It's December the 24th. It's been two years since we have all been together. There is a freshly fallen snow in Vernon. What better way to celebrate than a hike in the town forest?
Friday, December 24, 2021
From Our Family to Yours
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Truce!
107 years ago in December while in the midst of the first great world war that would ultimately claim fifteen million lives, Pope Benedict XV called for a Christmas truce. Though the truce was rejected by the powers that be, soldiers from the trenches of war began to sing Christmas carols, buried their dead and exchanged gifts with their enemies.*
The first weeks of December have come and gone and with it our first snow here in Vernon. The students at VES had two days of sleds, snowballs and learning the rules of engagement on the winter playground. It's traditionally a steep learning curve for the younger students who to this point have not yet become accustomed to sharing the seven available sleds among them, and this has been further compounded by the pandemic which kept all of last year's students separated by grades. We spent these days pulling on mittens and boots, reminding them that throwing snow at each other is against the rules and only those who built the snowmen and forts may destroy them.
December is also the time when student leadership puts out the call to remember those in our broader community who are food insecure. Without knowing exactly for whom the food is destined, only that it will be brought to the Vernon food pantry, students and staff fill boxes in their classrooms with food and other necessities. In addition to staff assisting anonymous families in need of extra help with gifts, this year we joined in a letter writing campaign. Under the leadership of our Principal Mary Ross, we wrote letters of acknowledgement and encouragement to every Vernon student attending high school in the district. Though arguments about vaccine / no vaccine, political and religious banners, and how to live a country life remain, December is a time to rebuild our community.
Speaking of truces, with the entry of cold temperatures, comes the mice into our homes. This has been a perennial issue at our house with the nooks and crannies in our basement being packed with birdseed. At first we invested in one of those metal cans with a lids in which to store our seed and keep the mice out. We humanely removed all those that we could while locating and fixing possible points of entry. We exercised great patience until the day they moved upstairs. That was the day we bought snap traps. Two years after, with those traps still snapping, I decided that either my bad habits needed to go or I would forever be dumping seed out of boots and nagging Wayne to dispose of another victim.
I say victim because it is a balancing act when it comes to managing wildlife in a human dominated habitat. I have said it before and I will say it again, when we put out the welcome mat, we should expect wildlife to accept the invitation and that includes the ones we don't want to accept it. Take for example bird feeders. Vermont Fish and Wildlife sets the date to begin feeding birds as December first; but this year they requested that we delay doing so because the bears had yet to settle in for their winter nap. A fed bear is a dead bear after all. The same goes for mice as this is when wildlife is declared a nuisance. For this reason, this year we have decided that we will no longer hang our bird feeders from or near the house and instead they have been moved so far away that I will require binoculars to see the rodents raiding them. The neighborhood cats are delighted by the change, of this I am certain.
Of course, there are more creative means to achieving a truce. The Bangor Daily News recently ran, "Squirrelzilla proves Maine's gray squirrels are fat and fluffy this fall," the story is about how the residents of southern ME have put aside the annoyance of marauding bird feeder pirates in lieu of a competition to see who can capture an image of the fattest squirrel. Tolerance, now there is an idea worth exploring! - Norma Manning
Crow tracks on the driveway lead to my recycling bin on trash day.
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Laughing Stock Of The Neighborhood & Other Holiday Cheer!
At risk of being the laughing stock of the neighborhood, on December 4th after decorating our Christmas tree, I persevered over the 26 degree temperatures and started up the push mower. I admit to feeling like a dolt, donning my florescent orange camouflage winter coat while mulching oak leaves in the front ditch. So much so, that I looked down every time a neighbor passed me by in their heated car. But these are the times that we are living in.
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Helen, Wayne and I left a balmy 35 degree snowless day behind in Vernon to find a "natural" Christmas tree in the southern end of the Green Mountain National Forest. I discovered last year, that anyone can purchase a five dollar opportunity to make true Christmas memories in the Vermont wilderness come true. I would call it a Hallmark "somebody's going to get kissed" moment, but that tree was located on a tiny rise in the middle of flooded beaver habitat; and well, my boots were full of water, and I wasn't even sure we were going to make it back to the car without taking a swim. This year, conditions were a bit different.
