Out Doors
August Array of Activities

You might want to make a list of errands, as I did, for the northeastern corner of Chittenden County. I needed to visit Green Mountain Foam in Underhill Flats and that’s quite a haul from Charlotte. While I waited for magic to happen to a Moroccan footstool, I made my maiden voyage to a ten-year-old gem.

Jericho’s Mills Riverside Park
Against a backdrop of Mt. Mansfield, Mills Riverside Park encompasses 216 acres of meadow and wooded hillside, a pond, the Snowflake Bentley post and beam open pavilion and more than six miles of non-motorized trails for walking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Two loops totaling 1.65 miles thread through mixed northern hardwoods that likely grew up on old hillside sheep and dairy farms. The Meadow Loop offers another 1.75 miles on the flat. In thick woods I spotted a huge, spreading sugar maple that was a wolf tree, a lone tree left in a field to provide shade for animals or shepherds. Ferns carpet the ground with clusters of red trillium, twisted stalk and bellwort. I spotted some blue cohosh developing clumps of berries. Even in a wet week the trails were mostly dry, with well-designed bridges and culverts as well as bark mulch and gravel in low spots. Don’t miss a short spur off of Fieldstone Trail East. From a wooden bench a magnificent Vermont panorama extends north and east, to fields, fences, and a farmhouse in the foreground with a profile of Mt. Mansfield as backdrop.
In its spirit I’d compare Mills Riverside Park to Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge – a community treasure with nicely maintained trails, beautiful views, significant wildlife habitat, and hills to get the blood pumping. There is fishing in the pond and an expansive off-leash area for pets. For maps, driving directions, and further information go to millsriversidepark.org.

A Walk in Jonesville
Jessie Bradley proposes a walk on Honey Hollow Road in Jonesville, well suited to folks who may not want to hike or bushwhack. For a short distance the road coincides with the Long Trail. Depending on your goals, you can park at the bottom and walk up and back on the quiet dirt road that follows Preston Brook, or you can drive to the end of the road and join the formal and informal trail network from there. The hiking trails eventually climb up Camel’s Hump or you can cross Preston Brook and return along the opposite (east) bank following the Catamount Trail- and cross-country ski trail. At the bottom you would turn left on South River Road and return to Honey Hollow Road to complete a loop.
Getting There: From the Round Church in Richmond, drive east on Cochran Road. Just before this road crosses the Winooski River and joins Route 2, turn right and continue on the south bank of the Winooski, on South River Road, to Honey Hollow Road. “There are amazing pools in Preston Brook,” Jessie says. “The water is cold and clear. There are natural slides between pools. It’s a great thing to do on a hot day.”

Backyard Opportunities
In early July we welcomed a young guest from India. When Apurvaa arrived in Charlotte she asked, “Can you see stars here? The Milky Way? I have only seen stars once before.”
On a visit to Apurvaa’s family near Delhi I was mesmerized by vegetable sellers mingling with sacred cows in front of the house, pavement dwellers living beneath plastic tarps in the shadow of a General Electric call center, and the chaos of carts, scooters, bicycles, donkeys, camels, motorbikes, cars, busses, and more cows. I never stopped to think: no stars.
As this is the summer of 2009 it was either raining or about to rain. I told Apurvaa we would have to hope for clear skies the next night.
Then she asked, “What are those little lights flickering in the fields?”
Fireflies. Another of nature’s wonders that would be invisible, or absent, in Delhi. Lightning bugs prefer minimally disturbed habitats- woodlands, old fields, and marshes. The larvae spend most of their lives at or below ground level where the carnivores consume slugs and snails.
From the foremost American experts on lightning bugs at the University of Florida, I learned, “Firefly tails contain the chemical, luciferin, and the enzyme, luciferase. These molecules help in coding genes, testing food for bacterial contamination and measuring effectiveness of some drugs in treating tumors, among other applications.”
Remember catching lightning bugs in a jar with holes punched in the top? Skip the television or your email tonight and collect a handful of fireflies. Bring the magic to your beside table for the night.

Hawk Watching
On September 10, 2007, in just one day, spotters on the summit of Mt. Philo counted 3,500 migrating hawks! Not every year produces such a concentration, but ‘tis the season to be alert to the fall migrations visible from Mt. Philo and Snake Mountain. The Hawk Migration Association of North America, at hmana.org, publishes a free hawk silhouette ID chart that you can download for personal use.

The ferry is back!
The non-profit Local Motion is once again operating a bike ferry across the cut between the Colchester Causeway and the Islands. The Island Line Trail, 14 miles from the south end of Burlington to South Hero, will be linked by the ferry for a total of five weekends this year, four in August plus Labor Day in early September. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a suggested donation of $5.

4th Annual Kelly Brush Century Ride
Ride 25, 50 or 100 miles on Saturday, September 12, to benefit the Kelly Brush Foundation. The foundation advocates for improved safety in ski racing, supports spinal cord injury research and the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, and purchases adaptive sports equipment for athletes with spinal cord injury.
Kelly is a Charlotte native who suffered a spinal cord injury while ski racing for Middlebury College. Last year 366 riders raised $135,000. The ride is along beautiful roads in Addison and Chittenden Counties. And it’s fun! KellyBrushFoundation.org

Get Out-Doors (before winter)!