Lord Love A Duck!

 

Why am I the only one in the parking lot-is it raining that hard?

Visit #1550, Sunday 7 September 25, 7:20-9:40AM, 5.4 miles, 7.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s, steady rain tapering slightly by hike's end.

Today's blog title came to mind when I thought of the rain, even though the phrase's meaning does not have anything to do with rain. It was actually quite comfortable albeit a wet comfortable.

I hiked a clockwise route up to West Peak today.

On the trail behind the daffodils, I found a newly fallen tree, which I'll remove next week. It's small enough that I think a handsaw should to the job just fine.

Up at West Peak I found this waterlogged fleece blanket. As such it was way too heavy to pack out-well over 15lbs.- so I hung it on a fence in the hopes we'll have a dry week and I'll be able to carry it out next week.

Out at the rocks I found these two wooden signs. See if you know who the authors of the quotes are.

Walking back toward the park around the reservoir, I discovered one of the recently installed speed bumps appear to have been vandalized. They have only been in place since around May of this year.

Even more surprising was my Find of the Week.

This bicycle was dumped in the weeds near the south end of Merimere Reservoir.

Unusually, the only thing preventing this bike from being rideable was the lack of a chain. As an avid bike rider, I know chains don't break easily which makes this even more of a mystery. Otherwise this bike looked practically brand new.

I wasn't interested in making a project out of this bike, so I slid it under the fence at the water treatment plant so hopefully the employees will find and recycle it.

I was notified today that the Three Peaks Challenge in Hubbard Park is scheduled for 8 November.

Mark your calendar and start training NOW. I'm all signed up!

The Consultant

 Visit #1549, Sunday 31 August 25, 7:40-8:55AM, 2.1 miles, 7.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 50s, sunny and dry.

Look above and you'll see I only spent an hour in Hubbard Park this week. I had to budget my energy as you'll see I was called to duty for a special project.

With so little time available Sunday morning, I didn't venture onto the trails but stuck to the park proper, picking up litter as I wandered. As seen in the above photo, part of my travels took me to the new walkbridge.

Some environmentally conscious litterer did not want their discarded cup to follow the wind, so they stuck a piece of gravel in it. How thoughtful of them!

Wandering around the east side of the pool, I found this painted tree. Hubbard Park Drive is in the background.

I cleaned up the area inside and immediately outside of the playscape. I found a pair of kid's sneakers. The soles were practically brand new.

That's all the time I had. I was on to my consultant job.

It may or may not surprise you to learn I'm not the only person picking up litter in Meriden.

I had been contacted twice previously by Susan S., a 70+ year old west side dweller, for assistance. On her regular walks near Lincoln Middle School, Platt and Wilcox High Schools, and down toward Red Bridge and the linear trail, she can regularly be seen collecting litter. Her calls are more like sincere pleas for help as it truly pains her to see trash. How could anybody refuse her request?

But this request was not to clean up a trail, but actual roadside litter near the intersection of River Road and Oregon Road, just beyond Red Bridge. It could be a little dicey because of the sharp bends in the road, so I equipped both of us with safety vests.

We collected ten pounds of litter in forty-five minutes. Thank Susan, not me; she was the brainchild behind this little project. A nice way to celebrate this Labor Day.

'Tis A Puzzle

 

Early morning over Meriden.

Visit #1548, Saturday 23 August 25, 6:20-8:45AM, 5.4 miles, 6.3 lbs. of litter.

Today I would be walking the road up to Castle Craig to remove some graffiti I found last week on a transformer near the parking lot.

The choppy water was caused by a strong but cool late summer breeze. Ahh! You can just make out the reservoir's "alligator" which was less visible last week indicating either evaporation or water use.

Leaves are starting to fall from the trees. Get ready for autumn!

This is the second painted piece of gravel I've removed in the past two weeks. Someone has a lot of spare time on their hands - uh that is, besides me...

Reaching Castle Craig I laid out my kit to remove the graffiti.

As I reported last week, there were yellow jackets flying around the transformer which is why I equipped myself with bug sprays.

I first tried the Goo Gone because I thought it would work well on what I believe is grease pencil of some sort.

Either it wasn't working fast or wasn't working at all. I will however keep it in my backpack for another chance to redeem itself. With the bees around I wasn't going to exercise patience with the Goo Gone. I moved on to the Superman of graffiti removers.

It will look better once the lacquer thinner evaporates.

Back at the park, while policing up the dirt parking lot at the northwest corner of Mirror Lake, I found someone had dumped a number of boards into the brush.

I gathered them up and placed them in a more conspicuous spot to be found by the parks employees. I took my trash bag with me, though.

Dumping, vandalism, litter, graffiti; as my coworker says, "'Tis a puzzle."

