Day 4: it floats my boat

Day #4 of working at the path... my favorite part was floating a new boat I made.  I made it out of gloves box, pudding boxes, bamboo skewers and glue.  It has a string so I can get it back easily.  Her name is "Loyal" and she floated great.  My dad thought she was going to sink.

I also snipped some branches as did Abby. 

Mom went and resprayed all the poison ivy because it wasn't dying (and she's got quite a few spots of it - OUCH and ITCH!) and dad did a lot more clearing too.  Dad tried the plank bridge and almost fell in, only kids should use that I guess.

I've started riding my bike over there - can't wait to ride more around the trail.  Camille's mom said it looks like it's right out of the ET movie when I did that the other day! :) 

Mom has written the town's conservation department about the bridge building at the advice of someone from AVIS.  Hope to hear back soon.  Another good idea that was given to us is the boy scouts.  If anyone else has ideas or wants to help just let us know!

Day 3: getting farther on the end

When we headed over today, we saw a blue heron in the pond!  Zack, Leo, Abby and Mom tried to walk around our newly cleared path to get closer but it flew away.  Pictures were taken  (but still no camera cord!). 

We found that the poison ivy spraying didn't work (yet), so much for that "visible results in 24 hours".  Will wait another day and maybe do another spraying, it's pretty bad on the opposite side of the pond.

Then the kids got back to work on the end, going backwards again.  A bit more clearing, but a lot more playing and fun tonight but that's what being kids is all about, right?  Exploring along the coast of the river... we brought a wooden plank that the kids were able to use to cross the small stream to the other side where the path joins up but the grownups didn't trust it.  Some clearing was done on the other side of the stream, but not much.  It took a while to figure out where the old path was and where the best place for a real bridge would be. 

At the advice of a neighbor, Mom reached out to an AVIS warden today for some ideas/tips on clearing out and more importantly suggestions on bridge design and best materials for the job.  Hope to hear from him soon.

The parents also decided that 2 clippers are not enough to make progress, the kids want the tools all to themselves! 

Goal for next time is to try to get the 2 ends to meet up and we're hoping for a response back from AVIS soon.

Day 2: going backwards

So why call this "going backwards" you might ask?  Because that's what the kids did today - started at the end of the path and tried to meet up with what we accomplished yesterday.

We got a few more helpers today.  The team consisted of Zack (me) and Abby (and their folks), Leo (and tagalong Mark & dad), Regan, Camille and Gabriella.  Some decided the brush factor was a little too high today and left early but all in all it was a productive day!

After giving a tour of yesterday's work to the new folks, Mom worked on spraying the poison ivy (which there is a LOT of).  We're hoping the path is ivy free in a day or two and it can be raked out. 

While Mom was spraying, the rest of the team got started at the other end.  The brush and growth was much worse on this end and we weren't able to get all of it out, but we at least started a path that people could walk on.  After getting through some thick growth, we found a surprise - a nice flat area with a small stream connecting the pond to the Shawsheen River.  There were still a few logs (though skinny) crossing the stream.  Mom and Dad will try to figure a better option for crossing (mom refuses to cross with the logs that are there now).  There were a few cool plant finds - an elephant ear looking plant and some cool red flowers.

The ideas of today:

• the kids would love a zip line from one side of the stream to the other.
• the flat place would be a pretty spot for a picnic area.

Time for bed! and Mom still hasn't found her camera cord so pictures will still have to wait.

Day 1: clearing out

The Shawsheen River runs through Balmoral Park.  Towards the back there is a pond (well sometimes, right now it's pretty dried out and has a lot of growth and mud!).  A few years ago we used to be able to walk around the pond on a short trail. 

Yesterday, Zack and a friend tried walking the trail and it was all overgrown, they could only get about halfway through.  And that's how this latest project was born - Zack said "let's clear it out"! 

So today was Day 1.  Zack made up a kit consisting of gloves, rakes, clippers and loaded up the wagon.  He recruited some help of mom & dad, sister Abby and friend Leo from across the street.  Then was onto dressing for the occasion - long pants & soccer socks to prevent bug bites and poison. 

We travelled with our kit over to the trail and got to work!  The tools of choice:

• Dad made a machete like tool from a branch and hacked his way through.
• Zack and Leo traded on and off with small hand clippers and a rake.  Rake was great for hacking as well!
• Abby had a broom and swepted up behind the boys.
• Mom was in the rear with long handled branch clippers cleaning up anything remaining.

The kids made a few discoveries today...

1. the path seemed very overgrown, but the dirt path was still there, we just needed to cut through a LOT of branches/bushes/etc. 
2. also, there is a lot of poison ivy (Mom made a mental note to pick up some weed/ivy killer).  
3. they found deer tracks in the mud where the pond normally would be.
4. a hockey puck most likely lost during the winter when the pond is transformed into a hockey/ice skating rink.
5. they found the end of the trail and decided it would be fun to start at the end next time and try to meet up.

The kids decided the next step would be for Mom to do some spraying for ivy on the portion of the path we already worked on and they would start clearing from the other end so they could work while she was spraying - must be efficient!  Also, lots of ideas for marking the path, decorating the path, making it fun to walk through will be thought out.