Dwelling in the House of the Lord”
Maudslay State Park offers natural beauty, both immutable and ephemeral, this time of year. The walk I took yesterday led me first down the formal drive, under the double row of English oaks, then up past the newly sanded and rebuilt well to the Italian Garden. Not many years ago, the boxwood hedges there were ratty looking, the wisterias rampant and the rose garden one in name only. Now all are restored to Moseley-era splendor, although the upright yews are such popular deer food that they’re virtually bald. Continuing on through the pollarded beech trees and past the greenhouses and cold frames, the espaliered apple is perfectly pruned and blooming away. Poeticus narcissus, my favorite variety of daffodil, dance on their narrow stems and colonize the hillside under apple and hawthorn trees.
Returning to the main driveway, however, I was drawn down a path I’d never explored before, and maybe you haven’t either. Across the wide spring lawn, beyond the wide arms of the magnificent beech tree where my kids have always enjoyed climbing and hiding out, a narrow path passes the empty concrete shell that once was a swimming pool, then enters a cathedral of tall pines. I was stunned to find myself dwarfed by such symmetry and scale, in this formerly unexplored corner of the park.
The pine-needle path led me to a shuttered, shingled cottage, overlooking the Merrimack from a high elevation. What a welcome retreat it must have been when the Moseleys lived here, capturing every breeze off the river, and with a river vista stretching for many miles. Clearly a favorite spot, it was also the final resting place of “Whiskey, my pretty boy” whose stone on the ground made me want to know more: whose dog was he? When did he play here? Why is he buried here rather than with Akela, Sampoo, Gypsy and the other Moseley family canines in the dog graveyard beside the well?
Reluctantly, I left Whiskey and wound my way down the hill to what must have been the family boathouses, locked and shuttered, but still tight to the weather and apparently in good condition. The trail then became a two-track road, and eventually rejoined Curzon Mill Road below the caretaker’s cottage.
As I walked, I kept hearing verses from Psalm 23 in my head: “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul.” Feeling well shepherded and free from want, I was filled with gratitude for the opportunity to share a landscaped park so beautifully conceived and so well tended by the State employees and the volunteers whose work was everywhere evident. We are all truly blessed to have access to Maudslay, particularly in the spring when its glory changes by the day.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Magnolia Madness!
Magnolia Madness!
The first heady sight and scent of 2008's floral parade arrived this week, with the early "Star" stellata and "Japanese tree" kobus magnolias now in full bloom. Notable specimens of the former stand in front of Newburyport City Hall and of the latter in the backyard at 227 Middle Street, West Newbury.
If you'd like to see our trees up close and personal, and also take a tour of early spring flora and fauna in a unique microcosm, please join me on Thursday, April 24 at 12 noon or Friday, April 25, at 8 a.m.
Our three parent trees have seeded hundreds of offspring, and the ground between them is carpeted with trout lilies, wood violets and anemones, with marsh marigolds,skunk cabbage, false hellebore and early fiddleheads along the stream and through the woods. Perhaps you'll see ideas you can incorporate into your own natural spaces.
And speaking of beautiful, natural places: please bring family and friends to help in Earth Day clean-ups next weekend! On Saturday, April 26 your help would be appreciated along the trails at River Bend Conservation Area in West Newbury. Wear rubber boots, bring gloves, trash bags and loppers to either the southern end of River Road or the Way-to-the-River end of the trail. Dumpsters will be waiting for all the flotsam and jetsam we can remove, having floated down the river and ending up in West Newbury!
The first heady sight and scent of 2008's floral parade arrived this week, with the early "Star" stellata and "Japanese tree" kobus magnolias now in full bloom. Notable specimens of the former stand in front of Newburyport City Hall and of the latter in the backyard at 227 Middle Street, West Newbury.
If you'd like to see our trees up close and personal, and also take a tour of early spring flora and fauna in a unique microcosm, please join me on Thursday, April 24 at 12 noon or Friday, April 25, at 8 a.m.
