Post 12

Signs of Autumn

The second day of autumn was beautiful down at OP. As I began my preparations to retrieve the last few week's deposits from visitors, a Mt. Pleasant sanitation crew pulled around and were emptying the bins and doing some trash pick-ups, too. My brothers in picker-uppering! Thank you! They asked if I was the guy with website. I didn't ask if they read it or were merely aware. Based on my Google analytics I already know the answer.
I am always amazed by the things people leave behind or decide to dump at the pond. If you are leaving your home with trash and have a specific purpose of dumping it - why not drive to the town dump? You already have the junk in your car and they even help you a little...oh, it may cost a couple of bucks. So...not only are you a litterbug and an enemy to nature & wildlife; you are a cheapskate.

Lawn ornaments, basket and air freshener 

Bathing suit or underwear?

The pond is still very low, so that gave me a chance to mud-walk out a little further to collect pond treasures. As always, the pond gives up a collection of interesting things. The winner this time was a bathing suit, 1st runner up: a car tire and 3rd place: a Pepsi bottle from the 1940's. Until next time!    

That must have been some blow-out
that it landed all the way in the pond!

Go Panthers!

Evening Stroll

Scout and I took a stroll down to and around the pond yesterday afternoon. I like to walk her there because we use a busy road and we do some focused training. Cars and trucks doing 45+ in a 30 MPH zone can really test one's ability to focus -  that goes for Scout, too. At the pond, we passed a Mom with 3 little kids. Scout was a gentle lady with them. As we walked the path they had just come from, left in the middle of it were 2 used condoms. PK uses gloves and a picker-upper thing when it is trash day and has encountered used DNA before at OP, pretty disgusting.  My question is, what does a Mom tell little kids when they need to make a wide berth around the dead slugs? Maybe that's it. My 2nd question, do parents teach their kids that it's OK to leave used condoms in public places?  At least, using protection was one good lesson learned. 

Post 11

The last time we were together, I showed you the recycle bin tossed in the pond. Yes, it was a little discouraging on many levels. I did go back the next day fully anticipating a walk into the deep end. Imagine the delight and relief when I arrived at OP and someone already did the deed!

Together again!

This gave me the opportunity to begin my intended task which was to build the path in the wet area using the log discs the town cut for me.

Start...

There are 2 wet areas separated by a wooden bridge, this spot was the worse of the 2 so it begins...
I won't kid you or bore you with lots of details but this was hard work. The ground was rock and clay with the old wooden planks rotting in place. Also, the log discs were on the other side of the pond so I felt as if I were on the Biggest Loser carrying out some torture invented by network execs for the in-shape to impose on the not-so in-shape for the sake of televised weigh-ins (lots of hyphens).
I'd like to get some gravel (requested from the town) to really make it look nicer, provide greater stability and support drainage. There was a storm a couple of days after it was finished and it held up - 3 weeks later it is still there.  In the coming cooler weeks, the PK will be back at OP to finish the job.      

...Finish

Found a 1/2 hollowed out log and
used it for a drain...it actually worked!? 

Always a chance to do a little clean-up, too. The pond freezes in winter and lots of hockey games occur, so the hockey puck is not a surprise. The hard drive was an interesting discovery. Either Trump's tax returns or Hillary's e-mails. Pond Keeper is not a hacker so it has been moved on to the town dump.  

Hockey Puck and a Hard Drive, many
games played at the OP