Favors

The Start banner is up in preparation for Sunday's 47th Annual Tradition Run.

I thought I'd do the city a favor and pick up trash along the course of the Tradition Run in advance of the event. Overnight rain led into Saturday morning which was going to make for a less than enjoyable work session but the forecast was for the rain to taper off just about my start time.

In addition, I was going to have my occasional assistant Paul Bernier join me and he's not quite as hardy as I am when it comes to adverse weather. So I did HIM a favor and pushed back our start time 2 hours so that the rain would clear, otherwise he was going to stay home and watch cartoons.

So we walked the entire course of the Tradition Run from the park all the way to Castle Craig.

Enroute, I found my new form of exercise. I'm giving up cycling for an activity which fulfills my need for speed.

The scooter wasn't quite my color though, so I Paul and I dropped off our first two bags of trash and the scooter for later pickup by the Meriden Parks Department. I fired off an e-mail hoping they would collect the trash before the runners pass on Sunday morning.

 The skies struggled to clear for the remainder of the day. We had very brief patches of sun.

Many of the hemlocks along the road are dead. Woodpeckers have found them an abundant source of food.

Due to the weather, Castle Craig  and the road up were largely absent of hikers. Paul and I cleaned up the parking lot and surrounding area, combined two bags of trash into one, and left it there.

In the process, I came upon yet more evidence that we are in the midst of the Season of the Missing Glove, having reported earlier sitings on 9 January 16 and 2 January 16. The Missing Glove hibernates for 3 seasons, becoming active only in winter.

Yet more proof of the existence of the Missing Glove from Saturday.

Here's a closer shot of the replaced flag, which I promised last week. Unfortunately, the wind wasn't cooperating.

Leaving Castle Craig we returned to Hubbard Park via the trails. Stopping at the Halfway House  to check for cleanliness, I found this unusual pairing just as you see it.

Maybe Nutella leads to dry lips? Maybe they were making Nutella-flavored lip balm. Now THERE'S an idea!

Enroute, Paul came upon the Find of the Week, which I think surpasses the scooter. We dropped it off at the dumpster under drier skies along with our trash.