Litter in Skaneateles

In addition to a Nestle Pure Life water bottle, a paper cup, and three scraps of black plastic: two notes, one letting us know that Maddy will be walking to Sadie’s house, and another verifying that Bridget has paid in full for her lesson.

In the Austin Park parking lot, a Gatorade bottle about 1/4 full of smokeless tobacco drool. On one hand, I’m glad that this smokeless tobacco user — whose bottles are turning up all over the Village — is screwing the lid on tight; on the other hand, the trash basket was about a 10-second walk away. Trust me, pal, I’d rather be picking up just about anything else. Even a good scrub with Fels Naptha doesn’t stop the shivering. Mercifully, I also found completely empty empties for Mountain Dew, Pepsi (with happy ants), and G2, a lo-cal version of Gatorade. Just as an aside, who gets fat on regular Gatorade?

At a baseball diamond in Austin Park, seven plastic bottles that held Gatorade (2), water (3) and sunblock (2), all within four feet of a trash basket. Hey, if these wimps can’t throw four feet, you can steal on them whenever you feel like it.

In Austin Park: a baby bottle, about 3/4 full; someone’s unhappy. (I left it on the bleachers at the baseball diamond, in case you’re looking for it.) About two feet of yellow caution tape; duct tape; a paper tag with the letter G and a star; a black plastic coffee mug top that once belonged to someone who’s spilling on every turn now. And today’s favorite: One cardboard tube marked “Model Rocket Engine/Motor” from the Estes Corporation in Penrose, Colorado. The German translation, a little farther down the tube, gives it a real V-2 feeling: “RAKETEMOTOR” a la Werner von Braun, who worked for both Adolf Hitler and Walt Disney. I’ve had some interesting bosses in my day, but I can’t touch that.

On Genesee Street across from Thayer Park, one spent cinna-berry flavor car freshener, in the traditional evergreen tree shape, bright pink with a matching loop of pink string. Nearby, a receipt from a Mobil station on West Genesee Street in Syracuse, where someone had their car washed for $9. A clean car is a happy car.

Say what you will about Skaneateles litterers, they are surely well hydrated. Today, two plastic water bottles, one Gatorade bottle and one plastic juice bottle. Bottoms up!

There has been quite a run on Monster Energy Drink cans this week, all imploring us to “Unleash the Beast” and to change the way we feel by purchasing and consuming a beverage, an important life lesson for sure. Also, a silver plastic plate from a Ford F-150 (”Hauls More. Tows More. Built for More.”). I was hoping for something from a Grumman F-14, but you have to take what the litter gods offer.

Among the littered items, some that are clearly lost: in Austin Park, one Top Flight XL 2 golf ball, “Pure Distance, More Carry;” on Route 20, one black and yellow glove, a Midwest “Landscaper.”

It’s suddenly like summer, and the litterers are in bloom. By the baseball diamond in Austin Park, six empty plastic bottles (no deposit, no return) that once held Gatorade, Vitamin Water and just plain water. Elsewhere in the park, foam inserts that softened ice skates, the prize from a McDonald’s Happy Meal: Hot Wheels Stunt Stikers with the Ram Hammer toy gone, but the stickers left behind. On East Austin Street, one P&C receipt (VISA 1742) for a sack that included carrots, red peppers, broccoli crowns, ginger root, yellow rice, plus Zebra Cakes and Oreo cookies, rung up by Amy at 7:26 p.m. on April 14th.

On the walk to work, one label torn from a Poland Spring water bottle touting the new Eco-Shape Bottle, designed with 30% less plastic “to be easier on the environment.”