I was a volunteer today for the City of Auburn Clean Sweep project. After doing morning pet sitting visits, I checked in at the Park at about 9AM. The Yount family was checking in at the same time I was so I got to see their baby! I hadn't seen them since I did a pet sit for them at Christmas time in 2006 and the baby was not born yet so this was a real treat for me.
After checking in, getting instructions and a big pair of loppers, I went right to work. My job was to chop down the blackberry bushes that had completely taken over the wetland area of Lea Hill Park. I had plenty of help too! We all sort of found our own spot and started hacking at the thorny branches. As we chopped, we talked. I got to visit with the principal of Rainier Middle School, several ladies wearing T-shirts that declared they were "Working Democrats" and several Cub Scouts. There were photographers from the City of Auburn and people from the Parks and Rec department and about a million GRCC students.
And there was treasure to be found under all the thorny bushiness...I found a baseball which I immediately handed to the boy working quietly next to me. Someone found a volleyball and there were several golf balls retrieved from the thorny masses and I think someone even found a bat. Then as the blackberry branches began to lose their stronghold altogether, we found the trash. A rotted wooden traffic sign, two big iron pipes, lots of plastic and lots of empty beverage containers. The trash was gathered up into bright orange bags for disposal and we kept on with the blackberry chopping.
The Democratic ladies and I worked next to each other until we had hacked our way under some overhanging tree branches. The blackberry vines had climbed high into the trees above us. So we pulled them down. We'd just cut the thick trunk of the vine at the ground level and then yank the vine down. They were twenty feet long or more and on atleast one occasion, the branch came down with the vine so we scattered to avoid getting hit. But when we came to a vine that was growing through a bird's nest, we just trimmed it and let the high part stay put. None of us wanted to displace a bird from it's nest!
All in all it was a fun experience and I'm glad I had a chance to participate. It was nice to see such a good turnout of folks willing to help and the next time you go by Lea Hill Park, I'll bet you will notice a difference!
