Monday, September 4th, 2023 – Safeway
It’s Labor Day and there was little traffic to show for it which made for a nice walk. We removed a raccoon and a crow from the streets and found money.
A quarter and a penny to start the week off on the right foot. And while we were on the subject, we found a right-footed shoe.
We kept waiting for the other shoe to fall, but it never did and this one ended up in the garbage. Which is what we do, start out on the right foot, end up in the garbage.
We picked up a couple of tools on our walk.
A paint brush that has been well-used and well-run-over and a drill socket adapter for a half-inch socket. The drill adapter had been broken where the shank narrows, but it’s still usable. We were not able to find a straight answer for why the shank is narrow at one point.
The two answers that make sense to us is 1) it provides more flexibility for impact to the shank and 2) it allows the shank to break rather than over-torquing the bolt. We vote for number one, but with the one we found, we’ll have neither advantage.
Janet fell behind Chuck and when she caught up, she said she found another cell phone. Wow, Chuck thought. This will be the nineteenth phone we’ve found and, reaching for it said, “That’s in great condition.” “No,” Janet said, “That’s my phone.” Then she showed Chuck a picture of the one she found at the KinderCare.
Janet can be so cruel.
Oh, Deer!
As we crested Norway Hill, we saw a doe and her baby staring at us. We stopped and stared back. A few minutes passed without either of us moving. Then we thought, are deer carnivorous and are they hungry? We decided to move on.
Tuesday, September 5th, 2023 – Park-and-Ride
Another nice TrashWalking day, though the traffic was heavier. We didn’t see any roadkill and found more money spread along our route.
Two pennies on the southbound off-ramp, a dime at the southbound on-ramp, a penny and a dime at the park-and-ride bus stop, and another dime in the park-and-ride. A total of thirty-three cents.
On the overpass, we picked up a make-up brush.
It’s a long light, so someone decided to finish putting on her make up using the outside rear-view mirror. When the light suddenly changed, it startled her and caused her to drop the brush. Or not. We are known to make up this kind of story.
Last week we reported that a large limb broke and blocked the road for a few hours until it got cleared.
This morning we noticed the owners decided to remove the other branches that were leaning toward their house after seeing what the one did to their fence.
At the park-and-ride, yet another water bottle for Goodwill.
And that’s it, a very light day, except for the money, that is. We like money.
Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 – Safeway and 100th Ave NE
Today was yet another nice day, but the traffic is getting much heavier moving to normal school traffic. We did remove some roadkill, another raccoon, the second this week. We had only removed twenty-one roadkill raccoons in six years, so finding two in one week is extraordinary. We also found money.
A penny at the gas station and a mined quarter at Janet’s favorite drive-thru.
We also picked up a tool.
A bungee cord in relatively good condition. If anybody needs bungee cords or tie-down straps, let us know. We have an abundance of them, some not run over at all.
The neighbors who had the tree fall were not finished.
Today there was only a stump and a bunch of sawdust left.
We found a discarded beverage near Safeway.
An unopened can of Jumex Peach Nectar (from concentrate). This means that the peach juice was extracted, filtered, evaporated, and stored. Then, water is added back, and the juice is canned. So why don’t they just sell a small can of the concentrate and let the consumer add water and shake. It would be much easier for us to carry.
As we went over Norway Hill, we passed a group of people by the side of the road.
As we passed, we explained that we were the only parade today. They laughed. Janet thought that they were waiting for the school bus, but Chuck thought that was silly. Why would you send dogs to school?
Farther over the hill, we pass another group.
Chuck again explained that we were the only parade, but they just stared at us blankly. Maybe they should send dogs and goats to school.
Its’ time to check out the contents of Chuck’s vest pocket where he stuffs items that are not individually picture worthy.
In the top corner are four cards: a Costco card, a health insurance card, an Alaska VISA card, and a driver’s license. We found these cards over three days of walking and due to the unique name and other factors, we were able to track down the person on Instagram and IM him. He replied that he had cancelled or replaced most of the cards.
Below, another credit card and parts of two more. Shredded. At the bottom-left, a refrigerator magnet for the Companion Life Leaders Conference held at the Ritz-Carlton in Vienna, Austria, a five-star hotel. So, what is Companion Life? Well, an insurance company of course, who else could afford $750 per night for a leader’s conference in Austria?
To the right of the magnet, a beat-up key, a beat-up fingernail and a syringe for glue or something, not drugs. Back to the top, someone’s super-secret password but we don’t know what it was a password for. At the bottom, a tire pressure gauge that has experienced too much tire pressure.
On the right, some jewelry, a hair band, an S-Biner and some kid’s doodles. There was also a Kinder Joy “Sweet Cream Topped with Cocoa Wafer Bites” and a “Surprise Toy Inside.” Someone ate the candy but left the toy untouched.
A mechanical monster of some sort complete with instructions and decals. Some assembly required. We’ll leave that to someone more qualified, like a grandchild.
Thursday, September 7th, 2023 – 160th to 124th Street
Today we found more money, making it four days in a row.
