So What Do You Do If You See Purple Paint In The Woods?

Well add this information to the side of my personal ledger that says, "Another year older but not any wiser..."

But I feel okay about this because I'm not sure how many people know or did not know this. Here it is...

As you're getting out of the house here and there and decide to take a walk through nature or whatever, or wherever and you happen to see purple paint on trees or posts where you are walking, that means...are you ready for this? It means "No Trespassing."

If you go past the purple painted trees or posts, you're generally not welcome. Now until today I would've had no idea this even existed. I would've looked at the purple painted tree or post and thought, "I wonder what that purple paint is there for?" and went along my merry way. Which by the way might have ended up best case scenario with me having to explain and apologize to an unhappy property owner, or worst case scenario having to explain to the authorities that I didn't know that I didn't belong there because I didn't understand the importance of the purple paint.

Would you have? According to michiganvotes.org, here's the gist of the Michigan "Purple Paint Law", 2005 Senate Bill 499:

To establish that a property owner can “post” his property to indicate that trespassing is prohibited by placing purple paint marks on trees or posts not more than 100 feet apart and readily visible to a person approaching the property. Each paint mark must be a vertical line at least 8 inches long, between 3 feet and 5 feet above the ground.

While the bill was passed by the Senate, it never made it through the House of Representatives. It's unclear why that is, but it's always better to be safe than sorry with these things. Many other states have passed a "purple paint law," including Indiana, and you very well may see some purple paint on fence posts or trees in Michigan. So now you know, when you see purple paint, it's probably best to make a u-turn and look for more welcoming environs.