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Autumn is my favorite season.  I love that the days are warm from the sun but the nights start to turn crisp and cool.  I love that the trees, typically, become a canvas of color, reminding me that I am lucky enough to live in such a beautiful place.  I love that gardens burst over with vegetables and flowers that are hearty, lasting far longer than the delicate Springtime fruits and buds.  I love when the corn field is finally ready for harvest and the tractor hums along, outside my still open window, working from morning until after dark.  I love to carve pumpkins and cook pumpkin seeds even though I get hardly a Trick-or Treater.  I love to put big pots of mums on my porch step, often trying to predict which color mums will match the foliage around my house.  I love the smell of my homemade applesauce simmering patiently on the stove.  I love anticipating the holidays and getting a jump on my shopping.  I love Fall nail polish colors, and I especially love (or at least when my girls were young), that school starts again!
Autumn in New England is a season of hard work and preparation.  Although we are not the pioneers of the past, stocking our root cellars and fastening our window shutters in anticipation of winter’s long and hard freeze, we still make sure that we have our heating source stocked and serviced and a fair amount of food in the freezer, just in case.  Blankets and bedspreads are freshened and sweaters come back to the forefront in our closets.  Boots are checked for wear and tear and children are outfitted with winter gear that fits their growing frame. Gardens, once emptied, are made bare and clean for a long rest and jams and jellies are canned and tucked neatly away in the pantry for use on warm toasted breads on chilly mornings.
For me, Fall represents not only a true physical shift in the surrounding nature, but also in me.  My spirit, slightly more care free and imaginative in the summer, becomes, like the root vegetables in my garden, heartier.  I take stock of the work that has yet to be accomplished during the year, and I start to buckle down.  I make more lists and, despite it getting darker earlier, I seem to stay up later.  I make sure that I touch base with friends I haven’t seen in a while and plan a get-together.
I, also, like the busy chipmunks around me, eat more, opting to say yes to dessert or an appetizer or an extra glass of wine…or all of the above.   I especially make sure, that when the leaves start to turn, my TV recording list is updated and ready to go in order not to miss any of the premiers of the new TV season…
Or maybe, Fall is just my favorite season simply because I get to use one of my most favorite words…
Leaf Peepers! Leaf Peepers!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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Army Corps is
Team Walktober
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the 2019 Team Walktober. The Last Green Valley designates one person, or team of people, to represent the best of Walktober. The U.S. Army Corps team of Michelle Cucchi, Nicole Giles, Cathy St. Andre and Glenna Vitello exemplify the volunteer spirit that has made Walktober a success for the last 29 years.
Brought to you by The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV), the 29th year of Walktober runs from Sept. 21 to Nov. 3 and offers an array of adventures, with more than 200 unique experiences and more than 300 opportunities to enjoy autumn in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. The Walktober brochure is free and details the guided walks, hikes, bike rides, paddles, tastes and events featured during Walktober.
The U.S. Army Corps has been a part of Walktober since 1992, when it was Walking Weekend, and they offered a tour of West Thompson Dam. Since then, they have consistently offered walks, talks, tours and paddles not only during Walktober but year-round.
“The Corps of Engineers is honored to have a strong, long-standing partnership with The Last Green Valley,” said Cathy St. Andre, Army Corps park ranger.

“This collaboration has been serving local communities for 27 years while providing quality outdoor recreation to the public through the presentation of interpretive programs and fostering hands-on environmental stewardship practices across the Heritage Corridor.”
The primary mission of the U.S. Army Corps here in The Last Green Valley is flood damage reduction— they manage six flood control reservoirs in the watershed (East Brimfield, Westville, Hodges Village, Buffumville, West Thompson, Mansfield Hollow). Being the largest federal landowner in the national heritage corridor, their lands provide outstanding recreational opportunities.
The Corps properties provide boat launches, swimming beaches, picnic spots, hiking and mountain biking trails, fishing, hunting, a campground, disc golf courses, and paddling opportunities on two segments of the Quinebaug River National Recreation Water Trail.
“We can always count on the Corps staff as key partners in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor and we’re honored to name the US Army Corps of Engineers as Team Walktober for 2019,” said Lois Bruinooge, executive director of TLGV.

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POMFRET CENTER — Local wildlife, including the Whippoorwill, a species of special concern in Connecticut, just got a boost thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut to the Wyndham Land Trust.
The Wyndham Land Trust will use the funding to add to the protected property on Bull Hill in Thompson ——part of a rare landscape of 3,000 acres of unbroken forest. The 975 acres on Bull Hill owned by the Wyndham Land Trust offers sweeping views of Woodstock from an overlook, which is accessible from a trail managed by the land trust.
The protected forested lands provide important wildlife habitat as well as play a central role in helping to reduce area flooding and enhance local water quality. Bull Hill contains the headwaters of the Little River that provides drinking water to the town of Putnam.
“The goal of this local land protection effort is to ensure this remarkable block of forest remains unscathed by haphazard, sprawling development and provides recreational access to the public for hiking, birdwatching, and educational programs,” said Andy Rzeznikiewicz, a board member of the Wyndham Land Trust and the land manager for the Connecticut Audubon Center in Pomfret.  Carolyn Werge, Thompson's conservation officer, said: “It’s important that we provide recreational opportunities and conserve these critical lands for the long-term quality of life in our community, as well as balancing the tax base. To attract local businesses and maintain a strong tax base, research has shown that these types of projects are important to conserve our way of life and heritage.”
The Wyndham Land Trust has been working with local families who have donated land to help conserve their family history and the history of the town. Some landowners find they need to sell their lands and would rather sell it to a land trust for conservation than see it developed. The Trust relies on local donations and the generosity of businesses and grants to purchase lands, such as the $20,000 gift received from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. 
Ron Tillen, a board member of the Wyndham Land Trust and long-time resident of Thompson, said: “We find people love being part of this conservation project, with many expressing appreciation for what it means to conserve our town’s history and landscapes.”
The foundation strives to preserve and protect environmentally significant land, waterways, and wildlife habitats for the benefit of the ecosystem and for the well-being, health, livelihood, and enjoyment of residents of Eastern Connecticut.
The Wyndham Land Trust was formed in 1975 and now protects over 4,300 acres in northeastern Connecticut. The work of the all-volunteer group is possible through the generosity and dedication of its volunteers, members, and donors and organizations like the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut.

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Then
This is one of the tower lights at the new Putnam Athletic Field.

& Now
CCI erected the light poles last week. Paquette Electric Co. Inc. is doing the electrical work on the new fields. Courtesy photos.

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