It was great to spend a few weekdays up here, enjoying the quiet roads and the woods noisy with birdsong.  Everything is popping out to enjoy the warm weather:  there are minks by the stream, a good assortment of warblers and thrushes in the woods — and the pond is hosting a growing mat of filamentous algae (which, it must be admitted, interferes with a good swim).  Susan is ordering some grass carp which we hope will partly address the problem, and Debbie suggests we acquire a new kayak and/or inflatable raft, so that some of the kids in the community can do some algae-gathering (it’s good for compost and mulch).  For further information, see the link above, and also here.

In other news, I have updated the website, and will be creating new login accounts for everyone.   You should receive an email within 24 hours of this post with your new login information, but if you have any questions, as always, don’t hesitate to contact me.

The new platform allows for more secure file-sharing and a bunch of other features (for starters you will notice that you can sign up for email alerts on site updates in the sidebar, bottom right).  I’m also planning a searchable photo gallery and a page on the pond, but as always, I’m open to suggestions, as well as feedback on the site design, and would welcome contributions (photos or text) by any community member.