Mop Up Operations

It was still dark when I entered Hubbard Park Saturday morning.

Visit #1173, Saturday 29 December 18, 6:15-9:00AM, 4.6 miles.
Temps in the low 50's, unseasonably mild, sunny with increasing clouds and dropping temps.

Considering the day-long rain on Friday, "mopping" could be an appropriate term for Saturday's work.

On December 10th, a motorcyclist traveling west on West Main Street by Hubbard Park, was struck by a car turning left into Hubbard Park. Unfortunately, the motorcyclist died of his injuries.

While certainly tragic, I found the roadside memorial created at the location of the collision in very poor taste.

What do people think gives them the right to claim public land for their personal memorial spot? How long will it exist? This belongs in a cemetery, not on the street nor at the entrance to Hubbard Park.

Considering it was at a highly visible location (Hubbard Park), made more so by the holiday lights, this eyesore would be seen by many people.

I didn't feel it was appropriate, so I entered Hubbard Park early Saturday morning to avoid scrutiny and remove it. And as this memorial included beer bottles, I think I did the right thing.

The cross contained a solar powered LED.

Now to wait for the repercussions...

It was still dark when I was done. I then drove to the north end of Hubbard Park, near Merimere Reservoir, and walked the road toward the peaks, to address some graffiti.

Graffiti similar to this kitty has appeared several times since November 2016.

The sign was too high off the ground to reach without getting creative. I got creative.

I stood on the log, hugged the tree, and used multiple techniques to  clean the graffiti from the tree without falling.

The sun was just rising at Merimere Reservoir when I turned around and walked back to my vehicle, and RETURNED to the park in better light, to perform my typical litter mopping operations.

Back at the park, I mopped up all the trails on the south side of I-691. My Find of the Week was a Little Tykes swing.

I also found Season of the Missing Glove entry #4, My Little Pony edition.

I returned to the park to drop off my last bag of trash for 2018.

And as is customary for me this time of year, I extend this invitation: If you'd like to be removed from my distribution list for this blog, please contact me, otherwise you'll have another year of "trash talk" from me.

Happy New Year!