Summer Arrives

 

Just like that; BANG! Summer gets off the bus.

Visit #1373, Saturday 25 June 22, 6:35-10:25AM, 5.6 miles, 18.8 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 70s, rapidly rising to the 90s, sunny and humid.

I started early Saturday morning for two reasons; to avoid the heat and humidity, and to perform some graffiti paint-over without a lot of questioning eyes. I still got caught by one early walker, but she said "good morning" and that was it. Fortunately, we've seen each other before so there was some familiarity.

Last week I found some new graffiti on the I-691 Hubbard Park Drive underpass. The graffiti remover I applied last week wasn't very effective, so paint over it would be the solution. I took care of it then returned to my car to remove my coveralls and drop off the paint.

I'm trying to be a little more orderly in how I paint over graffiti. Geometric shapes bring a little "feng shui" to paint-overs which can look as bad as the graffiti. You can see the difference between the older paint-over I did, above, and this morning's work.

Another reason to start early; some people might take exception to me cleaning my brush in the brook!

I doffed my coveralls, returned the paint supplies to my car, and grabbed my trail (this week, road) trimming gear.

As I cleaned up around the south end of Merimere Reservoir, along with discarded fishing tackle I found some this sign, probably removed by an angry fisherman. Actually, that would be a great name for a fishing equipment store, "The Angry Fish"! You see a lot of that; The Angry Olive (restaurant), The Angry Scissors (hair salon), The Angry Cone (ice cream shoppe). Why is everything so angry?! Maybe I should rename the blog, "The Angry Trail" or "The Angry Trash Bag"!

Further up the road, I found the inner fender from a car. I placed it on the roadside thinking a passing parks or water department employee might pick it up later in the day, as it was too bulky to put in my trash bag or to carry for the rest of my hike. But through a change of plans, I wound up sidetracking back to the spot toward the end of my hike where I DID pick it up and disposed of it properly.

This turtle played Uber driver, giving the slug a lift.

I finally got down to work trimming the roadside.

There are definitely many low hanging branches on the road to East/West Peak.

I trimmed for an hour, then reverted to litter pickup, during which I came upon my Find of the Week.

I saw a grocery bag off the road and when I picked it up, found it was filled with groceries!

I considered keeping the canned/dry goods but then thought I didn't want to experiment with items left out in the sun for who knows how long.

None of this seemed like picnic food; I'm trying to get an idea of the backstory behind all this food being discarded. These were third-tier brands so they didn't come from one of the well known supermarkets.

The family-sized drumstick package added way too much weight to my bag, so I tossed the drumsticks into the woods. Maybe the bears will have a feast.

As I hiked back toward the park, I passed the Halfway House and was pleasantly surprised to find the Meriden Parks Department had given the area the summer buzzcut I requested. Just like the summer haircuts we received as kids!

Not only does it look nicer and not overgrown as is typical this time of year (the grass was waist high), it gives hikers the impression the city recognizes the value of the attraction. Big thanks to Chris Bourdon and the parks crew.

Time to settle in to the warmest part of the summer.

Mosquit"noes"

 

You certainly didn't have to pony up ten bucks on Sunday morning.

Visit #1372, Sunday 19 June 22, 7:25-9:55AM, 4.4 miles, 3.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70s, sunny, dry, and breezy.

Earlier this week Meriden had a couple very hot, humid days. If conditions continued on to the weekend, I expected mosquito activity would be high on the trails.

Instead, Sunday was more like late August/early September; just a glorious morning, and no mosquitoes.

I hiked west toward the I-691 walkbridge to remove a small tree leaning into the trail.

At the walkbridge over I-691, I found the American flags are back after a long hiatus. I presume the Harrison family is behind the revival. Just in time for the coming Independence Day holiday.

Up at West Peak, I took in the view of the Meriden-Markham Airport in South Meriden.

Even the road from West Peak was a tunnel of trees. It was as pleasant  and peaceful as it looks.

Returning to the park, I passed a lot of new graffiti. I was able to remove most of it.

My graffiti remover wasn't effective on this last one.  I'll return next week to deal with it properly.

I ended my hike with nary one mosquito bite. However, there's still plenty of summer ahead of us.

The Ol' Switcheroo

Visit #1371, Saturday 11 June 22, 6:50-10:25AM, 5.7 miles, 7.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70's, sunny and dry.

Continuing my overhead trimming of the roadside to East/West Peak, I started early to avoid any heat, and cars.

A couple weeks ago, I manned myself with a chainsaw. This week I would be equipped with my polesaw.

Those same two weeks ago, I reported the lock at the northern gate of Hubbard Park had been cut. A mid-week mountain bike ride through the park revealed the lock has been replaced.

As I started up the road toward Merimere Reservoir Saturday morning, I found this manhole cover removal tool, forgotten in place. Must have been quitting time.

Since I have no reason to open manhole covers there's no sense in keeping it. I dropped it off at the water treatment plant up the road, presuming it was theirs and they knew what to do with it.

I started my polesaw work on a low hanging branch I somehow missed during the winter. I forgot to take a "before" photo.

But further up the road where I began my trimming in earnest, I did NOT forget to take a "before" photo.

You can see the low overhanging branches emerging from the right.

This spot is where I ended my trimming for the week. In one hour I didn't make much progress distance-wise. but that's fine by me. Patience and time will produce real results.

Once I hung up the pole saw, I continued up the road toward Castle Craig and switched to only picking up litter.

Along the way, I spotted a sticker on a street sign.

I couldn't reach it adequately because my parents cheated me at birth in the height department. I resorted to caveman thinking and a handy piece of wood to solve my, ahem, "short" coming.

TThe remainder of my hike was a peaceful walk in the woods.

 

It Never Gets Boring

Visit #1370, Sunday 5 June 22, 6:20-9:05AM, 4.5 miles, 8.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60's, sunny and dry.

(Warning: Adult Content-Viewer Discretion Is Advised!)

Most weeks when I'm doing my thang in Hubbard Park, I have a plan in mind, and a theme for the report.

This was NOT one of those weeks. I expected my experience to be boring. 

However; always expect the unexpected!

I went in with the mindset that being mid-season, I'd do a lot of boring trail trimming with my loppers and hedge clippers. I started at the playscape, hiked my way up to Merimere Reservoir, past the Halfway House, down over I-691, and back to the park.

It was routine and boring.

I had a good chunk of time left when I returned to the park so I decided to pick up litter on the road around the playscape.

My Finds of the Week while cleaning around the playscape put an end to boring.

My first Find of the Week, a 20oz. stainless steel vacuum insulated Hydro Flask in new condition,  could be useful, but I already have one. I'll probably clean it and take it to Goodwill.

But THIS takes all-

What kind of Romeo hangs a penis-shaped air freshener in their car?! And NO, you cannot ask me what it smelled like!

I'll try to cleanse your burning eyes from that sight with this parting shot of the trail.