Passing On

After my weekly duties in Hubbard Park, I attended a memorial service at the Hubbard Park bandshell for Dwight Needles. At the service, I learned he was quite the Renaissance man, as well as being liked by all.

Among Dwight's many accomplishments, he created that trail maps of the various parks in Meriden, Including Hubbard Park. I managed to get my hands on a good quantity of them, which I keep in my backpack and handout whenever I see that puzzled, lost look on people, which just so happened on Saturday while policing the trails. They are invaluable for creating goodwill and a positive image for the city. I like to think I'm spreading a piece of Dwight around with every map I hand out. Meriden needs more people like Dwight.

Another thing that passed on, albeit much less important, was my pedometer. This is the 3rd or 4th pedometer which wound up in the washing machine, and came out not only dizzy but not working.
I may be through with pedometers as it's getting expensive every time I brain fart and leave it in my pants.

Visit #1145, Wednesday 4 July 18, 6:40-7:50AM.
Temps in the 70's; very humid and in the midst of a heatwave.

Speaking of farts, on Independence Day I decided to hit the trail early at the behest of my "boss for the week", who doesn't like the heat. Last week I reported on my less than satisfactory attempt to remove some graffiti from a brick building on the road toward Merimere Reservoir. To give my boss a change of pace where we walk, I brought him along to supervise as I took another shot at removing the graffiti.

As you can see, I didn't remove it well enough the first go 'round.

I armed myself with Goof Off, a spray bottle of water, and some persuasion.

This is what it looked like just prior to a proper rinse.

The boss kept an eye on me to ensure I didn't slack off.

Visit #1146, Saturday 7 July 18, 8:00-9:30AM.
Temps in the 70's, sunny and dry.

The heatwave wimpered out on Friday with nary a thunderstorm to usher in the nicer weather which Paul Bernier and I enjoyed on Saturday.

As promised, I hauled my chainsaw along to remove a couple problems which cropped up recently.

Here I put the gloves on prior to brawling with the woods. Watch out!

This branch, which had been getting progressively lower and lower, had to go.

As Paul and I moved on toward our next fight, we discovered our Bible-thumping graffiti artist is at it again. Last time I encountered them was 3 June 18. I'll tend to this in a week or two.

We reached the next tree, which had fallen into the trail.

Last, this tree wasn't going to straighten up so I removed it.

Crossing the walkbridge over I -691, I checked on the progress of the weed killer I sprayed on the vines covering the fence. It may not look pretty but it was necessary.

One of the flags on the I-691 walkbridge is torn unserviceable. I removed it.

Paul and I returned to the parking lot to deposit our trash, we parted ways, and I then attended Dwight's memorial service.

I leave you this week with a photo from last week during the heat wave, where the humidity hung over Merimere Reservoir. Enjoy the more reasonable weather this week.

Smart

Geese try to stay cool, paddling in Merimere Reservoir in the midst of this heatwave we are experiencing. Smart move.

Visit #11143, Monday 25 June 18, 6:15-8:10PM, mileage n/a. Temps in the 70's, sunny and dry.

Visit #1144, Sunday 1 July 18, 7:40-9:20 AM, 2.7 miles. Temps in the 80's, climbing to possible record highs in the high 90's, sunny and humid.

As reported last week, I managed to get my chainsaw guidebar stuck in a tree I was trying to remove from the trail. I needed to find a solution to get my guidebar back, and soon, before someone damages it.

My solution was to buy ANOTHER guidebar. Smart move, as I'll sooner or later need to replace the existing bar, and I'll be able to use it to bail myself out next time this happens. I didn't feel like it was a waste of money.

I already had a spare chain, so I hightailed it to the north end of Merimere Reservoir on Monday, assembled my rescue kit, and in mere minutes had my beloved guidebar back in my hands.

Then I finished off the tree which had fallen across the Blue Trail.

On the return trip to the parking lot, I stopped at the water department building and used Goof-Off to try and remove the graffiti I discovered last week.

Rinsed with water, it looks a little better but I'm not satisfied. I forgot to address it this week so it will have to go on my To Do List.

I also used the return trip to collect litter, and dropped off a bag when I was done.

