Whither Winter?

Last week's snowstorm, which left me stuck in airports in Chicago and in Washington D.C., is now but a memory.

Visit #1230, Sunday 26 January 20, 8:05-9:40AM, 3.1 miles, 15.4lbs. of litter.
Temps in the 30's and partly sunny.

I was on-call this week so I stayed close to the park in case I needed to leave for a service call.

Readers of this blog may recall the trail map which was refurbished, but reinstalled upside down. After the orientation being corrected, the text, "U R here" marked not only the wrong location where the map viewer was standing, the text was upside down.

Fortunately, someone erased the upside down label. This week, I labeled the map correctly. No phonetic spellings from this guy; I'm ejumacated!

The label wouldn't stick to the wood by itself, nor would some double-sided tape I had on hand,  so I improvised a solution with silicone caulk. I may return next week and mark the Halfway House and Castle Craig.

I headed west on trails parallel to I-691. Reaching the end at West Main Street, I turned around and headed back to the park.

I tried out one of my Christmas gifts; insulated rubber coated gloves. They worked wonderfully. Thanks, Santa (you know who you are)!

The entire trail didn't take much time, so I chose to walk around the perimeter of Mirror Lake and pick up litter.

Ever wonder how ducks and geese can walk on ice and not be bothered by the cold surface? Read the answer HERE. Think about this next time you're sleeping with your significant other and they stick their cold feet against YOU. It will make you wish you married a duck instead.

After walking around the perimeter of Mirror Lake, I continued up the Soap Box Derby track, around the retention ponds, and back toward the park.

Reaching the gate, I noticed the bollard which was replaced last July, has been vandalized. At that time I speculated that was going to happen. Notice the loosened bolts. I'll notify the parks department and hopefully they will be able to provide a more permanent solution.

I passed the gate and returned to the parking lot to drop off my bag of trash for the week.

A friend told me late in 2019 that the Farmer's Almanac predicted a harsh winter. We're still waiting...