Mondo Pond, Milford

Lots of waterfowl were congregating in what little open water remained at Mondo Pond (it was 22 degrees when I took the photos). It made for quite a show. The top photo is a little hooded merganser eating a fish (a sunfish, I think). Compared to the ducks, these birds are zippy, skittish, and you might see them diving.

This photo shows a couple of Canadian Geese, a Mallard Duck (yellow beak), and a Ring-Necked Duck (in the back). There was also a Swan and some Sea Gulls. Here are some more photos.

I accessed the park from the grade school on West Ave. There's a nice wide trail, but condos were built unfortunately close to the shore and trail, and it looks like condo residents have been clearing the narrow buffer between them and the trail (which looks like it's city property) so they can get a better view. Of course, that means hikers feel like they're passing through their living rooms. Which leads me to wonder: If trail users started mooning the condo owners, would the buffer strip still get cut?

Reading the Signs

Winter hiking brings its own rewards: reading the signs of the forest. A bird of prey caught something here. Look at the feather marks in the snow on the left and right edges of the photo. (Rec Path, Shelton).

These tracks on Dominick Trail in Shelton belong mostly to coyote, along with some deer. None of those tracks are human. Think trails are just for people?

The bare spot was where a deer took a snooze (this was one of three). The deer tracks and deer poo were other telltale signs. Near Dominick Trail, Shelton Lakes.

The bare spot on the sapling (about 1 foot up from the ground) is a deer rub, where one or more bucks sharpened their antlers. The tree behind and to the right has marks going up the side of the tree where a poacher climbed the tree to hunt (Klapik Farm open space off Long Hill Road, Shelton).

Deer at the Dump

There are ten deer in this photo, which was taken at the Shelton landfill this week by George Magdon. Ten deer per square mile (that's 64 acres for each deer) is the recommended density for healthy forests, healthy deer, and low rates of Lyme Disease. But parts of Fairfield County have densities of up to 60 deer per square mile.

The deer population in Shelton is rising, although it is nowhere near as ridiculous as what towns like Redding and Ridgefield have. In those town the deer have stripped the forests of vegetation, then stripped some rather expensive landscaping from yards before deer fencing could be installed (many homeowners there surround their property with deer fence). Rates of Lyme Disease and deer strikes have skyrocketed in lockstep with the deer population boom, leading to a surprising display of public support of bowhunting on city open space, in some cases very close to official hiking trails.

I moved to Shelton in 1991 and for several years I heard gun fire out my back door every fall. I rarely saw deer, even when hiking. That changed when most of the vacant lands were either subdivided or acquired for city open space, where hunting is prohibited (there is still some poaching). Now it's common to see deer herds calmly browsing a few feet from residents' front doors.

It's just the beginning folks. Although there are still some pockets of hunting in Shelton (notably on farmland in the White Hills), the deer population will continue to rise. Where deer once nibbled on hostas and tulips, they will start devouring entire gardens and shrubs. Lyme Disease rates will increase significantly, and more drivers will hit deer.

I just returned from planning the installation of deer fencing at the new Ecklund Native Species Garden at Shelton Lakes. We received a grant from Iroquois to purchase native species, and we'll need to protect our investment with a deer fence. As the deer population rises, the forest will be stripped, and Ecklund Garden will be an island of biodiversity in the desert our forests will become.

Lost & Found

Ever find a trail you never knew was missing? I "discovered" Fox Hollow Trail in Shelton recently when I saw this engraved stone pillar along the edge of Little Fox Run just east of Okenuck Way. It's an access trail to the trails at Birchbank Mountain, built by the developer of the neighboring Fox Hollow subdivision in the 1990s.

The neighbors knew it was there and a few people had mentioned a set of stairs to me, but I had no idea what they were referring to until I just happed to see this pillar with a set of stairs behind it leading to Birchbank. The trail is located on a narrow corridor of city open space land.

Our Trails Committee knew nothing of the trail and was delighted to hear of it. Next spring we'll need to give the trail some maintenance, paint some blazes on the trees, and update Birchbank Mtn hiking map.

Wilcox Park, Milford

It was a terribly dreary day in Shelton. Fog drifted over a covering of dirty snow. But it's been drab for, I don't know, weeks I think, so I decided to force myself outdoors. It's also that time of year where you find yourself thinking unexpectedly, "Oh no, it's past 1:00, it'll be dark soon!"

So I jumped in the car and headed south for someplace right along the shore, hoping there wouldn't be any snow. The gamble paid off and, as a bonus, there wasn't even any snow-fog, and I enjoyed watching the boats and ducks. Wilcox Park is small, located along the mouth of the Wepawaug River (I keep finding myself along this river lately). There are docks, pavilions, playing fields, and a wooded area with trails, benches, an overlook and, of course, some letterboxes.

On the way back home, as soon as I climbed up Warner Hill Road into the hills of Shelton, I was surrounded by snow and dark fog once again.

Flying Squirrel

One of our hardest working trail volunteers, who asked not to be credited so I'll just say it was "RS", took this picture of a Southern Flying Squirrel eating suet at his home in Shelton (it was dark out). People are often surprised to hear we have flying squirrels. The squirrels are very small and nocturnal, so even though the they are common, most people never see them. Earlier this fall, a resident from Pine Rock Park noted a family of flying squirrels there, and said he could find them with a flashlight by listening for the sound of falling acorns. Soon after learning that tip, my son heard acorns falling on the driveway as he headed out for the school bus at dawn. He looked up, and sure enough, there was a little party of flying squirrels. A neighbor of mine also noted flying squirrels at her bird feeder a few years ago, but as much as I checked my feeders in the dark, I never saw any.