Our three parent trees have seeded hundreds of offspring, and the ground between them is carpeted with trout lilies, wood violets and anemones, with marsh marigolds,skunk cabbage, false hellebore and early fiddleheads along the stream and through the woods. Perhaps you'll see ideas you can incorporate into your own natural spaces.
And speaking of beautiful, natural places: please bring family and friends to help in Earth Day clean-ups next weekend! On Saturday, April 26 your help would be appreciated along the trails at River Bend Conservation Area in West Newbury. Wear rubber boots, bring gloves, trash bags and loppers to either the southern end of River Road or the Way-to-the-River end of the trail. Dumpsters will be waiting for all the flotsam and jetsam we can remove, having floated down the river and ending up in West Newbury!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Conserving Water for an Un-rainy Day
Hard to imagine how a protacted drought would affect life here in the lower Merrimack Valley. We read about conditions elsewhere, where deserts are growing, reservoirs and aquifiers are shrinking. Locally we count on the annual average of 46 inches of moisture that falls as snow and rain to keep things green and growing, conscious of our water usage only when municipalities restrict outdoor water usage during the dry times in July and August.
But only a tiny shift of fortune could greatly alter our profligate water use. Since 40% of the water the average homeowner uses goes to outdoor use, it makes sense to leave well and public water for use as drinking water, using saved rainwater for outdoor purposes.
One way to save a bit of what water will be coming this month in quantity, is to save the rainwater that falls onto the roof and using it to water our gardens, young trees, shrubs and flowers. That free water can easily be directed down the downspout, through a connecting hose and stored in a rain barrel with a spigot for later use in the garden. The barrels are safe, fitted with a screened louver to keep out bugs, and recycled. Retailing for $89, the rain barrels will be less expensive if ordered in quantity, and the Town may also be able to tap into a grant as well. See them online at www.nerainbarrel.com.
Interested? Please leave your name with Jay Smith, West Newbury Conservation agent, (978-363-1100 x 126) if you would like to be included in this worthwhile program.
But only a tiny shift of fortune could greatly alter our profligate water use. Since 40% of the water the average homeowner uses goes to outdoor use, it makes sense to leave well and public water for use as drinking water, using saved rainwater for outdoor purposes.
One way to save a bit of what water will be coming this month in quantity, is to save the rainwater that falls onto the roof and using it to water our gardens, young trees, shrubs and flowers. That free water can easily be directed down the downspout, through a connecting hose and stored in a rain barrel with a spigot for later use in the garden. The barrels are safe, fitted with a screened louver to keep out bugs, and recycled. Retailing for $89, the rain barrels will be less expensive if ordered in quantity, and the Town may also be able to tap into a grant as well. See them online at www.nerainbarrel.com.
Interested? Please leave your name with Jay Smith, West Newbury Conservation agent, (978-363-1100 x 126) if you would like to be included in this worthwhile program.
Friday, April 4, 2008
"BIG NIGHT
Anticipation...waiting for "Big Night"
The promise of spring seems so slow to reach fulfillment, but looking closely in the warmest, wettest places gives the greatest hope of what is soon to come. Crayfish wave their claws from crevasses along the bottom of the stream and bright funnels of skunk cabbage spiral up out of the bare, black earth along its banks. Pale tips of daffodil and crocus foliage wait hidden under the matted leaves in the garden, waiting for the rake to unveil them. In our yard, the fat furry buds of the naturalized Magnolia Kobus trees have swollen far larger than pussy willows and promise a spectacular floral display around April 30.
Between now and then, the warm rains of spring will come, and beginning on the second night of torrential downpour, many species of frogs, toads and salamanders begin their quest for mates and suitable habitat for mating and laying eggs for the next generation. Inevitably, many are compelled to cross streets.
Salamanders are smaller than we think, only 2 1/2" to 7" long, and include red newts, dusky and mole salamanders. Many can be found under rocks and logs in broadleaf woods. Of the many species of frogs you might see--but most assuredly will hear--, are inch-long pinkish spring peepers, and slightly larger wood frogs, leopard and pickerel frogs.