Just a Hunch

 

Visit #1547, Sunday 17 August 25, 6:05-9:30AM, 5.2 miles, 7.7 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 60s, sunny and very humid.

Last week I addressed some graffiti on the spillway at the north end of Merimere Reservoir.

Oftentimes when I see graffiti like that I suspect I might find more of the same elsewhere in Hubbard Park. If anywhere, I expected to find it at Castle Craig although I can't tell you why. But I decided to hike up there to see if I was right.

Arriving at Castle Craig I was dripping sweat. I chose to sit down for five minutes to enjoy the morning view and cool off.

Cooling off was aided by a stiff breeze from the south. It was just what I needed.

When my break ended, I walked the perimeter of the parking lot to pick up litter, and turns out my hunch was correct! I found the same graffiti tag that I covered over last week.

Under normal circumstances I would use what tools I have with me to remove it. But there were yellow jackets flying around the cabinet and I was unprepared for that. Now you know what I'll be doing next week albeit equipped for bee battle.

While policing the perimeter of the parking lot, I found forty-five cents as you see it. Since I hiked 5.2 miles today, that works out to 8.65 cents/mile, much lower than the $1.50-$2.00/mile owner/operator truck drivers typically earn. I think I might change careers...

I hiked the Blue Trail along the western rim of the reservoir and it was a good choice for today as I found a newly fallen tree across the trail.

Today's humidity was making me dread having to schlep my chainsaw to this tree in a subsequent week to remove it from the trail but luckily I was able to manhandle it clear.

When the new guardrails were installed on the road around Merimere Reservoir back in May or so, I noticed a forgotten piece of metal left over from the old guardrail. I promised myself that someday I'd retrieve it and bring it back to the park. I was reminded of this chunk of scrap iron when I exited the trail so today was the day to take it away. It was well over ten pounds and I wasn't looking forward to carrying it so far but fortunately it fit in my backpack where it was not as much of a burden.

Last item on my list this week was to check on my paint job from last week, and show you, dear reader, that while the paint I use looks glossy when first applied, it dries to a nice flat finish.

Doffin' and Donnin', Week 2

 You couldn't ask for better weather today. The morning sun is just beginning to touch the road to East/West Peak.

Visit #1546, Saturday 9 August 25,  6:00-9:15AM, 4.9 miles, 8.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s, sunny and dry.

While heading to West Peak last week to paint over some graffiti, I discovered more recent graffiti on the spillway at the north end of Merimere Reservoir. This morning I kitted up again with the coveralls and walked to the offending spot.

The result looks so clean and orderly it makes the rest of the concrete look like the eyesore! I first used a wire brush to remove any loose material then engaged the creative side of my tiny brain. Geometric shapes like squares are about the extent of my creativity.

Occasionally I'll find one of these small painted rocks along the north bank of the reservoir. Today was one of those occasions.

On today's hike, like last week,  I met some wildlife.

These two nestlings- I couldn't find the nest and had no idea how they wound up on the pavement. One of them already expired. The blurry one was still alive.

Back at Mirror Lake, a turtle was having a better day.

I continue to check on progress of the walkbridge at the Lower Pond.  This week the railings were installed.

Will there be a public ceremony when it's complete?

Will there be elected officials wearing hard hats giving speeches?

Will there be a ribbon cutting?

Who will cut the ribbon with the big pair of scissors?

Sometimes after my hikes in Hubbard Park I go home and take a nap. Today was one of those days.

If I don't wake up by next weekend, close the lid.

Progress

 

Construction of the new walkbridge at the Lower Pond is moving along. That looks sturdy enough to support yo' momma!

Visit #1545, Sunday 3 August 25, 6:05-10:00AM, 5.9 miles, 3.1 lbs. of litter. Temps in the 60s, sunny and dry.

I got an early start to guarantee parking, since the Puerto Rican Festival was being held today and parking would be at a premium.

As I mentioned last week, I was going to address some graffiti I found at West Rock then. I followed the road around Merimere Reservoir and up to the peaks.

At the north end of the reservoir, I had a five minute stare down with a deer at close range. He eventually gave up on me and returned to his salad munching.

I found some new graffiti at the north end of the reservoir, but since I was packing the wrong color for this, it will have to wait until next week to get my attention.

Reaching the split to East/West Peak, I found someone left a bag of trash. I took it away.

Reaching West Peak, I set down to work, but first the artist must don his smock.

I still could not decipher who was being memorialized on these two rocks. Best I could do was one rock was for "Patrick". "Bri" could be Brian, Brianna... who knows? The dates weren't much of a clue either.

I doffed the smock and went back to hiking. I just wanted to use "doff" in a sentence!

Crossing the walkbridge over I-691, I found yet more new graffiti, but this I could handle without paint.

It took a few rounds of cleaner and elbow grease but in the end I was satisfied.

Next week will be a hike of a different color and more smock donning and doffing.