Monday, October 6, 2008

Fall Clean Up Day--Saturday, October 25th, 2008.



Starting at 10am, and finishing up around 2pm. Dogs optional, as always, but we'll continue the tradition of having some present, to monitor our labors on their behalf. But safety first--if you have the kind of dog who needs to be watched every second, better either make sure somebody is doing precisely that, or else leave him or her at home.

The first batch of wood chips has already been dumped--and I use the word advisedly--right inside the access gate on the north side of the run. This is going to really complicate the hell out of getting more wood chips in there, as we obviously need to do. If you should happen to be at the run when more wood chips are delivered, please ask the workers not to dump them outside the fence--we need to move that pile out of the way, somehow. Still plenty of time.

We also have the continuing problem of our Dog Stinkhorn infestation (see further down this page), over by the storage bin. More seem to sprout up every single day, all bearing their payload of smelly spore-laden goo--which serves its purpose in nature, but which can also serve to make a dog very sick if he should happen to lick the tops of these mushrooms. Happily, I've yet to hear of a dog feeling inclined to do so, but we'll have to dig up the area where the stinkhorns are emerging, and perhaps soak that patch of ground with the baking soda solution some gardeners recommend.

We had an incredible turnout for last spring's clean-up day--at least 40 workers in total--along with lots of less-than-helpful dogs, who seemed at times to be making fun of us. But the fun we've all had since that day more than made up for it, right? So how about FIFTY people this time? Let's show the Parks Department what Washington Heights is made of--and the kind of devotion Washington Tykes can inspire.

No comments: