A Sign of Surrender?

Sunday, May 10th, 2020 – New Route

This morning was very pleasant, bordering on too warm at 57°F.  We removed a dead squirrel and two rabbits from the road.  The rabbits were across the road from each other, so one for each of us. They were probably cavorting in the middle of the street.

We did find a nice penny.

It was in very good condition compared to most pennies we find. Still, just worth a penny.

“Lucky for Life”

Or not.

Then again, maybe they did get lucky.

“FDA Registered,” not FDA Approved. Registered just means the FDA is aware of the product. The FDA does test some of these products and has found that several contain “undeclared…drug ingredients.” The ingredients are usually the same as used in Viagra.

Someone lost part of a hitch lock.

$34 on Amazon. However, we didn’t find the pin part so it’s pretty much useless. Too bad, it actually has the key with it.

We came to a fork in the road.

Yes, keep waiting for it. We’ve used the fork-in-the-road joke a few too many tines. It was run over so will fit in well with our flatware collection.

We also found a spoon.

This is a druggie’s crack spoon with burn marks on the bottom and tape on the handle. Wonder how many times he awoke in the morning wondering why he had burns on his fingers before putting the tape on the handle?

We found an earring, but only one.

Useless. But maybe not. This article from the New York Times talks about the trend of men “…embracing the single dangly earring.” So, we have more possibilities.

Even though there’s only one, we placed it in our jewelry collection. After all, it’s part of our retirement nest egg.

We’ve talked about these before.

We picked up exactly 25 Nitrous Oxide canisters that kids use to “get high.” The reason it gets them high is that it deprives oxygen to their brain. It’s hard to get smart like that.

Now, this is smart. NOT.

The City of Kirkland is monitoring traffic patterns during the pandemic lockdown. We hope they’re not doing twenty-year infrastructure planning, but that’s probably too much to hope for.

We found a pretty nice comforter behind a tree.

It wasn’t too heavy, but was very bulky, so wouldn’t have been comfortable for us to carry it. We’ll pick it up with the car when we make our next errand run. It appears to be in good condition so Goodwill should want it, if they ever open again.

We found some pieces-parts of someone’s keys.

We’ve found keys before and have been able to return some of them to their owners. The key to finding the owner is finding something identifiable. No chance here.

We found a floatation arm band.

Wait. What? “Warning not to be used as a safety floatation device.” So, the boat is sinking and the only thing you can grab is this? Yep, we’d drop it. Better safe than sorry.

We found another cell phone.

We’ve found several cell phones, either lost or discarded. Most are DOA. There was only one, an iPhone, that we were able to return to the owner. The others were irrecoverably dead. When we arrived home, we found that this one was alive with about a third of battery life remaining. It’s a Motorola MOTO G5S Plus and still for sale, new and used on the internet. It had been wiped clean and the SIM card was missing. Whoever owned it cleaned it and tossed it by the side of the road, good citizen that he is.

BTW, if you are in the market for a ~2017 Moto phone, let us know. We’ll let it go cheap.

Monday, May 11th, 2020 – Safeway Route

This morning was 61°F, the warmest morning of the year. It was also our first time in short sleeves this season.

We found two of the biggest lottery tickets we’ve seen.

Each was about six by ten inches. This way you can be a really big loser. “Win up to $200,000!” The key words here are “up to.”

We did find two balls today.

But neither were worth putting in our ball collection. The tennis ball lost all its fuzz and the Wiffle ball had a hole in it. Ok, Wiffle balls are supposed to have holes, but not this big.

Someone lost their bicycle light.

It wasn’t very bright, but the batteries were probably dead. The light is part of a set, Planet Bike Beamer 1 & Blinky 3 Bike Light Set, $26 on Amazon. Nice naming. So, is their bicycle pump named Pumpy 2?

We found some interesting drinks today.

Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier with Cellular Transport Technology, passion fruit flavor. They had us going until the “passion fruit.”

The other was and empty Olipop can.

We weren’t familiar with this brand, so we did some research on their website.

“No two microbiomes are the same. We’re all just unique, awesome, groovy bacteria. We need to take care of the good bugs in our gut so they can do their job taking care of us.”

That’s pretty direct. Yes, we know we have bacteria in our intestines that help us to digest our food, we just don’t want to be reminded of it. Also, it’s called Vintage Cola, but the company was founded in 2017. So does “vintage” refer to first quarter of 2017 or the second?

Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 – Park-and-Ride Route

This morning was a turnaround at 47°F and threatening rain, but it never came, thank you.

