Return of the Routine

 With the chaos and crowds of the Daffodil Festival out of the way, I can get back to normality.

Visit #1598, Sunday 10 May 26, 6:25-9:00AM, 5.5 miles, 3.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 60s, cloudy/foggy but clearing after a night of rain.

First, a little reminiscence.

For those of us old enough to remember when the Hubbard Park playground was located below the skate house, remember the swings so tall they had to be 10 feet from seat to top? You could get some serious air once you got the swing in motion. Or remember the incredibly long seesaw?

Well, I just finished reading The Anxious Generation, How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Johnathan Haidt. In a nutshell, Haidt lays out how smartphones in the hands of youth is causing all sorts of mental problems. What's that have to do with swings and seesaws? Before kids glued their eyeballs to screens they engaged in activities which stimulated their minds and bodies such as actual play. The book has a photo which I date to roughly 1900 (because of the bicycle in the photo), of children playing on what could be called a jungle gym of its day. It reminded me of Hubbard Park's old playground.

Could you imagine a playscape like that today?!

 For the 4th time this year, someone keeps spray painting red on this birch tree, despite my covering the red with black paint.

This is foam sticker #25 I've found and removed this year.

The hike was foggy, quiet, and cool.

Rounding the corner to Castle Craig, I noted the tree on the right was hanging into the road and in need of a little trim. So I gave it one.

It was so foggy, I found the klieg lights on, even in daylight. That is, unless the photo sensor failed.

I speak from experience; do NOT look directly into the light! 👀

I left the trail and walked the road around Merimere Reservoir back toward the park.

I see the speed bumps are back for the season.

At this speed bump a small tree was leaning over into the road. Like the tree up at Castle Craig, I trimmed it back.

Further along the road I found and covered over Cat Graffiti #31 since November 2016.

I watched a pileated woodpecker climb a tree. Actually they sort of hop. The bird kept climbing the tree as I reached for my camera and put some distance between us.

Why is it called a pileated woodpecker? Because of the red tuff of feathers on the top of the head, or pileum, which is the top of the bird's head from the bill to the nape.

Back at the parking lot I waited for city councilor Chad Cardillo. He introduced himself to me a couple weeks earlier during the pre-Daffodil Festival event. I was too late off the mark thinking of a photo opportunity so I asked to meet him this Sunday morning.

I thought it would be a great idea if he tried on my backpack to get a better idea of what I do. While I imagine most hikers in Hubbard Park carry little more than water, a snack bar, and a cellphone, I'm pretty certain people would be surprised by my load. And I was right, because the first thing Chad said as he hefted my backpack was, "What do you have in this thing?!"

I liken it to:

Trying on Batman's tool belt,

or Superman's cape,

or trying to lift Thor's hammer!

I weighed it when I got home but I won't tell you the number. The question is, do YOU dare to take the Backpack Challenge?

Thanks to councilor Cardillo for being a sport about it!