A Glimpse of Spring

Monday, 22th, 2021 – Safeway

This morning was the warmest of the new year at 49°F (9°C). We hope this is a precursor to Spring. We also saw another sign of Spring. By the way, Happy Birthday George.

A Northwestern Salamander near the wetlands on 112th Ave NE. It froze when we shined our flashlight on it, it was caught like a salamander in the headlights. When we find these critters in the middle of the street, we put them back in the wetlands, but this guy’s mind was in the gutter, so we let it be. Chuck can relate. When we walk together, Janet’s responsibility is from the curb away from the street and Chuck’s is from the gutter to the middle of the street. So Chuck’s mind is usually in the gutter also.

And, we found a boot to boot.

It was in very good condition and Janet’s size, but unfortunately there was only one, so we discarded it in a dumpster. Now if it had been Chuck’s size…

Edward lost his COVID-19 vaccination card.

Too bad, both doses too. Wait, he is ten years younger than us. We are still two weeks from our second dose. Line cutter. He deserved to lose his card.

A few weeks ago, at the crosswalk on NE 145th St, we helped this guy cross the street.

Today, we found this.

Someone dumped the crossing flags and the animal on the ground. Such carnage. It put a damper on the rest of our walk.

Okay, here we go again. We came to a fork in the road.

And for once, it was at a fork in the road. We thought of the term, “the road less travelled” from Robert Frost’s, “The Road Not Taken.”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

In this case, “Road Less Travelled” was a dead end. We were getting hungry and continued home. Sorry, Robert.

Tuesday, 23rd, 2021 – Park-and-Ride

This morning the temperature was 36°F (2°C). So much for our brief Spring. We picked up the usual amount of trash, but no money and no roadkill.

At the Park and Ride, we picked up the usual Coors Light beer cans, but also a sponge.

So what do you need a sponge for at the Park and Ride? There are sites on the Internet that suggest uses for sponges. This one suggests 40 “brilliant” uses for a sponge. We didn’t find these very brilliant, especially connected to the Park and Ride.

Screaming Ringo Ranglers.

We found this unopened package in the gutter. We didn’t know what it was, so we checked it out on the Internet. It’s a male enhancement device. This one is called the “spur” which sounds especially painful. Available on Amazon, at Rite Aide, Walmart and a store near you.

We found some discarded marijuana trash.

Normally we wouldn’t talk about something like this, but it states it is vegan, gluten-free and kosher. These appear to be like marijuana-laced gummy bears. We can buy the “vegan” and “gluten-free”, but the “kosher” is questionable. Here are the ingredients.

We are certainly not experts. Most of it looks ok, but what about the baking soda and unleavened bread thing?

Wednesday, 24th, 2021 – Safeway

This was another brisk morning. We found no money and no roadkill. However, a gentleman pulled into a parking lot we were passing. He thanked us for keeping the streets clean and gave us another Starbucks gift card. Again, we appreciate the gifts, but a simple thank-you works just as well.

We found a card, the Emperor.

We assumed it was from some roll-playing game, but it turned out to be a card from a Tarot deck. Specifically, it is from a deck called the “Golden Botticelli Tarot,” presumably because all of the images are from Botticelli paintings, though we could not match this up on the Internet. We know nothing about Tarot, but according to Google, this card has the following description.

Meaning: This card is suggestive of stability and security in life. You are on top of things and everything in under your control. It is your hard work, discipline and self control that have bought you this far. It means that you are in charge of your life now setting up your own rules and boundaries.

Upright card: Authority, Father figure, Law and order, Leadership, Power, Promotion

Reversed card: Control freak, Immaturity, Lack of discipline, Loss of authority, Manipulative friends

Whew! Fortunately it was upright when we found it. Glad we weren’t coming from the other direction. It must have worked, because soon after we found it the guy gave us the Starbucks card.

And then we found this.

Another full can of beer. We’ll hang on to the Tarot card.

This is the second one of these we’ve found.

A marijuana grinder. We found one when we first started walking about five years ago. You put your weed into the parts with the teeth and grind the buds until they fall through the holes into the screened section. The screen lets the dust filter through keeping your product ready to use. We only know this from Google searches. Really.

Then, we saw something we haven’t seen in four months.

A sunrise. Either we get home before sunrise or it’s overcast. We’re pretty sure it was the Tarot card. NOT.

