Visit #1476, Sunday 28 April 24, 6:00-8:05AM, 4.5 miles, 8.6 lbs. of litter.
Temps in the 50s, cloudy.
With the Daffodil Festival going on, parking is a dicey proposition. To guarantee parking availability I would have to arrive early in the A.M., which I did but the road was still closed. I managed to find the parking lot at the skate house open with "plenty of free parking" 😊.
The festival is being held late this year because in past years weather wouldn't cooperate. Of course, that would mean the daffodils would be past their peak, and in fact, they are. But the Meriden Parks Department has a solution for that. Smart people at the Parks Department, I tell ya'.
Another reason I chose an early start was the Daffodil 5k race which was being held this morning. I thought I'd do something nice and make sure the route was litter-free. I would hike the course in reverse and pick up trash. But in order to do that I had to get there, first.
Hiking over I-691 I found some graffiti on the walkbridge. I hoped removing the graffiti wouldn't take long to ensure I would finish my hike before the race began.
I lucked out as it took merely seconds to clean up.
Our park's current serial trail vandal continues their work. I will continue mine as I remove or cover over what I can.
The vandal's reference here is to the underlying gray paint, which I used to cover over the "Chipi" graffiti I found last week.
Gee; I wonder who they mean?
I reached the road to Castle Craig and followed it down to the reservoir.
Thank goodness for quality stickers; they're easy to remove.
I finally arrived at the 5k turnaround, still early and peaceful. I could enjoy staffing a table like that, just give me a good book.
Ah, so this person carries more than one sticker.
I don't know what it is supposed to mean and internet searching didn't reveal anything. However, if you can't read the caption, it says "Warm Beer & Cold Women". I'm sure the person who stuck the sticker is highly unsophisticated otherwise they wouldn't be plastering stickers in city parks. But if you, dear reader, are of a more sophisticated leaning and have great musical taste, you will enjoy this rendering of the phrase.
I've included the intro separately because well, it's Tom Waits!
Nearing the park, I checked on the water department's progress installing a drainage pipe.
I'm not sure why the retention pond is drained. It sure looks like IT could use a beer.
Perhaps it was intentional; the area where the work was performed is shared by the White Trail (note the trail marker in the background). In past years this area could be very wet. This looks like a beautiful job with a dry trail in the future.
Adding the brownstone header to the drain pipe inlet gives it that "been there forever" look. Nice touch that blends in with the park, even considering the gravel.
I found someone's shopping list. It's always interesting to see what people are buying...and how they spell.
I beat the runners and the race, by almost an hour. Mission accomplished.
Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, you know the Daffodil Festival is near when the carnival trucks arrive.
Visit #1474, Saturday 20 April 24, 7:50-9:45AM, 3.0 miles, 16.0 lbs. of litter.
Temps in the 50s, light rain, ending later in the morning.
Visit #1475, Sunday 21 April 24, 6:45-8:25AM, 3.25 miles, 1.0 lbs. of litter.
Temps in the high 40s, partly sunny.
On a rainy Saturday morning I chose to get my feet and the rest of me wet with a hike in Hubbard Park, on the trails being persistently scarred by a certain vandal I'd previously reported on HERE.
I was not disappointed. Most I was able to remove; some I will have to return to address properly.
I found a number of these pink hearts much like I did last time. I was able to remove all of them. I'm heartless in that way.
The "Love Secret" was this message contained in the can.
Hmmm; and what might this message say? I took it home and let it dry to find out.
I found this interesting blank CD.
I'll spare you the deciphering. It says on one side-
"Brown Painter-I've had it with you-mind your business-watching you-stop putting glass in trail"
I did find quite a few piles of broken bottles today, deliberately in the center of the trail.
On the other side of the disc was written-
"Watching you-stop putting glass in trail-you are on camera"
Returning to the park, I cleaned up the dirt parking area near Mirror Lake.
I was surprised to find someone couldn't finish their cognac.
Last week when I stopped at the playscape I found the statue of Noah clothed in this hoodie and hat.
I'll occasionally find clothing on him, which I find greatly disrespectful. I removed the items and if they clean well I'll bring them to Goodwill.
Fenton River Veterinary is in Stafford Springs, CT. Nice to see people visit Hubbard Park from so far away. I couldn't find any reasonable link to T.L. Rough Sawn except a YouTube channel, but they didn't sell any merchandise such as the knit hat so I don't think there's a relationship.
Despite the rain it was an interesting hike.
While hiking on Saturday I discovered a fallen branch had bent over some brush, pushing it into the trail. So I returned to the park early Sunday morning with my chainsaw to remove it.
I hadn't intended to remove the leaning tree which had been that way for at least several months, as there was plenty of room to pass underneath and I thought there would be a safety issue in removing it, but once I started, might as well remove the tree also.
What was originally planned for this week was to address the graffiti on this rock.
My initial thought was to just paint over it but instead I decided to try a discreet approach first.
I poured lacquer thinner on the rock and scrubbed with a wire brush. The results are better than the After photo but I'm still not satisfied. I will return with a Plan B.
Nearby on the trail I spied another rock with similar graffiti. My technique worked much better here.
At the Halfway House I found yet more graffiti but instead of lacquer thinner, I used Goof Off on the magic marker with good results.
Seeing graffiti on the inside, I thought I should inspect the outside perimeter.
I was surprised to find this geocache stuffed within the rock wall. To leave it there would invite others, so I removed it. I knew it was a geocache because it said so on the note inside dated 13 April. With apologies to the owner "Zoe" I couldn't locate her to return the geocache because it seems you've got to create an account to gain access to cache locations and other information. No thanks.
While I had the chainsaw handy, I wanted to address this tree which had fallen across the trail around February of this year. Someone else had removed the section across the trail but left the ends cantilevered. I thought it didn't look right, so I gave the ends a trim.
Returning to the park I see the water department is progressing on their work installing a drainage pipe adjacent to the White Trail.
I can't wait for those carnival rides, and drier weather!