Remember that driving on those most productive nights might hasten the demise of amphibians that are fast declining in number worldwide, due to habitat destruction and perhaps acid rain, pesticides and increasing ultraviolet light. Stay home, if you can, or at lease try to avoid driving through low places with wetlands on either side of the road on those warm rainy nights.
The promise of spring seems so slow to reach fulfillment, but looking closely in the warmest, wettest places gives the greatest hope of what is soon to come. Crayfish wave their claws from crevasses along the bottom of the stream and bright funnels of skunk cabbage spiral up out of the bare, black earth along its banks. Pale tips of daffodil and crocus foliage wait hidden under the matted leaves in the garden, waiting for the rake to unveil them. In our yard, the fat furry buds of the naturalized Magnolia Kobus trees have swollen far larger than pussy willows and promise a spectacular floral display around April 30.
Between now and then, the warm rains of spring will come, and beginning on the second night of torrential downpour, many species of frogs, toads and salamanders begin their quest for mates and suitable habitat for mating and laying eggs for the next generation. Inevitably, many are compelled to cross streets.
Salamanders are smaller than we think, only 2 1/2" to 7" long, and include red newts, dusky and mole salamanders. Many can be found under rocks and logs in broadleaf woods. Of the many species of frogs you might see--but most assuredly will hear--, are inch-long pinkish spring peepers, and slightly larger wood frogs, leopard and pickerel frogs.
Remember that driving on those most productive nights might hasten the demise of amphibians that are fast declining in number worldwide, due to habitat destruction and perhaps acid rain, pesticides and increasing ultraviolet light. Stay home, if you can, or at lease try to avoid driving through low places with wetlands on either side of the road on those warm rainy nights.
"BIG NIGHT
Anticipation...waiting for "Big Night"
The promise of spring seems so slow to reach fulfillment, but looking closely in the warmest, wettest places gives the greatest hope of what is soon to come. Crayfish wave their claws from crevasses along the bottom of the stream and bright funnels of skunk cabbage spiral up out of the bare, black earth along its banks. Pale tips of daffodil and crocus foliage wait hidden under the matted leaves in the garden, waiting for the rake to unveil them. In our yard, the fat furry buds of the naturalized Magnolia Kobus trees have swollen far larger than pussy willows and promise a spectacular floral display around April 30.
Between now and then, the warm rains of spring will come, and beginning on the second night of torrential downpour, many species of frogs, toads and salamanders begin their quest for mates and suitable habitat for mating and laying eggs for the next generation. Inevitably, many are compelled to cross streets.
Salamanders are smaller than we think, only 2 1/2" to 7" long, and include red newts, dusky and mole salamanders. Many can be found under rocks and logs in broadleaf woods. Of the many species of frogs you might see--but most assuredly will hear--, are inch-long pinkish spring peepers, and slightly larger wood frogs, leopard and pickerel frogs.
Remember that driving on those most productive nights might hasten the demise of amphibians that are fast declining in number worldwide, due to habitat destruction and perhaps acid rain, pesticides and increasing ultraviolet light. Stay home, if you can, or at lease try to avoid driving through low places with wetlands on either side of the road on those warm rainy nights.
The promise of spring seems so slow to reach fulfillment, but looking closely in the warmest, wettest places gives the greatest hope of what is soon to come. Crayfish wave their claws from crevasses along the bottom of the stream and bright funnels of skunk cabbage spiral up out of the bare, black earth along its banks. Pale tips of daffodil and crocus foliage wait hidden under the matted leaves in the garden, waiting for the rake to unveil them. In our yard, the fat furry buds of the naturalized Magnolia Kobus trees have swollen far larger than pussy willows and promise a spectacular floral display around April 30.
Between now and then, the warm rains of spring will come, and beginning on the second night of torrential downpour, many species of frogs, toads and salamanders begin their quest for mates and suitable habitat for mating and laying eggs for the next generation. Inevitably, many are compelled to cross streets.
