Leaf pick-up
PUTNAM — The town 's the highway department plans to start leaf pick-up in earnest the week of Nov. 9. The department does not know which day it will be what street. The department will keep going town wide until there is a consensus that all leaves are vacuumed up or a major snowfall. Residents must have their leaves at the edge of their property, within reach of the vacuum. Bagged leaves are not picked up. Leaf pickup may be interrupted for a snowstorm or a storm where trees and limbs have fallen, as those are priorities after a storm.
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It may only be the very beginning of November, but I am already — dare I admit it — decorated completely for Christmas. My (artificial, of course) trees are up, the stockings are hung and my collection of nutcrackers are standing at the ready. My holiday dishes are in the cabinets, the December countdown calendar is displayed and my ‘letters to Santa’ stocking sits patiently waiting for someone to send in a holiday hopeful request.
No. I am not decorated early because this year has just been an extremely difficult time and I need some holiday cheer to brighten my mood. Nor am I decorated early because I find myself homebound, closets all organized, and with nothing else to do. I am decorated early because this year, I am hosting a movie premier of the Hallmark holiday movie that I had an up-close-and-personal perspective on during filming.
It was hard not to drive by the Inn at Woodstock Hill this summer and notice the snow-covered trees, driveway and grass during the 90-plus degree weather. Plus, if you read any of the local newspapers or listened to the local radio station, you heard that Hallmark was, indeed, filming a holiday movie at several ‘local spots’. In addition to being one of those ‘local spots’, we also had our rooms filled with actors and producers and COVID-safety compliance officers, all needing food and drinks and ice and laundry and package deliveries and, well, anything else you could think of that you would need when you live somewhere temporarily for a month. At a time when the rest of the nation was just beginning to emerge from lockdowns, we were, simply put, busier than ever, getting an insider’s glimpse into how the magic of movie making happens.
Although the work which was required to do a good job was rather intense, so, too, was the experience as very few people outside of the movie industry, get to see firsthand what a rolling camera actually looks like, or an editing machine, or a costume trailer or what color a Broadway star’s pajamas are!
So, despite the hard work and long hours, the experience was totally and unequivocally, pretty awesome! And as August turned into September and the last of the fake snow was swept away, the movie buzz, locally, turned into when the big premier would be on the Hallmark channel, resulting in One Royal Holiday, the Christmas movie filmed in our beloved little Quiet Corner, making its ‘Countdown to Christmas’ Hallmark debut October 31.
I am not planning on hosting a premier party filled with movie stars and red carpets: I am simply hosting my nearby family and taking a cue from the lessons I learned in watching the production crew in creating a perfect holiday set in order to create the perfect holiday mood. And since we live in the ACTUAL and ever predictable place of New England, the snow, this time, just might be real…
Enjoy! Enjoy!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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Wellness clinics
coming in Nov.
PUTNAM — Northeast Opportunities for Wellness, Inc. (NOW) and the Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center have partnered to host a series of free youth wellness clinics in November. The clinics are designed to introduce a variety of activities and topics to children encouraging whole body wellness. Each event will focus on a set age group and will include physical activity with discussions on emotional wellness topics.
The first clinic will be from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 8 for children ages 6 - 10. Staff members from both the Hale YMCA, NOW and other community partners will offer 25-minute activities for participating children focused on Tai Chi, Bullying Prevention, Karate, and Nutrition & Fitness. NOW & the YMCA welcome volunteers Lisa Marie Rivera (LCSW) from Silver Linings Counseling and Master Daryl Laperle from Danielson to assist.
The series continues on Nov. 15 and finishes Nov. 22 with topics and activities like: Yoga, Managing Emotions, Body Combat, Meditation, Zumba, Hygiene, Self Defense, and Diversity & Inclusion.
NOW Executive Director Sarah Wolfburg said: “We are very happy to be working with the YMCA on this clinic series. This is a true collaboration, with staff from both organizations leading activities and planning the format of each event. Now more than ever, it is important to encourage children to prioritize emotional and physical wellness. Our goal with this clinic is to provide children with resources that can support them in self-care.”
For safety, there is a registration cap of 25 children for each event. Upon entering the YMCA facility, waivers and temperature checks will be required for admission to the clinic. All children and activity leaders will also be required to wear face coverings for the entirety of the clinic. A full list of requirements and guidelines is available on the event registration form. For more info or to register go to: www.NOWinMotion.org.
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Family
protects
wildlife
habitat
THOMPSON — The families of Katherine Weiss and the late John and William Weiss, recently donated a 13-acre property to the Wyndham Land Trust. The donated land connects to the land trust’s Long Pond preserve in the northeast corner of Thompson and increases its size to 113 acres.
“The land has been in the Joslin and Weiss family for more than 100 years,” said Katherine Weiss. “We wanted to donate it to a worthy organization that could protect the land for future generations and preserve the wildlife habitat.”
Long Pond and its surrounding wetlands sit just south of the Massachusetts state line and form the source of the Five Mile River. Much of the land on the preserve has been mined for sand and gravel during the last century. The open areas generated by the mining are now recovering nicely and, coupled with the extensive wetlands, are home to many plant species that are uncommon in Connecticut.
“The 13 acres donated by the Joslin and Weiss family gives the land trust ownership of an entire bog at Long Pond,” said land manager Andy Rzeznikiewicz. “The bog contains a rare plant community that includes native Atlantic White Cedar and Black Spruce. Some rare insects and butterflies are known to inhabit this type of habitat.”
The Wyndham Land Trust now protects more than 100 parcels in 10 towns in northeastern Connecticut totaling almost 5,000 acres.
The land trust can be reached by emailing
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