“Garbage removal is a citizen responsibility.”
The morning is cold. Last night was even colder, an under the down comforter and thanks for the warm dogs cold. Today’s high will only be 51˚, and it will be mostly cloudy. The only to do list item is the laundry, but I find that easy to ignore.
When I went outside to get the papers yesterday, I opened the door and was taken aback by the turkeys in the front yard. There were about eight of them. A couple were really plump and as pretty as turkeys can get.
My yard was totally cleaned yesterday afternoon. There were guys with leaf blowers in the front and back. Henry barked at each of them from the front and back doors. Another guy was cutting the dead perennials to the ground. My front fence is again standing upright, but my mailbox still leans.
Last night I actually cooked dinner. It was pork and a roasted honeynut squash. I had never tasted honeynut squash before last night. If ever a vegetable can be called cute, it is the honeynut squash, a sort of little sister to butternut squash. I just sprinkled it with salt and pepper and put it in the oven.
When I was a kid, the trash truck came once a week. In the early morning of trash day, even before I left for school, gray metal barrels, mostly dented metal barrels, were on the sidewalks in front of each house in a random line as if in a sort of display. My father put his barrels out just before he left for work and took them in when he got home. They were kept in the cellar. When we moved to the cape, the barrels came with us. I remember them in the backyard next to the house, some with covers which were too dented to fit anymore. Every weekend my father loaded the barrels in the trunk and went to the dump as there was no trash pickup. He loved going to the dump. Back then the dump had huge heaps of trash and loud, noisy seagulls on the ground and in the air circling the heaps. When I would go home for the weekend from school, my father always invited me to go to the dump with him. It was a grand invitation.
I have a couple of barrels stored under the deck. One is metal and the other plastic. The metal one has weathered well over the years. The plastic one is split in places. Both are filled with yard trash, mostly small limbs and branches. I haven’t ever emptied them or taken them to the dump. They just sit there. I always think of them as waiting for my father.
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November 4, 2021 at 1:30 pm
For once no rain here, instead we had sunshine and fog just before the sun set, a bit chilly too so it was really my kind of weather 🙂
They pick up the trash here once a month, we also have food garbage bins that they empty twice a month. None of us throws away food so they have stopped coming here for that but I still have to pay for it.
Have a great day!
Christer.
November 4, 2021 at 5:29 pm
Hi Christer,
The cost of trash pick-up is expensive as it is not from the town but private contractors. Even to go to the dump is getting expensive.
During the summer, the house next door is rented. The trash truck comes every Saturday. I admit I did put a couple of bags of trash in the nearly empty barrels without getting caught.
Have a great evening!
November 5, 2021 at 4:06 pm
We have no option here, the garbage men comes every month but we all would have preferred that they emptied the normal trash twice and the food one once a month instead.
November 6, 2021 at 10:54 am
Most people who pay garbage companies have them come even two weeks. The only reason next door has them come so often is because it is a rental.
November 4, 2021 at 2:26 pm
Hi Kat,
My town used to have a dump. It was about half a mile from my house as the crow flies. Or as the kid cuts through the woods to sneak in and dump pick. It was glorious for picking. I found some neat stuff there, some of which I still have. We did have trash pick up though. My favorite time was big item trash day. More good stuff. Nowadays we can put out big stuff on our regular trash day if we purchase a big item sticker from the town. It’s a good thing I drive a tiny car because there’s some great stuff being tossed out. 😀
Sunday I surprised two deer in my backyard. Tuesday it was a young coyote romping about for half an hour on the street in front of my house. I expect the turkeys any time now.
Have a great day.
November 4, 2021 at 5:44 pm
Hi Caryn,
Stoneham used to have a dump too. I remember it from when I was a kid. I think it was off Spring Street. The word was the trash guys would take any size trash if there was a six pack attached. My neighbor was a trash man on the town truck. He may have started that rumor.
My brother-in-law is the best picker. He brings home amazing finds though sometimes my sister wonders what she’ll do with his latest.
The parade of beasties in our yards!! I saw the coyote video. He wandered like a tourist.
Enjoy your evening!
November 4, 2021 at 8:24 pm
Hi Kat,
This morning was the coldest so rar with a low in the 50s. No rain but the sun didn’t make an appearance until the early afternoon. My spouse won’t let me turn on the heat so I wear a sweater and slippers. Our house must be well insulated because it’s cool but comfortable.
Our trash gets picked up twice weekly. On Tuesdays they pick up trash and recycling. The recycling can is green and the trash can is black. On Friday they only pick up the trash.
Your home cooked dinner sounds wonderful. I never heard of Honeynut squash and usually I’m not a fan of squash but your description of your recipe sounds delicious.
November 4, 2021 at 10:01 pm
Hi Bob,
It was our coldest morning as well. It did get warmer in the afternoon, but right now it is down to 44˚ , but it doesn’t feel all that cold outside. I wear a sweatshirt around the house.
When I bring the trash to the dump, I also bring my recyclables. I never noticed the summer renters leave out recycled bins, just trash barrels. Maybe a private company can get away with that.
The squash was so delicious. I love how tiny it is. When next I go shopping, I’ll pick up another or two.