Thursday, 25th, 2021 – 160th to 124th Street

After the nice sunset yesterday, we were yanked back to reality. This morning was dark, 36°F (2°C), raining and breezy. In short, miserable. It did calm down near the end of our walk, but we also didn’t find much of interest either.

The first thing we came across was some garbage that had been dumped.

It wasn’t the usual McDonalds or Safeway trash, but garbage including onion skins. We picked it up and put it into a nearby garbage bin. Notice the raindrop that photobombed the pic.

Another mask in a plastic bag.

We still don’t know the source of these. At the beginning of the Pandemic, masks were scarce, but we were told masks did not help unless you were sick. Now that they are mandatory and plentiful, the Feds are sending us 25 million masks. Thanks, but where were you when we needed toilet paper?

As we came through the park-and-ride, we picked up the normal trash including several beer cans and some plastic bags. When we got home and were sorting out the bags, something fell out of one.

A used condom and wrapper. This walk is definitely not on our top ten list.

Friday, 26th, 2021 – 100th Ave NE

This morning was a much better day, still cool with some light mist at times, but bearable. We removed a rare roadkill Opossum from the road. “Rare” in that don’t find them too often, not in how you want your steaks served. Or Opossums.

Another salamander like we found on Monday.

This one was about a block down and on the opposite side of the street. It may be the same one as we saw on Monday, they move very slowly.

We found another tool.

Okay, it’s only a roll of tape, but MacGyver used it as a tool.

We have expounded on this idiocy before.

In the bushes along 100th Ave, we picked up two empty boxes of whipped cream chargers, two balloons and several empty gas cartridges. The cartridges contain Nitrous Oxide, AKA Laughing Gas. The users open a cartridge and fill the balloons. Then they inhale the gas to feel a high. The problem is, overuse can deprive their brains of oxygen and cause damage.

Saturday, 27th, 2021 – Riverside Drive & Brickyard Road

This morning was cold but the sky was clear with a full moon transitioning to a sunny morning. We didn’t find any money today which makes it the second week in a row with no money. We did receive a gift card last week and this week, but they don’t count as found money.

We did find a tool today.

A noncontroversial socket to add to our found tool collection.

On the footbridge over the Sammamish River into Bothell we found another earring.

This is the third or fourth earring we’ve found on this bridge, never a pair, though. Wonder how many earrings are in the river below?

We found a bunch of clothing today, most of it waterlogged.

In the upper-left, someone had ransacked a duffle bag with several items of men’s apparel. We stuffed them back into the duffle bag and left it. It is by the Senior Center on Riverside Drive, so hopefully someone will dispose of it. But we’ll probably see it next week.

We don’t normally take pictures of gloves anymore, but this was a pair and in very good condition.

The women’s sweatshirt was in the middle of NE 160th Street and about fifty feet away, we found the blue Dockers shirt. There was a Ross Dress For Less tag and several theft security devices, so we are guessing these were stolen. They will get washed and put in the Goodwill pile.

An empty party bucket.

Somehow, attending a party where the attraction is a bucket of twenty Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey mini bottles does not sound appealing. That adds up to 1 liter of whiskey. At Total Wine, this bucket sells for $25. They also have a 1.75-liter bottle for $25. So, you can get more for your money with one bottle. But then you wouldn’t have 20 empty bottles and a nifty bucket to toss out your car window.

This paper got the wrong answer.

We found the Emperor card on Wednesday and he is not wearing a dragon robe. More disinformation.

Last week, we found two ski passes.

We were able to contact the ski area, get his phone number and return the passes to him. His wallet had been stolen from his car and he was a bit disappointed that we only found his ski passes and not his drivers license or credit cards.

During our conversation, he mentioned the community he lives in. Today, we found his Costco Card and an empty wallet which we presumed was his.

We left them by the sign post at the entrance to his community and let him know where we left them.

Bothell is changing our garbage collection service and in the process we are getting new trash bins. During our walk, we found several small plastic parts including this wheel which we hauled home.

When we got home we were getting our new garbage bin.

They had a crew in a big trailer assembling the cans as they went.

Later, another crew came by and picked up the old can, disassembling as they went. What we were finding were parts they had dropped along the way. So, the company that is responsible for recycling plastic is littering plastic parts.