Open Space Commission - Regular Meeting

Okay. So, what time do you have? 5:05. Call the meeting to order at 5:05. So, I I did share an agenda. Is there anything uh any to address that's on agenda? And I do have some very small items that will that weren't specified on the agenda, but we'll talk about I think we should notice that. Uh can someone make a motion to approve the minutes from the February meeting to approve. Second. Uh, any discussion? Any corrections? My apologies for not being here. It was my birthday.

Oh, that might be perfect. Wonderful. We're up in May. Um, yeah. We'll have a All in favor of stepping in the minutes. I don't have such a big excuse are accepted. Can you tell if there's anybody else online besides? Not that it looks like.

Okay. So, Andrea, you were kind enough to say that you might talk briefly about the FOI meeting. Uh I I beyond the Was there any discussion like anything like that from? Yeah, I know.

Um uh no. Um uh if there any I'm just kind of running through notes. Um but things that's popped out at me were uh the 48 hours for a regular meeting were a notice 24 for a special meeting. Um when you reply all limited to just the response to the person who's sending it. Um, I guess some discussions some I could I mean I I'm not sure even of the video, but I think there was no vote to be had. It was just comments. So, I could send out my video, please comment, but we weren't going to be voting or really discussing it. So, I think you could I think that would be okay to respond reply to all. Um, and you could concur or say, well, in my opinion, but if there's something more formal of a vote and divulge that

in an email, in an email, in an email.

Yeah, it it's it's I think that is somewhat of a gray area. I I I've heard multiple opinions for example in Gateway that we're cautioned not to have online discussions that if if you send out the video and said what do you think this video everybody writes back just to you that's okay but if Joan comments and Christine comments on Joan and you comment on Joan that then you've got a discussion and it's potentially a meeting or or if not a ing which is what may be even more ownorous. Um your emails may be subject to discovery.

What constitutes a quorum? A majority of the numbers. So two people are discussing it doesn't this not a meeting right or even three um four weeks a court so if you got less than a corum it's not a meeting and there's no discussion that needs to I think that's what

and there was some discussion also as to what makes a quorum versus a like a committee or there was another um maybe there was the subcommittee. So I think within a subcommittee we can have some discussion. So yes to to your point.

Um calendar your update you let Michelle or Vicki know um um uh sending out an agenda is not a FOI violation. Minutes must be made available within seven days. you are spot on. Like the afternoon um um those are takeaways. Okay, thank you Andrew. Was it was it well attended? It was very well attended. Good.

U and there were some people from road and public safety there. Daniel was there. like that. Thank you. Moving on to the kind of open space business, talking about stewardship. Did you want to talk about what Peter has done last month?

Uh yeah, there um Peter had walked all of the properties in February um except for Ames and Champlain South. Um he had modified the duck houses uh with uh steam stuff and installed the door latches that we didn't get to get to with the high schoolers. Um he collected the tools from Isaac that I had but he kept chainsaw to use for himself which is totally legit because he'd been otherwise using his. Um and he hand cut and removed three down trees. Um in March I've been on the trails a few times already not much into March in the end of February when Peter's in Florida until the 22nd. Um and up until now it's been slushy and slushy and impassible. So um but there are a lot of small debris of trees and branches that are down. So, it's going to require um uh anyone walking stewards or not to just take three branches away and then to do some hand cutting near the um the trails. And he and I were talking about the materials for the duckous um the post that he was proposing. I were you with us when we walked with um uh Joe or was it just Peter and myself?

No, it was you and Peter. Um, so, um, we could use wood. We could use a metal pole and a baffle, but the, um, the metal pole that Peter was proposing looks like the kind you would pop in the ground that has the little hook on it, um, for a fence, but I think that too, sturdy enough.

Yeah. And it would be topheavy. So, yeah. Um, if Evan and Bren in particular and Joan would have any I was a map visioning and from my conversation with Joe with Peter just like a round small round metal pole I think in fact should be eye level to somebody of Peter's height or whoever is going to open up the box

um and a battle. Um, so he comes back on the 22nd of March. I leave around then for two weeks. So maybe if you have ideas, you could a visions of a poll or unless you have something, send it to me and Peter copy us and then he could get the material so that early midappril that could go in the ground hopefully. Do we have an idea when the woodlock nesting season is? Um, I was gonna walk go over there today to see if they're back yet, but I think

Yeah, Joe was saying like March, April would be good. So, this is this would be the time. So, as I said, he's not back until the 22nd and then I even till the early April. I thought that there was a suggestion um in the video about building the boxes. At the end of the end of the video, there was something about attaching the pole and and doing making the baffles, the predator baffles. Oh, the uh how to make the box video.

Yeah. But before the end of that there was I mean once they got the box built they said oh this is and this is how you put it up and just this is what you do to make the baffle set you cut the sheet metal you can even buy baffles you could buy a baff too is it going in the actually in the middle of the pond or kind of so if you are standing to the right of on the path to the right of Logan's bridge right

there's a little island in the in the um of debris and trees at Bartholomew. That's where Joe was suggesting would be the best place. So if this is the bridge and this is the water, it would be about here. There's a little island. So it would mean waiters or a little kayak from here to where Karen is to paddle out and plant a pole. Pole's going to be hard to get. I'm I'm envisioning how you get that because it to make it sturdy in the middle of the pond, it's price sandy or muddy, it's going to have to go down pretty deep.

Dig a hole for that. I don't think you need um if you'd had a pole, you know, a like a inch, inch and a half pole, just a metal post. Yeah. You'd have to drive it in. But if it's an 8 foot pole, you could do that with a sledgehammer. Yeah, that's true. And drive it down two feet. Yeah. or to whatever level Peter can reach. How many how many nests are we talking about here? One on Bartholomew one was to be uh put on a two in both. Yes,

it it might be worth just checking to see what wild birds are if they haven't. Yeah, they might. Yeah, they are. You know, my husband when we took off our goober boxes, we just went to Home Depot and got the metal bowling, you know, I'm talking. Yes. Yeah. And that's held up really well. We What about the heavier duty poles that they use for like the street sciences? That probably work better, but where would I wonder where you'd get something like that? I I got salvaged. That's just one. They're heavier.

I think you need a metal pole that'll drive anyway. I'm sorry that Katie gave me a note so I was distracted momentarily. The wild the wild bird use feeders and I and I'm sure they sell posts for nest as well and most of them have baffles that are made right for those posts. I mean, you kill two birds with one stone. I'm not sure if what they have is suitable or not, but It might be worth checking. We do have the budget. I have to actually go over there this week. Okay. Thank you.

