The Skeeter Daddle Diaries

There’s a truism among us park rangers: a neglected park invites vandalism. I’ve been taking care of the only county park on the South End for about 15 years. It’s not much, five acres, couple of picnic tables, BBQ grill, trails, just a small place of respite from the woes of the world. I mow, plant flowers and shrubs and trees, clear trail, pick up litter, stock the 60’s phone booth Little Library, add sculpture and art where I can, all to help the county for nada, another Friends of Camano Island Parks volunteer.

For the past five years or more the chain link fence around the parking lot perimeter has been smashed, knocked down completely in places and stood sagging so that it looked like the dental work of a bad prizefighter. This year the county finally got around to replacing the sections that were bad. A little late, but better than nothing. For the past couple of years I’ve asked the county to regravel the parking lot which is, after any rain and always throughout the fall and winter and spring, a mudhole with deep craters. I’ve been told this is Top Priority for the county parks. I hate to think what qualifies as Low Priority.

I could write an entire humor column on the excuses I’ve been given why our Top Priority mudhole never gets graded and graveled. Broken tractor, busted pickup truck, leg problems of the park guy, misjudged gravel estimate (twice), budget shortfall, backlogged blackberry cleanup, forced sick leave if not taken in this fiscal year, you name it, I’ve heard it.

The place with its tarpit parking lot looks like hell, a great invitation for vandals and yeah, we’ve got plenty of vandals. Strewn garbage, broken library windows, burned books, stolen grill, stolen art, new fence smashing, tossed condoms, plants dug up, paintball splatter on the trees. Do I blame the county for all that? You bet I do. The volunteers on these parks, working years for nothing, donating gas and mowers and landscaping, we deserve better than a shrug of the shoulders or a litany of lame excuses from the county. Am I pissed off? You’re damn right I’m pissed off.

But …to be fair, I’ve forever been the one who rejoiced in living far from the reach of Rome. The County of Island has always been a moat away, a Saratoga Passage away or worst case, a long slog by road up through Stanwoodopolis, through Snohomish County, Skagit County, Fidalgo Island then across the Deception Pass bridge and down to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. From my little park, about most of a day round trip. So if the bureaucracy of the county seems to have forgotten about us, well, maybe they’ll understand if I skip my property taxes this year. You know, my truck isn’t running well, my foot has been hurting me lately, I’ve got my own blackberry cleanup, I’m saving for a tractor, I misjudged the tax payment, my personal budget is a little thin this fiscal year, I need to take sick leave or at least a few mental health days, don’t forget Covid but hey, that property tax is Priority One for me, trust me on that. Oh, and thanks for your patience!

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