The Covert Culvert Conclusion

October 21st, 2019 – Safeway Route.

Today was 50F with no rain.  We gathered very little trash probably due to the covering leaves.  It’ll be waiting for us in the spring, for sure.

We didn’t find any roadkill today, but yesterday, we found small, deceased opossum in our driveway.  No, we didn’t run over it.  It was probably dropped by a coyote or some other predator.  We won’t count is as a roadkill.

Another eCigarette butt.  Since the bad press on vaping and the resulting ban on flavored vaping products, we have definitely seen a drop in vaping litter.  A good thing in two ways.

At the KinderCare, we found a plastic stake outside the fence.  We thought it might be good for killing plastic vampires.  But we’re not the only ones.  “Also good for driving through the heart of a plastic vampire.”   It’s also good for teaching vampires a lesson as we learned on the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Buffy Boards.  People are debating on why Riley stakes Spike with a PLASTIC stake instead of using a wooden one and getting it over with…  It was a TV show people.  Anyway, we tossed it back.  We’ll probably get attacked by a plastic vampire.

The only thing of any value we found this morning was a pair of unused earplugs. $42 for 100 pair, so this is worth 42 cents.  Maybe we’ll put them on Craigslist.

We found a plastic bag that, based on the shape and weight, had something dead in it.  We’ve found these before.  This one contained a double-bagged squirrel.  We gave it a proper toss into the bushes and put the bags in the garbage.

More leavings of the Taco Time Tokus on Norway Hill.  

In August, we noticed someone had put in their own culvert.  We didn’t think it was up to code and started documenting the progress.  

After the culvert, a tree was in the way so the person started hacking away at a tree for several days until the City of Kirkland took notice.  A notice of violation for damaging or removing trees on the City of Kirkland’s right-of-way.  The tree was a safety issue and disappeared after a few days, probably professionally removed.  But the culvert remained.  Until this week.  It has been removed and the ditch restored.  Lesson learned.  Maybe.

 

October 22nd, 2019 – Park-and-Ride Route.

Today there was a heavy mist during our walk, rather ethereal.  Again, we picked up a light amount of trash, probably due to the leaf coverage.   

At the park-and-ride, there was more partying going on.  Coors Light, the all-time park-and-ride favorite.  We found two more cans nearby, so we missed one.  Damn leaves.

The Taco Time Tokus continues the dominance on the hill.  

We found a loose piece of mail.  A parking ticket from Diamond Parking Services.  We passed the mailbox it was meant for and laid it on top.  We’re sure they appreciated it.  You’re welcome.

We found a random car part.  

Or maybe it belonged to the Terminator.  We’ll be back.

 

October 23rd, 2019 – Safeway Route.

Ok, we’re back.  Today was dry with starry skies.  The price: it was 15F colder than yesterday at 41F.  Still preferable to precipitation.  There was a slight uptick in the trash we picked up, but it continues to be below normal.  No, we’re fine with that.  Fast walks in cold weather.

By the bench at the 7-Eleven bus stop was a beverage can.  AriZona Mucho Mango fruit drink.  The person who left it must not have liked it as it was half full.  Or half empty depending on how you look at it.  We don’t understand, it tasted ok to us.  But maybe he read some of the Amazon negative reviews.

“…This product contains Splenda, an artificial sweetener and potential toxin. Sucralose, which is the basis of Splenda, is listed on all packaging for products that include Splenda. Sucralose is a chlorinated artificial sweetener that results when hydroxyl groups are replaced by chlorine molecules. So while chlorine is not listed, sucralose is, which contains chlorine and is not natural sugar.”

“Okay so I tried an Arizona product for the first time and this was it, the mango cocktail, but I am having very bad health problems with it. Had a sip of it for the first time yesterday but pooped out blood for the past two days now. Great but do not recommend for first timers”

We may be getting sick.

We found a soccer ball.  It was in good condition and would be useful for a game between raccoons and opossums.  It’s about the size of a golf ball.  This would be a very one-sided game.  Raccoons can run about twice the speed of an opossum.  We wouldn’t even consider playing soccer with rabbits.

Oh, wait, no.

