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Where We Left Off:
The cat detectives investigated a serious case of vandalism and attempted robbery when the supply of deer corn was dumped all over the porch.
Evil Under the Sun:
Take a Hike Day November 17, 2024
My plan to take Gus to the preserve didn’t happen. I was still able to have my version of #TakeAHikeDay in the backyard. The Butler and The Grumpy Old Man took turns escorting Gus on his perimeter checks and, frankly, lounging around in the fresh air. Gus definitely had a great day outside with his humans.
Litter Clean Up Time
Gus and I have taken hikes on public land and done our share of litter clean up. There hasn’t been a time when we haven’t seen anything. Plenty of times, the items are large and heavy, too big for me to carry around and get back to the car. I can say, the one nearby “preserve” trail that we’ve enjoyed a few times has gone through some changes. Now, there’s less trail—at least from what I could tell and it was a day with easy visibility; but there was also less human garbage. I didn’t venture off-trail as much as Gus wanted and generally, that’s where you can bet you’ll find someone’s party spot. Also, for a “county preserve” there are plenty of signs warning that it’s private property. That left us with a trail that’s about a quarter of a mile maybe.
When AmericanHiking.org announced Take a Hike Day for November 17th, I had planned to take Gus on another bigger excursion to that preserved space. Instead, we stayed home. There was plenty of garbage to clean up in our backyard and next to the road.
It all began when I realized Gus was fine with multiple humans to watch him which allowed me to pick up glass shards where he spends time—around the Old Haunted Well House. Next to the well house is the remaining foundation from a shed that was there 40 years ago. I’m not sure if it fell down or was torn down. The shed was made out of old windows. That meant there were glass shards still around all these years later. There’s even some roof shingling and a whole bunch of crap from so long ago that The Grumpy Old Man doesn’t even remember what it is—automobile fluid bottles filled with mystery fluids now which are probably toxic. Cleaning up that space will make it safer for Gus and the wildlife (and the humans). It’ll have to be part of a larger project for the future, but on this day, the glass was picked up.
Then I remembered that in one corner of the yard where I noticed a lilac bush come back to life this year after decades of showing no sign of it, there was assorted and mysterious trash. I found a shopping bag in my adventuring bag and headed to that spot. A utility pole is embedded there which explains some of the items like all the snippets of steel wiring. I came across a bunch of Ball mason jars and lids which didn’t seem like something the utility companies would need nor dump.
Then I found basic plastic bags, wrappers, and bottles. Some cans from cheap booze (it’s always the crap stuff). I even found some kind of car part! The Grumpy Old Man called said it was a fuel pump if I remember correctly. There was also a mouse toy caked in dirt which made me wonder how it got there. But I’m pretty sure the insulation foam came from next door when the house was being built and there was yet again a lot of wind.
The Butler and Grumpy Old Man checked on me a couple times. After my first armful of garbage was dropped off, I got a proper kitchen garbage bag and headed back for more.
The hardest thing to pick up wasn’t the sharp glass. It was a styrofoam cooler lid. I worked my ass off trying to get that cooler lid unstuck. Eventually I realized it wasn’t merely “stuck” under the thorny wild raspberry bushes with their dagger-like branches. The bushes had impenetrated the lid! I don’t understand why a plant would grow around an object like that. Why would it punch through? There are easier ways to reach sunlight. I am still perplexed. Anyway, I fought with that chunk of styrofoam. I kept sliding down the embankment at the same time. It started to feel like a Herculean task.
Oh no. I was not going to let that stupid cooler lid win. I was armed with my parasol. As I slipped and stepped, slipped and stepped, I plunged the end of my parasol into the lid and twisted. I can only imagine what all the drivers going by thought I was doing. “There’s some crazy woman in a hunting vest stabbing the side of the road with an umbrella!”
Who-Done-It? Who Are the Suspects in Littering?
We know the wiring came from workers in a hurry and don’t hold it against them for that.
The wind is also responsible for garbage ending up where it shouldn’t.
Sometimes, a bear will steal a garbage bag and walk away with it until it finds a safe spot to root through looking for food. With all these cameras around, I haven’t spotted any bears or volkolaks doing that in a long time.
A-holes. I’m trying to keep it PG-13 here now that the cats have a comic book. You could even call them B-holes. Humans who are inconsiderate jerks that litter. There’s no way I’ll believe it’s always an accident.
“Why are people so disgusting?” Oliver walked in front of me and I saw his crusty butt while he walked to a fountain.
“People have always been gross. We’re a selfish race of beings overall,” I answered. “Fortunately, cats like you thousands of years ago found a way to live close to humans to help each other out.”
Case Findings:
Oliver sat in the comfort of a chair on the balcony. Gus stayed outside under the watch of other humans. I, the biographer and keeper of all things data related, did the trash clean up alone this time. We have no way of identifying individual culprits in a case this messy with such an abundance of random evidence. Nonetheless, a lot of garbage was taken for proper disposal. Next time, Gus will probably join me.
Case Status: Closed (but keep reading!)
What’s Being Done?
Unfortunately, New Jersey has not provided the necessary data to be included in the National map on the EPA website. That doesn’t mean the state is 100% garbage—only a lot of garbage. This month there was something to celebrate: the announcement of The Greenway.
“The Greenway is New Jersey’s newest state park that will transform a nine-mile stretch of former rail line in Essex and Hudson counties into a linear recreational and transit corridor. The Greenway will span eight municipalities, and DEP expects to break ground on the inaugural portion in Newark in 2025.”
We can still be mad at Governor Murphy for going back on his word about the bear hunt, but at least he does appear to be the only governor who ever gave a crap about NJ’s environment for people and animals.
“The Greenway is a unique and transformative opportunity to create a linear recreational and transit park enabling seamless walking, biking, and transit opportunities between Montclair and Jersey City, while serving as a catalyst for environmental improvements and economic development in the adjacent communities. It stands to become a destination unto itself as a place for exercise, recreation, and access to the great outdoors.”
In Our County
I saw a fellow yoga lover post about one of the elementary schools where they have received certified status as a wildlife habitat for their pollinator garden. I found information on the requirements to submit your own backyard a space you operate as one of these certified spaces. Go to nwf.org/certify.