Well, I mean I was a good idea. We need that, but you know, public works might have a post for us to Yeah. I mean, I think it's going to be we could probably do something a little less expensively. Although, do we want do we want to make the baffles? Do we have the time to make the battles? because they definitely had bathrooms. Yeah. And so does um Ocean State. I got a nice one there. It was like 20 bucks, you know. But again, it depends on how round, you know, how wide the pole is, if it'll fit. I think they're somewhat adjustable. But the one of

Yeah, it was the kind you can sort of Yeah. So yeah, it's not the it's not the cylinder, right? You also have to be somewhat isolated where you put it because years ago we put a feeder with a baffle. The squirrel went on a bush and jumped right over. Mainly the snakes though I think. Okay. The ducks. You you mentioned that Peter is using Isaac's chainsaw. Well, the the t the town chainsaw. Yeah, the one Isaac had used the town chainsaw. Um

would you suggest that we if we when we hire another that we buy a second chainsaw so he need not use his own? I might say no because technically they should be together, right? The one person with one chainsaw and the other as a spotter. Yeah. So, I think the one chainsaw, we have two chaps, two helmets, two goggles. So, the other person will be uniform, but I think just one person needs to use the chainsaw. And right now, with or without another steward, it's Peter because he's familiar with it, done the training. Um, and depending upon who the other steward is.

That's fine. They may not topic. Uh, so speaking of Peter and Stewarts, can I jump in before we get to that? Um, I don't know if it falls under stewardship, but I think it kind of does since Bill isn't here. Um, he stopped by my house um, a couple weeks ago and picked up those cages that we had used to protect the plantings at um, landing

and he attached them to some of the trees that were at risk along the trail at Bartholomew. So now we've got some little bit of beaver protection hopefully and just give him a shout out for taking care of that and um because they were going to town and you know for the ones that are in proximity to trails and bridges and things we certainly want to mention that

so the other thing I wanted to mention too is Peter u when I was away texted to Andrea and I the image that's up on the screen on her and do we ever determine if that was an ATV or whether that was by ever source or one of contractors or just somebody cruising around out in the It was not I I never followed up with anybody interesting it it uh doesn't look like a big vehicle looks So anyway, you should keep an eye out. Have a dog in there for scale.

Companion. Yeah.

So speaking of while we're in the topic of Stewarts, um we did get Jamie Mliski, the town HR person, advertised a job and we got I think two or three applicants. Uh, and it turned out we weren't apparently not specific enough. The applicants thought it was a full-time job. Uh, and when we found they found out it was a part-time job, they were no longer interested. So before I left, I posted the opening on the negative land conservation website and we had three applicants who I trust know that it's going to be job. One is a gentleman from Waterford. uh he is working at Best Buy now. He worked at General Dynamics and doing a lot with shipping, quality control, inventory control. Uh a woman uh from Grten who is an assistant professor at Mitchell College and she teaches marine environmental science which is interesting.

And another gentleman who is a self-employed carpenter. So I would suggest that we interview Paul, right? Sure. Yeah. U would I would do K touch base with Jamie and see if we get that at the end of this. Sure. My only caveat is from March 20. Yeah. April 5th on traveling. Um so I'm happy to reach out to Jamie. Um we've got a few weeks. Yeah. we can get them in sooner than later. And do you have any time constraints?

So I the other thing I don't want to be a nudge on this, but you did talk about a young fellow that you thought was interested. Y do you think he might be still if he's interested, he's got to apply, right? He hasn't responded to. Okay. So we'll pass him by. Yes, I think so.

Okay, that's fine. I just didn't want to have him lose out the opportunity if he was affected. The other thing I wanted to to go over really I commend Fred Fergus. time devoted to town. I see he's been going through all the board finance. This is his busy period, I'm sure, for that. I think you guys were meeting last evening, too, were you?

Yes, we briefly wait. So, we we spent 71% of our budget. Um, and again, that's a little bit misleading because probably looking at something in the range of a little bit north of $5,000 for the uh, well theater

damp. I talked to Monster Bat today. Uh, they are just going to start thinking about their schedule. He said he doesn't want to come out until he he knows that whatever was in that clover is good thought. He's coming from Tton, Massachusetts. Pretty good ride for him. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and I touched base with John Eaggan and they're ready to go whenever that's cleaned out to put the B or whatever. So the 5K is for cleaning out and and the Keystone system.

Well, that 5,000 we're both together. And I think we're I think we should have everything squared away by by April. I'm going to be traveling actually at the end of April. So would like to have that squared away. And we have a little bit of of monies from cargo from last year as well that we pretty much spent that down. Do do you know if Honda Lake has has gotten us a per our spray permit yet?

Uh they are in the process and they um I have actually to him about a few things and he said that um sorry they actually the MDDB check review or whatever uh is only good for like two or three years. So we actually had to repeat the MDDB this year. So that's why it's taking a little bit longer get the actual permit in hand. but he's confident that it's work out and um thinks it's you know possible but unlikely that you know we might need to engage our herpatologist again but um

keep me posted.

It would seem doctor will have to have this week or we went through treatment without one and we're not going to have the big there either. We're not having the big equipment. Um the actual quantity being used and area being treated is so is much reduced. in my absence. I believe that I ask you guys to Andrea Russ and we're talking about chaos about chaos. Would either of you like to discuss that?

Sure. Um yeah, so we met again yesterday. this week and um you know we were able to kind of sum up what what's needed uh in the way of invisual signs and um um they're really only we had talked about replacing the tick warning signs because some of them are so huge. There's only two tick warning signs that are kind of oversized, so we'll have to be replacing two of those. And um um oh, here it is. All right. So, two tick signs um will need to be buying. So, we talked about the QR codes, and I want to circle back to that again, but there'll be um eight of those, one for each kiosk. Um, eight new coyote signs and um eight land acknowledgement signs. So, and we can talk with Christine in a minute about the wording for that. But um the to come back to the QR code. Um I think Greg you had originally suggested that it would be interesting for people to be directed to that property page on our website to learn more about the history and other kind of interesting attributes of the property. And uh Russell actually said that, you know, if we directed he suggested we could direct folks to the primary hiking page or whatever it's called, which where all of the

properties with trails are listed and ones that don't have trails as well. um where you can then click through to get to that more detailed information about each property. But by directing them to sort of the mother list, if you will of our trails of our properties since the um then you kind of are encouraging them to explore other properties, right? So, kind of the idea of saying, you know, if you're interested in Champlne South, you know, be aware that there's four other options for you, five other options for you to code would go to like

not the hiking so much like this is your website when you first get to it. There's open space and whole line that Yeah. That that whole left column is a mess. Yeah, but it would go to the basically the description of the open space in O line where from A to Z it lists in alphabetical order the trails. So you get the whole menu of our properties

and the advantage there is that it be the same QR code on every every guest which is a little bit easier. And you know really felt like it was a good way to kind of advertise if you will or you know get the word out about you know all the different trails that are here. So I mean once you get there it's easy enough to find your trail. Exactly. Once you get there, you're like, "Oh, there's mine. That's where I am." Or you But on the way, you might say, "Oh, next time I could go there, you know." So, I I thought it was

and I had I read an email that Russ is populating trail finders with our properties and they're working on trail descriptions. Would the would we be doing whatever trail description that we have newly newly associated with each of those hiking properties? Mhm. On the Yukon Trail Finder. I don't I don't know. No. On on our site on our site. Um so when when you click on the QR code, would you just get a map or would you get a map and description of the trails?

