Smart Ducks

I wish I could arm people with buckets and litter pickers rather than guns and uniforms. 

36-Inch Nifty Nabber Pick-Up Tool with Aluminum Handle

Harley and I are still cleaning up the new park everyday. The garbage is so overwhelming, I wonder if we will ever get it caught up enough to take a break. But there is a certain secret pride and satisfaction that we are making headway. Sometimes we can walk a full 30 feet without encountering litter. We are also trying to get all the cigarette butts. They are tedious.

Sometimes we have to skip them entirely because there is so much bigger garbage to deal with, but everyday we do manage to nab a few hundred cigarette butts. I am all for personal freedoms, I just wish smokers would put their butts back in their pack or pocket or purse or here's a unique concept, put it in a garbage can.  But the cigarette butts are only the tip of the iceberg.

Besides the smoking debris, we find anything and everything else scattered in a park that has over three dozen garbage cans strategically placed. It's mind boggling. Many people dump out their car garbage right in the parking lot just a few feet from a garbage can.

One family set up a huge picnic at a table.  After awhile they got in their car and left. Their picnic garbage was still all over the table and ground.  The trash can was a good 8 feet away.  They didn't bother to put a single item in it. I was astounded.

The swim beach is busy every afternoon but no matter how clean I get it, the next morning it is sprouting trash again. Not as badly as before, but I guess we have some really difficult empty headed people.  Also as people kick up more sand, I find more buried treasure.

I am amazed at the number of toys left behind at the beach. I often just put them in one big pile away from the water that is willing to wash them away. One was a tiny float, that I meant to go back and get for Harley after we were through litter pickering, but I forgot. Maintenance threw all the toys out, which puzzles me. They must have tripped over garbage to get to the toys to toss them out.

Life is complicated. I am oh so clueless.

My pictures came out lousy but this morning but a gaggle of ducks rafted in the swim area of the lake. How cute. That blurry thing in the background is the floating swim perimeter to keep boaters out.

Smart ducks.

Last night Harley dog went bonkers with his imitation chihuahua hysterical barking. I went to look out the window (which was rapidly being coated with flying doggy juice.)  Sure enough there was a gray fox furtively darting around the campsite looking for crumbs.  By the time I fumbled around with the camera, he had moved so far away on the other side of the lot looking for pickings, that I couldn't shoot him. With the camera.

Earlier in the day on the patio, when Harley was annoying me while I was trying to finish something important, I played the treat game with him. Instead of giving him treats, I fetched a bowl of his dry organic dog food.  I would pitch one across the patio for him to chase down and eat. Of course he kept coming back to pester me, but I was able to keep typing while tossing  a lone "treat" for him to chase. I was pretty sure he ate them all, but he did have an old ham bone laying around. This morning it's gone. Maybe the fox stole it.

A zillion big angry ants took over the patio for some strange reason. I used the water hose and a wand to give it a good cleaning more or less. I washed away lots of drowning ants anyhow. I was tired of them crawling all over me.

A week or so ago, a man that used to visit in the old park (before I moved) brought me a partially eaten ham one day. He said he ate too much of it, making his foot and arm swell. Oddly enough I talked him into trying some organic apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon at a time in a glass of iced tea to reduce the swelling. (The Braggs organic is far more tastier than the regular.)

Two days later he showed up to tell me he had bought a bottle of the stuff to sprinkle in his tea.  His arm and leg were back to normal. I offered him his ham back, but he didn't want it.

He was so impressed with how quickly the swelling went down in his appendages that he said I was a miracle worker. Little does he know I am a fruitcake full of nutty ideas that do work.

What a treat to have meat for a change.  I so rarely buy any meat.  When money is tight, meat is the first thing to get crossed off the shopping list in favor of fresh produce.

Days later when the ham was finished I cooked the hock with dried beans in the crockpot, then cooled the bones for Harley dog. Yes, the little spoiled canine had a smidgen of  ham too. Might as well share the wealth. He is my good little buddy but I have to be careful with him.

There is an old Bahamian saying;
"Big eye choke the puppy."

So I have these teensy food bowls that hold a quarter cup. They are actually leftover applesauce containers. I limit his wet food to loosely half that but I do leave his dry food half full pretty often so he can snack like a cat. Also, I am forgetful. So keeping a little dry food around all the time makes sure the little fellow doesn't go hungry if my brain is having a hiccup.

Today we were chased inside by the heat and my exhaustion. Harley was snuggled up next to me while I typed. After awhile he wandered off, then laid down on the floor. This is rare for him. At some point I got up to visit the broom closet (I keep a toilet in there too.)

That's when I saw the problem. Harley's problem.

There was dog puke scattered liberally on my bed comforter. Yucky poo!

"Harley!  Are you sick?"  I said a little too loudly. Oops.

Poor little fellow, he looked terrified. That was not my intention.  I picked him up to baby him and rub his tummy. He wouldn't look at me. I took him outside where I gently attached his dog run, then set him down as carefully as fine china.

Back inside I folded up the comforter which is of course is way too big for my tiny compact washer. I took it outside, cleaned a section of the patio which by now was covered in falling pine needles, then laid out the comforter to clean it with the water hose and soap.

Seemed like a good idea at the time. No laundry facilities within miles of here.

When I was done, I was going to pick up the comforter to drape it over something to dry, like the picnic table. But alas, it was oh so heavy, I couldn't even budge it. Because the concrete is so rough, I didn't dare drag it, as that would wreck it for sure.

So there on the patio, is my soaking wet comforter. I hope it dries one day soon or at least lightens up so I can try to lift it.

Good grief, I must be a weakling. I am way pooped out.  Some days are like this. I start off with great intentions, getting lots done in the morning, then POOF. I feel faint and have to rest.

I'd rather be looking for the next adventure. I want better drivel.

Life is good, but I am tired.