Amid widespread reports of Vermont Christmas tree farm shortages, Helen and Wayne haul this years tree up to the car in over a foot of snow. There were hunters camping and plenty of trucks parked on this last weekend of the regular deer season. (Somebody had to document it)
Meanwhile up in Southern Maine, The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is conducting research on the New England Cottontail Rabbit. While it's true that Reindeer are the mammal of focus in December, and you may be thinking that rabbits really need to stay in their lane, there are certain schools of thought that December in New England will soon be the new April. The story of our native rabbit is an important one. Less fanciful than Rudolph; but like that misfit deer, the New England Cottontail is looking for a place to fit in.
Like so many of our native plants and animals, our rabbit's tale of woe began with the introduction of a non native species that quickly began to outcompete them. The Eastern Cottontail, introduced by settlers in the 1800s is now one of our most populace mammals, and milder winters appear to work towards to their advantage.** Additionally, the NEC decline is attributed to, "habitat loss, particularly the loss of old field, shrubland, and young forest habitats."* What's bunny to do with all of this working against her? The hard truth is that the NEC hasn't been positively identified in Vermont for the last forty-five years,** In ME, the statewide population is less than 300 individuals, and those bunnies are living on the coast***
You may be asking yourselves, what's with all of this talk about the Heat Miser? Santa is actually coming to town...tis the season to be jolly! After all, in the end doesn't Hocus Pocus save Frosty and Karen by arranging a ride for Frosty with Santa to the North Pole? "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"- Charlie Brown
"Listen, all of you! You've got to take direction! You've got to have discipline! You've got to have respect for your director!"-Lucy
With a measure of amusement and cynicism, Wayne pondered California's new law that enacts a ban on gas powered lawn mowers by 2024. Wayne is hardly the Burgermeister Meisterburger, "Toys are hereby declared illegal, immoral, unlawful..." On this topic Wayne is a sceptic and want's to know how we would get our big country lot mowed with an electric mower. This isn't the direction that he is ready to take...yet. I have a plan however and unbeknownst to Wayne, I have been ever so slowly working it into the script. Don't tell Wayne, but it involves to some extent the "old field, shrubland, and young forest habitat" mentioned above.
If you like Hermey and Wayne, don't appreciate being told that you can't be a dentist and that your lawn tractor is relegated to the Island of Misfit Toys, I want to let you know that there is no need to be a Bumble about it. I assure you that there are other scripts available that you may choose to follow. Take for example the project underway at Vernon Elementary School under the direction of Tara Gordon. Tara, who runs the VES school garden, recently proposed to the Environmental Committee, that she and VES students install a native plant pollinator garden in front of the building. The plan is to support our food garden by feeding the creatures that do the heavy lifting. Ahhh yes, pollinators are the elves of gardens, and with Climate Justice being this year's district Diversity and Equity Committee's theme, it is a natural collaboration.
Still a skeptic? The Vermont League of Cities and Town's has announced that FEMA is offering municipalities cold hard cash in the form of a grant, to prepare for the inevitable flooding that Climate Scientists predict will impact VT as more intense and frequent storms occur. It's enough funding to lure Yukon Cornelius away from prospecting for silver. Select this link to find out more.
The Vermont's Climate Action Plan states, "If action isn't taken soon, when young Vermonters reach retirement age, summer in Vermont will feel similar to Northwest Georgia, with more than 17 days a year exceeding 95F." In short, the time has come for us to hop on down the bunny trail lest December becomes more like April, Santa retires his sleigh once and for all, Rudolph spends Christmas in the unemployment line and Hocus Pocus along with Frosty run out of habitat. - Norma Manning
**Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: Rabbit Sightings
***Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: About New England Cottontail
Additional information on grant funding:
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