Well, so there's two QR codes, right? We were talking about having a QR code that goes to this kind of on the maps on the maps. There's also actually two QR codes. There's one for Avenza maps which Okay. And then there's another QR code that I guess is the map.

Is is just the map. That's right. Thank you. Um, so I don't know that any of that detail from Etica Trailfinder is um accessible uh either on our website or um you know through the map QR code or anything like that. I I mean my my recollection and I would I would have to defer to Russ about you know what exactly we provided to Connecticut Trailbinder but but that it's you know it's it's reasonably um concise. You know, I have to think that there's a good amount, but we should I mean, we need to revisit our our website, our web pages in general,

and you know, where we can with some of the new information about, you know, because Russ has been working on, you know, ease of access or, you know, other kinds of um points of interest. Um, and you know, and I think he was even looking into like time or distance, you know, putting that kind of stuff in there. I mean, it's it's pretty detailed, but um I think the place for it would be on the individual property pages on the website.

Uh, so I I I've always liked the idea of putting information about trail lengths and um the extent that feasible information about whether this is an easy trail to do or this is a trail that's going to be a little more strenuous for you. Right. So I I'm don't know if I totally grasp what we're talking about QR codes. So we'll have a QR code on the map thing that's already been made that go right to the map. Right. We'll have another QR code that'll go to a hiking inventory paper. Yes. Correct. Paper. Yeah. So, if you're on Champlne South

and you want information about it besides the map, you could click on that QR code and it will take you to Champlne South. So, are you going to make a a QR code little QR code sign? Yeah. And the idea was that it would say um scan here for more information on open on this and other open face trails. Yeah, I was going to say you need to have some verbage on there to distinguish between the two.

That's that was kind of what our recommendations were. And then um did a little unfortunately to make a reasonably scaled version of the kiosk. It does not fit on 11 8 and 1 half by 11 paper, but it does fit on this nice trace paper that I'm just a little bit bigger. So anyway, if people are interested in pass around um that's kind of a proposed layout, but um Andrea went up and measured the smaller tick signs for us, which was great. So this is an approximation of what if we make the tick sign and the coyote sign the same size. Oh, the coyote would be the same size.

12 by six. Yeah. And uh and then yeah, just to give it a little less of a hodge podge than the town rule side is the town rule set. That's not going to change.

Uh the maps are 16 by 20 and uh then we would have the new QR code in US. Uh and then at the very bottom uh and and this is a great segue, a nice uh land acknowledgement. Take it away. So I think in sort of putting together what everybody um the feedback uh from everybody I think the one that I put together that I think maybe will work the best um would be uh we acknowledge the indigenous people who came before us as we work for the protection of the land, water, plants and animals.

And what size that well I but I ballparked it at the 12x4 um mainly just in to take advantage of the available real estate on IKEA and have things not be like overlapping and stuff. So it was um you know 12x4 and the QR code that one is 5 by4 you open

just as an FYI now while we're doing this I I mentioned I when people first started coming in here that I do have some things on this laptop that we'll share but this is as much a test as a a requirement for today's meeting and I'm hopeful in the future that we happen in here like that. You can send it to me and we can show it up there rather than past and bring the 21st.

It has not been easy. We had a meeting last night and unfortunately we couldn't get into it. So Katie sat in her office and advanced slides. Oh my gosh. Can you send me back? Yeah, of course. Okay. because then I will speak with Chris the board to get some um and then we had a coyote sign we wanted to right you have the church oh I'm sorry it's archaic perfect

so we've looked at several um this was this what is presently on it. So, it's a lot of verbage. People aren't going to look at it. Yeah. And then there were others. Um, sorry, bad picture, but it's and a number of them that me had gone through. Um, but this seems visible, concise,

identifying coyotes may be present. Some trails have them more than others. Um, and it presently reads, "Do not feed coyotes. Keep pets on leash and bold. If a coyote approaches, not appear large and aggressive. Make loud noises. Back away slowly. Do not run." My kind of covers. Yeah. I think you have on there for more information. Is that going to be included? No. No.

Um, just a question of editing. I don't know if um they do not feed coyotes should be the first sentence. I don't think that's the first response people are going to do, but I think the first thing should keep your dogs on leash. Yeah, that's we did talk about switching that and then have if approached appear large and aggressive, make loud noises, back away slowly, do not run. Um then the question is do we bold it all or um

I I think it's I mean I just think it's nice and simple like that and just switching the first two people are either going to read it or they're I bet most people would treat it. So, well, I think you're I I think the fact that you're just um letting people know that line does have coyotes and they're living in the woods and they're ding in the woods and and I think it's good to be cautious about that because not to attack.

Well, there was an attack at um at um is it Champlain South? Uh somebody with a dog on a leash and they they got close to a den for springtime. Yeah. This year. No, a couple years ago. Oh, was that John Flowers? Was that John Flowers? I know. I don't know who it was, but their dog was attacked. The dog was The dog is the baby, right? Yeah. Yeah. You're probably They think it's

Was that Do you know if that was a big dog or a small dog? I know that John Flowers had an incident. It was like in 21 2020 21 right after during CO 2020 and he has a yellow had a yellow lab but not a massive lab but a good size bigger than Fizz bigger than Willa um and um he ended up picking up the dog and having to carry it out and so it was an older dog too. Um, and then there was all these rumors about raises. Um, and it kind of got blown up rumor-wise, but um,

yeah, I think it certainly is a possibility was talking about that, but the mothers are going to be very protective. Yes. I I have a friend that her son was walking in MDC property in West Harvard. He had maybe a 15 pound dog like a smaller dog that hyperallergenic and quietly just grabbed it by the neck and ran off it.