Well, Sunday's weather was entirely different from the perfectly dry, moderate temps of Monday.
It was supposed to be a real scorcher. I may not be the sharpest cheddar in Vermont but I knew enough to get an early start Sunday to attempt to avoid the heat.

I often mention my trail trimming, which few people see. A snip here, a cut there; it all adds up in the long run to maintain the trails and I'm doing it almost weekly. Here's but one obvious example from this week.

As the trail I was on reached Merimere Reservoir, I found this painted rock.

 Nearby, I found another one.

I have found painted rocks before, as recent as October of last year. I'll keep my eyes open to see if this trend continues.

Hiking up the Green Trail, I found this low hanging branch from a tree which had fallen across the trail some years ago. I had cleared the tree from the trail then, but as the tree settled, the branch moved lower. I'll probably remove it next week.

Up at the Halfway House, I discovered the Meriden Parks Department has trimmed the brush back nicely. At first I thought that was solely in response to my prior requests, but then it dawned on me that Chris Bourdon of the Meriden Parks department patiently decided to wait until the 4th of July neared to fulfill my request. I'll bet the fireworks will be launched from the Halfway House, and the brush had to be cleared to accommodate the shells. This was a "two birds with one stone" kinda thing. Smart move.

I followed the Main Trail toward the I-691 walkbridge and found a fallen tree encroaching on the trail. I'll hopefully take care of this next week as well.

Down at the walkbridge itself, I previously noticed the vines growing over the fencing. I brought a spray bottle of weed killer and treated both ends of the walkbridge. It takes a few weeks to take effect, but it works pretty well.

At the other end of the bridge I found a new sticker, which I removed. No idea what it refers to.

Heading back to the playscape, I stopped at the parking area at the northwest corner of Mirror Lake and picked up litter, adding it to my bag.

I end this week with a picture of my sister's Doberman, Henry, who I am dogsitting this week and next. He's the reason why I didn't spend a lot of time in the park this week; not only is he camera-shy; he's emotionally needy!

Attention To Detail

A steamy, humid Sunday at Castle Craig, with thunderstorms forecast in the afternoon.

Visit #1142, Sunday 27 June 18, 8:15-11:10AM, 4.6 miles.

I received a phone call last week from a frequent Hubbard Park hiker telling me of a fallen tree across the Blue Trail near the north end of Merimere Reservoir. In order to better plan my weekend route around removing this tree, I took a bike ride through Hubbard Park on Tuesday to check the one other remaining trail for storm damage.

Finding none, my itinerary for this week was firmed up and I was ready to go.

I hiked up the road from the park and found some new graffiti on the brick building below the water treatment plant.

Readers of this blog were previously informed of Trumps eating habits, but the writer apparently felt we needed a reminder. Too small to bother with paint, I'll try ink remover on it this week or next weekend and see how effective it is.

Crossing the north end of Merimere Reservoir, I picked up the Blue Trail and reached the fallen tree shortly.

 

This should be a piece of cake. Except it wasn't.

Since I reasoned it "was only one measly tree" and wouldn't take long to dispense, I didn't install my more aggressive chain. That one measly tree was oak and I could only make dust instead of chips.

But that wasn't my biggest problem.

I wasn't paying attention and failed to survey the tree properly and determine where the weight and tension was on the tree. Consequently, my bar got stuck.

It wasn't going anywhere, and my only choice was to disconnect the bar from the powerhead and walk away. I'll have to return with another bar or another chainsaw to finish the job and get my bar back.

I performed an about-face and hiked up another trail to see if I could redeem myself and accomplish the other task on my list for the day.

While mountain biking on this particular trail recently, I noticed other mountain bikers had built a small ramp at a strategic location on the trail. The placement of this small ramp would enable them to get airborne if their speed was right. But this detail would only be noticed by the trained eye of an experienced cyclist, like myself for instance.

Tough to photograph the profile; it's the light colored patch of earth you see.

Lest they think they can turn the trails into their own little Six Flags, I disassembled the ramp.

So I was 1 for 2 on the trail today.

Moving on, the trails pointed me to the Halfway House, where I found this weird little shrine set up.

