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December 13, 2017

 

Dear Skyliners,

 

We often get two weeks of clear weather in early December, and we've been making the most of it this week by spraying lots of vinegar and doing our long awaited roadside cleanup.  

 

We'll be out this week Wednesday at 2pm and Sunday at 9:30.  Please let me know if you can make it.

 

Last Sunday, we did the big roadside clean-up along Grizzly Peak Blvd.  By my count we had 19 people there, including seven students from Project Change at Irvington High School in Fremont (plus two parents), and a host of our regulars.  Big welcome to Abdelunur, Al, and Philip from Fremont; Deborah from Davenport, and to John.  And here's special thanks to Cynthia for coordinating the day (and the photos), and to EBMUD rangers Mark and Holly for planning and logistics.  It was a really great day.

 

We did two things.  First, we opened up the barbed wire fence in two places and pulled down to the fire road all the many years of trash that had gathered there.  Then, we cleared out much of the Scattergrass that had colonized the slope, especially above and below the fence line.  Underneath we found some native grasses, Wild Strawberry, and a neat skeleton.

 

Here's some photos:

 

Here's part of the group:

Here, we are sorting out the recyclable cans, bottles, and scrap metal.

 

The most interesting find of the day was a partial skeleton of what we believe to be a Coyote, :

Here's the bones.  If you look carefully at the jaw, you can see sharp, dog family teeth.  

 

Here's one group of Fremont high schoolers:

This is Abdelnur, Al, and Philip working on Scattergrass along the trail.

 

And here's the other group of Fremont high schoolers: 

This is Sarah, Lin, Leela, and Patricia, with Kathy and Krehe in the background.  They are working on Scattergrass right along the road side.

 

And lastly, here's one of the glorious piles of trash:

Besides the usual roadside food trash (bagged up) we found everything from a green recliner

chair (background) to construction debris, to old car parts.  I tried to kick out a Scattergrass clump with my toe and got a bug stub from an unseen metal shaft.  Upon excavation, it turned out to be the tip of the iceberg of a huge, cast iron truck water pump, now hopefully on it's way to another useful life in the recycle bin.  

 

EBMUD came out Monday morning and hauled away the piles. So now it's all clean and we can keep it that way.  

 

Strike another blow for Freedom!

 

Happy Trails,

 

Glen

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