The Wood’s Pink asters are finally in bloom and the pollinators are fully aware. Many of the MRG pollinator garden flowers have passed, but the asters, goldenrod, garlic chives, sedum, and turtleheads are still an attraction. Look at the pollen saddlebags on this Common Eastern Bumblebee!
Posted in Pollinator Corridor, Pollinators, Thank you!
The hope for Lebanon’s pesticide-free Pollinator Corridor has been to provide food and habitat for pollinators and other creatures, as well as enhance the environment for humans. That hope has been realized spectacularly in the Overpass garden by APD. The two Haralson apple trees we planted in 2019 have been so bountiful that we have had to pick some of the unripe fruit to relieve the weight from these still young trees.
Two elderberry bushes, also planted in 2019, have produced lots of fruit, most already eaten by birds, and the Siberian crabapples and wild grapes, which were already on the property when purchased by the City of Lebanon, are bountiful.
Wild Grapes
Siberian Crabapples
Unfortuntely, 2026 has also produced an unusually large crop of invasive garlic mustard and Japanese knotweed . . . you win some and you lose some!
Dan Moriarty met Don Burrell of West Lebanon on the MRG recently. Don was collecting acorns in a knapsack for the Kilham Bear Center in Lyme. NH. Acorns are an important Fall food for bears, helping them build critical fat reserves before winter.
If individuals want to collect acorns for the Center, there is a bin at the bottom of Kilham’s driveway at 172 Turnpike in Lyme 1.5 miles south of the Dartmouth Skiway Lodge.”
Last year’s acorn donation bin.
The cubs would very much appreciate any apples, acorns, or pumpkins that you can collect. Thanks!
Also see the Kilham Bear Center photos on their FaceBook page
Posted in Uncategorized
Thanks to the two teams of Upper Valley Rugby Club volunteers who showed up recently to mulch and prune the gardens in the MRG Pocket Park by the tunnel . . . even with baby Bennet in tow. Year after year, through changing membership, the UV Rugby Club has offered their much appreciated support! We are so lucky to have these able-bodied, energetic young people offering their service to our community!
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The contractor and utility companies will continue installing drainage structures, transferring utility cables, relocating a water main on Mascoma Street, and working on the stone retaining wall. The pedestrian detour for the project has changed to accommodate work on the Mechanic Street side. Pedestrians will be directed to cross through the center of the roundabout with assistance from flaggers. Please expect delays and use caution in the work zone.
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It looks as if access to the MRG at the Mascom/Mechanic/High Street access is going to be unpredictable until the end of July. If you have wondered about those enigmatic “Rail Trail” signs that seem randomly posted along Mascoma and Mechanic Street, this map of the suggested alternative route will show the switch backs that help explain the signs . . . and will probably make you want to avoid the problem.
Walkers are expected to zigzag back and forth through the area. and slip through the Eastman Automotive parking lot pass-through. Bicycles are to function like cars on the right shoulder of the road. then pass through Eastman. You may find the NRT the best choice until the work is completed. For more info see the official alert at https://lebanonnh.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/6310
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It has been frustrating to have the Mechanic/Mascoma/High Street intersection closed off in preparation for a roundabout . . . and the suggested “Rail Trail ” signs were enigmatic. But this afternoon, the access was opened. There may be more blockages to come, but, as of this afternoon, the entrance at that intersection has been cleared.
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We Upper Valley folk have endured a lot of cold and rain of late – finally, T-shirt weather!
Posted in Uncategorized
An alert from Dan Moriarty’s early morning walk yesterday:
“The other point of interest today is the large patch of Poison Ivy that people should be aware of on the Glen Road Gate MRG unpaved entrance trail. The patch starts about a hundred yards down the trail on the left and goes almost to the point where the trail bends to the right to head uphill to the bridge. People should be aware of it in case they let their dogs roam on the trail, and they happen into that patch. If the owner then pats their dog or happens to brush up against them, they might get an unpleasant surprise later with burning and itching from the poison ivy oil that was on the dog’s coat. The poison Ivy will change color during Spring, Summer and Fall but the best word of advice to remember is the old Boy Scout maxim: “leaves of three, let it be”. Poison Ivy has three leaves.”
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Be on the alert for egg-laying snapping turtles on the MRG behind the movie theaters on the “Miracle Mile”. Imagine the effort to get her cumbersome body up the slope from the river, and finding a diggable spot to lay her many eggs. Here is Dan Moriartys report from this morning:
“I approached the Steel Umbrella right next to the Hope Foundation side trail. There was a female snapping turtle looking around to where she was going to build a nest to lay her eggs. She was in the exact same location that I had taken a photo of a turtle laying eggs two years earlier on 5/26/2024.”
5/26/2024
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