Monday, June 21st, 2021 – Safeway
The mornings are getting warmer, close to 60°F (15.5°C) and we are down to our summer clothes. We were warm, but not too uncomfortable. This also is our first walk after the Summer Solstice, so the days will now start getting shorter toward winter. We still carry our flashlights, but seldom need to use them. The day is coming.
We removed some roadkill from the streets, a rabbit, a snake and a crow. We’re not sure any live crows saw us remove it, but we were wary. We also found some money.
Only a penny, but as we’ve said before, finding money, even a penny, early in the week takes the pressure off being shutout.
This was bad. One of the first things we found was a bunch of cigarette butts down the middle of 112th Ave. NE.
There were well over a hundred of them along about 100 feet. They were being spread by passing cars. Early on, we got very upset by the number of cigarette butts on the sidewalks, gutters and streets. We eventually accepted this as the normal cigarette-smoking half-wits that flick butts out of their car without thinking. Because they are half-wits, after all.
However, someone who saves up a couple-hundred butts then dumps them is making a special statement. “Hey, all, look what I did anonymously. I needlessly dumped a couple-hundred butts on the street as an act of social revolt against the oppression of society. You will always remember me, anonymously.” Yes, we especially remember mindless idiots like you. Gee, we thought we were finished ranting against people tossing cigarette butts. Evidently not.
We found four balls.
In order of size, a soccer ball, a tennis ball, a golf ball, and a small squishy ball. The soccer and tennis balls had obvious homes and got sent back. Nobody yelled “Goal” or “Ole”, but we were satisfied. The golf and squishy balls made it home to our ever-increasing ball collection. We need to do something about it. It is taking over our garage.
Last week we found a drivers license and other contents of a guy’s wallet and we returned them to him. Today, we found his wallet in the grass median of Juanita-Woodinville Way.
We texted him this photo of it and asked if he wanted it back. He replied that it was old, and we could toss it. And after we carried it all the way home. Such gratitude!
Jumbo pet poop bags.
Fortunately, they were empty. We would hate to have to carry jumbo pet poop home along with the wallet.
As we crested Norway Hill, a fellow met us and thanked us for picking up.
He said he had been waiting for someone to come along to help him load a pressure washer into his truck. Great. A wallet, jumbo poop bags, and now, a pressure washer. He did also thank us for picking up trash.
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 – Park-and-Ride
Today was warmer and we needed to remove a rat from the road. However, we also found money.
A quarter in reasonable condition. The week is starting out good.
We also found another socket.
A 7/16th-inch in very good condition. Not run over at all.
Someone lost three t-shirts and a hanger.
They were clean, in good condition, and Chuck’s size! They will fit him to a T.
We learned something new on our walk. We learned that Barbie’s cat’s name is Blissa.
Heck, we didn’t even know Barbie had a cat. We wondered at the name “Blissa” so we googled it. Wait, What? Potty training? “Barbie Potty Training Blissa Barbie Fashion Doll and Pet Playset. Blissa cat actually pees – just squeeze her tummy!” It is complete with a litter box and a pooper scooper. Go figure. Can’t we go back to the time when Barbie did not have a pussy cat? And that is as far as we dare go.
This is a little disturbing. We found an empty Sig Sauer box.
It was for a 17-round clip for a Sig Sauer P320 pistol. At least we didn’t find two boxes.
On a brighter note, as we were walking down Juanita-Woodinville Way a car pulled off the road behind Chuck, across the street from Janet.
He approached Chuck and thanked us for picking up trash and handed Chuck an envelope from his wife.
When we got home and opened the envelope, we found a very nice note, written by the guy’s wife and a Visa gift card. We have received several gift cards during the last six years, this was one of the most thoughtful. It made our day.
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021 – Safeway
It was actually cooler today with a nice breeze. We found no more money, but we did find another roadkill crow in the gutter.
We carefully checked that there were no other crows around and removed it from the road. If crows see you tampering with their dead, you are marked for life. It was a tense moment. We picked the crow up and tossed it into the bushes, as the crow flies, so to speak.
Yet another pair of cheap reading glasses.
Disgusting. They were making a spectacle of themselves.
The old TV is still there.
We reported this seven weeks ago to Kirkland. Still no action. Do you think they are ignoring us.
Well, here’s a lunch idea.
A McDonalds meal and a Sutter Home Chardonnay mini-four pack. The fragrance of the Chardonnay blends so well with the McDonalds French fries. Okay, a vanilla milkshake might be better, but a four-pack of vanilla milkshakes might be a bit much for lunch.
We have an earbud for sale.
Only one and it needs a little work, so we will let it go cheap. Contact us if interested.
Another shopping list near Safeway from someone who has their priorities in order.