The first thing we found was at the Tolt Pipeline.

It was spring loaded and looked to us like part of a heavy-duty weed-eater that feeds out the cutting line. It is probably expensive, but heavy outweighs expense for us and we unloaded it into a close-by recycle bin. It is garbage day.

At the apartments on 112th Ave, we found a balloon on its last legs.

We put it out of its misery.

The mowers had mowed over the fence at the freeway uncovering a lot of trash. This area is partitioned off by a chain-link fence and the freeway barriers, so Chuck hopped over the barrier. Well, hopping is a pretty strong word, it was more like slithered.

There is a large retaining wall about four feet to the left with a 30-foot drop. It got a bit uncomfortable in a couple of places.

We cleaned up a lot of the trash, Chuck tossing a lot of items over the fence at Janet, but she’s pretty spry and dodged most of it. We should get extra credit for this.

We did pick up a tool over the barrier.

A plastic utility knife with one rusty blade. Useless. Later, we found another tool.

This one was more useful, a drill-drive socket. This is the first one of these we’ve found, so if we get into a project that requires a lot of 3/8ths-inch screws, we’re set.

Well, this could also count as a tool.

A nice bungee cord. A little runover but very serviceable.

We found a discarded pipe.

A cracked crack pipe.

Another Washington State Lottery scratch coin.

Washington State provides these to folks who don’t have any coins left due to their lottery losses.

At the park-and-ride, another party.

Only seven? We missed one. Sloppy work on our part.

Mike Williams tossed his gift card.

We checked; it was empty. Bastard! He could have left us a finder’s fee for cleaning up after him.

Each garbage day, we pass a mess at this location.

These containers are always overflowing, and the crows take full [get it?] advantage. Yes, we picked it up and put it back in the bins.

Someone put up one of these Little Free Library boxes.

We first saw it yesterday and did not think to take a photo, but it did have some books in it. It is very well made. The sign above says “Home Tweet Home” and the one below states “Room to Wrent.” Nice job. Today, a roll of toilet paper appeared. No, we didn’t take anything, but we could have added Mike’s empty gift card.

Wednesday, May 13th, 2020 – Safeway Route

Today was cool like yesterday but with some misty rain. Not bad, but we wore our rain jackets. We did remove a roadkill rabbit from the street. Still below normal, but with the increase in traffic, we are seeing an increase in roadkill. A positive sign the economy is reopening, a bad sign for critters.

Recently on our walks we’ve been meeting a new jogger. Today, he stopped and introduced himself as Ram. He said he sees us often early in the mornings and asked why we pick up trash. We talked for about five minutes and he wanted to offer us help with gloves or anything else. We said we were fine, and his appreciation is enough. And it is. These episodes and the folks who wave, honk, and flash their lights at us is all we need. We’re easy.

We found a scrap of cardboard with Spanish writing on it.

I think it means arrows are against playing polo. Janet thinks it means rice with chicken. I think she’s wrong.

We did find a Slim Jim.

Only half, though. People are so inconsiderate.

Since we’ve been walking, Mike’s Hard Lemonade cans have been the King of the Norway Hill. We consistently find one to three cans on each trip. Other contenders come and go as Bud and Bud Light, but Mike’s is very consistent.

The latest has been Corona bottles with the caps pressed back on. We’ll see how long they last. We’re betting on Mikes.

We picked up a photograph.

“Go on, Jimmy, jump in. It won’t sink. If it doesn’t, we’ll follow you in. Come on, be a brave boy.”

The Little Free Library finally has some more books.

“Vampires in the Lemon Grove” looks interesting as does “Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce.” The “Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods” not so much. Too healthy.

So, our McDonalds litterers who are becoming more regular tossed some cups, followed by more trash farther up the Hill.

Inside one of the teacups was a certificate, on the back of which was a shopping list.

This was interesting. A completion certificate for the “Role of the Skywarn Spotter.” This is actually a National Weather Service Volunteer Program to warn about severe weather.

Okay, we applaud the individual for volunteering for the service. Now learn not to litter!

Thursday, May 14th, 2020 – Park-and-Ride Route

Today was cool and misty. We ventured out without our rain jackets and had a nice walk. About 45 minutes after we arrived home, the clouds let loose with a torrent of rain. Not a Mississippi torrent, a Seattle torrent. Thank you, again.

At the park-and-ride someone dropped a t-shirt.

Except for being blurry, it looks to be in good condition. We’ll wash it and add it to our burgeoning pile for Goodwill.

