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Get to Know Springfield
Kelly Stettner
• Thu, Apr 21, 2011
Get to Know Springfield
As the world around me shakes off its mantle of winter and blinks its eyes to the warm spring sun, I’m reminded to look closely and take a little time to appreciate the tinier things in life. New roots appear in the bowl of my orchid, like spindly alien fingers; a mutant tick with scorpion claws scuttles around the rim of the bathtub, daring me to identify it (a quick search at WhatsThatBug.com reveals that this is a harmless “pseudoscorpion,” a tiny predator that hunts even tinier creatures to keep my home pest-free); a trio of mourning doves patrols the backyard in concert with a fat little robin, scuffing through last year’s maple leaves to discover and devour unwitting insects; a mayfly swims to the surface of the nearby Black River to unzip its skin and fly off in search of a mate, leaving the husk of its former self clinging to the surface tension of the cold water. Peeling decades-old cardboard from the inner walls of our 1930s shed reveals dozens of discarded shells of ladybird beetles, huddled together in a leopard-skin mosaic glued to the boards. A small tunnel leads from the mulched front yard down underneath the porch of our new house – mouse? Vole? Snake? We’ll keep looking for clues. I hope you make some time to breathe in the world around you a little every day, see something new that’s been right under your nose or just at the edge of your field of vision. Turkey vultures spiraling lazily on thermals. The rainbow twinkling of a dragonfly’s wings in the sunlight. A set of new buds on that scraggly-looking bush in the side-yard. A crayfish burrow in the silty bottom of the river. What have you seen lately that surprised or delighted you?
Good Friday service tomorrow
The United Methodist Church will hold an Ecumenical Worship Service on Friday, April 22 at 10 Valley St in Springfield at 7 p.m. Give a call to the church at (802) 885-3552 for more information.
Announcement from the Family Center
Stephanie Gibson of the Springfield Family Center invites everyone to look for their fundraising cookbook, now available at the Center at 365 Summer St just up the hill from the center of Springfield. The books celebrate 40 years of service to the community and feature recipes gathered from our local community and cost only $10. Give them a call at (802) 885-3646 ext. 10 to order yours.
Ham supper for Easter
Enjoy a free Easter Supper at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Pleasant St on Sunday, April 24 from 1-3 p.m. Feast on ham, scalloped potatoes, mixed veggies and dessert; there will be no home delivery, so bring the family or a neighbor and come on down.
Beginning birding with Nature Museum
What’s that bird circling over-head? Hear that one, off in the trees? Want to learn to identify what’s been visiting your backyard? Wear waterproof shoes and bring binoculars and a bird book if you have them, and join the Nature Museum at Grafton on Saturdays starting April 30. From 7:30-9:30 a.m., adults and families with older children will start at the Museum at 186 Townshend Rd in Grafton to get an introduction to bird-watching, or birding. An indoor informational orientation session is followed by a carpool to wetlands, streams, beaver ponds and vernal pools in the historic Grafton village of Howeville. This program is free to Museum members; non-members are only $5, families are $20. Future sessions will focus on woodland birds on May 21 and meadow birds on June 25. Get in touch with the Museum for more information by calling (802) 843-2111 or logging on to www.nature-museum.org.
Mighty Acorns search for signs of spring
Preschoolers and their caregivers are invited to join the fun on Thursday, April 28 from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Nature Museum at 186 Townshend Rd in Grafton VT. From things poking through the soil at our feet to migrating birds winging their way back north high over our heads, this program has it all. Free to Museum members, Mighty Acorns Explorers Club is only $7 for non-member participating children offering hands-on discovery. Give a call to learn more at (802) 843-2111 or visit the Museum’s website at www.nature-museum.org.
Swim for treasure
It’s the first annual Easter Egg hunt at the Edgar May Health & Recreation Center – in the pool! Kids aged 12 and under are welcome to join the fun on Saturday, April 23 from noon till 3 p.m. Eggs will be scattered in the main pool as well as the wading pool, so all swimming ability levels are able to collect prizes. Members are free; non-members are $5 per child or $10 for families with more than 2 children. Register by April 20 by calling (802) 885-2568 or emailing info@myreccenter.org, as space is limited.
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