They say it's called "Spring".

This past Saturday was weird.  We had a work party and the sun was shining, with no rain, impending thunderstorms, no sleet or ice, the wind wasn't howling, the birds were chirping, it got warmer as the morning went on, and the flowers were blooming.  Not at all like our last few events.  Weird.  Not sure what to make of this odd weather.  They say it's called "Spring".

Bill and Mark were organizing the troops.  We had a great turn-out of 24 volunteers to cut brush, plant trees, and remove thatch from the RecPath at Lane Street.

Mark went over our objectives and safety rules.  There was a discussion of what to cut (things with thorns, invasive plants), and things to save (wildflowers, native plants).

It was a Blue As Could Be morning with some of the trees flowering along the edge of the Means Brook floodplain.  This might be a shad bush tree in flower.

The volunteers stretched out into various groups cutting or digging out old grass on top of the crushed stone Recreation Path.  Another group went up to the end of the meadow to plant tree dogwood trees that Bill Dyer donated along the RecPath.

Mike brought his own weedwacker.  We had a lot of tools but it's usually fun when folks bring their own gear too.

A lot of folks were out enjoying the RecPath too.  Strolling, running, walking dogs, pushing baby strollers, etc.

Lots of friendly dog walkers going thru the work areas.  Volunteers stopped to pet the pups, when OK'd by the owners.

The hayfield always encroaches on the crushed stone surface later in the summer, so we were trying to remove a lot of the thatch so people will be able to enjoy an 8 foot wide RecPath in June, instead of a 2 foot wide path thru the hay.

A lot of high school students were working on removing brush as part of their community service efforts.  Their work was much appreciated.

Some large thickets of briars were removed along the RecPath, which should make things more enjoyable later in the summer.

Thanks to everyone who helped out: Samuel, Anne, James, Mike, Ilaina, Matt, Val, Ellen, Noah Ethan, Tamia, Derek, Serenity, Joseph, Steven, Danielle, Minnhi, Zach, Jahneil, Mattheiu, Julien, Terry, Mark, and Bill.

Maybe if we're lucky we'll get some more of this weird "Spring-like" weather to enjoy the trails on the weekends.