Included were shards of broken glass (is that redundant?) a marble, and a small snakeskin.

Onward down to the south end of Merimere Reservoir, I found this sign was removed from the guardrail and no longer serviceable. I'll let the parks department know in case they want to replace it.

I put it into my bag along with the rest of the litter I collected this week and deposited everything into the trash can at the playscape.

Trimmin'

Visit #1141, Saturday 16 June 18, 9:10-10:45AM, 2.7 miles.
Temps in the low 70's, sunny and dry.

I was on-call so I didn't venture far and wide.

Except to take a specific photo, I stuck to the trails on the south side of I-691.

What goes mostly unseen in my blog posts is the frequent trimming and brush cutting I perform to keep the foliage from crowding the trails. A snip here, a chop there; it all adds up. Storms with high winds or snow will cause tree branches to bend down and get in the way. That's nature. And that's what I focused on this weekend. It's hard to document in photos, but I maintain an eye toward creating a canopy over the trails, and it takes years before it becomes evident.

So I trimmed all the trails on the south side of the highway and only crossed the walkbridge to take that photo.

Last week I reported spray painting over brown paint on a large rock, matching the existing gray color from previous work of mine. When I do this, I sometimes mention the paint went on glossy but will blend in better when it dries. Here's a perfect example:

Last week, just after I applied the spray paint:

This week, after drying:

So don't worry that my paint jobs will look garish and out of place. I think they blend in nicely.

After cleaning the trails, I walked around the Soap Box Derby track and the retention ponds to pick up more trash, while there was a charity run/walk to end Pancreatic Cancer.

I wanted to tie this event in to my blog by saying one of my favorite musicians, Frank Zappa, died of
pancreatic cancer but that idea fell flat because Frank died of prostate cancer, not pancreatic cancer.

But since I don't have much in the way of photos this week, I'm going to throw in a Frank Zappa video for your entertainment anyway.

Until next week, maintain.

Peace and Quiet

Whether it was walking on the road, on the trail, or just pausing by Merimere Reservoir, it was so soothing to be out in Hubbard Park on Sunday. The overcast skies enhanced the calm.

Visit 1140, Sunday 10 June 18, 7:40-9:55AM, 3.6 miles.

Returning to our regularly scheduled labors after being interrupted by last week's graffiti, I engaged in a clockwise loop to reach the fallen tree I found across the trail two weeks ago.

Once across the I-691 walkbridge, I reached the large rock with graffiti which I covered with the brown paint I had on hand last week. While I knew the brown clashed with the gray I'd previously used to paint over other graffiti, it was only when I was disciplined by a reader of this blog for my poor taste in colors that I knew I had to correct things.

Here's my sin.

I hopefully redeemed myself by covering the brown with spray paint. It will dry to a satin finish.

The relatively cool temps combined with a slight breeze kept the mosquitos and no-see-ums at bay, making the hike very pleasant.

I shortly reached the fallen tree across the trail.

This was quick work. I tossed the pieces down the slope.

While cutting up this tree I came upon my Find of the Week. Full, and still sealed.

I moved on to another trail, and hiked down to Merimere Reservoir and the road back to the park. Quiet as it looks.

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

When I arrived at Hubbard Park, the lot was practically empty, but upon returning to my vehicle, the lot was full with people participating in a walk to raise funds for Myasthenia Gravis. It looks like the event had a good turnout.

And now for a rare product endorsement!

I'm not much of a water drinker; too bland. Of course on the trails in Hubbard Park I carry water out of necessity. At home, I've found if I put a splash of lemon juice in a 32oz. container of cold water, I might empty the pitcher in one sitting, it tastes so good!

Well, while at the Big Y supermarket last week I stumbled upon this product in the powdered drink mix aisle:

 

Each individual packet has a mere 0.8 grams of product in it; probably what a no-see-um weighs.

Yet whether you put it in a 20oz. or 32oz. container, it turns water into a pure pleasure with just a subtle hint of fruit. 

If you don't care for plain water or just want to add some palatability to your trail water, THIS is the ticket. Incidentally, the bottle shown was found by me in Hubbard Park in January of this year and became a handy test-vessel today for True Orange.