Snake Eyes

Monday, May 6^th, 2024 – Safeway

We started the week finding a roadkill opossum and some money.

A good start for us, not so much for the opossum.

We picked up another article of clothing for Goodwill.

A knit cap. With the number of clothing items we give to Goodwill, they should have a TrashWalking Designer Collection, coming to a Goodwill near you.

We found a reminder note.

At the top was a Game Day menu list including meatballs, bacon-wrapped avocado wedges, spicy beef skewers and potato chips. Then a note about the Amazon Prime series “Fallout.” Okay, we’re in for the Game Day festivities, but a series based on a video game? No thanks. A movie perhaps, but not a series.

A very small bottle of MIT 45, Mitragyna speciosa.

This, we found out, is a form of kratom which we have found before. While researching what it is used for and the effects, we found this National Institute of Health Library of Medicine article that states in its conclusion,

Overall, the study demonstrates the unique binding and functional profiles of the kratom alkaloids, suggesting potential utility for managing pain, but further studies are needed to follow up on these in vitro findings. All three kratom alkaloids tested inhibited select cytochrome P450 enzymes, suggesting a potential risk for adverse interactions when kratom is co-consumed with drugs metabolized by these enzymes.

That makes no sense to us, so we decided to ask ChatGPT:

Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as kratom, is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, whose leaves are often used for their psychoactive properties. The benefits of kratom include its potential use as an analgesic to alleviate pain, its anti-inflammatory effects, and its utility in aiding the cessation of opioid addiction by mitigating withdrawal symptoms. However, the use of kratom is not without risks. It can lead to side effects such as nausea, itching, dry mouth, and increased urination. More severe risks include dependency, addiction, and liver damage. Furthermore, the variability in potency and lack of regulation in many regions contribute to the risk of overdose. The effects of long-term use are still not well-understood, adding another layer of concern regarding its safety.

Much better.

Tuesday, May 7^th, 2024 – Park-and-Ride

Today was cool and overcast and we removed a roadkill rabbit from the street and found more money.

A quarter on Juanita-Woodinville Way laying on the fog line and a dime a little farther up.

We also found a tool.

A rusty Torx drill bit, but it counts.

As we left the house and approached the intersection with 112^th Ave NE, we witnessed a car run the stop sign at the intersection.

Chuck lit the car up with his flashlight and the driver glanced our way and kept going. Yes, it is early, and there is probably no traffic, but at least make the pretense of slowing down at the stop sign.

We found some car parts along our route.

A lug nut and a horn. We saw what looked like a gas cap in the middle of the intersection with I405, but it was too busy to retrieve. This morning, we saw it early on our walk and got it. It was a horn for a Hyundai, only fourteen dollars on eBay (used) plus eighteen dollars shipping, so thirty-two bucks total. We’ll let this one go for a mere twenty dollars including shipping. Okay, the truth be told, it has been run over, probably multiple times and half of it is missing, so we will let it go for ten bucks. As is.

On the freeway on-ramp, someone accelerated too quickly and lost their magnetic sign.

A Ziply authorized partner. They’re probably the ones that send the twice-weekly mails urging us to switch to Ziply.

Along Juanita-Woodinville Way, we spotted some screws in the gutter.

We picked all of them up – we hope. We don’t know how many left the scene in vehicle tires, but at least we saved some flat tires. You’re welcome.

On Norway Hill, more folks making whoopie.

One used condom, one unopened, and one missing. Make up our own story.

We found this in the middle of the street.

It turned out to be a highly-compacted hand towel from Germany.

It was anticlimactic. It didn’t self-expand, and, in the end, you have a wet towel.

Wednesday, May 8^th, 2024 – Safeway & 100^th Ave NE

We had company today and did not walk, but we did check out Chuck’s vest pocket.

On the left are the credit cards, all broken. Only the top one is a broken complete card. The fragment on the bottom-left appears to be a Costco membership card.

Mugging for the camera for your Costco membership? A tossed Hilton Hotel key card and a Rocket Stores rewards card. We had not heard of a Rocket Store, but it’s a convenience store in our area.

In the middle, on top a single glasses ear piece and temporary sunglasses you get after the optometrist dilates your eyes. A business card for A1 Cash Now, place the buys silver and gold among other things.

Then a round piece of orange cardbard.

It turned out to be a lid for Who Gives a Crap brand of facial tissue. The site sells 100% recycled paper products. We’re not sure you want to think about that too long. A lone ear bud, and a wrist band stating, “I am a critical thinker.” No need to wear it on your sleeve, so to speak. Another carabiner key chain, broken, of course.

Back on top, a SingleStick marijuana cigarette tube and a couple of hair bands.

Then the kids’ toys. A New Dude Perfect Panda Astronaut bag clip. A pink Japanese cartoon character called Melody Mouse, a reindeer hanging around for Christmas, a diagram of the heart and an alien girl.

You can tell it’s an girl because it is wearing a dress and has a bow in its hair like all alien females.

Wait a minute. This dosen’t belong in the childrens section.

Thursday, May 9^th, 2024 – 160^th to 124^th Street

The weather this morning was a bit chilly, but clear and dry. We found no roadkill but did find money.

