Unnatural Habitat

WHEN: December 2008
WHERE: Garfield, Pittsburgh

To close out the mini lost-bear series, here's a poor guy that appears doubly trapped -- caught up in both the fence and the hedge.

Just Taking a Moment Here

WHEN: January 2009
WHERE: Washington, DC
PHOTO: Stewart W. in DC

The chronicle of lost bears continues.

Another Unwanted Bear

WHEN: Summer 2008
WHERE: Brooklyn, NY
PHOTO: Leigh
ADDED PATHOS: Graffiti

I've got a batch of abandoned bear shots, so here's No. 2. Thanks to Leigh!

No Point in Going On

WHEN: December 2008

WHERE: Braddock, PA

PHOTO: Laurie A., of Chicago

Laurie snapped this bear in an auto junkyard in Braddock. Check out her like-minded blog, Found Clothing, that chronicles garments left street-side.

Double Yellow Line Demise

WHEN: January 2009

WHERE: East Liberty, Pittsburgh

I caught this Beanie Baby-type dude -- I think it's a fox -- ridin' the double yellow line on a busy street one morning. Oddly, as in the case of so many toys-gone-astray, by afternoon, there was no sign of him. Vanished.

Death in the Desert

WHERE: In the high desert, near Victorville, CA

PHOTO: Lizzie F., in California

Lizzie writes: He seems to be one of the Bratz boyfriends but clearly has been shown the door. His posture suggests crucifiction ... really, a pretty disturbing sight.

Inauguration Day Special

WHEN: Jan. 18, 2009
WHERE: Little Falls Park, Bethesda, MD

OK, so it's not quite a toy, but it is the kind of little flag you give a kid to wave. Maybe a kid at one of the Inaugural events. Except this little flag was found 2 days earlier lying in the leaves in a suburban Maryland park. Good enough for Inauguration Day.

UPDATE: I rescued this, and gave a new lease on life. It went to the swearing-in, or at least within a couple miles of it.

Officer Down

WHEN: December 2008

WHERE: Homestead, PA

It's just like in the action movies when cop cars flip over -- looks like no one's coming to tow this one back to the precinct.

Hang In There, Baby

WHEN: Fall 2008
WHERE: West side of Cleveland, Ohio
TAKEN BY: Jared in Cleveland

This photo is a little freaky. There's a lot of gloomy stuff going on: dead tree, iced power lines, shabby bricks ... oh, and a doll hanging in mid-air.

Oh Mickey, You're So ...

WHEN: Jan. 13, 2009

WHERE: Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh

TAKEN BY: Jill C.

Frankly, all I see here is a drunken Mickey trying to hump the garbage can. The front view shows that Mickey got the worst of it in a fight with a Magic Marker.

Trouble at the Hermit Hotel

WHEN: January 2009
WHERE: Friendship, Pittsburgh

Even if a hermit crab survived whatever disaster befell its hotel, it's not likely to get far in some Pittsburgh alley in the dead of winter. Another happy-day-at-the-shore turned inner-city-tragedy.

Is This the End of Lucy?

WHEN: Winter 2001
WHERE: Washington's Landing, Pittsburgh
PHOTO: Kathy, now of South Bend, IN

Today's snow calls for this wintry portrait. Kathy writes: "Lucy was found in winter 2001, perched on a trash can on Washington's Landing; and seems to be contemplating her own end."

Tonight, on CSI ...

WHEN: November 2008

WHERE: Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh

This tragic mess in the gutter has been analyzed by crime-scene investigators and determined to be the scattered remains of a Power Puff Girl. Identification was provided by the semi-intact half-eye.

The Road Goes On Forever

WHEN: October 2008

WHERE: Oxford, England
PHOTO BY: Alice @ Peapod

Some photos just speak for themselves, but I'll succumb to the temptation to embellish slightly. The contrast of the flattened inert bunny with the wide open road it will never journey on is simply gorgeously sad.

(Find this photo and many other lovely shots at Alice's blog,

Peapods. Also, tip o' the hat to Emma for pointing the way.)

Not-so-speedy Delivery

WHEN: December 2008
WHERE: Homestead, PA
ADDED PATHOS: mud smudge

Not exactly a toy, but around these parts, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is synonymous with childhood. Less so, trash. But lying on the sidewalk of a forlorn stretch of Eighth Avenue, it's Mr. McFeely, gazing expectantly at us.

Eco-warning

WHEN: December 2008

WHERE: Homestead, PA

When climate change is fully upon us, perhaps spotting dead polar bears suspended in a mesh of vines won't be so unusual.