That happened to my brother in Sim Street. came right up to his patio, took their little dog and they found they found a little thing and they Oh. Oh, I was fly. Well, speaking of coyotes, the land trust has their annual meeting later this month, Apple talking about coyotes, which Joan and I talked about poss. Yeah. And I wasn't sure when we talked about last month and I wasn't sure which one they had decided on the board. So I I didn't say considering priorities. I mean there were several topics out there and is your meeting open to the public if any more members.

Yes. I have to go. Oh do you need do you need to pre-register? We like it. Okay. I I registered and I thought it was required. Yeah, we would prefer it to be required, but it's not, you know, people don't always people don't always follow. So, I'm not going to throw you out if you show up and haven't registered for connection. I think when you register, you get a little note saying we got it. You get something after too saying that you're I think once I accept it, then it goes out second email. So

that century too your website. Do you have our new maps or do you have the old map from our site? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if we've updated that. I'll ask. I'll find out. I can come back. You can work with um get back to the kiosk. Are all the kiosks in good shape? Do we need any new kiosks? I think they I mean I I haven't inspected them personally. The ones I have seen, they all look fine to me. Okay. Um I think they'll look a lot better when we take the plastic bags off of them. Clean them up a little bit, but

a little over white paint or anything, but they they're pretty holding up. Well, I think we'll have to do a relook, but I think for the most part they're okay. Maybe there was one that had a questionable roof. Yeah. Um maybe the only thing last thing I wanted to mention is is Russ talked about some signs other than kiosk locations. Where would that be? They're where trails connect, you know. So I don't they're not um going to be I think they're if they're the same like 16 by 20. They might be. I think

I think it's just largely a sign. So long aims. Exactly. Um and you are on that white trail and then you come to the blue and the green here, you know, just um a map and say, "Oh, where am I?" Because he went intersection. real. Well, speaking speaking of coyotes, I I think I may have sent everybody about your book. I said I'd like to read it. Okay. Yeah, me too. Yeah. Pass it around. Yeah. But it's pretty much You have a book? Did you read a book?

He read a book. Oh, okay. That I just finished reading. is fascinating because it's just sort of super the biology and the and the all the Native American spiritual stuff and so it's really and and how how coyotes got here. Uhhuh. I mean they suddenly showed up and why did that happen? So that was nice. What's the name of the book?

Coyote America. So, so it's interesting. I remember back 20 years ago or maybe longer, there was this big almost like Vermont when I say, "Are there coyotes in New England or not?" And they certainly have moved in. Yeah. And the thing that I hear a lot now, we have some friends in Vermont who always are talking about koi dogs. Yeah. The local coyotes are bigger. They're koi wolves. Yeah. as they moved

as they moved across Canada, uh they went sort of north and north of the Great Lakes and they ran into diver wolves

in Canada and at bred and so they are bigger, but they're not as they're not as big as people think they are. There was a I went to a to a talk in Essex about coyotes that was by the D and they he had a um a slide of a coyote that somebody had shot or trapped or something anyway was hanging and there were people standing next to it and they said okay tell me how much that coyote weighs and people said 90 pounds you know 110 So this coyote weighs 35 pounds. Really?

They just are big. There's your fluffy big

learn more about be a Jenny Apple. Then we'll remember to register. Then we'll have to learn about bears because they're bears alive too. I guess Mike Aurelia saw bears. Did he see them? Yeah, Champagne North and um somebody up on Sill Lane had one crossing the lawn. I haven't seen him, but a neighbor saw them. Yeah. Good habitat for Did you want to talk about your pollinator garden idea?

Oh, yes. Um well, you know, we Bill had um shared some information a couple of meetings ago about a pollinator garden. He saw one of his places he visited and hiked. And you know, he was thinking, "Oh, why don't we do one of these? It's a good way to get people interested in a property." And I was thinking maybe if we all thought it was a good idea, do something really simple like uh milkweed. They had some milkweed and Brooks met in their place for and yeah and we could because I don't think there's anything like that there now. And I know Greg you had said you the guy ms Yeah. once or twice a year.

I think he mows twice a year. But he he he checks with us before he does it. He does. So we could adjust that. We could certainly adjust his timing because I don't think he m with in with optimum height for perennials in mind when he does it. He m primarily to keep you know like danger horseback and most primarily to keep brush and stuff from growing field does a pathway. Yes. What would be really great is we could I mean Brooks is maybe an acre maybe a little more

is to um have that as a test site for a control burn for that. I mean the the milkweed you can plant like I mean um six plugs or something five or six plugs and just see how it takes but and put it over by the water the body you know the pond there so it's not like smack in the middle of the and the butterflies do like to go sort of near the water so it would be a good good way to attract them and I I would I I think it's a great idea I mean books tend that be the the idea for a lot of people to do things. Yeah. And to see, you know,

I think this is nice. And I would actually suggest perhaps that we not do that, but we maybe contact whoever's the pollinator pathway group. See if they might do that for us. Good idea. Yeah. And we don't have Dan Thompson probably involved that in some way or the river garden. Yeah. Okay. Suzanne, are you are you a ducky? Not anymore. I I have stepped back duties and I'm still going to work the plant sale because I I actually enjoy you want to see who's found your best.

Sure. I actually know I have some emails because I went to a couple of those um winter stratification planting thingies. So, I'll look and see and um find out if it's something that, you know, they might be interested in helping us with. Wouldn't be that big of a deal though to plant them and then you just have to keep them a little bit weed free. There must be a pollinator pathways group here in Hawaii Hill and it's about okay. All right. I I pretty confident Suzanne Thompson had been involved in that, but between that and her

mix and notweed and and also hills and everything, the full-time job and everything, I don't know what she's involved in now. Yeah, I can't think of the person's name that was sending out the emails, but I'd go back and look. And then would would Suzanne be a person to reach out to just see if she I can send I I can send her an email. Joan and whatever she gets. Okay. Also, all right.

So, in just a second, but I think we're still on for and I to meet with Serbo from Deep at Fly Landing tomorrow. So I I happened to meet him uh at a CLC conference a couple years ago and I think he I think there's maybe three foresters in the state east in the eastern district. We had received a re invitation from deep uh see if we wanted to get to get some help with forest planning but apparently that program is all booked up. We can talk about that on the in the next round. But he did suggest um not a whole lot of detail that there might be grants available for implementation of of creating or improving and resilient forestry. and me about that. And the thing I like is that rather than being excluded from a lot of these grant opportunities by deep uh because we're two smaller towns or whatever deep is kind of reaching out to smaller towns just like uh to help with the forestry concerns which is great. Um

he said his the frank particular grant opportunity is focused on implementation implementation projects as opposed to planning projects. We have offered many planning grants in the past and very likely to do so again in the future. That would be your opportunity to pursue a forage management plan on a larger conserve track. So I think we're kind of going in there. I think we we we both have questions for each other what Pete might do. But it would be wonderful we get some support to continue the fair landing work.