Glad we wear rubber gloves.

At the top of Norway Hill at the Tolt Pipeline, more drug trash.  Cigarette butts, a marijuana tube and a wrapper for Banana Smash, Banana Strawberry cigars.

Really?  We can’t imagine Sir Winston Churchill orating “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”  while smoking a Banana Strawberry Cigar.

 

October 24th, 2019 – Park-and-Ride Route.

After two days of very little trash, it was back to normal.  King County must have issued a temporary litter ban we didn’t know about.  It was lifted today.

The first thing we found was a shoulder strap pad.  This might come in handy with our heavier trash loads.  We spent a few minutes thinking about how we might be able to use it, but couldn’t get a handle on it.  It ended up in the trash.

At the freeway, while awaiting the arrival of the bus to clear out the bus riders, we wandered down the on ramp.  Amid the typical cigarette butts, we found three keys.  There was probably a key ring somewhere, but we didn’t find it.

At the 7-Eleven bus stop, we found a couple of dropped items.  A pencil from eatsmart.org.  “Fuel Up First with Breakfast.”  Eatsmart.org promotes good nutrition.  Its mission statement: “Inspire lifelong health and enjoyment of dairy through evidence-based nutrition education and leadership.”  Did we mention it’s the Washington State Dairy Council?

Also, someone dropped their readers.  These are “Henri Gun” brand reading glasses.  $17 at Walmart.  That’s a bit expensive for us.  The last ones we purchased were three for ten bucks on Amazon.

Someone dropped a half tube of lip balm.  Rosebud Salve by Rosebud Perfume Company, $7 on Amazon.  It was first formulated by a druggist in 1892 and has several advertised uses including “lip balm and gloss, diaper rash remedy, skin blemish treatment, dry skin moisturizer and minor burn relief.”  Too bad it doesn’t mention littering. 

We found a shirt in the gutter.  A Joe’s USA athletic shirt.  $8.  Probably a better deal than the lip balm/diaper rash cure.

We thought we found another hypodermic needle disposed of in a marijuana wrapper.  But the “needle” was the distillate applicator called a Tanker.

More Taco Time Tokus leavings. They’re being very consistent.

Beef jerky and water.  Someone dumped an unopened bottle of water and a single piece of beef jerky.  We don’t know why they left the jerky.  It tasted ok to us.

Panda Express trash was tossed.  Inside was an unopened fortune cookie.  “Good Fortune Lies Ahead.”  Well, not so much for the cookie.

Later in the day, after our walk, we heard about a memorial service for Lt. Kirk Robinson, an 18-year veteran of the Bothell City Fire Department, who passed away after a bout with cancer.  There was a memorial procession that was to pass under the 160th overpass near our park-and-ride.  We went to the overpass to pay our respects.  Members of the Woodinville Fire Department stood at attention on a fire truck as the procession passed by.  Thank you for your service.  This link has more information including how to make donations to help his family with the expenses.

On the overpass, we were out-of-bounds of our normal walking route.  We couldn’t help picking up some trash on the way back to the park-and-ride.  Hey, it’s got to pay more than TrashWalking.  [the iPhone’s a dead giveaway.]

October 25th, 2019 – Safeway Route.

This morning was clear and a relatively warm 51F, not a typical October morning.  The amount of trash was again, back to normal.  Normally on Fridays, traffic is what we call Friday light, but today it seemed heavier than normal.

One of the first things we found was perfectly-good gas can, other than it was empty.  Someone should tell them these things are reusable.  And recyclable.  We placed it so people can see it.  If it’s still there on Saturday, we’ll pick it up and send it to Goodwill.  We don’t need it.  We get plenty of gas.

At the KinderCare, more toys were outside the fence.  The plastic vampire stake again and an orange tennis ball.  We tossed them back.

We also found another ball. At least we think it was a ball, but it had been buried for a while.  It bypassed our ball collection and went straight to the garbage.

Speaking of buried a long time, we saw a bag deep in some berry bushes.  After working at it, we finally pulled it out.  It was tied to the handle of a plastic jug that looked like it had been a rat condominium.  It went directly into a nearby garbage dumpster.

