All Work And No Play

 

I got mine; did you get yours?

Visit #1503, Sunday 10 November 24, 6:40-8:40AM, 3.7 miles, 2.8 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 30s, sunny and dry.

On Saturday I participated in the Three Peaks Challenge, hosted by the Meriden Parks and Recreation Department. Nine miles, encompassing West Peak, East Peak, and South Peak.

It was truly a day of fun and A LOT of hiking!

The event organizers included Kathy Matula, the Parks and Rec Recreation Coordinator; Dave Cooley our official photographer, Gal Friday Rhaelene Hastings for snack food resupply and sag wagon driving, Steve Bradley and Brian Lamphier for mapping and planning, and Marcus Ramirez for checking us in and out; you all were da' bomb, at sign-in, setting up, providing support, and fetching the pizzas!

I intended to do no trail maintenance or litter pickup on this hike so as not to impose my activities on others but after Kathy picked up the first piece of litter I knew I was in like-minded company and broke out a bag.

Kathy: I returned the the park on Sunday and picked up the Dunkin' Donuts cup we passed before you changed my mind about picking up the litter!

The bunch quickly separated into compatible groups but we collected at West Peak where we reassembled for a photo. (Photo courtesy of Dave Cooley).

On the final leg of the hike on the road around Merimere Reservoir, we stopped so I could show our group a marker delineating the border between Berlin and Meriden. Hidden in the brush was a set of Honda wheel covers. We each grabbed one and carried them back to the park, but the idea of a group hub cap photo died in committee.

Besides the patch, as a bonus Kathy gave several of us extra leftover pizza. After that hike I didn't feel like cooking anyway!

It was during our hike the subject came up of; why are the animals chewing up the trail markers put up by the Parks and Recreation Department?

Is it the paint? Is it the material?

It is neither.

Turns out squirrels' teeth do not fall out or regenerate; they grow constantly. Left unchecked, they will eventually grow so long as to cause various squirrel problems, so squirrels grind them down to keep them a proper length, and the trail markers just so happen to be the right material for the job.

Alright; the Three Peaks Challenge was my Play, which is why it's not part of my tally of park visits above. Sunday it was back to Work.

Of course, even though I didn't bring my usual tools for trail maintenance, trash pickup, or graffiti, doesn't mean I wasn't keeping an eye out for work. Which is the reason I returned to Hubbard Park Sunday morning.

We had to step over this tree during the hike. It wasn't movable then. 

I made it so.

I picked up a seldom used trail which would lead to the Halfway House, and found a few more trees which needed removal.

No "After" photo on this one:

You can almost pick out the roof of the Halfway House in the background.

At the Halfway House I tended to some graffiti I spotted during the hike. There was more than I photographed, but you get the idea.

This heart, which I'd covered over a couple weeks ago, apparently is a fixation for Bella and her mom.

Next week it will be my fixation.

Last week I reported finding a tree falling into the trail which did a number on the fence separating the park from I-691. This was the primary reason I packed the chainsaw.

There wasn't much length to be cut to remove it from the trail, but I did so anyway.

I made a couple more cuts on the remaining length just to see if it would remove pressure from the fence. No.

The rest will have to be left for history.

As I returned to the park I cleaned up the dirt parking lot at the northwest corner of Mirror Lake and found this traffic cone which didn't seem to serve a purpose. I returned it to the parks operations building, putting it in a spot where I'm sure it will be found. 😉

Remember the recent two brush fires in Hubbard Park? Last week I found one of them and showed you photos.

While walking back to the parking lot, I found the second one, by the Spring House.

I had NO IDEA this brush fire was WITHIN the park proper.

Care to bet how that one started? I'll give it a shot...

The parks crew will certainly be busy for the next couple weeks putting up the holiday lights so cut them some slack if you plan to file any complaints with the parks department.