When you talk about controlled burning on ferry landing or not no just forest management. Okay for management. Evan uh Evan I know Evan's been interested in that for a while. He's talked about the Native Americans use and so forth. Yeah. And you mentioned the anti forest. Do you know Had there been burns there? Yeah. Was it last year? Last year was it? Yeah.

If you go up into um for the name is um just before Tiffany Farm, the road into Natic State Forest. If you drive in there, all of about 15 acres on the left hand side of the road has been burned now three or four times,

once once every three to five years. So, it's um and it's fascinating to see because it it does kill some of the trees, but it doesn't it doesn't kill all. I mean, because they're relatively cool birds. They're not wildfires. Um and they um if they kill a tree or two that opens up the canopy to more light and then you get which is pretty principally why why the Native Americans burned is is to keep the undergrowth fairly lush so that there are more deer so that their hunting and that their travel through the woods was easier but also for hunting. you you had mentioned invasive controls. Would there be a benefit of a burn?

Well, that it it sort of depends on what you're talking about. I I suspect that there are certain types of of plants, you know, foreign plants that would resist being burned. I don't think I don't think you control notweed with a with fire. Um because you can't control notweed with much of anything. And um the uh sometimes it opens up spaces for bases to come in. That's that's a risk. Yeah. But if you're isolated like that, that's a pretty pristine area, so that's not such a risk. Yeah. Are you around tour? Yeah. I'd love

would you want to join us? And I would I was thinking I was specifically going specifically ask the forester about burn. It's 1:00 at Fairy Landing. One one o'clock. Let me let me just check. I'm curious what this reaction would be. And I'm also curious about it's Thursday the 12th. Let's see. Yeah, I could I could do that.

We're meeting at I don't think um I don't think they're Atlantic is at all a Well, that's the thing that's the candidate for control burning because of the neighbors and for many reasons. Yeah. So I I but I was I was curious if either you or or would have some thought about you suggested Brooks metal which is basically just grassland as opposed to a part area that's street how you

I'm curious about do you know who did the antic burn was it deep yeah deep and how did they limit it to a certain area they have I think they They may have mowed a perimeter area and maybe even taken some hose and and taken out some vegetation just as a fire line. And then they had I don't know five or six people from uh from the forestry department up um trying to remember the name of the of the forester who was running that. retired now. I can't remember it.

Well, we can ask Frank about that. It might be a good opportunity also to to kind of partner with the fire department. Might be a training. We're starting to get contact with them from another committee that Andre and I are on Swing. He was assistant chief is on the fire department on this committee. Yeah. Well, it also that too Ron and Michael. Yeah, one of the one of the arguments of getting the fire department involved is that over the next few years, the fire is going to be coming back to New England. Yes.

Um in a big way, we've already seen it in different parts of Connecticut. I could see reports that it may be a such strong Elino or Nia or whatever, right? Which is going to lead to hotter and drier conditions potentially the Yeah. Elino. Yeah. Yeah, but I I would be very reluctant to start a fire without the fire department.

So, I don't want to deliver what we're going to do tomorrow because we're talking about a couple things landing and possibly burn. Do you want to talk about a management plan on some other properties or mention that to Frank or not? Well, I I I would the primary plans are for bigger parcels of land. Yeah. The primary purpose is visits to see what he can do for furry land, right?

And then after that, I just ask him very preliminarily what he thinks of control birds and then we talk about what's the best place to stage something like that. Is it a field or is it a section of forest like an Atantic or whatever. Yeah. Um, Bill Bill Naring who taught ecology at Connecticut College did a control burn at the armoredum in New London and I think it was about an acre. you know, they did 200 by 200 and um I don't know if he did it multiple times or just once, but it was he and his students because he had a whole class of, you know, young people. You know what might be interesting to him and I know that you've been on the uh the Yukon message board that reaches out to land trust. just be curious if any land trusts or towns have done control burns and what their experience has been and yeah how they regro this and so I would be a little bit I I'd love to know uh what the potential impact would be what Fred alluded to that do you clear the canopy and open it up hope you have barber what are populated that fast with native plants

yeah I I think it's I'm just sure that there are some very specific sort of criteria for why and when and where you would do a controlled burn. You know, if you have a specific agenda for managing a forested area, you know, like, you know, I I don't even know what that, you know, what when fire would be the best way to achieve that achieve those goals, you know. Um I think it has to be pretty specific. I don't know. Well, you know, burns are one thing you could do, but the force management involves a lot more than just Oh, yeah. No, absolutely. Yeah.

And the timing to that point, the timing of when you did it, whether it's spring, summer, winter, fall could also impact the potential invasive or other species that you want to have. Right. Deep does it, as Paul said, does it control burn in the fields at Hartness? Do they? Yeah. I was over there one time when they were burning and it was fascinating. Why just But they had, you know, the equipment and right fire truck and pumpers

sounding like one o'clock. Yeah. I'd be curious to talk to like the folks maybe at Harkness or whatever and and just kind of determine a spread. So what is the what is the objective? Why they do that? Did did burn do what they hoped it would do? Right. Exactly. Once you do burns, you kind of do that. That's a thing you do routinely then. That's what they do in the handic. Yeah. Yeah, I mean the point of doing it is not to just do it once but to do it at the right intervals and maintain that they do it about every as I said program you got kids

but I'm on the deep mailing list and they sent a example of forest management plan for land trust or somebody was a town um we all tons of things to read but if you're interested in seeing what that looks like

I could circulate that to Yeah, I got a I've got a line Z land trust meeting tomorrow and I find out what what they've gotten from D CC or I mean I know that they've been having some uh they've been having some talks with the great mountain forest um research area the northwestern corner onian forestry Yeah, that's right.

Can you talk a little bit, Evan, about how the land trust and the town work together on their land? Does the town own land and the land trust own land, but the land trust stewards it all or how does that you know I think I think that stewardship is done mean in line? Yeah. Um I think the it's all done by volunteers and and Wendy Hill. Yeah, that that's what I meant. That would be the land trust. She's the she's the land she's the open space coordinator and she's also on the land. She's also on the land.

Who who actually own the 50% or whatever who actually owns that? Does the town own half and land trust or I I that I can't tell you what the town does own land itself though. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, they just bought 250 acres two years ago from the Johnston family and um and part of that was designated um as um old growth forest that that was or maybe was just very mature forest which hasn't quite gotten to the old growth category but there were indications that that was happening. No.

