First it was severed feet washing ashore, now it is empty bottles of rat poison. The bottles, which have thus far been empty, have been washing up on Washington shores since last fall. That spring trip to the coast is sounding less appealing every day.

The Department of Ecology warns people to stay away from any silver one-liter canisters with red or white caps, that are found on the beach. (No word on what to do if you happen to find a two-liter canister or a blue-capped silver bottle.) The Coast Guard says the bottles are used on ships to carry poison to kill rodents. The Coast Guard is currently investigating the origin of the bottles.

Seattlest thought this photo was adequately bleak to go with the story, courtesy of Seattlest Flickr Pool Contributor, stormyafternoon