Green Carpet Treatment

Mother Nature rolled out her green carpet this weekend, and not a moment too soon.  From 4-5 inches of snow a week ago on Easter Sunday to 70 degrees this past Sunday, it couldn't have come soon enough.  It is very appreciated.

 Upon closer inspection, the trout lilies are popping out of the ground right on time.  They are speckled, as a trout, and tend to arrive just at the beginning of trout season, which begins this coming weekend.

Their beautiful yellow flower are so cheerful, especially when embedded within the leaves of the previous year.

Perhaps a delicate white or crisp red is more your style for spring.  The trillium are popping up also, but you'll have to hike the Park to find them.  I don't divulge their location because I'm always afraid folks will trample or pick them.

I wonder which color this trillium will be?  We'll find out in a short while...

Perhaps a very cute spring beauty?  When these wildflowers carpet the forest, it's like the floor is covered with tiny candies.

Another project was begun this weekend as an Eagle Scout project.  As per our Master Site Plan, which will be available soon on our website, we have intialized a living buffer of evergreen trees along the I-90 border.  Consisting of red spruce, black spruce, and Norway spruce (diversity is key!) we hope to have a beautiful sound barrier and green buffer to the Park in the future.

The boys spent the weekend at the Park in beautiful weather, putting in many hours of work.  The troop also had incredible support from their families and troop leader.  Friday evening was spent with the forester learning how to properly plant the trees.

Saturday morning dawned bright and quite cool.  It didn't stop the scouts from breaking a sweat and working in shirtsleeves.

The scouts had a great system going regarding properly measuring out the distance between trees, digging the hole to the width and depth necessary for the root system to grow well, and covering up the bare roots.  The boys found out that the trees need a hole dug a little bigger than they expected.  They also discovered that when covering the roots, the soil should be at least level with the surrounding area, if not a little raised.  There should not be a 'cup' shape around the tree.  A few light steps to tamp the soil down and then it was time to move on to the next tree.

Other scouts made sure that the trees were carefully unwrapped and the area was clean of litter as they went down the line.  By the end of the project, 500 trees were planted, covering over 1,600 feet of fenceline.

The scout leading the planting is working on his Eagle Scout project.  He was very pleased with the efforts of his troop and the results of the weekend's work.

There will be a change in our trails, as the I-90 trail is now closed.  We will be working on a new trail this summer to connect the east/west sides of our Park.  Please come out for a beautiful spring hike and check out the new changes!