And but I think um I mean the the line land trust is just keeps acquiring more property and very for the town that is very supportive. I mean there were um two two or three years ago there was a the town meeting there was a suggestion that I think the funding some of the money from the funding authorization and and there was like 90% of the people saying

well there's a development on the on Verizon I think that that all the towns need to be aware of and that's the the new affordable housing push and and old line has already been contacted and I think there's going to be groups that are taking inventories of developable land in towns instead of what might be appropriate for rural policy and and I think any land that does not have some type of legal protection is going to be put on that list and the dissociian and I have struggled to figure out how to do it in this time. So, while we're talking about forest and stuff like that, I I didn't know if I shared it or not conservation commission work with Mark Comtock and to to do various uh presentations and and provide uh materials whatever. And he they had written that he has 101gallon u brows of red wood red bud that he provide uh to people and I understand it is a native species in the United would open space have any appropriate places to fit anything like that we should consider maybe try to get a few

timing of it is the problem. You know, I'm really optimistic that we're going to find that a late fall planting at Fairy Landing, for example, means that we don't have to be, you know, mercenating with watering and whatnot. Yes, the thing is um so you know, if it can sit in a pot next November, I I don't know. I didn't probably I'm not that a year from now or this coming this time. And we have a family and I have a red bud in a pot that we just dug in the ground dug a hole and plumped it in and Yeah. And it's it's surviving.

Uhhuh. Um well, you know, I mean, if if if it's at your house and you're watering it. Yes. Are you watering? No, I I'm not watering. Really? Okay. What's How long has it been about? It's been a year or so. Really? What's What's its preferred U environment? Does it like water soil or Well, it's somewhat sandy soil and acidic soil. Um it's I I remember red bud when I was in the army in Texas and there were red buds all over them. I mean,

they're pretty hardy. Uh, Lady Bird Johnson loved red bud and so she planted red buds all over the place. And that's pretty hot and dry. So that's surprising. I think of them as understory trees like a dog would. So here full sun to partial shade. Yeah. But they're pretty hearty. I think they'll they'll a lot of spaces on Bartholomew for example that that they more or less moist. Right. Well, Fairy Landing is pretty moist, too, until you get down to this, you know, the upper. You got all the runoff from the road coming down that hill and

you know, I'm not sure how much runoff we're getting. I mean, run off from the site, yes, but I don't know if we're getting any off of the road. I mean, there's a stone wall there for one thing. Stone wall. Yeah, but I mean, it's not like a big No, it's not. It's not a deadly, right? Okay. But there is moisture coming off the road and heavy rain the side of the road and but I think that the closer you get to the pond the way the Oh yeah. It's not a typical native species. It's more southern species, right?

Yeah. Things are moving that but yeah typical for I did do a quick search and it said it's Connecticut was used to be anyway at the northern range of its natural habitat. So it was native to Connecticut, not so much northern mass in northern but that may be changing. I've never seen it in the wild in Connecticut. Not that I have either. I mean I've seen people due to the beer brows. I don't know. We're finding out.

Yeah. Um but um actually the deer didn't we didn't have much problems because the inquiry crop was pretty good last last fall and so the deer were fat and happy. Mhm. But the other thing is, um, I've got an article I thought I'd give you about, uh, Atlantis control. Okay. And instead of taking a hatchet banging on them, there's a suggestion that you get a a a drill like what what um,

sugar makers. tappers. Yeah. Use the same drill bit you drill into the hole and then you squirt round and so from the suggestion from the society of American Foresters.

I like it. Speaking of trees, um this is our beaver video that we can share. I think maybe you've already seen it, but here's another view of it. We'll see if we have sound. up on the screen. that little arrow to the right of that circle.

You hover over the actual video, do you get anything? Yeah. the person on one of your preserves. Yeah. Are you

not? Not that I'm dissing it, but you know, I'm a paper girl. I read my newspaper the real fast. I greet my my my uh mail carrier at 5:30 in the morning sometimes.

I'm actually agenda on my phone trying to be a bit less of a paper user. We spent 15 minutes playing around with this. Yeah, I think this little earlier it was never moving. I She just had it up there, but it was never I never saw the video. You have an arrow on yours or anything that Can you right click on it?

Well, there's multiple issues here. This is I think this is the newest or best laptop. This is the laptop that's probably been replaced because it's the speed obviously. Well, maybe we should just watch it on.

All right. So, I'm going to see if I can't make this bigger, but um Can you all see? Yeah. So, just light background.

When we started doing the videos, Alex Roth was a high school student and he did the very first series of them and Evan did the voice over, the script and the voiceover. Then we had this uh uh Riley Bear um another uh college he was a high school graduate at that time and in college who's into media um and then he did the voiceovers and music um himself with Evan doing the script and then Emily Ivers did the third series uh from Fairy Landing. um she no longer has the Adobe capabilities and she's also working in New London or Brford with me now somewhere else. Um and this is Briana Mila who is um also a a college graduate with a background is video uh graphic artist graphic arts that has the capability. So, she um put this together and it just makes me think that if you need work on the website, she could probably have some I know Katie seems to do a lot in everything. And I don't know to what extent bringing in somebody else to help with um website work or something on our website, but um

I can tell you right now that at this point anyway um is restricting who can edit the website to voice. I think it's primarily cave and then of gem dat.

So um there is hopefully volume on this and you can even hear the beaver but what we're looking for is comments. I think Ann had wrote some in and um that seem valid. So any others bring value to the landscape. Beavers are nature's engineers. They build their dams and brooks, streams, and rivers, creating wetlands that help waterheds, recharge aquafers, and provide habitat for fish, birds, amphibians, and mammals. Beavers trees to harvest the inner bark or cambia rich in sugars and minerals. They chew through the bark fining down their ever growing teeth. Use the wood for building and lodges in store when their food supplies.

That was the top of its tail in case you didn't. When a veer drops a tree, light pours through the tree canopy to help do undergrowth used for food and cover by other creatures. The overlying open space mission wants to do their workh preventing erosion and creating rich life.

That's cool. Can you see the little owl? Hold on. I wish I could stop that. Oops. So, I'll go back. Yeah. Just the the daytime images. The deer wonderful

the the deer the sound is off but the deer makes us a warning cough and I was when Andrea sent me one I was supposed to watch you ear my dog but my my thoughts on it is this I don't know what happened to the sound is the Let me go back. Narration grew with a deer.

