Were A Mom & Son Picking Up Fosdick Lake Litter To Deliver To A Fort Worth Solar Powered Trash Compactor?

Due to flooding I thought my only nearby walkabout option today was Oakland Lake Park, walking around Fosdick Lake.

After doing so I soon found Gateway Park open, not flooded, and later saw Quanah Parker Park open, also not flooded.

A lot of people were enjoying the rain respite. Along with the cheerful turtles you see here, straining their necks looking for the sun.

Fosdick Falls was not falling as thunderous a volume of water as I had expected to hear, but the roar was louder than Fosdick Falls was roaring on Memorial Day.

Today I found myself marveling anew at Oakland Lake Park's solar powered trash compactor.

Why have a solar powered trash compactor next to two non-solar powered trash barrels?

I think the blue can on the right is intended for cans and bottles to be inserted in the hole in the lid. The green barrel has no lid. I have seen litter blowing out of lid-less Fort Worth litter barrels, which is why most parks, such as those in Arlington, have litter receptacles with lids.

Way in the background you can see Oakland Lake Park's sole outhouse.

I've asked before, but I will ask again, why would you have something ultra-modern, like a solar powered trash compactor, in a park without running water or modern restroom facilities?

And then, on the opposite side of Fosdick Lake I came upon the mom and her son you see below.

As I got closer to these two I saw mom fishing something out of the lake's edge and tossing what she fished back towards her son, who then put what was fished in the bucket.

I stopped and asked what they were fishing for.

Litter was the reply.

Show him, mom said. Which had the boy showing me the contents of the bucket of litter.

A lot of litter.

The mom told me they were on their 4th litter bucket of the day.

When I got to the bluff above the lake I snapped the picture you see above.

Very commendable, I thought. Cleaning up Fosdick Lake.

Also sort of futile.

I did not ask if they were disposing of the litter in the solar-powered trash compactor.

Town Talk was a bit of a bust today.

Reducing Fort Worth Litter With Oakland Lake Park's Solar Powered Trash Compactor While Unable To Wash My Hands

With the recent visit of the Arctic to North Texas fading from memory, with very little snow remaining unmelted, I decided this first Saturday of March was a good day to march around Fosdick Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park.

A lot of people made the same decision, with some in picnic mode.

Earlier today I blogged about adopting a Fort Worth drain to do my part to help curb Fort Worth's astonishing volume of litter.

Fort Worth litter seems to be my blog theme of the day.

On my walk around Fosdick Lake I came upon that which you see above. A solar powered trash compactor, sitting next to two old-fashioned litter barrels.

What you can not easily see, way in the background, is the Oakland Park restroom facility.

An outhouse.

There are none of what most modern towns in the world consider to be modern facilities in Oakland Lake Park.

No running water, no restrooms.

How is it not some sort of health code violation to have parks where people are encouraged to picnic, with no way to wash their hands?

Why in the world would money be spent on a solar trash compactor in a park with no modern facilities, well, except for that solar trash compactor?

How much did this ridiculous thing cost?

Getting Close To A Fosdick Turtle While Thinking About Going To Ocean Shores

A few drops of rain dripped on me when I was in Hurst this morning. For a while the cloud activity was looking like it might go into downpour mode, turning Sam's Club into my rainy day walking location.

But, so far, the only drops that have dripped on me today have been those Hurst ones. And  a few drops from the fountain in the pool this morning. But, that really does not count.

I decided to visit the turtles who guard Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park today. I have visited the turtle you see in the picture previously. He (or she) is not a skittish turtle. He (or she) lets me get close to take pictures and does not seem to mind the bird tweeting noise the camera makes.

How does one tell if a turtle is a boy or girl I suddenly find myself wondering? How do you tell a boy snake from a girl snake? I am sitting here being surprised I've not thought about these serious issues before.

I was not too shocked today to see that the overfilled litter barrel I mentioned a couple days ago has been emptied and some of the litter in the surrounding area has been picked up. Or blown away.

Changing the subject from turtles and snakes and litter to something else.

One of my fellow Washingtonians, currently exiled, along with me, in Texas, is up north in our home state, escaping the Texas HEAT.

