Painting and Unpainting Weekend

Merimere Reservoir on a quiet Sunday morning.

Visit #1236, Sunday 8 March 20, 6:35-9:10AM, 4.3 miles, 7.4lbs. of litter.
Temps in the low 30's, overcast.

Today I set out to cover over graffiti I'd spotted while in Hubbard Park last week.

But, due to the location of the first piece of graffiti, I had to start VERY early in the hope the paint would dry before it was trod upon by hikers.

So I set out from the parking lot in darkness, heading to the I-691 walkbridge.

Looks like it was supposed to represent Earth, maybe?

I brought paint and a brush, and from set up to pack up, it took less than 10 minutes. I'll be curious to see during a future trip if anyone stepped on the wet paint.

I hiked further up the trail to the "Virgin Mary" shrine, where letters were recently added.

I first tried removing them with acetone and a brush, which worked on magic marker when I tested it at home, but didn't touch whatever this was. I then "broke" out a can of flat brown spray paint. I say "broke" because when I couldn't remove the cap with my good looks and charm, I used brute force and broke the spray can nozzle. Which I suppose is a blessing in disguise because it would alter the natural stone appearance.

Next I tried sandpaper, which performed admirably and followed up with Goof Off and a brush, although I'm not quite satisfied. I will return with a stronger solvent and try to finish the job.

I hiked up to the road near East Peak and walked down the road, collecting any litter I found.

Near the bottom of the road I reached the last of the recently discovered graffiti.

That "A C A B" is the same as that found at the Virgin Mary shrine. Acetone didn't work on either side of the sign. I shall return to take care of this graffiti as well.

With the last of the painting/unpainting chores done, I followed the road around Merimere Reservoir back to the park.

Enroute, I discovered the Meriden Water Department has been doing some work along the Maloney Canal. Reaching this spot must have presented a challenge because the equipment had to climb over the cable guardrail and cross the canal safely.

Closer to the park, I came upon my Find of the Week.

I suppose it's about time I found a bra; Lord knows I've picked up enough men's underwear to cover a Chippendale's review.

And even closer to the park, I found this list of prescriptions. I redacted the person's name.

Below are links to descriptions of the drugs should you be interested in what they treat.

Norvasc

Abilify

Klonopin

Pepcid

Prozac

Prilosec

Prohair HfA

DESYREL 

I dropped off my bag of trash for the week and removed my painter's duds.

One last paint-related tidbit: You may remember last week I temporarily lost my hedge clippers and had to retrace my steps on the trail to find them. I feared that because of their natural wood color, that they would be hard to find.

Well, for that final painting tidbit, I hopefully put an end to losing my hedge clippers.

Easy-to-lose hedge clippers:

Impossible-to-lose hedge clippers (sunglasses recommended):

With Daylight Savings Time in effect, there's more time to enjoy the trails in Hubbard Park. Take advantage of it!