This time of year is the time that one who had canals alongside their property must clean them as well as the banks. Every so often there comes a business that dredges the canals. Being a low country, it is important to keep the waterways clear so the water can flow. Flow???, you say? Yes, the water in our canals flows. It goes from low areas to various stages of higher ground and finally out into the North Sea. It is helped along by wind mills and pumping stations. At any rate, our large gardening complex is situated between two railroad lines and there are canals between us and the railroad lines. We must keep our half of the canals clean and the railroad must keep the other half of the canal clean. We stick to the rules, but the railroad company less. It has gotten so bad that when the company dredges now, the white reed roots break off and float on the surface. The bad thing about this is that they can come to rest on our side and take root. This means that our gardens can fill with reed. Reed is a particularly pernicious plant. Reed (Phragmites australis) It is pernicious and invasive. Be glad that you do not have it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phragmites So then Why am I writing about it? Well because we are stuck with cleaning up their mess. Look here at the canal from my garden. Looking westward: Same canal, looking eastwards: The first day, Here is what I removed from the canal bordering my lottie. This was taken from just one place. The next day I removed this from a different locvation on my lottie. Do you see the little bit of open water next to the banks of the canal. All of what I harvested came from just that place. It was as far as I could reach with my rake. Eventually I was able to clear out my half of the little side canal at least. It is just never-ending....like a Tantaluskwelling, as we call it.--an eternal punishment. You guys know the story don't you?--Greek mythology. Tantalus, son of Broteus.
A mess like that would really make me angry! Is there anyway to make the railroad more responsible? Also, do you have to haul the debris away or can it be to something useful such as mulch?
Yes, me too 2OF--Pity the responsible party has no interest. I take this debris away as I cannot afford to take the chance of composting it and spreading it in my garden. If I missed a small piece, it would be disastrous. In fact with all the terrible weeds like bindweed, ground elder and the like I take away and do not compost it on my plots.
It would be tempting to take a cue from Promethius and bestow fire on the far bank. Unchecked reed growth is, after all, a fire hazard. A less felonius alternative would be to emulate Charon and ferry death (in the form of a good weed killer) across the river. A little sip from the Lethe (or a couple of bottles of Guinness) might let you truthfully say "I'm not sure what happened."
Heh,heh,heh--I like the way you think, Evil. To be fair to the rail system, they do keep the reed trimmed twice a year...but that's all for the eye, y'know the worst bit is underground--the roots. Through the years, they have been late, but they always properly did what they were supposed to. It is only the last few years that they have dropped the baton. They do not say it, but I am sure that it has something to do with the economy. The thing is that keeping the waterways clear is a national responsibility and the economy does not change that fact. We shall see how this all plays out.
Those roots look like serious business indeed. You'll be out there with your rake for days if you want to be nationally responsible for yourself AND the railroad. You ought to send them a bill for the cleaning-up you do. Good luck with convincing the railroad that they can't afford not to clean up the canal.
