A revolting find

With Bridget and John gone for the week to pick up their new rig, the onerous task of checking the two pit toilet locations fell on my shoulders this time.  Somehow Bridget has been blessed with that task this year.  It turned out that all I needed to do was restock some TP.  With the cooler temps, I didn’t even have to hold my breath. (It was not revolting.)

Janice had also asked if I could get some shots of early signs of fall on the refuge for their Facebook page in my wanderings this week.  Black-eyed Susans and lots of goldenrod surely herald the ending of summer.

The rain stopped long enough yesterday for me to finally get all the mowing done around the maintenance compound, residences, and RV sites.  That takes up a good portion of a day. 

Everyone is ‘busy as a bee’ around here right now when the rain stops.  After I got the mowing done, I headed off to restock the kiosks with pamphlets.  I figured they might have gotten a lot of use over the past holiday weekend.  I was correct, but sometimes I wonder about the public.  At the Balsam Lake kiosk, I found two dog bowls and a huge thick dog tie out wrapped around a big tree.  No dogs, no people, no vehicle.  Why would someone leave all this stuff behind?  I put it in the back of the truck to clean up the area and moved on.

At the Mitchel Bridge kiosk, someone had ripped off the top of the pamphlet holder so every pamphlet inside was soaking wet.  Why?  I looked all around, but couldn’t find the top.  I suppose they chucked it in the Ottertail River. 

At the Co. Rd. 29 Information kiosk, everything was gone except some fishing regulation pamphlets, and they were squashed into each of the five holders.  It also looked like someone had taken a hammer and smashed a part of one of the display pictures.  Why?  These things were disgusting and a little revolting, but it didn’t end there.

The final example of debauchery came today as I made a trash pick-up run through the Blackbird Wildlife Drive.  I stopped for a moment’s contemplation at this beautiful overlook of Pine Lake.  The bench is dedicated in the memory of someone who found this spot special.  There is the quote “Rest in Peace” on a placard on the seat.  As I turned around to leave, I found a used condom just behind the bench.  Utterly revolting!  Made me mad.  Obviously, some member of the ‘public’ spells Peace along the lines of piece.    Did I clean it up?  Yes, I did, but not without a few expletives!

Good Lord!  What are some people thinking?  I continued on and tried to get my mind in a better frame of thinking.

Thankfully, I spotted this gorgeous maple beginning to spread the fiery colors of fall.  I won’t be here for the peak color season this year (assuming my fridge doesn’t crap out on me again), but perhaps the aspens will have donned their golden coats when Nurse Ratchet and I make it to Yellowstone. 

Speaking of Nurse Ratchet, he told me today that his bag is already packed and he is just waiting for the plane to arrive in Phoenix to bring him north to Fargo!   Let the adventure begin!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy