Monday, September 5th, 2022 – Safeway
Last night, we apparently officially started into our fall season. The weather cooled somewhat and yesterday evening we had a slight rain and a rainbow.
It didn’t last long, but we think we know where the pot of gold is. Here is a story about the myth of the treasure at the end of the rainbow. But they are wrong. We are sure we will find some beer cans in the area, or even a few pennies.
Starting out a new week, the weather was about perfect for walking, scattered clouds, and 55°F (13°C). 55°F is a bit chilly, but we quickly warm up and keep cool over Norway Hill.
We did not find any roadkill but did find some money.
A nice shiny quarter in a gas station car wash vacuum station. Chuck stumbles on the money finds and so does Janet. But Janet is starting to map out areas with more abundant finds, like the Dairy Queen drive thru.
Today is Labor Day and the traffic was scarce making for an even better walk. It also made for much less trash, none of which was much worth mentioning, but we will anyway.
A dog toothbrush chew toy.
So how did dogs take care of their teeth in the Middle Ages? For that matter, how did humans? Well, for a long time, both dogs and humans survived without dental hygiene and six-month visits to the dentist. In fact, the dentist was probably the local blacksmith whom you wanted to avoid at all costs. All-in-all, folks probably survived fine without a dentist, but probably with bad breath.
We did find a tool.
Yes, another badly run over bungee cord. Yes, it is still considered a tool by the TrashWalking judges but is only worth a half point in the scoring. Bastards!
Someone turned a bus stop trashcan into one of those local lending libraries.
The busses must run very late at this stop. Due to the impending rain, we figured it would be better to collect the books and send them to Goodwill.
Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 – Park-and-Ride
The traffic was back this morning along with all the honks and waves. It felt good.
No roadkill and we found money.
One thin dime, one-tenth of a dollar. Always up for a Ray Steven’s song.
We found a run-over and destroyed solar yard light.
All the parts were there and when we got home, held the parts together and tested it. It worked! We can glue it back together and put it in our garage for when we get back from our walks on our dark winter mornings. Wait. Solar in our garage?
A tale of two bungee cords.
We got two bungee cords today. The one on the left was found along Simonds Road in very good condition. The other was in much worse condition having spent the week in the intersection of NE 145th St. and 100th Ave. NE.
One week ago, Chuck spotted this bungee cord at the stop light. When the light changed, he walked across the street and tried to pick it up with the picker, but one end was stuck in the tar.
Then, he reached down and grabbed the loose end and tried to pull it loose.
What was he thinking? He wasn’t. If it had let loose, Chuck would be wearing it around his neck or worse. The light was about to change so Chuck gave up, but the couple in the Tesla was having a great time watching.
Great, next week Chuck will be on TeslaCam.
Okay, fast forward to today. The bungee was still there, but far worse for the wear. But Chuck was prepared.
Using a small screwdriver, he was able to pry the stuck hook out of the tar and remove the bungee cord. Success. And there was not a Tesla in sight.
Wednesday, September 7th, 2022 – Safeway and 100th Ave NE
Traffic was light again today. There was a lot of small trash, probably left over from yesterday. We found no money and removed a rabbit from the road. It was in very bad condition and took three trips with the pickers to mostly remove. Nope, no photos.
We did find a tool.
Only an Allen wrench. Not only that, one of those cheap wrenches they provide to give you hope of assembling some piece of Ikea furniture then toss it out the window in frustration. Which is where we found it.
We did find another bungee cord.
No drama like the last one. It was just lying by the side of the road, no tar or Teslas.
We did get a honk and a wave from the Bud Light truck.
This truck crosses our paths a few times each week and has taken to acknowledging us. We appreciate his attention but would be slightly happier if it were a Bodhizafa truck. Just kidding, we very much appreciate him.
Thursday, September 8th, 2022 – 160th to 124th Street
This morning we almost saw a rabbit make the wrong, and most likely fatal decision. However, at the last moment, it reversed course and avoided the dump truck heading its way.
So, fortunately, no roadkill, but we found more money.
A dime, this time on the onramp. It was a little into the car-pool lane, but not particularly beat up. So, yes, we wouldn’t mind listening to Little Egypt again. Go ahead, click the link above, we will wait.
Also, on the onramp was a used condom.
We applaud that the driver took responsibility to wrap up his distracted-driving activities before getting on the freeway. Then again, he did litter.
Okay, perhaps we were being too hasty. On the onramp, a woman lost her shirt.
Maybe they were just getting started with a second round of distracted driving. The shirt looks like it was spattered with something. Probably grape juice.
To make up for the splattered shirt, we did find a sort of tool this morning.
A packet of 15 replacement carpet blades, unopened and probably worth about twenty-five bucks. Okay, probably not worth much to us, but if we ever get into laying carpets, who knows?
