NoT-So-Silent Waters Weedwhacking

A busy Spring of clearing the trails from nor'easter damage along Shelton's Trails has turned into a busy summer of remedial mowing.  The grass and brush has done better than the humans with all the hot, humid, wet weather.  The RecPath at Lane Street needed attention a few weeks ago.

Here's Jim Taradine mowing the RecPath (with a flat tire - bonus points) at Lane St.  The meadow had turned our 10 foot wide crushed stone RecPath into a 2 foot wide deer trail.

But after some hot and dusty work we were able to reclaim the RecPath from Mother Nature.

And even bring home a meadow mix bouquet from the cuttings, another bonus of coming to a work party.

Then two weeks later it was off to Constitution Boulevard North and the Paugussett Trail.  Jim and Mark took the mower and headed one way, and Bob, Andy, Bridget, Val, Mike and Terry headed the other.  Here's Mike Flament outstanding in his field with the hedgetrimmer clearing brush under the powerlines on another hot Saturday.

Some of the local residents were out getting lunch on the wildflowers under the powerlines.  The milkweed was a favorite of butterflies and bees.

The Paugussett Trail was cleared all the way out to Meadow Street.  There were some great views across the fields along the way.

Which brings us to this jungle on the RecPath at Silent Waters.  Clearing this section was delayed while we were working on the worser brush problems on Shelton's Trails, but we tackled it Saturday.

It was sunny, hot, not quite as humid, but still warm as we tackled Silent Waters.   With a variety of mowers, clippers, hedgetrimmers, brush cutters and other implements of mayhem we gradually moved the jungle back.

Mike Flament is down there somewhere's in the raspberries.

We though we lost Bob Woods over the bank, but he came back eventually.

We even had 2 volunteers show up from out of state on their vacation.  Sandie & Rich, in center, came up from Florida to cut brush on a Saturday morning, now that's dedication.  Jim, Mark and Luis were also having a fine time with the briars.

It took a while but you can now see Silent Waters from the RecPath.

You can even enjoy one of the new benches installed by Josh Andres as part of his Eagle Scout project.

And enjoy the Woodland Sunflowers along the RecPath.  There was also a doe & her spotted fawn crossing  the RecPath just below the Sunflowers.  You start to notice a lot of wildlife when the power tools are turned off.

Does it look a little clearer now?  Have fun along the RecPath.

Thanks to all our volunteers who have kindly donated their time this summer:  Andy, Bridget, Jimmy, Jim, Mark, Mike, Bill, Luis, Val, Terry, Teresa, Rich, Sandie, and Bob.  It takes a few demented dedicated volunteers to make a big difference in making Shelton a nice place to live and explore.  Imagine if a few more folks turned out from time to time.

And a REALLY Big Thank You from our trail angel on Saturday.  Your kind gift is very much appreciated by the volunteers.