On 116^th Ave NE, we found a dime and a penny. Then, as we started our trek down NE 160^th St, we spotted a dime embedded in the tar.

With a little effort, we used a small screwdriver to pry it out. Well worth the dime. So, a total of twenty-one cents today. The week is looking good.

We also found some tools.

A 12mm socket and a cover of some type for a Horusdy tool. Yeah, the TrashWalking judges will reject this as a tool, but we wanted to show you how unreasonable they are.

We found a key.

It must be important because it is stamped “DO NOT DUPLICATE.” We don’t know where the key is from or what it’s meant for, but we should take it to Home Depot and ask them to make a copy. But they may refuse, but if they do, we will end up with a second useless key. So, the key point is we should not waste our time.

More unopened food for us.

A Clif Chocolate Peanut Butter protein bar worth about two bucks. Sounds yummy, but, with few exceptions, we will not consume anything we find, opened or unopened. The rare exceptions are unopened beverages, but not Bud Light.

Then there was this.

We have no idea what this is. It’s rubber, hollow and about five inches long. We tried Google Lens but it refused to find any matches out of the millions of photos on the Internet, so this must be rare and worth a lot of money.

Friday, May 10^th, 2024 – 100^th Ave NE

Okay then. Today the temperature was 52°F (11.1°C) and for the first time in several months, we ventured out without our rain jackets. Rain jackets are good, obviously, for rain, but also provide an extra layer against the cold.

It was a good day to walk. We found no roadkill, but did find more money.

We found a quarter and a penny on the curb on Juanita-Woodinville Way and another nickel farther down on the opposite side of the street. Then, at Janet’s favorite drive-thru, another quarter and two dimes just laying there. No mining required. A total of seventy-six cents. This is looking to be a very good week.

We also found a tool along Juanita-Woodinville Way.

A tire pressure gauge, though it looked a bit battered, and should not be trusted for accuracy. So, we will let it go cheap. Only serious buyers need respond.

We had a changing-of-the-guard, so to speak.

We purchased new shoes and as is the tradition, we took a photo of the old versus the new. Our new 18th pairs of shoes are on the right and the retirees are on the left with 674 miles on them. They will be enshrined in the TrashWalking museum. We’re lying, they’ll be recycled at the local Brooks shoe store.

We did some extra credit today and went farther up Simonds Road to clean up more of what we left a few weeks ago. We found the back of a Motorola walkie-talkie, then about a block later, we found the rest.

However, in its condition, it was neither walking nor talking.

Part of the walk was behind a cement barrier and we would periodically look over the barrier to see what was in the traffic lane.

On the left is a wide-angle truck mirror and, on the right, a heavy-duty pot that tangled with more than one vehicle. Both were recycled in a local recycle bin.

Also behind the barrier, we saw this fellow.

A garter snake was trying to play it cool and ignore us. Janet had a different idea and snatched the critter up with her pickers for a photo op. The snake was not pleased and did not want its photo splattered across the Internet. You can’t blame him, but leave it to Janet.

Saturday, May 11^th, 2024 – Riverside Drive

Today was much like yesterday but even warmer and we found more money.

Another dime embedded in the tar and again, the screwdriver coaxed it out. We found money every walking day this week for a total of $1.43, the most we’ve found in one week this year.

We also found some tools.

Part of a set of Husky Allan wrenches. These are long wrenches, the 3/8th inch wrench is nine inches long. Even though there are five wrenches, the judges will only allow us to count it as one set. We hope they don’t find out there are 13 to a set, otherwise they would only allow us to count it as half a tool.

A pair of Optic Max Safety Glasses.

They’re not looking very safe here.

We found a couple more condoms today.

The one on the left was under the freeway and the other in a parking lot. One was opened, but looked to be unused, but we used our pickers on it anyway.

We came across three bicycles today.

One was under the freeway and looks to have been dumped. The other two in front of the apartments on Woodinville Drive may have been left for the taking, though there were no free signs.

Also on Woodinville Drive, a nice pair of Levi jeans.

We’ll wash them and send them to Goodwill.

Also, some miscellaneous items found together.

A Remington face and body hair shaver, some hair bands, and, of course, an unopened bottle of Tums. The shaver appears to be unused, but the power supply is missing.

Finally, on the freeway on-ramp, a car-top carrier.

Skyline by Sportrack, three-hundred-and-fifty bucks. These are great for carrying and protecting extra cargo. However, it works best if it is attached to the vehicle.

That ends our TrashWalking week. Our take,

• $1.43 including two dimes extracted from the tar.
• 9  Mikes Hard Lemonade cans.
• 6 Balls.
• 4 Tools that should have been eight.
• 4 Condoms, 3 unused, 1 used and 1 missing in action, maybe.
• 3 Car parts.
• 3 Bicycles.
• 2 Roadkill including an opossum.
• 2 Unopened food items.
• 2 Items of clothing headed to Goodwill.
• 1 Driver running a stop sign.
• 1 Powerless shaver.
• 1 Playboy in the children’s department.
• 1 Unduplicated key.
• 1 Radio in radio-silent mode.
• 1 Wet unicorn.
• 1 Irritated snake.

Have a great week, and remember to let sleeping snakes lie.