Yard Work

 Visit #1425, Saturday 27 May 23, 7:15-9:15AM, 4.6 miles, 1.8 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny and dry.

Yard work; what I saw a lot of people engaged in as I rode my bike this Memorial Day weekend.

I did a little bit of "yard work" myself this weekend in Hubbard Park.

I hadn't hiked by the Halfway House in a number of weeks and as has been my experience, the grass starts to get high and the weeds grow like crazy around May/June.

To keep them under control, I brought some weed killer this week and sprayed it liberally around the Halfway House.

Sometime in June I'll put in a request to the Meriden Parks Department asking them to give the area its annual crew cut. In the meantime I'll report to you on the progress of the weed killer.

Besides the weed killer I used my loppers liberally to trim low hanging branches, and hedge clippers to push back the thorn bushes.

Now it's time to enjoy the rest of the Memorial Day weekend, and pause to remember those who died serving our country.

In The Nick Of Time

 

Rain's a comin'.

Visit #1424, Saturday 20 May 23, 8:00-9:50AM, 1.7 miles, 4.1 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 50s/low 60s, cloudy with rain forecasted.

Today I was ready to finish trimming the roadside to Castle Craig. In anticipation of the rain I hoped to time my finishing before it started.

I made it! After reaching this interim goal, I stopped for a bit and picked up litter around the parking lot and Castle Craig.

With my remaining allotted time for today, I started trimming the roadside toward West Peak. Just when it was time to pack up and leave, it started to rain.

I look forward to the second half of my long term project, trimming the roadside to West Peak. With luck I may finish this year!

Happy Anniversary!

 

Happy 10th Anniversary to the blog! The blog actually existed for five years prior to that by direct e-mail postings to select individuals, for security reasons. There's no telling whether I'll make it to the 20th anniversary!

Visit #1423, Sunday 14 May 23, 6:45-9:20AM, 5.6 miles, 2.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s to low 60s, sunny with a light breeze.

My chainsaw was fueled from some unrelated work on Saturday and I didn't want to drain the fuel tank, so I decided to schlep it into Hubbard Park on Sunday to remove a fallen tree which I discovered in April.

I walked around Merimere Reservoir and just before reaching the trail head I found this hall pass.

I sent Mr. Migliaro, from the Security Team at Norwalk High School, an e-mail asking him to talk to Gabe about littering! I'll be curious to see if I get a response.

Removing the fallen tree was going to be easy.

I packed up the chainsaw and proceeded up the trail. Along the way I kept finding these pink ribbons tied around trees, just as I did in April.

Today I found 13 of 'em. And as in April, I removed all of them.

Let's see if this trend repeats itself.

I continued hiking over to West Peak where I cleaned up the parking area and the trail to the peak.

I also found some new graffiti.

Out came the tools and I scrubbed away.

Returning to the park, I stopped to admire my recent work replacing a broken plank on the wooden walkbridge. With a week's dirt and footprints, it's blending in nicely with the existing planks.

After returning to the parking lot and heading toward my car I found a quarter!

I figured it must be my 10th Anniversary present but alas, the U.S. quarter has no tin or aluminum in it. A quarter is actually composed of nickel and copper.

I'm not fussy; I'll take it!

Back On Track

 

It was a postcard perfect day in Hubbard Park. A week late considering the rained out Daffodil Festival.

My solution to the what the organizers might have you believe is a frequent Daffodil Festival problem (rain)-tear out the daffodils, plant flowers that bloom in May and change the name of the festival!

Which is why no one asks my opinion ever and James J. Barry, who brought daffodils to Hubbard Park, is giving me the stink-eye from the grave.

Visit #1422, Saturday 6 May 23, 6:45-10:00AM, 5.3 miles, 1.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny.

Visit #1423, Sunday 7 May 23, 7:00-7:30AM, mileage and litter n/a.

I've been waiting all spring for the right conditions to return to trimming the roadsides to East/West Peak.

This week was it.

All the rain which washed out the Daffodil Festival and the rain we received last week resulted in Merimere Reservoir's strong flow.

Reaching the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I found this memorial card perched on a large rock where many people sit to enjoy the view.

I've redacted the particulars but I will tell you she was originally from North Stonington CT and resided in Florida when passing. None of her family members were from the local area so I don't know what the association with Hubbard Park is, perhaps a friend.

Up near Castle Craig I resumed roadside trimming where I left off last fall.

Done with this session, I hiked the Blue Trail down to the north end of Merimere Reservoir and followed the road back to the the park.

But I wasn't done for this week.

Leaving the trail and walking the road back to the park Saturday, I spied some new graffiti on the jersey barrier at the north end of Merimere Reservoir.

Knowing I could address this with minimal time investment, I returned to the spot early Sunday morning.

While cleaning up, I saw mom and pop with their future turd factory progeny.

All in all, a wonderful weekend.