EVENTS!!!

Upcoming Events!

1. Tomorrow,

8:30 am (9am for slower risers) GWLT will be gathering just off of Harrington Way across from North High School for an EPIC EARTH DAY CLEANUP!!

This Earth Day Cleanup is so EPIC that it took an entire day just to open up the site in order to be able to get the trash out!
This Earth Day Cleanup is so EPIC that it isn't clear if we could get all the debris out with a small military detachment!
This Earth Day Cleanup is so EPIC that it took last year's efforts just to get us far enough into the site to mount this offensive!

Come see the trash funiculaire (aka The Cable Car of debris!) Constructed of bit and pieces by Allen Fletcher and Colin Novick to hoist the trash up the slope to the pick up spot. (Or watch them desperately try!)

There will be food served to the loyal folk who mount this effort at its conclusion (the work ends when the trash truck leaves (approx. 11:30 am) as there is no second pick up.)



And then, what better way to kick back after a weekend of Earth Day cleanups than a following weekend fishing derby! Right here in our own watershed!

2. Next week:

May 8 – Coes Pond Fishing Derby at Coes Pond in Worcester -- 8:00am - 11:00am. If you have fishing equipment, bring it along. This event is sponsored by the Worcester Fish and Game Association. Contact Jim Lagacy at (508) 389-6309 or jim.lagacy@state.ma.us

Cool but pleasant!

First up!

Thank God we don't have a broken oil rig in the middle of Cook's Pond spilling tens of thousands of gallons of crude every day into the Tatnuck watershed. (And now a moment of silence for the poor folks on the Gulf Coast...)

The Cascades Brook is at 4.8" with a gentle enough flow where mosquito larvae could been seen dancing in front of the stream gauge. I wouldn't have thought the flow to have allowed this, but then, there it was.

As of 9:22 am:
the temperature is 55.5 degrees F;
the pressure is 29.03" of Hg and steady;
the sky is overcast and there is a fairly steady breeze;
the USFS Fire Danger Class is MODERATE; and
the trail conditions are good.

A shout out to Mark Tozer and the 4th and 5th grades from Tatnuck Magnet who hiked over to the Cascades yesterday (looked like about a hundred of them in all!) to explore the Cascades and learn a little. An enthusiastic bravo to the teachers as the students were really well behaved and having a great time! We look forward to their return!

No, thank you

To whomever saw fit to dump a crib mattress and bag of trash next to the end of the trail: no, thank you. We don't have some sort of free deal for getting rid of other people's stuff, and we'd much prefer you took care of it yourself.
To the rest of the universe: should you see someone dumping on GWLT lands, please let us know. Photos, license plate numbers, and any other identifying info is especially good. Just don't get yourself hurt doing so.

As for the rest of the report:
Digging continues on apace at the development next door. We're pretty sure they've got the water line in, so what they're up to now, who knows? They start up the excavator every day at 7:30, however, so clearly they feel there is work to do.
At 9:30, it is overcast and 52 degrees.
Temperature is rising, 'though not much.
The barometer is at 28.61 inches of mercury and steady.
I'm having some trouble tracking down the fire danger for today, but keep in mind that we have not gotten much actual rain, so it's pretty dry out there.
The stream is running at 4.8 inches.

April!

A lovely day for a walk in the woods ('though we suspect the pollen count is up).
At 9:30 am, it is 62 degrees and rising
Sunny skies
The barometer is at 29.06 inches of mercury and steady
The brook is down quite a bit, 'though the Cascades are still trickling.

Lovely

It's another lovely day: the daffodils are up, the hyacinths are blooming, and under the trees, the trout lilies are starting to come up!
At 10 am it is 60 degrees and rising
Sunny skies
The barometer stands at 29.44 inches and steady
Clear blue skies

More spring!

It is still windy out there, so I'm really hoping that the hiker who just came through with a cigarette didn't subsequently toss it in a pile of leaves.

At 10 am, it is 65 degrees and still rising under sunny skies
The barometer is at 29.03 inches and steady
The fire danger today is MODERATE

OLEAN STREET CLOSED TO THROUGH TRAFFIC

Olean Street at the beginning (at Mower) is now CLOSED to all but local traffic.
I can only assume that this has to do with the human remains found on Reservoir Street. Someone who went through there this morning (before it closed) said it was very busy.

Spring is springing! UPDATED

First of all, yes, this find is right down the road from us, and no, we don't know anything about it, either.

Here at the Lodge, it is just hitting 60 at 9 am; the forecast says it could hit the mid-80's today!

The fire danger is back down to LOW with yesterday's rain (it will dry out quickly in this weather). UPDATE: Yes, in fact there is a RED FLAG WARNING posted for today, due mostly to the wind.
The stream continues at 5.2 inches.
The barometer is at 28.88 inches of mercury and steady under light blue skies.

The trails didn't get all that wet yesterday. I don't have the measurement, but that wasn't a lot of rain. There should be no problems on the trails today (well, assuming you don't run into investigators, I guess).

Green everywhere!

Suddenly the woods aren't looking nearly so brown. While most of the trees are not yet budding, the bloodwort and lots of other sorts of groundcover are popping up!

Hat tip to the fun albino robin spotting in Athol!

The stream is down to 5.2 inches.
The fire danger remains HIGH (VERY HIGH to our north).
At 9:30 am, it is 60 degrees
Overcast right now with the barometer at 29.15
The Cascades are still running, but they have slowed down considerably.

Beautiful Morning

The Cascades Brook has returned to a more normal 5.5" (with no feet being recorded!)

Green bulb based plants are popping up everywhere and there is a virtual carpet of Bloodwort in the back.
As you look at the twin brook channels (with one now unused) you can see where the storms scoured away all the leaves with clear evidence of where the waters once flowed.

Presently there is an occasional light breeze, blue skies, with some whispy high altitude clouds.
The temperature is just poking over 52 degrees at 7:34 am;
The pressure is 29.38" and stead;

And things have dried out, and there is leaf litter everywhere, and a gentle breeze....

Now this is going to seem mind bending BUT...

TODAY's USFS FIRE DANGER CLASS IS VERY HIGH!!!

Be very careful with sparks, heat, fire, when out in the woods. Bad day for a brush pile burning folks.

We may have only recently had flooding, but yesterday we were at HIGH and since then we have only gotten drier. ALSO there are winds predicted for later in the day that would not help were there a fire in progress.

Trout Stocking

The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife have been out stocking the ponds and lakes of Massachusetts with fish!

Last week they stocked Bell Pond in Worcester.
This week they are stocking Lake Quinsigamond.

They list places stocked in Central Mass. each week at:
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/fishing/trout/trout_stocking_cd.htm

For this month's MassWildlife Newsletter go to:
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/mwnews/2010/mwnews_0410.htm

Clearing

Clearing out for what looks like an excellent weekend. There isn't a cloud between here and Wisconsin!
At 10:30 am, it is 50 degrees and rising.
Cloudy skies
The barometer stands at 29.29 and rising
The fire danger is back up to LOW
The Cascades are still rushing, so as it gets sunny, it'll be a great chance to come out and see them!