A quarter on Juanita-Woodinville Way, a dime on 124th Ave NE and a dime and a penny on NE 160th Street for a total of forty-six cents.
On 116th Ave NE we found ten empty 14 Hands wine cans.
Oh, and a 7Eleven hotdog box because you should eat something when you drink that much wine.
In the same area we found another urine botte.
This one is a Starbucks Frappuccino bottle instead of the usual water bottle. Guess it makes sense, it does have a wider mouth.
Another audio CD.
It isn’t our style, but it wasn’t too bad if you like deep sustained booming sounds.
School is now in full session and the traffic shows it.
On the left is a view along 145th Ave NE on Thursday August 10th of this year. On the right is the traffic today at about the same time.
Chuck inadvertently stopped traffic today. Farther along 145th, an intersection was blocked, and a truck left a gap for a car to cross.
There were two cars coming the other direction, so Chuck signaled for the driver to wait which she did. One car passed but the second car evidently thought he was signaling for it to stop which it did. It all worked out. There are advantages to wearing a yellow vest.
Friday, September 8th, 2023 – 100th Ave NE
We found more money today.
Only a quarter, but it kept our streak alive. We also removed a roadkill rat and picked up a couple of tools.
A Sawzall blade and another socket. The Sawzall blade is beat-up, but still sharp and the 16-mm socket is pristine, but it’s still going into the socket jar.
Another bong in front of the apartments on 112th.
It was a nice small one and would be a welcome addition to our collection of found bongs, but it was broken. So it was a nice addition to our trashcan.
Some left a Goodwill bag at a bus stop.
Inside were empty gin and vermouth bottles. They must make a terrible martini with equal parts gin and vermouth. Would that be a vermouth martini? And we didn’t realize that Goodwill sold used alcohol.
There is some major road construction along 100th Ave NE requiring the removal of several trees.
What does this sign mean? There’s a hazard here due to tree removal? Or hazardous trees are being removed? It turns out that the company name is Hazard Tree Removal and they specialize in removing hazardous trees. We think they should consider more professional signage, though.
And we’ve discussed this type of sign before.
The VA has programs to help homeless veterans, so before you give anything to the person displaying a sign like this, do as this sign says please vet them.
Saturday, September 9th, 2023 – Riverside Drive
This is the last day of our TrashWalking week and we removed a roadkill rabbit and squirrel for the streets. But we found money in a big way.
First, on Woodinville Drive, we found a penny which was a big deal for us. It meant that we found money every day we walked, which does not happen that often. But then, at the park-and-ride there was a neatly folded twenty-dollar bill. This is only the fifth one we’ve found since we started keeping track in June of 2019.
We found two more rubber ducks.
At first, we thought the one on the right was a marsupial, but we figured it’s supposed to be a duck on a duck-shaped floating device. That doesn’t make any sense. Ducks float, why would they need a floating aid. Also, why would a duck use a duck-shaped float? That would be like a person using a person-shaped float which doesn’t exist. Wait, there are blow-up dolls. It could work.
Okay, we are giving up on King County.
It’s now been ten weeks since this was reported and still no action. They must be too busy removing illegal homeless encampments.
Speaking of illegal encampments, last week we talked about the RV’s along Woodinville Drive and one had a new sign. The sign stated to not tow because someone lived there, which is illegal. This week, a friend sent me a photo he took of the RV being towed.
Today, we picked up the sign they left.
A second RV that had a generator droning every time we walked by was also gone. Those two RVs have been here well over a year. The third RV just arrived about a month ago but has been tagged.
We found a bike combination lock on Juanita-Woodinville Way.
This one looks to be very anemic compared to most we’ve found and, though we have yet to try, we are getting pretty good at opening these locks. It you purchase any combination lock, be aware, it could easily be stolen. Not by us, mind you, we only unlock lost locks.
Okay, this is just weird. At least to Chuck. Janet seemed to accept it as normal.
At a bus stop on Brickyard Road, we found a pregnancy test kit with two used tests. The test requires the person to urinate on the test device, the female, not the male. She must then wait for the results, and she did it twice. So, did she run across the street to the Jacksons station and buy a beer to help her out? Was she pregnant? Did she miss the bus? After we got home, Janet checked the results that showed she was not pregnant, which in our estimation was a good thing for the gene pool. But we still don’t know if she missed the bus.
That wraps up another TrashWalking week. Our take:
- $21.57 – A very good week even without the twenty.
- 20 Mike’s Hard Lemonade cans.
- 7 Balls, mostly tossed back over fences.
- 6 Road kills, including two raccoons.
- 6 Tools, mostly in good shape.
- 2 Deer, possibly carnivorous.
- 2 Rubber ducks, one with a blow-up duck.
- 2 Negative pregnancy tests that missed the bus.
- 1 Unopened juice, deconcentrated.
- 1 Austrian refrigerator magnet.
- 1 Bad martini.
Have a great week and remember, a duck should not be considered a floatation device.
Trash Walking 