It ended. Excuse me. the next year, preventing erosion and creating rich life. that they know through the last like 20 seconds or I'm not sure how long that is even um

where does where is that open say at the very end open line in space commission. Yeah. At the very end. Yeah. I would put it at the beginning. So, can she still edit this? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I would I would Excuse me. Put that in the beginning. Do we do we want to identify where this was taken or no? Bever. Yeah. Ann had a good present. He says, "Oh, thank you." This presently says, "Beaver's old line trail camp, but he can't say beaver's old line open space bar."

Yeah, I mean, maybe it's just Beaver's Bartholomew over here. Well, I thought if there was some narration that just said, you know, you can see Beaver's handiwork for yourself at the Baraligo. Yeah, that would be fine. I I I something to indicate Bartholomew and maybe give a plug for Bill's little trail. Yeah. Where there is a beaver trail. Yeah. My only hyper skeptical mind thinks uh somebody's going to go in there and steal it. Oh,

they have to bring serious equipment to get it off. The bear box is screwed into the tree. Oh, it's not just strapped around there. People, children mostly on film come right up. Right. Oh, yeah. And um you know, usually most things I take away the anything people, but I do recognize Yeah.

You know, some people in flyers. I see Joe winter lampos and you know I don't know who ch you know but there are certainly children who run up to the tree and um uh tap on it and and even push the trees which makes me nervous thinking parents I don't know if you want your kid pushing out that tree

if we have an idea where it is some type of promotion of the trail. The other thing I would suggest is I thought it was Evans combo was interested as a screech owl and it just says owls up there. Just say screech. See screech out. What do you call that? The beaver cut or whatever whatever the language would be. Screech and just e. What's that? I think e screech. So it could just say screech owl. Yeah. And maybe just pause it for a little bit there. So people can identify that before he moves on.

Locations. Maybe it was visiting. He was in the mountain. Yeah. Are pretty there. Well, they're not you don't It's harder to find them. I mean, you hear them, but you you rarely see them. I never do. They're mostly nocturnal. They are nocturnal. Most are. Are they fairly common?

So just to rehab for Beaver's old line or just the open old line open space mission. No, I what whatever that concluding uh image was start with that and then go into beavers on.

So that's like the title of the video. Yeah. First I agree on um MGM presents beer with a mouth. I was just on

and then at the end either written or verbal depending upon um for editing you could see beaver's handiwork on Bartholomew open space beaver trail yeah space again but you can see beavers handiwork on Bartholomew view the beaver beaver trail new beaver trail you could do something like beaver on beavers in baral open space trail

keep it simple and say view beavers on barthal open space perfect well yeah I don't know if you're going to see their handiwork their hand work And the fact that there's a trail I think is nice and even to say not to make it too wordy but to say an interpretive informationational trip that's the kind of thing that makes people want to go to

interpret plug you beaver's handiwork on barthol's interactive you said not interactive interpretive interpretive interpretive beaver. And I I think that when you have a little bit more text like that, she should hold on that frame that mentioned it was frozen for seconds. Give people a chance to read it.

Yeah. or to just she can just say that and it doesn't have to all be I I found the the the titles whatever the written stuff over the image is kind of big so I I'd rather hear her say that at the end and do both or you could do both. Okay. And then when it's finished, I can post it to you all again. And then you have to be the I understood my Yes. Um Greg, I will pass it to you to pass on to Katie.

Yeah.

So um while we're talking about streaming, whatever, um a colleague of and I Gateway sent out something more society is offering basically fields on a on Saturday or Sunday mornings usually at 9 or 10 a.m. um I think a couple hours not per se but an examination of native vegetation and that could be something that we could make as kind of a guided hike like we've done uh with whatever or we could do it just for oursel the ID plants

and and I I think one area that might work really nicely for that I'm sure there are others is is what our thing to go around for neck crate because it's kind of a nice little short small little area and a nice sampling of native plants and it's we learned when we had somebody out there like year and a half ago there's very few invasives out there which just makes it a really beautiful little property. I just incidentally bringing up John Feifer. I never got back to because I haven't heard back. Okay.

He told me he was not he was kind of grumpy and said he did that he did that work in 1971 and no one's probably alive that would have photographed it, but that he would look. Um, but I I I'm going to email him just to say, but I have to make sure I say it. So he's not he didn't do enough. We don't want to talk about what he said. But anyhow, this was some digging. Let me contact.

He has some photos that would would have been uh somewhat available or could say, you know, you could try this place or or that place. I don't know when when one does uh their PhD thesis I would imagine there's got to be some references if he's basing it on occupation. There's got to be some reference images whatever that of whatever the artifacts he found. I know. Yeah.

They went somewhere because he knows I don't I don't know where they Mr. Ames was not happy they were went missing. I think there was some controversy as to being Oh, Steve was taken. Yeah. Yeah. You just wanted to get them in a safe place and not have anyone if there's an anthropologist at Wesley start. Yeah. Yeah. Was that that where John was

No, I think he got his was at Yukon. I think he's just like all reading that those artifacts went to you. Oh,

okay. again along in along the lines of plants and vegetation and so forth. The conservation commission has been very interested in working with us and inland wetlands on various projects. And one of the things that they've suggested uh we're going to talk about at this last meeting, but it was deferred until their April meetings. They're interested in doing a inventory a map of endangered species uh both and for an old line. And I'm not quite sure how that would differ from having it indeed be done, but I can reach out to them and say, you know,

talk a little bit about what you want to do and maybe work with you to do it space, which would be kind of nice. Well, the nice thing about the the NDP is that um they don't tell you what They don't tell you that they're what what sort of plant or animal because there's so many people out collecting and and stealing and I mean you tell somebody there's a bog turtle and you know and you'll have

people going that's exactly correct and and they mention locations which I worried that the conservation committ The old line conservation commission is not going to if they're actually finding a species that would get on the on the market um that they would keep that secret how they would keep that secret.

It's it's a good thing to know. On the other hand, uh if it's if it's from my perspective, the chief benefit to open space for that is it's it's great justification for asking for grants and whatever the property because of endanger say it's present but just not give the location present. No line. Yeah. Well, right. That would be protected enough specific to a property. It could be um gentrification for keeping it off of the developable property list.

Right. Very good. That was one of one of the issues of when I was on the weapons commission, but it was um when we were having all that discussion with Harbor Management that um that that where that that marsh land right there was in a Yeah, the natural diversity database.

