First Work Party of 2025

 The first work party of 2025 was cutting briars in the snow North of Constitution Blvd.  An earlier work party scheduled for Jan. 9th was canceled due to weather. 

We needed a new route to mow some of the trails following the Eversource powerline construction.  The big timber mats they put down to drive equipment on turned what was a usable road on City Open Space into a compressed swamp that was impassable at times.  So we shifted the route to slightly higher ground, which was a wicked briar patch.  The temperature was in the teens when we started, but it was sunny and the wind wasn't blowing.  So this was one of the best days of the week so far.

Bill was using his electric hedgetrimmer, but stopped to take pictures of our group.

Aidan, Nancy, Mark (& Mike) were going thru the thick stuff.  This was a day to wear the thicker, briar-resistant clothing.

A happy mid-winter work crew.  We split into 2 groups so we could use the brushcutters and hedge trimmers a safe distance from each other.

Bill & I also cleared out barberry along the Paugussett Trail from Constitution Blvd to the powerlines, and some of the other nearby trails.  Cutting back the barberry and other invasive species during the winter helps scheduling trail work in the spring when everything is leafing out.  Barberry is a pain to control, but cutting it now makes it easier to kill some of the fresh sprouts in the spring.

This stretch of the Paugussett Trail was pretty in the snow.  Some of the blowdowns that had been hung up in the trees finally decided to come down in December.  These will be added to the chainsaw portion of the To Do List.

There were a lot of prints on the trails in the snow (people and animals).  It's nice to see hikers and neighbors using the trails.

This is the path thru the thicket after the work party.  The gator path is re-routed around the wet spot N. of  Derby Junction (the power companies term for this spot).  Eversource is done with their work here, but UI Co. is still working on their powerline replacement project.  It should be easier to use and maintain our Gator/walking trail during this spring.

Thanks to Nancy, Mark, Bill, Aidan, Mike and Terry coming out to cut thick briars on a frosty morning.  It turned out to be a decent January day.  The first work party of 2025 is in the books.