The Mailman's Oath

 "Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Dark Of Night Shall Stay These Couriers (and me) From The Swift Completion Of Their Appointed Rounds." 

                                                                         - The Mailman's Oath.

Visit #1309, Sunday 30 May 21, 7:45-10:05AM, 4.8 miles, 10.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 40's, cloudy with rain developing in the morning.

This Memorial Day weekend I had scheduled some graffiti paint-over activities in Hubbard Park but the weather was not going to cooperate on ANY of the three days. I changed plans to a regular trash pickup/trail maintenance routine.

I checked the weather before I left the house on Sunday, and rain was forecast to start around 9AM.

As the old saying goes, "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" so I dressed for the future and headed out to Hubbard Park.

At the I-691 walkbridge, I checked on the progress of my vine-killing work which I performed last week.

The results look good. Give me a week or two and I will trim the dead vines from the fence.

Slightly further along the fencing I found about eight of these wire wraps. I don't recall seeing these last week when I discovered the newly installed flags, so I wonder if someone removed another flag or banner which was placed there? At least both American flags are still intact.

I hiked my way up to the road between East and West Peaks and walked the road down. Along the way, I ran into a number of other hikers out before the rain. Whether they planned it that way, I don't know.

The rain began just as I reached the north end of Merimere Reservoir at 9:20AM.

By the time I reached the south end of the reservoir, a steady rain was falling and you could barely see Castle Craig through the low hanging rain clouds.

Done with my appointed rounds, I dropped of my (mail) bag of litter for the week.

While this three-day holiday weekend's weather may suck for outside activities, spending it inside relaxin' with a good book is not a bad consolation prize. I've got mine; have you got yours?

Yard Work

 Visit #1308, Sunday 23 May 21, 6:45-9:15AM, 3.0 miles, 6.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70's and mostly sunny, rising to near 90 degrees.

We are in the midst of a freak, early season heatwave. I started early this morning to avoid some of the rising temps.

The walkbridge over I-691 tends to get overgrown with vines during the season. I treated them with weedkiller last year. This year I did the same, and I also climbed through the fence and down the highway embankment, and cut as many of the vines as I could find. We'll see in a few weeks how successful the doubled approach worked.

After finishing, I spotted some new graffiti on the bridge, which was quickly addressed with sandpaper. Unfortunately, the shadows cast by the fence and the early morning sun obscure some of the detail.

In the past I periodically reported on the conditions of American flags which were displayed on the I-691 walkbridge. I would remove the flags when they became unserviceable. I never knew the identity of the person who placed the flags, until they stopped appearing, and an article appeared in the Record Journal. Below is the reprinted article from the newspaper.

Shortly after this article was published, in November of 2020, I documented the last, unserviceable flag.

Well, it's been six months, but the flags have returned!

I don't know whether it's the family continuing the tradition or someone else, but there they are again.

It is nice to see.

I hiked over to the Halfway House to continue my  yard work, performing trail trimming along one particular trail.

At the Halfway House, people have an unusual tendency to smash bottles against the outside wall. Today I brought a dustpan and attempted to rake up what broken glass I can. While I couldn't capture all the broken glass, it was a good start. I hope to periodically collect more as the dirt yields it. This picture was just a sample.

While raking up the glass and whatnot, I became a little richer, just like last week. I was hoping it would be some vintage coin. Alas, 2007 doesn't qualify.

I then used the remaining weed killer to treat the perimeter of the Halfway House.

I moved on down to Merimere Reservoir and at the guardrail found some new graffiti. I'm getting pretty proficient at removing it.

Back at the parking lot, I dropped off my trash for the week.

As a parting note, the Meriden Historical Society held an on-line presentation this week on the Faces of Hubbard Park. It's a fascinating look at the people who built and cultivated the park. You can view it here or on youtube. You can also check out another presentation on the history of Castle Craig. Justin Piccirillo deserves more credit than I have to give for archiving the history of Hubbard Park.

Until next week, maintain.

Say Hello To My Little Friend(s)

(Caution: Graphic Content)

Not exactly like Tony Montana, but...

Visit #1307, Sunday 16 May 21, 6:50-9:45AM, 3.9 miles, 5.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 60's, partly sunny.

Hiking is making me soft. Not enough exertion, except maybe on the rare occasion when I'm pulling tires out of the dirt.

I needed to up my game. So say hello to my little friends:

My first outing tells me the weight is right, adding a little effort to my step.

But I didn't use them on Thursday, when I took a mountain bike ride through the park to address a couple punch list items so I could free up my route on the weekend.

Last week I spied some graffiti but the locations didn't fit the following week's agenda. So I combined a bike ride with a little park maintenance.

I packed my Camelbak for action.

First off was this power pole near the water treatment plant.

I tried "dry" methods i.e., a wire brush and sandpaper, before applying GooGone, which was eventually needed to finish the job.