Um what that what the species was was um you can matter of conjecture but um it's you know sharp tail sparrow or something that was in the mushroom itself. Great. Um, can they the town owned properties, the open space properties, can can those be can we be forced to sell those for affordable housing or are they safe since it's now owned as that's exactly excellent question. I would think that if there's not some type of protection but the easement

it could be it's possible the town took a space and high school when you you mentioned that it was a property acquired northern part of whatever what does the lime do to legally protect their properties these people. Um I don't know that they do anything more than we do. So So they could be in the same boat as us. Well, I wonder if the Lime Land Trust is willing to hold easements on town property, which you know,

I I'll ask too much. Yeah, because u that's the problem is you have to get somebody I mean some of their blime has some interesting um arrangements they have one property that's own actually owned by the nature conservancy but they have a all the storage is done by the line land trust so they have a memorandum of understanding

um that land trust is in charge of the stewardship but the the land itself the the deed is in the name of the of the nature conservancy and I also think the land trust does do some maintenance on the open space

yeah well I it's a lot of I mean I volunteered for I'm I'm on the board of the land trust but I volunteered to help many on town and they and their um oversight or liability doesn't really apply to the I mean we have a different liability for Peter than you do for John Lacup on land on land trusts and I think that's how lime operates. Yeah. I don't I don't know how the land trust deals with it, but

town when I spoke with her just like, "Yeah, they just have at it. We have a great group. Don't question them. They just do it." Yep. They u I've I've gone out with a chainsaw and carried it through the woods and didn't have to check in with anybody or but um obviously whoever carries the insurance policy for whole life doesn't want to be a defense doctor won't be doing what Martin does to some extent is irrelevant.

Yeah. So, while we're kind of segment, I'd like to segue into different things that and we talked about horse crate. Jim Lampos in the town applied for and received a grant through Connecticut Crant in Yukon to basically create a strategic resiliency action plan. It's going to be water virtual meetings and uh among the issues discussed will be postal and river and resilience and land use and conservation. uh and the climate related assessments that property line so we open space as to participate on this committee. Uh Russ Lynman is is a co-chair of flood erosion control board and they've also been asked to to participate. So I asked Russ would you wear two hats at these meetings and agreed to do so. Russ as we know today Russ is become a a worldwide traveler and in those instances where Russ is traveling Ann has agreed to be his backup and if Russ and Ann are out of town I will do that. So that would be something that we're doing. Also u the blind bar association has been sending out information looking for uh people that are interested in participating in the summer festival. Uh and I applied on behalf of what space Christine said she's in contact with that I'm sure Andrea and

she some great ideas for kids. Are we going to be stuck to be Yeah. Hopefully not. we are not going to be able member of the land trust expressed pretty forcefully that it was not the location that the land trust thought it would be and and people were definitely given given the the impression that another location would be west

so I don't know what that's going to be it could my guess would be it's going to either be back at the bar association or maybe across the street that little field by the old line there where a number of where conservation was conservation somehow got to select that as their spotlight here. So the date for that is Saturday July 25th and they cut back a little bit. This year it's going to be 90 to three. So say 25. Yeah. Yeah.

July. Yeah. July. Yes. July 25 Saturday. What is the time? 9 to 3. And soon we'll be able to set up the day before and talk about the details perhaps borrow that overhang from the land trust again.

That's yeah two other things I wanted to mention is is a Joe Walker sponsored bird walk on Mullik on May 12th that wants to go and We had talked about it, but I don't Rush said he never followed up on it. We still want to do a map of Fairy Landing. I'll write to Steve Perry. I was going to do that. I'm happy to do it, but I didn't know what he would need for that other he could get what he needs off the GIS.

Do you want to call him or contact and see what he needs and just have give us a call? Basically, it would be like the other maps but without trails. No trails. Yeah. Yeah. That's that's really kind of all I have today. Does anybody else have anything that they want to bring up or discuss?

I had an idea just to sort of folks um we've been talking about uh collaborating with um or just programming like doing some kind of we had been thinking about coyote lecture and now thankfully doing that for us. Um but uh I was I was wondering how people thought about doing something like that's oriented at rapture protection like specifically roenticide information and possibly also maybe bringing in some reflective window you know like um

window just sort of like bird safety how to sort of be a good neighbor to your aven you know, birds in the community. And I know that would be obviously kind of a thing to do with Ottabon, but Well, also with your pollinator. Mhm. Because the pollinators are kind of if you're going to have a little pollinator garden in your backyard, you're going to attract birds, right? And feed them,

right? Yeah. I mean they they did pass some legislation about redicide but it was not the full the most stringent version that and hopefully I think that would be but so many people you know they they call an exterminator and the guy says oh no no no it doesn't affect you know

it only affects the mouse or the you know and it's just not elaborate some brief extent maybe even at the midsummer festival I mean that there's just something but I think because I haven't on it but would be more robust sort of I don't think there were some handouts maybe that odd even that we could have it midsummer, but I think it'd be great to kind of make it a more indepthformational thing.

Life rehab or one of the organizations like that because they're the ones that I see that pops up on Facebook all the time. They're caring for eagles and hawks that have ingested. It's awful. You can buy rodenticide on web. Yes. And it just gets me out of your house and you people spread it around and and that's that for the owls. And

now I had I had a little mini heart attack. We were walking down Library Lane. Um and I saw what I thought was a bait box outside the library and I was like words. No. And then I went over and I checked it out and it must have been some kind of um conduit or or like some kind of electrical connection or something. But you know, it just occurred to me like a lot of people really don't don't understand that.

Just the last thing about the birds is is when we had that really cold weather before the storm and Black Hall River, mostly froze, but there was a little bit that was on frozen and I looked out and I saw like four eagles right at the edge of the ice waiting for buffet. Their buffet. All Evan and I were talking. There was a striper out in the middle of the road across from our house that one of them must have picked up and and then the vultures were like hanging out on my neighbor's roof. It was bizarre. But the but the immature eagles, there was five of them out there. I was out taking pictures of them right off our deck.

I one It wasn't this winter. It could have been, but it wasn't year about I don't know 10 years ago. Yeah. Big cold snap and and the cove in front of our house um froze over and I was walking early in the morning and there were I counted 15. Wow. They'd all come down. I think it was the the year that some guy drove his pickup truck onto the river ice and drove under the East Hatam Bridge. Oh my. Dead deer out for the Eagles.

Somebody grew a couple of deer carcasses. Yeah. Yeah. Right up on up near the Good Speed, I think. Yeah. One one peculiarity that I I've noticed a lot go is is when you're going over the Baldwin Bridge on the old line side of the river at certain times of the day you can see like a about a half a dozen vultures winds must be perfect so around in that spot. Well, they also loos today watching over the over the pond that the small fish pond had iced over but because we have like a bubbler there's you know an open space there and it was just kind of waiting and hoping but

fish anyway. So does someone make a motion to adjourn? to start. I'll second. All in favor? I open 48.