We found two more whipped cream capsules and the empty carton of 24.

More nitrous oxide for smarter kids.

Friday, May 15th, 2020 – Safeway Route

This morning was 51°F. Both of our weather apps indicated overcast with no precipitation, so we didn’t wear our rain jackets. Of course, it rained on us. We removed a roadkill rat from the road.

The big story of the day is the McLitterers made an appearance.

Yesterday, we found the two McDonalds teacups with the certificate and discussed that it might be the McLitterers but we missed the bag. Today, we found the bag with the two clean platters, unused utensils and unopened butter and syrup.

One of the first things we found was a delivery sheet.

A “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Board” and an “Ive Loved You Since Forever Bo[ard]?” This turned out to be an Amazon delivery tag for two children’s books of the type “board books.” According to Wikipedia, board books are generally children’s books where the covers and all pages are thin cardboard. Okay, we have many of them for our grandkids. Wonder how much Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” board book weighs? Nope, we checked the Internet. Nothing.

Okay, this is a candy wrapper. We’ve been seeing a lot of fishing boats on the road since fishing has been unlocked, so we thought these might be fishing bait. Worms? Good. Neon? Yep, fish seem attracted to bright things. Sour? Not so sure.

At the bus stop by the 7-Eleven, was a donut bag on the bench.

And they left us half dozen donuts. Make that “Donettes.” We were tempted, but we didn’t. With the pandemic and all.

Okay, the next things we found are a bit confusing and can be interpreted in different ways.

At the top of Norway Hill were several cupcakes and birthday candles.

Also, approaching the top and at the top there were three condom wrappers and a used condom.

To add to the mix, there was a car with a couple asleep in it.

So, we can envision multiple scenarios here, but here’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

The couple parked at Norway Hill on the guy’s birthday. She gave him cupcakes with lit candles, and he was appreciative. The next present she gave him was really appreciated, thus explains the condom and one wrapper. We have no explanation for the other two condom wrappers.

The couple in the car are awakened by two strangers with gloves and vests cleaning up the area. The couple in the car make a hasty retreat leaving their license plate number for future blackmail purposes.

Saturday, May 16th, 2020 – Riverside Drive

Today’s weather was about the same as yesterday including the surprise rain. Early in our walk, we removed a roadkill rabbit from the road. Saturday is our last walk of the week and, looking back, we only found a single penny last Sunday.

We did find another gift card today.

But it, like Mike’s we found earlier this week was empty.

Also, at the end of the week, we provide a summary of the gloves and dog poop bags we found.

We picked up three poop bags today for a total of ten for the week and we picked up eighteen gloves today, thirty-four total. The glove count today is a new record for a single-day take.

At the Sammamish River Park, someone hauled a bunch of trash out of the surrounding wetlands.

Nice work! It included, among other things, a license plate, a roller bag, a pair of work pants and a safety vest. We eyed the vest, but it was in poor condition. We’ll see how long it stays there before the city cleans it up.

Speaking of trash, King County cleaned up the heap we reported to them a few weeks ago.

They did a nice job of clearing it out.

Unfortunately, someone promptly dumped an old sofa in the very spot.

We found two almost-full boxes of cigarettes, one on Riverside Drive and one on the Freeway off ramp.

We pick up a lot of cigarette butts and the occasional unsmoked cigarette, but seldom find a pack of unsmoked cigarettes. We’ll add these to our collection.

This is about four years’ worth of walking, so two packs in one day is rare.

We found these near each other on Riverside Drive.

A small umbrella and a small baseball cap. Hope Mr. and Mrs. Little weren’t out walking and got run over by a car. They were probably hanging out in the street with Mr. Mole from last week.

The City of Bothell is finding out that attaching the crossing flag buckets to the telephone poles with nylon ties is not a good idea.

We’ve noticed several that are twisting due to the weight of the flags and dumping them on the ground. This one totally failed and dumped itself on the ground too.

At the park-and-ride, the Coors drinkers had two parties.

Four cans at one site and five at another. That’s three parties this week. We may set up a camera.

Also, at the park-and-ride someone lost a shoe.

It was in pretty poor condition. We wouldn’t want to be standing in his shoes, or shoe in this case. Maybe he didn’t either.

And, this in the parking lot.

A desk lamp and a silverware organizer?? If anyone out there can shine a light on this situation, let us know.

Finally, as part of our continuing educational series on the Coronavirus,

This is the accepted International Indicator of Surrender.