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Keepers of the Road

April 27th, 2011

Mr Chiots and I enjoy going on walks. We don’t get to go every single day, but we manage to get a few walks in each week. We have a few different routes that we take from our home depending on how long of a walk we want. It’s also nice to have a change in scenery. As we walk, we watch the road and pick up all the nails we see and anything that could be hard on a tire. You’d be amazed at the things we find. Part of the reason we find lots of things is that there are no sidewalks here in our community. The last three days we’ve gone on walks and each day we’ve found something. This is what I found yesterday.

I kind of wish I had started throwing them all in a can in the garage. By now I would have a big bucket filled with all sorts of things from screwdrivers to a giant 12 inch nail and screws of all shapes and sizes! We’re hoping this is good karma and it will help keep us from getting a flat tire from screw, nails and all the sorts of things we carry home from our walks.

Have you ever gotten a flat tire from something on the road?
Do you pick up nails & screws you find in parking lots and on the road?

14 Comments to “Keepers of the Road”
  1. Ivy Mae on April 27, 2011 at 7:04 am

    This cracked me up, because I am fanatical about picking up nails and other potential tire-flattening debris from the road and our yard. Unfortunately, I’m also notorious from getting flat tires…

    Reply to Ivy Mae's comment

  2. Mary W on April 27, 2011 at 8:19 am

    Funny you should ask. Last Friday, I pulled over the side of the road to let a police car pass and picked up a piece of plastic with a big, fat screw. I left it in and thumped to the tire store and they were able to fix it–thank goodness. First time that’s happened to me. And yes, I pick up stuff in the road.

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  3. Daedre Craig on April 27, 2011 at 8:33 am

    My mom once got a flat tire and the mechanic told her they think she drove over an animal tooth!

    Reply to Daedre Craig's comment

  4. Songbirdtiff on April 27, 2011 at 9:07 am

    I’ve gotten flat tires from nails and, most disturbing, a razor blade! I always pick them up with I see them. I don’t want anyone to get a flat tire, but I’m really always worried that someones going to step on one of those rusty nails and it will go straight through their shoe. OUCH!

    Reply to Songbirdtiff's comment

  5. Sincerely, Emily on April 27, 2011 at 9:30 am

    We have had a few slow leaks in our vehicles from running over things here – screws and nails. I seem to get all my flats on the lawn mower and the two yard carts. I should be happy it happens on those instead of the car/truck, but it gets downright frustrating. While walking I carry a bag to pick up trash, but I have never thought to do it in a parking lot..thanks for that idea. I will do that from now on, it just makes real good sense! When we lived in Kenya it was a weekly occurrence to get a flat tire – running over long acacia thorns was the norm! Emily

    Reply to Sincerely, Emily's comment

  6. Jessica on April 27, 2011 at 9:38 am

    I never thought about picking up sharp objects on the road, actually. But when I was little and walking country roads to get to my friend’s house, I’d pick up the woolly worms crossing the road and put them on the side they were heading for, to keep them from getting squished by passing cars.

    Reply to Jessica's comment

    • Susy on April 28, 2011 at 10:12 am

      So funny you say this, I do this as well. I also pick up earth worms and any other bug see crossing the road and move them safely to the side.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. Seren Dippity on April 27, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    This triggers a memory of an art show in Boston. There was an artist who collected nails from her walks. She turned them into art pieces by nailing them into rustic boards. It was amazing how the different types of nails, some bent, some rusted, some very very old, created patterns and textures. It was as though each and every nail had a history… a story to tell.
    Good Karma to help prevent flat tires.

    Reply to Seren Dippity's comment

  8. MAYBELLINE on April 27, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    Yes – baling wire, nails, screws
    Yes

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  9. Tracy Willans on April 27, 2011 at 7:11 pm

    I pick up flat rusty bottle tops, in fact I actively seek them out. Nothing like the sight of a hmm older, plumper woman scavenging around the back of the hotel picking things up in the carpark!!! Oh I use them in my natural dye practice as a source of iron and they make great marks.

    Reply to Tracy Willans's comment

  10. Nebraska Dave on April 27, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    Susy, I remember one time I was working on my car and dropped a screw. It dribbled down through the parts of the car and hit the ground. I looked and looked for that screw but didn’t find it. Apparently it had rolled under the tire with the pointy end up because I found the screw right after I backed out of the driveway.

    Keep on picking up those road hazardous things. Of course I could just drive down the road before you and my tires would find them all.

    Have a great walking day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  11. Corner Garden Sue on April 27, 2011 at 10:36 pm

    We need to take more walks. I do tend to pick things up that need picking up, though, such as paper towels on the restroom floor.

    Reply to Corner Garden Sue's comment

  12. Missy on April 27, 2011 at 11:02 pm

    Holy cow! Is that a nail setter???

    Reply to Missy's comment

  13. Morgan G on April 28, 2011 at 1:32 am

    Occy, our Aussie Shepherd, and I pick up trash on our walks, but we don’t come across many nails and screws. I’m sure you’re raking in the karma for preventing flats in your neighborhood!

    Reply to Morgan G's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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