Now that May is finally here, we hope that we’ve seen the last soggy snows and freezing temperatures of April (T. S. Eliot’s “cruelest month”). My wife and I spent much of our day outdoors yesterday, sawing up and clearing away the last of the broken tree limbs in the yard, repairing the damage to […]
The Highland Lake resident Canada geese have returned to their annual breeding grounds and nesting sites in the riparian areas around the lake. They will lay clutches of 6–10 eggs over the course of a week. After a 28-day incubation, goslings will hatch during May and mature by foraging in flocks where there are open […]
Volunteers sought for Town Beach and Chaffee Park cleanup
Volunteers are being sought for Town Beach and Chaffee Park cleanup days, on Saturday, April 20, and Saturday, April 27. Volunteers can show up anytime between 9:00 and 10:00 AM on those days with leaf and garden rakes. Dress for the weather and bring footwear for raking the water’s edge. April on the beach is […]
The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman; "6S"
Soon the gardening season will begin – slowly at first, then building until we can’t keep up. For now, let’s take what can be a slow time for us and look for ways to improve our efficiency. I highly recommend The Lean Farm, by Ben Hartman. Lean philosophy is sometimes referred to as “6S” – […]
Patience and hope are necessary traits
Many gardeners share traits that make them well suited for gardening. We are a hopeful lot. Who else would take a seed, that is sometimes the size of a pepper flake, put it in the soil and assume it will produce a plant? Gardeners also have patience. We spend a lot of time waiting for […]
Bugs are gone and ground is harder
As winter approaches, I’m looking forward to great hikes in the woods when the bugs are gone and soggy ground is frozen. Two forested hikes topping my list are the Mountain Brook trail, north of Elbow Pond in East Andover, and the Great Brook trail on Lakeshore Road near the northernmost end of Pleasant Lake. […]
Not Done Yet…. As of this writing, we have not had a frost. Many of you will still be harvesting vegetables and hopefully canning, freezing, drying or giving away produce. The bounty won’t last, so enjoy it while you can. Now is not the time to give up on your garden. What you do now […]
Local autumn travel
What is your favorite New England season? For lots of us, it’s autumn — the fantastic hues of foliage, the bountiful garden harvests and apple picking, the bug-free, warm days and cool nights. There are so many great things about autumn, and most of them involve the outdoors. Recently, I’ve had some pleasant conversations with […]