their car with the necessary implements such as trash bags, trash grabbers, glove, hat, etc., they’re off to spend hours in the sun (or winter’s cold) bending, picking and cleaning up after a bunch of slobs.

There are plenty of citizens, clubs and civic groups who make take on this perpetual task and they are always looking for volunteers. One local group, Keep Williams-burg Beautiful hosted a Red Carpet Breakfast celebrating The Great American Cleanup.

After a short program and presentation, the members gladly distributed reusable bags and “Reachers” or trash grabbers to everyone (including myself) who attended. And I assume that was not a cheap endeavor.        This group and all the good stewards of our Williamsburg County are to be commended for their hard work. It is through their dedication and proactive stance that keep our heads above the trash and the landscape one we all can be proud of.