Friday, September 9th, 2022 – 100th Ave NE
The weather today was about the same as yesterday, but the winds shifted and we are getting some smoke from some nearby forest fires. This made the sun appear to be a subdued orange.
A few years ago, we had about two months straight of smoke, but this is supposed to clear up in a short while. Hopefully a short while is not defined as a couple of months.
No roadkill today, but we did find some money.
A penny in the Safeway parking lot and a quarter found in front of some friend’s house on Norway Hill. And no, we are not about to tell them. After all, we do want to remain friends.
And we found a tool.
A used Sawzall blade. We have a Sawzall, but this blade was used and had been run over many times and developed a bow shape. So, we recycled it. And don’t give us any of that “It’s a poor workman who blames his tools,” or we will give it to you, and you can tool around in circles with it.
We found the emergency exit.
Unfortunately, it appears to be below the sidewalk. Damn, we should have kept the Sawzall blade.
Across from Safeway on Juanita-Woodinville Way NE, several houses back yards face the street. Several of the owners have put gates and pathways to have access to Safeway and the other stores in the strip mall. Evidently, they have a dog problem.
And not their dog. In pencil below the large, red letters was a statement in pencil, “This area is not your dog’s toilet.” Right, like that is going to work.
Another spent shell casing on Norway Hill. 
Not good. Last week it was Nerf bullets, but now it’s live ammunition. Granted, it’s only a .22 caliber. The escalation has begun. More next week.
It’s Friday, time to check out Chuck’s vest pocket.
On the left, the perfunctory hair control products. A rare pink fuzzy band, a formal black band, and a small bow ribbon barrette. Also, a box of matches, evidently if you want to light your well-maintained hair on fire. And yes, we’ve heard the one about a match of your butt and my face.
Then we found the note, “Urszulka Pieski!” So, we had to trust Google Translate here and it detected polish, but only partially-translated it. Pieski translates to puppies. Oh, please don’t let this be a recipe of some sort.
Below, there is what appears to be a Mr. Potato Man’s eyes. Or a Mrs. Potato Woman’s eyes. Or a… Never mind. Either way, it was the new plastic potato man/woman/LBGBT+ toy, not the “I have a bunch of eyes, lips, ears, etc. Can I have a potato? And that is as far as we go. Another drawer pull, black and nondescript. A welcome relief from the previous discussion,
And yes, another gift card, with zero balance, of course.
Then a stick with King Palm stamped on it. It took a while to track this down. King Palm immediately came back as marijuana-related, and we found several products that had this stick included with them. Then we found this video. The stick is simply a tool to tamp your pot down to get as much product into your wrap as possible. Translation: “Get your joint as potent as possible.”
Okay, another car part. A Dodge Ram wheel hub.
Then a baby’s toy to play with in his crib. And another toy to play with in his bed when he is older.
Saturday, September 10th, 2022 – Riverside Drive
This morning was again a bit smokey but otherwise perfect weather for a walk. We did not find any money and removed a squirrel from the road but did find a tool.
Yes, another Allen wrench, and blurry at that.
We came across a bouquet of flowers.
It was on the sidewalk next to some garbage cans, so it may be a thank-you gift for the garbage man. If it was, the garbage man didn’t take it. Probably didn’t want to smell up his truck.
At the blocked-off access road to the Sammamish River, more dumped stuff.
This time it was wood held together with a piece of cable. We placed it behind one of the barriers to rot. This would easily fit in a yard waste bin. Yet another place we would like to set up a trail cam.
An abandoned car.
This car has been here for months and is just outside the Bothell city limits in Woodinville. We took a photo of it back in January with a hose hanging out of the gas tank and the lid is still open. We’ll report it to Woodinville.
We may have another abandoned car.
No plates and very beat up, however we don’t recall seeing it before. However, we compared our camera footage from last week to today.
It’s the same car but has acquired some heavy damage and appears to be in exactly the same place. How could it get so much damage without moving? Jilted girlfriend?
At the I405 off ramp, an arrow sign was taken out again.
This sign was run over in January and fixed. Maybe it would be cheaper to expand the right-turn lane.
At the park-and-ride, we found a total of 43 Scratch-and-Lose cards.
They ranged in price from five dollars to twenty dollars each with a total cost of $650. These were all losers. We don’t know how the player fared, but we hope he didn’t spend his rent money on these.
Another woman lost her shirt.
Maybe she’s the one playing the Scratch-and-Lose cards?
That’s it, another week down. Our take this week:
- 71 Cents. Not too bad for a week, but far from the best.
- 43 Scratch-and-lose cards, all losers.
- 21 Mike’s Lemonade cans.
- 2 Women’s shirts.
- 4 Bungee cords.
- 2 Allen wrenches, but cheap.
- 1 Small lending library
- 1 Emergency exit.
Have a great week and remember, garbage out, garbage in.
Trash Walking 