Weather Dictates

The weekend's gloomy weather impacted everything, including the Daffodil Festival and my weekly activities in Hubbard Park.

Visit #1190, Saturday 27 Apr 19, 5:10-6:40PM, 3.3miles, 16.3lbs. of litter.
Temps in the low 50's, cloudy with blustery winds.

Sorry for the late post; Friday night's thunderstorms disabled my internet, and it took until Monday afternoon for Frontier Communications to restore my internet service.

Besides affecting my internet, the weekend rain put a damper on attendance at the Daffodil Festival, and dictated when and what I could accomplish in Hubbard Park this weekend. Since Sunday's forecast was worse, I chose to venture out on Saturday.

To avoid the crowds, I parked outside the north end of Hubbard Park and hiked in to the north end of Merimere Reservoir. The amount of water breaching the spillway was impressive.

Due to the weather and early darkness because of the clouds, I kept this week's activities relatively brief. I walked the road up toward Castle Craig, planning to reach all the way to the parking lot. But when I reached the turn to East Peak, the road was cordoned off with tape.

I already had a heavy bag of trash (10lbs.) so I left it, hoping someone would take the initiative and pick up the bag when they removed the tape.

While tying up the bag, I noticed Hubbard Park's bible verse graffiti vandal has come out of hibernation with entry #13.

I turned around, and walked down the road back toward the reservoir, focusing my attention on the opposite side of the road for litter.

I made it back to the car without getting rained on.

Easter Egg Hunt

Daffodil Festival activities take a break on Sunday to observe Easter. Good thing too; the rain would, wait for it- dampen attendance!

Visit #1189, Easter Sunday 21 April 19, 6:35-9:05AM, 4.4 miles, 24.0 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the high 50's, cloudy with periods of rain.

I started this week's hike very early because I mistakenly wanted to avoid the crowds of any Daffodil Festival activities but I later learned none were scheduled due to the Easter holiday. I promised myself I would take a nap when I got home to make up lost sleep.

With the parking lot occupied by the festival tent, I had to park in the far northwest corner of Mirror Lake, so I started my work there. I quickly filled one bag of trash and left it by my car, and started another one.

I found Season of the Missing Glove 2018/19 entrant #8.

Shortly thereafter I found these containers for marijuana joints. I expect to see more of this as Massachusetts' legal pot continues to make its way down south.

I find the vaguely descriptive, innocent name of the product misleading-much like cigarette brands. Seems like legal pot vendors are following the same advertising methods used for vaping products.

On the other side of I-691, I found the brook flowing strongly down toward the highway due to the recent rains.

I followed the main trail to the Halfway House, and roughly 100 yards past it, I came upon my Find of the Week.

In 20 years I've never seen a passenger car on the trails, only emergency vehicles. I was surprised to find this wheel cover.

Down near Merimere Reservoir I found this tree leaning over the Yellow Trail.

It took some wrestling but I managed to remove it.

Just as I reached the reservoir, it began to rain. Fortunately I packed a rain jacket.

The Meriden Parks Department has temporarily placed concrete blocks in front of the pedestrian gate to deter motorcycles from passing through, when the road is closed to traffic. Unfortunately, I think they placed the blocks too far away from the opening to be effective. I know permanent repairs are planned, however.

I dropped off my second bag of trash and ended my day having not spent too much time in the rain.

Ahead of the Race

Visit #1188, Sunday 14 April 19, 6:00-8:45AM, 5.4 miles, 28.4lbs. of trash.

Daffodil Festival activities kicked off this Sunday, starting with the Rotary Daffodil 5k Road Race.  I thought I'd try to make the road race course, and parking areas for the runners, look nice by picking up trash prior to the event.

That meant an early start to this week's adventures. I started at the gate leading up the road to Merimere Reservoir, picking up trash as I walked.

By the time I reached the water treatment plant I'd filled up one bag and left it there for water department personnel to pick up later.

 It was so early the sun was still casting a shadow of South Mountain on the slope of East Peak.

Further up the road I came upon Season of the Missing Glove 2018/19, entry #7.

Rumor has it when scientists revealed this week they had for the first time, photographed a black hole, they discovered it was composed entirely of those single socks and gloves that get lost in the dryer. That's likely where the companion to the glove above has also gone.

I reached the north end of Merimere Reservoir and the sun was still slow on the uptake.

I continued on until I reached where the road begins to tilt up, then turned around, picking up litter from the opposite side of the road as I walked back toward the park.

As I reached the water treatment plant on the return trip, a water department employee named Dan pulled up in his truck and offered to take my second trash bag. He also said he would collect the first bag I left hanging on the fence. Thanks to Dan; he represents the Meriden Water Division, and the City of Meriden, well.

As I walked down the Soap Box Derby track, I spied this lonesome daffodil, far away from his homies. That daffodil marches to his own beat.

Okay, so now I was done with cleaning up the road race course. Next would be parking for the runners.

Since the festival tent occupied  most of the parking lot, I walked the road around the parking lot and playscape, and picked up litter.

Find of the Week was this unopened bottle of Guinness Extra Stout.

You have to be pretty drunk to dump a perfectly good bottle of beer; that's akin to leaving ONE piece of pizza in the box. Like you couldn't finish it after scarfing down the other seven slices...

I filled up a third bag of trash, and started a fourth.

With this last bag, I walked around roughly three-fourth's of Mirror Lake, tidying up both sides of the road so the runners would have a favorable impression of the park.

As I did so, I learned ducks think they have an exemption from using crosswalks.

I finished well before the runners arrived, and went home to watch the exciting finale of  Paris-Roubaix and see who came out ahead there. For the uninitiated, that's 150+ miles with over 20 sectors of cobblestones!

Springing Into Action

Endless groups of people enjoyed the shortsleeve spring weather on Sunday, walking along the road in Hubbard Park.

Visit #1187, Sunday 7 April 19, 10:45AM-1:50PM, 5.6 miles, 15.1lbs. of trash.

I parked the car and headed west, to the walkbridge over I-691. Last week I spied one of the flags tied to the fencing had broken loose from its tyraps and I planned on re-securing it.

 Alas, when I arrived, I discovered it had been taken care of, except they did half a job and did not trim the ends.

No problemo; I come equipped for just about any eventuality.

Do those cutters make my hand look fat?

I followed the trails up to West Peak, and policed the area and the parking lot of litter. I picked up another trail to take me down toward Merimere Reservoir.

As reported in The Record Journal this week, there are signs of spring in Meriden, and as Harmony Scaglione pointed out, one of those signs is the racket made in Hubbard Park by those horny little frogs- spring peepers. I sought out the frog single's bar in Hubbard Park in an attempt to surreptitiously record their mating call. As I approached, they told each other to shut up, until it was quiet as a library, so I didn't catch the racket.

I left the frog party and moved on to address a fallen tree. This tree fell across the trail during the deep of winter. Now that it was free from the snow and ice, I could move it.

This tree got some "comealong love".

In the distance I could hear the spring peepers back at it.

I followed the trail down to Merimere Reservoir and followed the road back to the park.

With the broken barrier at the gate, motorcycles are easily passing through, to the surprise and consternation of walkers and hikers. I counted three motorcycles breaching the gate while I was on the road. The gate needs repairs, and soon.

I returned to the park and dropped off a very heavy bag of litter.

With the Daffodil Festival approaching, as well as the seasonal opening of the road to East and West Peak, now is the time and weather to enjoy walking the road around Merimere Reservoir, and maybe take in the view from West Peak.