Naromi Land Trust  
Forever. Sherman.          
September 2013 Vol 4, Issue 9

Paddlers on Squantz Pond
In This Issue
Quarry Hike
Picnic
Wildlife
Paddle
Land Trust Days
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Members, Neighbors and Friends,
As summer slowly turns to fall, we can look forward to great hiking weather, gorgeous colors, delicious apples and the NLT Picnic in October.  This year promises to be a very special year.  More on that below.

Naromi has been collaborating with other land trusts on several items these past few weeks on several issues.  We just participated in a meeting to discuss accreditation, permanent protections of land trust properties, social media, fundraising, forest management, leasing agricultural lands to farmers. The meeting was attended by ten groups and hosted by Bridgewater Land Trust, Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative/Housatonic Valley Association, and Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust.  Many of these groups are also participating with Naromi in October Land Trust Days.  See below for more on that.

Check out this beautiful Marbled Salamander found by John Foley at the  Pootatuck parcel off Beaver Bog. They are usually found around the edges and inside of the pools under rotted wood, leaves and moss.
Quarry Hike
Hike into a limestone quarry on the edge of the Great Swamp on October 5 at 1 PM

Naromi Land Trust's  monthly hike will be into a large limestone quarry on the edge of the Great Swamp.  Gary Metcalf, head of the Patterson Quarry, will give a guided tour of this working property in nearby Patterson NY (near the intersection of Routes 22 and 311).

The south-facing cut  of the quarry is dry, white limestone with large boulders.  But the north-facing cut is a hanging garden of vines and plants fed by seeps from the Great Swamp (start of the Croton River) at the top of the quarry.  Fresh water reeds are even growing in the water at the bottom of the quarry.  A truly unique place seldom open to the public. 

Last year this hike was oversubscribed, so pre-registration is requested by email to naromi@sbcglobal.net .
Picnic
Mark your calendars for the NLT picnic on October 13th. James Eyring of Pace University is bringing his birds to fly high above the Hadlow fields.  Mr. Eyring was the presenter at NLT's 2010 Annual Meeting. Keep your eyes peeled in Citizen News, on Naromi's website and Facebook page for more info.  
Wildlife

 

Hummingbirds by DennisLarkin
Hummingbirds - Video by Dennis Larkin
Our wildlife sentinels are out there and sharing what they have seen as evidenced by the salamander above and this video of hummingbirds at the feeder. Look at Naromi's website for photos of baby box turtles, and a video of a swallowtail butterfly working a flower. 
Paddling Trip

On a picture-perfect Saturday morning a mixture of canoes and kayaks paddled the full perimeter of Squantz Pond on Naromi's annual Paddle Day.  Stan Greenbaum and Chris Jellen coordinated and led the group of particpants from Sherman, New Fairfield and Brussels, Belgium.  Cliff Jensen took some marvelous photos and shares them with us here.

 

Another chance to canoe; this time with FrOGS to see the Great Swamp in the Fall (previous Naromi trips were in early summer).  FrOGS provides canoes, paddles, life vests, but there are a limited number of canoes available, so reservations should be made soon!

 

Fall Canoe Trips - Naturalist Led - Saturday and Sunday - Sept. 21 & 22  
Come enjoy early signs of fall in the Great Swamp - 
Leaving and returning to: Patterson Environmental Park
  
9am (returning approximately at noon)
and 1 pm (returning approximately at 4pm)
  
Reservations a must! (Laurie Wallace: laurwally@aol.com 845-270-0538or Rick Saracelli 845-878-6486) 
Members $39  Non-Members $45
Land Trust Days

Connecticut's Northwest Corner land trusts have organized this fall to offer a slate of programs in celebration of "Land Trust Days", scheduled to take optimal advantage of the season's great opportunities for observing the beauty of the change of seasons, our native wildlife, and engaging in outdoor recreation.

 

"Many of our local community land trusts schedule public programs during this time of year, but this is the first time we are doing it together, promoting participation in these events as a way of collectively celebrating our work and our successes as a region and destination," said Susan Payne, Executive Director of the Roxbury Land Trust. The Roxbury Land Trust, together with the Kent Land Trust, hosts open meetings for local land trusts several times throughout the year to promote networking and information sharing among organizations.

 

More than fifteen area land trusts are offering an enticing variety of events including guided and self-guided hikes, a mushroom walk, picnics, a photo exhibit, programs with experts presenting on invasive plant species and predatory birds, and a River Festival.

 

We will post the calendar on our website and FB page when is is available. 

Please share this Naromi newsletter with your friends by using the forward button below.  We welcome comments from you about what you would like to see discussed here and what you think we are doing right, or wrong!  We look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Naromi Land Trust