 

Past the north end of Merimere Reservoir, removed from the road yet still on watershed land and near a trail, I found this repeat graffiti.

This is the 7th time I've found this tag.

While I brought lacquer thinner, it tends to remove EVERYTHING, including the sign paint. So I tried the GooGone first. The first application, with no wait time, worked incredibly well. I applied it a second time, waited 60 seconds, and the sign was perfect.

That done, I enjoyed a mountain bike ride on the trails around the Halfway House, where I was able to get ideas on what I wanted to do and where I wanted to hike with "my new friends" on Sunday.

So Sunday's hike lead me to this scarf, which I wash and deliver to Goodwill.

Are the pants in the crotch of the tree, or is the tree in the crotch of the pants? These will NOT be going to Goodwill, for I dreaded to look inside and see why they were abandoned.

I was going to trim this branch when I spied the homeowner. Sorry 'bout the blurry photo; as much as I tried, I couldn't get my camera to take a macro photo of the frog.

My work on Sunday paid off handsomely.

I dropped off my trash for the week, my legs still feeling fresh despite the ankle weights.

While the daffodils are past their bloom in Hubbard Park for the year, there's plenty of green to be had through the spring and summer. Get out there, with or without your "friends" and enjoy it.

Spring Cleanup

 

Visit #1306, Saturday 8 May 21, 6:50-10:45AM, 6.6 miles, 9.9lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 60's, cloudy with potential rain showers.

I received a phone call from a Hubbard Park hiker last week informing me of a couple fallen trees across a trail that needed removal. On Thursday I rode my mountain bike to Hubbard Park to check things out.

Tis' the season of cars leaving Castle Craig too late and getting caught behind a locked gate, despite multiple warning signs. I counted five cars in line as I passed the gate, and a sixth car was soon to join the queue as I pedaled up the road.

At Castle Craig, I discovered they're getting ready to stripe the parking lot, a first.

I found the trail in question but conveniently located with the two trees was my Find of the Week.

 Orange fleece on the outside, woodland camo on the inside. Wash and off to Goodwill, ready for next winter.

The trees were attached to the hat.

Armed with a picture of what I to deal with, I returned to the park on Saturday morning with the chainsaw.

I soon collected too much broken glass which was cutting my trash bag, so I left it at the water treatment plant.

Now, up the road, pick up the trail, and back to the tree.

Much like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, thought had to be applied to disassemble this tangle safely. Some of the branches were over my head so I took care in cutting.

Rather than continue to follow the trail, I performed an about-face and returned to the trail head.

I followed other trails to the wooden walkbridge, only to discover another fallen branch. Using my Stihl Photoshop® tool, the branch was removed from the photo.

While Stihl Photoshopping® this branch out of the photo, a man came by and commented he always wondered who was cutting up all the fallen trees and branches. He said he thought they (the city) brought a truck onto the trails or something similarly implausible. I told him I was a leprechaun, and seldom seen. Now he knows the secret.

I returned to the parking lot, disappearing in to next week.

"Too" Tired Part II, Squared

 Visit #1305, Saturday 1 May 21, 9:30-11:45AM, 3.2 miles, 2.8lbs. of litter.

Temps in the mid 60's, sunny.

First, a Public Service Announcement:

The May 2021 issue of Connecticut Magazine has a special section devoted to hiking, with a whopping TEN articles devoted to the subject. Lace up your hiking boots and go get a copy!

So why is this edition of This Week In Hubbard Park titled  ""Too" Tired Part II, Squared?"

First, because this week I was going to recover the remaining abandoned tires I was aware of in Hubbard Park. 

And second, because your quirky author received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday and not only did it make me tired, it felt like I was hit by a bus full of sumo wrestlers who just left the All You Can Eat buffet. Sweats, chills, aches; I was out of work and on the couch for two days, most of the time unconscious. I didn't think I'd pull off a session in Hubbard Park this weekend, but the vaccine's effects left as fast as they appeared so I was mostly good to go on Saturday, and the hike flushed out what remained leaving me feeling as good as Saturday's weather looked.

I wanted to tackle the two remaining tires late in the hike, just in case they tied me up for a long period of time. So I hiked a clockwise loop, over I-691 and past the Halfway House, doing the usual litter pickup.

At just over the one hour mark I reached the location of the remaining tires.

And unlike last week, it was dry and neither tire gave me a lengthy, stubborn mule fight.

The prep work I performed on the first tire last week saved me much digging but it did take over 750 lbs. of pulling force to free the tire.

The second tire put up less resistance than its buried image would lead you to believe.

I wrestled both tires to higher, level ground, secured them with a comealong strap, looped the strap around my waist, and dragged them the half mile (I measured!) to the water treatment plant where I'm sure they're going to annoy someone.

Next week I plan a return to more rational activities.