The Straight Poop

Goose poop is a problem in Hubbard Park. Here, the Saturday morning Turd Patrol fuels up adjacent to Mirror Lake.

Outdoors columnist Mike Roberts lays out the details of the goose poop problem, not just in Hubbard Park, but elsewhere locally, too.

I was on-call so I stuck close to the park, but not close enough to smell or step on goose poop. Momma didn't raise a dummy; she raised a son who prefers clean shoes.

I started early Saturday morning because the professional bicycle racing season kicked off today with the first European race of the season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and I wanted to watch the last hour of the race on the internet (Due to time zone differences, euro races usually end around 10:45AM EST).

It used to be called Het Volk, which is much easier to pronounce! In case you missed all the high speed action, here are the race highlights.

I started at the gate and walked the road up and around the retention ponds, and back via the Soap Box Derby track. In that short distance I managed to collect enough litter to leave my first bag at the playscape, and open a second bag.

While walking that short loop, I ran into a "park regular" who told me that, on a recent rainy day, he drove around the park and made a "To-Do" list of projects he thought the Meriden Parks Department should act on. Then he dropped the list off at the maintenance building in Hubbard Park.

I thought some of the tasks he recited were unreasonable. One item on his list was to paint the iron railing at Echo Point. Here's an archive photo of the railing.

So I put him on the spot and made him a proposal; I'll buy the paint and the supplies if he assists me in painting it. Note that this guy is much wealthier than I am. I gave him my phone number, to eliminate one more excuse.

He says; "We'll have to get approval..."

I called goose-poop on that. Shoot; I'll bet they don't even know THERE'S A RAILING THERE, and wouldn't notice if we painted it florescent orange (not that I would do such a thing ;-) )

In return I got stammering and a verse of "hummina-hummina".

Now even I know the parks crews have better, higher priority tasks to accomplish than paint that railing. Sometimes a little volunteer work is needed.

Heck; if he commits to the project, I'll sand and prime the railing myself in advance of paint.

We agreed to wait until temps are appropriate for paint, but I don't have faith he'll follow through with me, so don't hold your breath expecting it to get done. If it does, you'll read about it here, first.

I then headed west, cleaning the trails on the south side of I-691. Just shy of reaching the parking area at West Main Street, I spied a new, poorly hidden letterbox. I decided to peek inside.

I closed the lid and continued on to the parking area on West Main Street. While cleaning up the area I came upon my Find of the Week.

Now WHO needs a scale that only reads up to 100 grams? What head shop do you think they bought it from?!

I turned around and hiked back to the park, skirting anywhere geese may have made deposits, and made my own dropping, of my second bag of trash. At the parking lot I ran into another park regular who had his own ideas about Hubbard Park, complaining of people littering. He wanted the Meriden Police Department to somehow spend their abundant free time watching for litterers and giving out juicy fines.

Funny how everybody has suggestions but nobody is willing to lend a hand.

Let me step down off my soapbox.

I headed home in time to watch Omloop Het Alphabet.