I found this neat video on Youtube of of a flying squirrel.

Shelton Lakes Recreation Path

The grand opening of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path Phase 1 was today, followed by a hike. This phase of the Rec Path (1.25 miles) is now 8-12 feet wide and surfaced with crushed stone.

Here are photos and a video of our ribbon-cutting ceremony, and here's an aerial showing where the Rec Path Phase 1 is located. Parts of phases 2 and 3 are now a rough hiking trail (you can pan on the aerial and switch it to street map view to get a better idea of where the route is located). Coincidentally, it was ten years ago on December 18, 1998 that the City of Shelton purchased 234 acres there at Shelton Lakes from the water company. A developer had plans drawn up for condominiums, a retail center, and single-family homes, so we are very lucky to have purchased the property as open space.

The new granite markers at the entryway and road crossings were acquired through a grant secured by the late Dick Belden.

Winter Greenery in Clinton

I love having four seasons. The entire world around us is transformed every few months. Our early-season snow melted, leaving the woods rather brown and stark today. But that only made the scattered winter greenery stand out. The top photo is hair cap moss.

Princess Pine (Lycopodium) along with moss (dark green) and lichens (light green). People used to collect Princess Pine for Christmas greenery and they became rare for a time.

This is Downy Rattlesnake Plaintain. They say if you step on it you'll get lost in the forest.

These photos were taken today at Peter's Memorial Woods in Clinton. The Clinton Land Trust has done a fabulous job of maintaining this land, with high quality trails, maps, and signage, and the park is many interesting features, such as rock formations and a few very large oaks.

Jones Family Farm, Shelton

Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to Jones Family Farm to cut our Christmas tree, followed by hot apple cider, cookies, and some shopping at the gift shop, but we had a lot of people with us and I didn't really get to walk around the farm the way I wanted to. So today, after a couple of inches of snow, I headed back just to hike around and enjoy the farm without having to pick out a tree or worry about where the kids are.

As expected, the place was mobbed with hundreds of people from Shelton as well as New York City and New Jersey. Getting a place to park is like lining up before a rock concert. Fortunately, it is also very well organized and it took me all of two minutes to get a spot near the barnyard where they have their sales, gift shop, canteen, and fire pit.

I walked through a mob of smiley, rosy-faced families, and headed west up Candy Cane Hill, aka Israel Hill. Up and up, past pines, firs, and spruce I went, finally arriving at the North Pole, which is not a metaphor but an actual place on the hill, marked by signs. I climbed a bit further, then panned a series of photos which I stitched together at home (see above). Click here to see a larger version which you can magnify to see more closely. The left side of the photo is to the northeast and the right side is towards the southeast. Pumpkinseed Hill is the cleared area in the left background. The Candy Cane parking area is in the center right, and the cleared area in the right background is the Hudak and Stearn Farms off of Birdseye Road.

I went a bit further until a sign announced beautiful tall spruce trees to the right down the hill. These trees are actually on Shelton Family Farm, which is leased by the Jones family. In addition to Christmas trees there are wide open fields and a private pond called Lake Emerson just off Rt 110 (a well-known go-cart track is nearby). In the distance are the fields of Pumpkinseed Hill, also farmed by the Jones family. This end of the farm was very quiet with only a few families looking at the trees. I know which trees I'm looking at next year.

After the hike, I stopped in at the canteen with its heated restroom and hot apple cider, and hung out to people-watch. Frosty was walking around waving to the kids, and people were sitting around the fire pit trying to keep out of the smoke.

Jones Family Farm and Shelton Family Farm have both been preserved via the "purchase of development rights," which means that they are privately owned but can never be subdivided into a housing development. I've heard a few people grumble about using city funds to buy land "rights" rather than just buying the land outright, and how the land is not open to the public. However, I'm happy the farmers continue to own the property and run their farms. Though technically not open to the public, these lands are in fact enjoyed by the public in a way that would not be an option if the City were to own the property. I've been at the farm several times this year, picking strawberries, blueberries (twice), getting pumpkins, cutting a tree, and today I simply walked around enjoying the scenery. See my photos from the hike -- this place is a series of photo ops.

Preserving land by the purchase of development rights is the most cost effective method we have available. The price per acre is lower than if the land were purchased outright. Plus, there are no public maintenance costs associated with the land, because it is privately owned.

Eisenhower Park, Milford

Letterboxing took me to some corners of Eisenhower Park that I'd never seen before. Here's the Wepawaug River. Coincidentally, I walked along another section of this river just the other day at the Wepawaug Conservation Area and Kowal Nature Preserve in Orange, 'boxing once again. The river looked much the same upstream as it does in this picture.

According to the letterboxing clues, the 15-acre Kowal Nature Preserve was donated by a mailman. Imagine that. Most conservation lands have a story behind their preservation and a devoted crew of people who worked to make it so. There's an entire book about the epic battle to preserve Sleeping Giant State Park. Here in Shelton we are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Shelton Lakes purchase, which has grown to about 450-acres with 10 miles of trails. Before the purchase, there were well-grounded fears that the area would be filled with new houses. Anyways, I salute everyone who has helped to preserve conservation lands.

Back to Eisenhower Park. One of the fields was lined with overgrown tires which must have demarcated the parking areas at some point in time. I wonder how long the tires will last, and how some future archeologist might interpret them. As art, perhaps?