Salamanders are smaller than we think, only 2 1/2" to 7" long, and include red newts, dusky and mole salamanders. Many can be found under rocks and logs in broadleaf woods. Of the many species of frogs you might see--but most assuredly will hear--, are inch-long pinkish spring peepers, and slightly larger wood frogs, leopard and pickerel frogs.
Remember that driving on those most productive nights might hasten the demise of amphibians that are fast declining in number worldwide, due to habitat destruction and perhaps acid rain, pesticides and increasing ultraviolet light. Stay home, if you can, or at lease try to avoid driving through low places with wetlands on either side of the road on those warm rainy nights.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Can You Overcome Your Fear? Here's the Current Buzz on Local Real Estate.
Funny how trouble that started out in 2006 as a mortgage default problem, grew to become a home purchase problem, then a banking and investment problem, and now appears to have broadened to a slowdown affecting the entire economy. News about the tumbling dollar, $4.00 gasoline, a mercurial stock market, fears of inflation and job losses seem to escalate every day. Even mortgage backed securities and money markets aren't paying enough to make saving worthwhile.
Just what are you, the canny capitalist, looking for good investment opportunities, going to do? My bet is, buy real estate!
Mortgages are still available at historically low interest rates, so long as you have enough down payment and impeccable credit. Some local home values have slipped a bit, but prices have not softened like they have in the Rust Belt, Las Vegas, Florida or communities where acres of half-built and unsold homes are competing with resales, and not much is selling. Around here they're not likely to fall much further: unlike paper money, they're not printing any more beautiful New England real estate, at least on this planet.
The basic reasons for owning and purchasing real estate remain unchanged: as a physical, tangible, desirable asset, providing shelter, sanctuary and security, it can't be beat. And as a long-term investment, it is demonstrably a sure winner. For generations of our ancestors, clear back to the Pilgrim fathers, the land owners have always come out ahead.
Where would you rather invest your wealth? Under your mattress or into real property?
Please remember where you read this good news first! I'm looking forward to your thoughts. Please remember that my real estate practice is all about assisting you, if you're looking to buy or sell real estate, or if you know someone who is!
Funny how trouble that started out in 2006 as a mortgage default problem, grew to become a home purchase problem, then a banking and investment problem, and now appears to have broadened to a slowdown affecting the entire economy. News about the tumbling dollar, $4.00 gasoline, a mercurial stock market, fears of inflation and job losses seem to escalate every day. Even mortgage backed securities and money markets aren't paying enough to make saving worthwhile.
Just what are you, the canny capitalist, looking for good investment opportunities, going to do? My bet is, buy real estate!
Mortgages are still available at historically low interest rates, so long as you have enough down payment and impeccable credit. Some local home values have slipped a bit, but prices have not softened like they have in the Rust Belt, Las Vegas, Florida or communities where acres of half-built and unsold homes are competing with resales, and not much is selling. Around here they're not likely to fall much further: unlike paper money, they're not printing any more beautiful New England real estate, at least on this planet.
The basic reasons for owning and purchasing real estate remain unchanged: as a physical, tangible, desirable asset, providing shelter, sanctuary and security, it can't be beat. And as a long-term investment, it is demonstrably a sure winner. For generations of our ancestors, clear back to the Pilgrim fathers, the land owners have always come out ahead.
Where would you rather invest your wealth? Under your mattress or into real property?
Please remember where you read this good news first! I'm looking forward to your thoughts. Please remember that my real estate practice is all about assisting you, if you're looking to buy or sell real estate, or if you know someone who is!
Monday, March 10, 2008
What makes a Swamp a Swamp?
What makes a Swamp a Swamp?
When evaluating real estate, I often hear people say, "oh, no, there's never any standing water, so it can't be a wetland". However, many types of inland wetlands are never actually flooded with surface water. Our last article dealt with streams and floodplains, but in other protected areas the wetlands are, for the most part, underground.
Most common in our neck of the woods are the wooded swamps that act as sponges holding moisture, releasing it gradually into the abutting streams and rivers. These areas, protected in Massachusetts as "BVW's" or "Bordering Vegetated Wetlands" are dominated by trees, such as red maples, yellow birch, elm and ash. The shrub layer may include blueberry, spicebush or silky dogwood, and the ground is likely to be covered with cinnamon, sensitive and royal ferns, skunk cabbage, jewelweed, and spagnum moss. Wildlife make use of the trees, even the dead and dying ones, for nesting, feeding, roosting or perching. At their feet, the hummocky ground creates depressions that seasonally fill with water, referred to as vernal pools, where salamanders and frogs congregate and lay their eggs.
Many birds and mammals also inhabit wooded swamps: warblers and wood thrushes depend on large tracts of unbroken woodland for habitat, and snags serve as dens for raccoons, skunks, possums and fishers. Wood ducks, and owls nest in the larger cavities as well. Small mammals can tunnel and burrow in the soft, moist hydric soils of forested wetlands, and include voles, shrews, mice and moles.
Vernal pools are extremely important breeding habitats. Wood frogs, and mole salamanders breed exclusively in vernal pools, where there are no fish to devour their egg masses, and a vernal pool's loss can eliminate an entire breeding population. Turtles, herons and snakes rely on the abundant prey in vernal pools, including fairy shrimp and other mollusks, insects and crustaceans. Such pools form from snow melt, and disappear by early summer.
Forest fragmentation lessens the overall habitat value of an area by breaking up large contiguous tracts of woodland into smaller and smaller pieces, thereby cutting off access for animals with larger home ranges. It also creates easier access to nests and young for predators, and has caused the decline of many forest interior birds that nest exclusively in large, undisturbed tracts of woodland.
If you're lucky enough to own or abut a wooded wetland, you've enjoyed the quacking woodfrogs, the chirping spring peepers, and the magical trill of the woodthrush. Protecting their habitat is one more important interest under Massachusetts environmental regulations.
When evaluating real estate, I often hear people say, "oh, no, there's never any standing water, so it can't be a wetland". However, many types of inland wetlands are never actually flooded with surface water. Our last article dealt with streams and floodplains, but in other protected areas the wetlands are, for the most part, underground.
Most common in our neck of the woods are the wooded swamps that act as sponges holding moisture, releasing it gradually into the abutting streams and rivers. These areas, protected in Massachusetts as "BVW's" or "Bordering Vegetated Wetlands" are dominated by trees, such as red maples, yellow birch, elm and ash. The shrub layer may include blueberry, spicebush or silky dogwood, and the ground is likely to be covered with cinnamon, sensitive and royal ferns, skunk cabbage, jewelweed, and spagnum moss. Wildlife make use of the trees, even the dead and dying ones, for nesting, feeding, roosting or perching. At their feet, the hummocky ground creates depressions that seasonally fill with water, referred to as vernal pools, where salamanders and frogs congregate and lay their eggs.
Many birds and mammals also inhabit wooded swamps: warblers and wood thrushes depend on large tracts of unbroken woodland for habitat, and snags serve as dens for raccoons, skunks, possums and fishers. Wood ducks, and owls nest in the larger cavities as well. Small mammals can tunnel and burrow in the soft, moist hydric soils of forested wetlands, and include voles, shrews, mice and moles.
Vernal pools are extremely important breeding habitats. Wood frogs, and mole salamanders breed exclusively in vernal pools, where there are no fish to devour their egg masses, and a vernal pool's loss can eliminate an entire breeding population. Turtles, herons and snakes rely on the abundant prey in vernal pools, including fairy shrimp and other mollusks, insects and crustaceans. Such pools form from snow melt, and disappear by early summer.
Forest fragmentation lessens the overall habitat value of an area by breaking up large contiguous tracts of woodland into smaller and smaller pieces, thereby cutting off access for animals with larger home ranges. It also creates easier access to nests and young for predators, and has caused the decline of many forest interior birds that nest exclusively in large, undisturbed tracts of woodland.
If you're lucky enough to own or abut a wooded wetland, you've enjoyed the quacking woodfrogs, the chirping spring peepers, and the magical trill of the woodthrush. Protecting their habitat is one more important interest under Massachusetts environmental regulations.
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