The main job we do at our bi-annual clean-ups is to get rid of old wood chips (particularly around the fence, where the dogs relieve themselves most regularly), and replace them with new ones. That's most of the work, but not all of it--we also have a garden to maintain, and that work goes on all the time, not just on Clean-up Day.
With all the rain we got this summer, the garden has never looked better. It occurred to me, after I took these photos--how many other NYC runs have gardens? Some of them happen to be located near decorative plantings that the Parks Dept. is responsible for, but this is our garden--planted by us, maintained by us, with the occasional contribution of bulbs and such from the Parks Dept.
Offhand, I can't think of another run where the regulars garden, as well as exercise their dogs. It's kind of a gift we make to the community--our way of beautifying what was, before the Rocky Run was founded, a pretty dismal little stretch of parkland, littered with refuse and crack vials.
The dogs, of course, aren't really that interested in the garden, though they like to smell the plants sometimes. And to pee on them, which is why it has to be fenced off, but the plants seem to thrive anyway--the wood chips make the soil exceptionally rich, and while it would help if we had running water there, sometimes Mother Nature provides (or in the case of this past August, OVER-provides).
Anyway, let's hope there's no rain on the day itself. Look forward to seeing you there.
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