A couple days ago Steve A kindly let me know that the temperature at his current location, Ocean Shores on the Washington Pacific Coast, was 63 degrees. I can not think of a more pleasant place to be, right now, than Ocean Shores.

Just to listen to huge waves crashing would be such a good thing. When I'm up in Washington, this summer, maybe one of the Nephew David blogging outtings will be to Ocean Shores.

Just in from Steve A is something else from Washington. In this morning's blogging I rambled on about the price of gas, and the current low at my location of $2.98 a gallon. Steve A commented to that blogging commenting that he'd paid $3.87 for gas at Safeway in Hoquiam.

That is yet one more thing we are blessed with in Texas. Cheaper gas. This will likely cause Steve A to return to Texas.

Changing the subject from cheap gas back to Fosdick Lake.

I do not know why the picture I took of the turtle makes the water of Fosdick Lake appear to be such an appealing shade of blue, with the water appearing to be clean and clear.

It is almost as if my camera somehow automatically creates special effects and illusions.

Keep Fort Worth Beautiful By Putting Litter In The Can

I am fairly certain I have previously mentioned the litter barrels that litter Oakland (Lake) Park.

The park has dozens of litter barrels stuck to posts which elevate the litter barrels off the ground.

To my eyes all these litter barrels are eyesores. These litter barrels are strewn all over the park. If you click the picture and look closely you'll see 3 or 4 litter barrels in the vicinity of the one we are close enough to read the sign on the litter barrel.

The sign on the litter barrel says...

Don't Litter - Put it in the Can!
Keep Fort Worth Beautiful

So, if litter is not put in the can this renders Fort Worth not beautiful?

Well, I see a lot of litter that is not in a can, in Fort Worth. I would not go so far as to suggest that this is what makes Fort Worth less than beautiful. Though, it really does not help with the town's overall prettiness to see so much litter blowing around.

Stick Your Litter in the Can

Oakland (Lake) Park is one of Fort Worth's parks which has modern restroom facilities, which is what you see in the picture on the left, next to one of the ubiquitous litter barrels.

I already mentioned that the sign on the litter barrels tell you to put it in the can.

I don't know if this is the case in Texas, but on the west coast the word "can" is slang for a restroom facility.

Telling people to put the litter in the can might result in having your modern restroom facility filled with garbage.

That would be unfortunate.

Don't Litter At Tonight's Fort Worth World Premiere Of TRIP's Up A Creek Movie Documentary

I am not absolutely certain, but I think trash and litter in the Trinity River may be part of what is covered in TRIP's "Up a Creek: the Movie."

I went swimming (not in a creek) this morning, even though it was only 40 degrees. The water was warmer. I did not stay in the water long enough to induce a case of the shivering trembles.

I went to Oakland Lake Park at noon to walk around Fosdic Lake today.

I've long been amazed at these ugly green litter barrels that litter Oakland Lake Park, along with these worn paper messages stickered on the barrels, saying "Don't Litter - Put It in the Can! Keep Fort Worth Beautiful."

Well.

You'd need to click on the picture to enlarge it, but, ironically, there is litter on the ground between the two litter barrels you see in the picture. There is a lot of litter in Oakland Lake Park. A lot of the litter floats in Fosdic Lake. I suspect this type litter is some of what ends up in the Trinity River when it goes in to flood mode.

At least we now know it is all the litter that is what is keeping Fort Worth from being beautiful.

I suspect if you go to the Stagecoach Ballroom tonight you may learn more about the bad stuff that goes in to and gets done to the Trinity River by its many abusers.

The Stagecoach Ballroom is located at 2516 E. Belknap, aka 377, in Fort Worth, just a short distance northeast of The Smoke Pit, with The Smoke Pit being my favorite place to get BBQ, whilst served by scantily clad servers.

The Red Carpet for the movie premiere starts at 6:30, with "Up a Creek" screening at 7:00. To fortify yourself, for viewing the movie documentary, adult beverages will be available. I'll be in the VIP area signing autographs with Elsie Hotpepper. Or not. I've not decided yet.

