Chuck Gets Leied

Monday, June 6^th, 2022 – Safeway

Starting a new work week, the temperature was warm, and no rain was predicted. So, we ventured out with a single-layer and no rain jacket. It was a mistake since there was a heavy mist for the first half of our walk and we got a bit chilly. On top of that, we found no money and no tools, but also didn’t need to remove any roadkill.

We found printed instructions for a Frog cake.

It is labelled “Frog cakes, Boy birthday cake.” Janet was incensed. A Boy cake because it is blue? It seems very un-PC.

Okay, time again to review why we wear rubber gloves.

Another water bottle with yellow liquid in it. See item 7 of the top reasons we wear rubber gloves.

And here is another reason not on the list.

We don’t know what this guy had, but we sure don’t want it.

We picked up a kid’s water bottle.

“My Destiny Calling.” Evidently their destiny is littering.

Another nondescript hubcap.

It is now in our nondescript recycle bin.

Tuesday, June 7^th, 2022 – Park-and-Ride

Today we had an early appointment, so walked briskly. We had planned to awake a little earlier to get a head start, but that didn’t happen. Since we walked faster than usual, we may have missed some trash. We did remove some roadkill: two rats and a bird. However, we did find money, a single penny near the park-and-ride bus stop.

Why do people lose mostly pennies? It just doesn’t make “cents.” Hey, if you want better puns, leave us better change like thin dimes, plugged nickels, not these penny-antes.

More zombie trash surfacing where the motorcycles are disturbing the woods on Norway Hill.

Yes, another golf ball. It was in good condition, so we rinsed it off and added it our golf ball bucket.

We found this in the middle of the road on 100^th Ave NE.

More distracted driving.

Wednesday, June 8^th, 2022 – Safeway and 100th Ave NE

We had very nice weather today and evidently the rabbits thought so also. We counted 12 rabbits on our Norway Hill route. Then again, we did pick up 4 roadkill rabbits, but we did not count them in the 12. We also removed a roadkill crow, making sure no other crows were around to see us. After all, it was nothing to crow about.

We didn’t find any money but did find a tool.

A nice Phillips screwdriver drill bit in pristine condition. We’ll add it to our collection.

We often pick up discarded “Little Tree” car air fresheners, but evidently, they have watermelon trees also.

You probably don’t want to stand around under a watermelon tree when they turn ripe.

Sprinkle Party.

Along Juanita-Woodinville Way, we picked up a piece of plastic with Sprinkle Party on it. Several feet later, down the bank, we found more pieces including the main body. It was a Shopkins Portable singing Karaoke Machine. Yeah, we would probably toss it out the window too.

And week 3 at the Château de Moth Gypsy Moth trap:

Still no guests.

Thursday, June 9^th, 2022 – 160th to 124th Street

After two beautiful days, the “atmospheric river” started. It was still warm, but wet. It was not the Mississippian downpour of last week, but it rained most of our walk. But we did find money.

A dirty dime on 116^th Ave NE, along the freeway offramp. After all the trash we have picked up along this stretch, it is about time someone gave us a tip.

Near the school on 112^th Ave. NE, we found a small, unexploded water balloon.

What were they thinking? Some kid could have accidently exploded this and become seriously wet. There ought to be a law. We need to tighten up the water balloon laws.

We found the dime on 116^th Ave. NE, but it is the street that just keeps on giving. Here is a brand new mess since last week.

Amorously, “Hey Babe, we have fifteen minutes to kill, what should we do?” “For a start, let’s clean out your rat’s nest of a car.” We found a bunch of trash, but no condoms.

Also, in the ditch, old stuff keeps surfacing.

Today was a needle together with a small plastic case. We didn’t open it until we got home, but water had penetrated it over time. We don’t know for sure what is in it, but it is probably a drug related to the needle. We could probably sell it in Seattle. The drug part, not the needle. Seattle gives away needles for free.

At one point on this 116^th Ave. NE stretch, we glanced down into a stormwater grate and took a photo.

In this snapshot, we count twelve cigarette butts flowing into our waterways to the Puget Sound. There is no filtering of this water, so it all makes it to our lakes and the ocean. Between us, along this stretch, we probably pick up fifty to one-hundred cigarette buts each week, and we are not making a dent in it. Deep breaths. We thought we had gotten over our cigarette butt phobia, but the storm drain brought back our memories.

Okay, on to happier note, Chuck got laid!

Well, obviously not that happy, he got leied. He rescued the lei from a drain on the freeway onramp.

He started to put it into his recycle bag, but it would have become dirtier. So, he wore it. He seemed to get much fewer waves and honks after he was wearing it.

We did remove some roadkill today. We pulled it onto the sidewalk trying to determine what it was.

We failed to notice that we were at a bus stop and a bus stopped for us. Embarrassed, we waved him on. We finally decided it was a well-run over rabbit, but we should have asked the bus driver his opinion.

We found a jaunty hat.

While doing a crossword puzzle a few days ago, one of the clues was ‘Jaunty.’ We had not heard that word in years, so we are happy to raise awareness of it. The hat was near a school, so we left the hat in plain sight on a pole. And yes, the pole appeared to be jaunty after that.

We found a tool, we thought.

We were pretty sure it was a tool related to wheels, but Google failed us. Later, showing it to a friend more knowledgeable than us, he informed us it was a wrench to remove specific “secure” wheel lug nuts. Put that in your Google and smoke it.

So, the Norway Hill drama continues.

For a couple of weeks, this van and a picnic table have been sitting off to the side of the road. The story we have is that the land it is on consists of a parcel of six-hundred square feet, about twenty-five feet square. They purchased it from the county on auction and have placed a picnic table and a vehicle on it. Today, a notice from the City of Bothell was on the windshield requesting contact.

More to come, we are sure.

Friday, June 10^th, 2022 – 100th Ave NE

The weather today was warm, overcast and no rain. A very nice walk. We removed a roadkill bird and found no money. But we did find this.

An unopened panini sandwich from a deli in Seattle. It was tempting, but we didn’t eat it. If the person who paid good money for it didn’t like it enough to eat it, why should we if it is free? There is some logic here, really.

As we were approaching the 7-Eleven, Janet was ahead of Chuck. A car, travelling too fast, turned left from southbound 145^th Ave NE east onto Juanita-Woodinville Way and spun out.

Fortunately, no other cars were in the area, but Janet was in the path if it had continued backwards.

The driver kept accelerating causing the tires to smoke. He made a U-turn and accelerated spinning his tires down the street past Chuck. We hope he had a good reason for being in such a hurry and wasn’t just an a-hole.

On to more mundane things. We found a discarded football.

It had obviously been over-inflated. So not Deflategate, but Inflategate?

Near Safeway, someone purchased some fruit pops, ate a couple and tossed the rest.

So there were several little bags of fruit juice with a popsicle stick floating inside. We picked them up and took them to a trash receptacle about forty feet away.

Another container with some liquid in it.

A five-gallon bucket about a third full of what looked to be motor oil. We left it but will report it to the City of Kirkland. However, unlike Bothell, Kirkland’s track record with us has not been stellar.

Another unlucky rabbit’s foot.

No, we are not sure this is a rabbit, but we couldn’t hazard to guess what animal it was. Anyway, there was less than half of the specimen left, so we cannot count it as a roadkill. Rules are rules.

This is what happens when you erect moth traps without following code.

Who knows how many moths were injured in the fall?

The story continues.

The request note from yesterday is gone, but it is unknown if they have contacted the city yet. This is like a soap opera.

It’s Friday, time to see what has accumulated in Chuck’s vest pocket.

Nothing really exciting. A couple of labels with Phlox pa. David on them. To Chuck, that sounded like a shipping label to David in Phlox, Pennsylvania, but no. It was a label for a plant, Phlox Paniculata, also known as ‘David’.

A ‘Hello Friend” note that was a thank-you from a teacher to a lady for helping monitor recesses. Probably so the teacher could go have a smoke. A nozzle cleaner, so if your nozzle needs cleaning, we have the tool. A metro ticket to who-knows-where.

Another hair band, naturally. A sticker of a skull in love near a small dime-bag with, appropriately kisses on it. A metal tag with a stylized ‘inc’ on it and a coffee lovers enamel charm.

$14 bucks on the Night Owl Paper Goods site. But since the key ring is gone, we’ll let it go for five bucks, firm.

A BECR pen (works), a piece of a credit card with enough of a name that we could track the person down. However, with only a piece of the card, it is not worth it.

Finally, a small playing card, the Jack of Diamonds. According to this site, “The Jack of diamonds is a young man who comes and goes, and takes more than is allowed.” Are we going to be visited by someone from the government?

Saturday, June 11^th, 2022 – Riverside Drive

We checked the weather apps before we left the house. 56°F (13°C) and overcast. Perfect for walking and picking up trash. Of course, it rained on us, but it was only a heavy mist for a short time. We didn’t find any roadkill to remove, and we found more money.

Fourteen cents. A shiny dime by a bus stop in Bothell and four blue pennies at the park-and-ride. Something had corroded the pennies. According to the Urban Dictionary, “The word refers to 100$ bills. If you look closely at a 100$ bill you will find a blue line that goes up and down the bill.” Maybe we should take these to the bank and convince them they are one-hundred-dollar bills. Good luck with that.

In the Bothell parking lot, we found a handwritten note.

If he knows the guy by name, why not just tell him?

On Woodinville Drive, there is a help wanted sign.

All positions? Okay, we’ll take the CEO position.

We found a couple of tablets today. At the park-and-ride, a Smartab kid’s tablet.

It is an Android based tablet that probably sold for about $70 new. This one is in bad condition and is filled with water. We may let it dry out and see what happens, but we are not holding our breath.

But wait, on the freeway onramp, a 2021 11-inch Apple iPad Pro!

But it is definitely dead. Starting from $800. Ouch! Hey perhaps we can use it as a trade-in. It’s worth a try.

At the park-and-ride, we saw a winch behind the tire of a parked vehicle.

Perhaps the power steering had failed. Or maybe the driver is a terrible parker and uses the winch to drag the car into place. Yes, that must be it.

While slogging our way up the Brickyard Road hill, we passed a guy on his way down.

He started saying something and pointing up the street. We could not hear him very well and he had an accent, but he got his point across that there was something in the gutter up the road. We thanked him and continued on our way.

It was a huge clevis pin. When we got it home, we found it weighed almost nine pounds. Thanks a ton, guy.

On the home stretch, we found someone left a bottle of Jim Beam with about a shot left in it.

We needed it.

That wraps up our walking week. Our take:

• $0.21 in coins.
• 1 Watermelon tree.
• Zero Gypsy Moths.
• 1 Abandoned needle and dope.
• 1 Jaunty hat.
• 1 Spinning car.
• 2 Unsmart tablets.

Have a great week.