Palmer Lake Cleanup Day!

This morning I finally accomplished my own little Lake Palmer Cleanup Day! Last year my workplace introduced a "Spirit Day" initiative that let's you take an extra day off to volunteer. This was the perfect fit to let me clean up all the trash I see everyday. It was a fantastic day to do so and I even got 3 personal "thank you's" from strangers out for a morning walk or a jog. It was a great feeling and went at least a little ways towards relieving my disgust about the grossness of my task. As I set out just after sunrise I encountered quite a few deer -eight in total. Here's one of 2 does seen not too long after setting out. I wanted to take at least one pic of my trash-grabber in action so here you go. Who in the heck ditches a bottle of lemon juice in the local park? Right as I was topping off my first 40 gallon trash bag, I heard a huffing noise coming from the other side of the trail. When I peaked out of the woods there were 2 does that must have been upset that I was standing on their trail. I quickly dropped my bag in favor of my camera and caught this video of the none-too happy doe. After that I got the heck out of there. As I was filling my second bag I came across two otherinteresting sites. The first were these odd, white berries and the second, a Great Blue Heron. Lastly is a picture of my two full bags of garbage hauled out of the park.

Stomping Deer and Turkey

Sunday, June 7th 2009. Just before rounding the corner on the North East side, I spotted something shiny way off in the woods that ended up to be a mylar balloon. Since I didn't want to leave it laying there, contributing to the already littered park, I grabbed a stick and popped it. Immediately after, I noticed 2 deer very close behind me. I balled up the deflated balloon and shoved it into my pocket while they watched closely. They were super curious and actually walked a few steps toward me. They were so close that the one in the front started stomping the ground with it's hooves. I realized I was probably TOO close and backed up to find a log on which I could sit and watch. From there I watched them forage while snapping photos here and there. Only after I got home and looked at them on my computer did I realize that one was a buck with newly grown antlers covered in velvet. He was the more curious of the two, stepping way in front of the doe to check me out. After I was satisfied with my photo opportunities I slowly backed out from where I'd entered. Only a few minutes afterward I spotted a turkey off in the woods -something I'd never seen at Palmer Lake before!