Start off with rum and coke, a.k.a Cuba Libre. Then the makings for a sandwich, minus bread. And then, oh, I need to get Darrel’s prescription. Nah, just give him a couple Cuba Libres. Cuba Libres are easy to make. Chuck drank a lot of them in the Army during the nightly movies. A can of coke, drink a large gulp, refill the can with rum, enjoy the movie. Simple.
Okay, there is a story here, but we are not sure what it was.
We came across a total of eleven unopened condoms. One package was opened and stuffed in a Clif Energy Bar box with a bunch of tissues. So, are the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut bars an aphrodisiac? If the guy purchased a dozen condoms and a box of six energy bars, but uses only one condom, we do not think Clif will be contacting him for an endorsement. Good try, though. But Durex Condoms appreciates his business.
Thursday, June 24th, 2021 – 160th to 124th Street
Thursdays seem to be a good money day, probably because a good part of the route is only traversed one day a week.
Today we found thirty-six cents. A quarter, a dime, and a penny in three different places. On the other hand, we also needed to remove an opossum and a rat from the road. And both had been laying in the sun for entirely too long. This is the downside for only visiting once a week.
Near the apartments where a string of cars is always parked, we found a key.
We may carry it tomorrow and try it out on some. The GM logo does narrow it down a little. That sounds risky, so maybe we will replace it on the sidewalk and let someone else try it.
A Boeing employee ID lanyard. We heard from a friend that Boeing is beginning to encourage workers to return to the office.
Evidently this guy said, “No way, Jose.”
We see a lot of rabbits on our walks, mostly alive, but some not. Today, we found a rabbit-sized soccer ball.
Okay, but it was really a golf ball with pink soccer markings.
Then, we came across this.
A coincidence? We think not. You can see the white soccer shoes. We figure someone accidently dropped this. Yes, like all the cigarette butts we find. But we digress. We left the pink bunny for the owners. But if it is there tomorrow, it is toast. And no, they will not get their soccer ball back.
Friday, June 25th, 2021 – 100th Ave NE
Well, the money just keeps coming this week.
Three pennies, two pretty beat up and one still in good condition. But it came as a cost in that we needed to remove a rat and a rabbit from the roadway. So, that would make one penny for the rat and two for the rabbit.
At Safeway, we found a grocery bag of trash and a receipt for a Dr. Pepper and two packages of Hostess Donettes.
Great breakfast, by the way. The bag also contained an unused Sharpie pen. This is worth about three dollars for the pair. So, this one is worth about a buck fifty. We put it in our pen collection where it will slowly dry up, adding to the air pollutants for years to come.
We found Susan’s Hawaii souvenir.
It is not something we want, so if anyone named Susan wants to pretend they went to Hawaii, let us know. We will let it go cheap. Certainly less than air fare, a hotel room and food. We’ll settle for fifty bucks, but we warn you, our absolute minimum is ten cents. After all, we are shrewd negotiators.
We found a very small, new-born baby onesie.
“Forest Friends”, a Fox and an Owl. Both of which would probably dine on you if they had the chance. Oh, come on, we are joking. But it is the truth.
Last week, we found a small squishy ball but didn’t know what it was. Today we found another and noticed a marking on it.
An “N.” Through our hours of practiced deductive reasoning while walking, we focused on the Nerf company. We soon found a product that uses these balls for ammunition.
It holds a seven-round (ball) magazine. Perhaps they need to provide a seventeen-round version like the Sig Sauer P320 pistol we found earlier this week. But then again, we would just need to pick them up. Stick to the seven-round version.
We found a Trivial Pursuit card.
We knew the first and third answers and guessed correctly at the second. The answers are on the reverse of the card. Or look them up for yourselves. Here is a hint.
The answer is near the 5:30 minute mark, but if you have not seen this, the whole thing is worth watching.
Saturday, June 26th, 2021 – Riverside Drive & Brickyard Road
When we started our walk at 5:15 am this morning, the temperature was already 67°F (19°C) and when we arrived back home at about 8:45 am, it had already reached 78°F (25.5°C). We knew it was going to heat up rapidly, so we kept our pace up. We didn’t find any money, probably due to our fast (for us) pace. At one point we thought we found a coin, but it was a key.
A very useless key at that. We did remove a snake and another crow from the road. That makes three crows this week. Since July, 2017 when we started keeping a tally, we have only removed 24 crows total. The heat must be slowing them down.
We found a wheel cover and a hubcap.
A Toyota wheel cover in good condition and now in the Goodwill pile. Also, an Infiniti hubcap, not in so good condition and recycled. As a piece of trivia: The Infiniti symbol has a double meaning as a stylized road going off into the distance or Mount Fuji. We think it is a stylized representation of swim goggles.
We keep finding COVID masks, mostly disposable ones, but today we found a kid’s mask.
We sanitize and wash them and put them in a basket for the next pandemic. We have a lot.
Next time, order online.
But what? Go ahead and use your smartphone. Nothing too exciting at all, unless you are hungry for Mexican food.
Trash Walking 