On Opperman's Pond : Post 13 - Nov. 10, 2016

On Opperman's Pond : Post 13 - Nov. 10, 2016: Scout and I paid a visit to OP because it was a beautiful autumn day and it was after Halloween so we wanted to check if any mayhem ensued. ...

Post 13 - Nov. 10, 2016

Scout and I paid a visit to OP because it was a beautiful autumn day and it was after Halloween so we wanted to check if any mayhem ensued.

Scout supervising the work

The OP was in fairly good shape from a trash standpoint - not perfect and we weren't fully equipped to grab some of the trash strategically thrown out of reach. It always amazes me when at least 50% of the trash we pick up is from Starbuck's. Now...I know Schultz is not littering OP personally but you would think, or at least I think, that the corporate position of fair trade and sustainability would rub-off on Starbuck's customers. Maybe...recycle? No...the big controversy for Starbuck's customers is whether or not they will have the red cups for the holidays. Scout and I look forward to some new and colorful trash this December.      
The other discovery we had was one of the wooden discs was thrown in the pond.The intention was a better path through the wetlands for everyone. Sadly...I wondered when this would happen. It took 2 months.        

Disc in the pond - well the mud of it 

I have more discs so I can (and did) replace it. The idea that this was fun or a feat of strength by someone baffles me. I presume it was done by the same people that won't walk 20 feet to place a Starbuck's cup in the trash can. This is everyone's pond and it is having a tough year because of the drought. The fish are stressed (my friend mentioned they get stressed - I feel you fish), the turtles are lying low, the geese and ducks haven't headed south and the Blue Heron remains stoic. All this really neat stuff in our neighborhood, so how about a little cleaning up after ourselves. FYI - fish, birds and turtles DON'T have opposable thumbs! It's not their fault they can't pick up after you.  
Scout's reward for supervising me was a trip to the Pleasantville Dog Park. This is our 2nd visit and we have never met another dog. Is it us? Oh...and this is one place we won't clean up other people's stuff .

Hello...it's me

 

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 

Post 10

Today was a regular errand day yet as I drove past the OP something blue in the water caught my eye. Now OP has not had anything close to a blue color since the Opperman's Ice House days so this was a bit unnatural. I circled back after my errands and found the recycling bin thrown in the pond. Vandalism never seemed like a fun thing - buy hey, that's me. I didn't have my galoshes so I will head back when the heat breaks a bit. If someone else pulls it out before me that would be OK, too. One step forward, two back.

Why????

Real wildlife still shows up 

A vigilant Scout 

Bonus Post

I normally don't post 2 days in a row - not because I have nothing to say but because I want people to think I have a life beyond the pond. My photos of the wildlife around the pond have been fairly standard pond stuff - fish, frogs, turtles, crayfish, blue heron (that is pretty cool) and still-life in trash (e.g. cans of corn, a study of the galosh). A couple of weeks ago, Karen was in our yard with Scout. Now, you know my yard is in close proximity to Opperman's so we will consider this as "around the pond life." Check the video.