We keep finding pieces of the blender on Norway Hill.  This time it was the handle.  It’s like they put the original blender into a giant blender and pressed the chop setting.

Also on the hill, another cartridge.  We expected another nitrous oxide cartridge, but it was CO2.  Wonder how high they got on that?  

We found a baby’s booty that got dropped.  

And a baby’s toy.  We can understand the booty, but an activity center?  On Amazon, “Early learning center has 5 piano keys that play music and encourage creativity…  Over 70 sing-along songs, music, sound effects and fun phrases; meant for babies and toddlers 9 months to 3 years old.”  Okay, we get it, it was “accidently” dropped.

The booty went into the garbage.  We left the activity center and will pick it up tomorrow if it remains.

More clothing.  “A Critical Drop Armhole Tank.”    $15.  Not our style.  Off to Goodwill.

We picked up a piece of trash to put in our garbage bag, but it winked at us.  Only one left.  We looked around and didn’t see any others.  Maybe this belonged to a lady pirate who only used one at a time? Or not.

 

October 26th, 2019 – Riverside Drive.

This morning was foggy and about ten degrees cooler than yesterday.  We picked up a moderate amount of trash but did not encounter any time-consuming issues, so we completed our rounds in just under four hours, around 9:00 am.

The fog wasn’t really a problem for us, but when the Bothell Crows began their daily sorties, we saw their silhouettes through the fog.  They seemed to be flying in random, confused directions.  They probably weren’t flying under IFR, Instrument Flight Rules.  The FAA should have grounded all 16,000 of them.

We removed a roadkill rabbit and a crow from the road, our first roadkills of the week.  The crow was probably a casualty of the fog.

We found a tennis ball in the ditch.  Nothing special, but good enough to make it into our ball collection.

Near the Sammamish River Bridge, we found a Ziploc bag.  It was labelled “Julie $1000”  Whoa!  Unfortunately, it was empty.  But since Julie tossed the baggie, we figured she might do the same with the money.  We spent a few minutes looking for it to no avail.  We filed a report with the Bothell Police to report we lost $1000 in case an honest citizen turns it in.

Sigh.  The Lime eBike is still in the ditch, two weeks after we reported it.  It’s probably losing hope.  Maybe we should contact Uber.  They may want to adopt it.

Periodically, we find coffee mugs that have been discarded.  This morning, it was a Seahawk mug.  Probably an editorial comment on last week’s game.  Pretty fickle fans, sore losers.  C’mon, it’s one game.  Now if they lose this week, we will remove the Seahawks’ cigarette case from our trash museum.

Each Saturday for the past year or so, we have passed the Securite Gun Club building site as it progressed.  We have reported on it several times in our blog.  Once, we complained about the trash their workers were leaving.  Another time, one of the owners saw us and came out to thank us for our efforts.  Finally, after some delays, they appear to be open. Pardon our fog.  We will check it out.

We find a lot of pot litter, but this is the biggest we’ve found. An empty, pint jar of Green Crack Hybrid pot.  We dare you to walk up to someone and say “Hey, you have the biggest Green Crack I’ve seen.”  Let us know the results.

On our way back, we normally walk part way up Brickyard Road.  This morning, we wish we hadn’t.  And this is why we wear gloves.

On our way back along Riverside Drive, we saw two giant elm leaves fencing. Oh, give us a break.  It’s early.

We found a poncho wrapper from the Smithsonian Institution.  Someone needs to tell these people we are nowhere near Washington DC, this is Washington State.

We found a backpack.  It was probably stolen and dumped.  We searched it for any identification but the only item in it was a bottle of water.  We’ll give it to Goodwill to start a new life.

A lost hubcap.  The hubcaps we find are normally lost because they have broken clips on the back, but this was in good condition.  Maybe it was the missing lug nut?

We found an insurance benefits quick reference card for Pokemon.  Guess those critters need insurance too.

At the end of 112th Ave NE, a car came around the corner and the driver flipped a cigarette butt out his window.  This is the first time on our walks that we’ve witnessed someone blatantly toss a butt out the window.  You probably don’t believe it, but we have a smoking gun. Make that a smoking cigarette.