Ormiston, East Lothian: The start of the year can be a real drag, but luckily there’s a ray of sunshine in the form of a bunch of aconites on the side of the road. The yellow splashes are almost too hard to spot, especially when you’re speeding by in a car. But fear not, the keen eyes of my dad caught sight of these beauties the day before and made sure to point them out to me and my mum.
We hopped over the crash barrier and landed softly on last year’s dead leaves. What we saw next was a sight for sore eyes – a gorgeous hillside completely covered in winter aconites, the biggest patch we’ve ever seen in Scotland! We couldn’t believe our luck! We were practically skipping through a field of gold! Almost.
The only problem was that the aconite field was littered with cans, bottles, and all sorts of rubbish. We could barely make out the ones that had been there for a while – they were so well camouflaged by dirt and leaves. It was clear that whoever tossed them out of their cars had absolutely no regard for the wildlife or the badgers and foxes that surely lived nearby. Not only does this debris ruin our beautiful natural landscape, but it’s also posing a real threat to our furry friends.
Don’t get me wrong, the aconites were a refreshing reminder that new growth is always just around the corner, but now we have to worry about the little guys having to navigate through a minefield of trash to get to their homes. So, next time you’re driving around, take a second to think about what you’re tossing out the window – it could be ruining someone else’s field of gold.