Below is map that should help you find your way to the Stagecoach Ballroom....

Today I Was Stranded On The Tandy Hills Causing Me To Walk To My Home Base

Well. I have had me a day. And it's not even 5 yet.

Monday started off fine, going swimming with the air heated to about 46, with the water a lot warmer than 46.

Then around noon I headed to the Tandy Hills.

Interstate 30, westbound, was still backed up due to the explosion earlier today of a tanker truck that was hit by a car going the wrong way on the freeway.

I just learned from Cat's Paw that the drunk driver of the car that hit the tanker survived.

This had the freeway closed at Beach Street. The Beach Street freeway exit is what you are looking at in the picture, in a zoomed view from the Tandy Hills.

If I had planned to go to Town Talk today I would have changed that plan due to Town Talk being on Beach Street.

When I was done with my hill hiking I got back in my vehicular transport to find that it would not start. I flipped open my phone to call for help to find my phone dead.

After a few minutes of pondering what to do, the only option I could think of was to walk the 4 miles to my home base. So, that is what I did.

Walking the mean streets of this town is a real eye opener. Does Fort Worth have the fewest miles of sidewalk in any major America city? It is real annoying to have to walk on the street. Or like you see above, the skinny sidewalk ends, turning into a dirt path. I remember walking all over Tacoma. I never saw any street without a sidewalk. With the sidewalks being of the wide variety.

In the above picture I am looking back towards the sidewalk's end you saw in the previous picture. What I'm trying to show in the above picture is the astonishing amount of litter.

I also saw one of my favorite Texas wildflowers for the first time this year. I believe these are called Evening Primroses, but I am not sure about that. We had a little bit of rain yesterday. I think that may have prompted the appearance.

The first time I saw these pink wildflowers was when I came to Fort Worth in May of 1998 to see if it was remotely possible that I would want to move here. Barely east of Amarillo I started seeing these delicate looking pink flowers along the road. After about 100 miles of seeing them I had to stop and check them out up close.

I have made arrangements to have my vehicular transport towed to a fix-it place. This will take place tomorrow. I hope.

Another Trinity River Litter Flood In Fort Worth

That is the Trinity River you are looking at. Those are not white birds floating on the Trinity River that you see in the picture. That is litter you are looking at.

Rain fell in copious amounts last night, finally ceasing sometime past one this afternoon. I grew tired of being cooped up inside, like a stereotypical winter day in the Pacific Northwest, so, around noon, I drove the short distance to Quanah Parker Park to take a walk under an umbrella.

Quanah Parker Park is on the southern banks of the Trinity River.

The Trinity River flooded a few weeks ago, courtesy of Hurricane Hermine, with the highest water I've seen since I've been in Texas. That flood left an astonishing amount of litter on the Trinity's banks in its wake.

One would have thought that North Texas had been power washed clean of litter from the Hermine Flood.

One would have thought wrong.

The Trinity River is back in flood mode, likely not as severe as the previous flood. But, I was appalled and astonished at the amount of litter and debris floating down the river today.

Where does all this junk come from and how did the litter supply get replenished so quickly?

I made a video of the Trinity River Litter Flood. You can watch that below. Make note of what you see floating by at the 1:27 mark. It appears J.D. Granger lost something...

Keep Fort Worth Beautiful, Don't Litter-Put It In The Can!

As soon as I drove into Oakland Lake Park today I noticed green barrels with yellow signs stuck on them.

I'd not been to Oakland Lake Park for several weeks. The last time I was there the grass was being mowed. It'd not been mowed since and now almost looks like it's ready to be harvested for hay.

I've seen green litter cans in Oakland Lake Park, previously. They seemed to have reproduced. As in there were a lot of litter cans.

It struck me as ironic that green litter cans were, well, littering up the park. And further ironic that the unbeautiful green litter cans had a sign stuck on them admonishing park goers to Keep Fort Worth Beautiful.

I don't know if sticking dozens of green cans across the landscape of a park is really the route to go to help Keep Fort Worth Beautiful. Something a tad more discreet and not quite so proliferate might be the way to go.