Saturday, July 31, 2010

Beautiful Day is In Store for Manchaug Pond... Join today!

This morning we woke to temperatures in the high 50's, blue skies and sunshine with a slight, cool breeze. Good camping weather! Actually cool enough for the MPA fleece vest or hooded sweatshirt!















If you are a member/friend of the Manchaug Pond Association (MPA)... you received this month along with your dues renewal, an order form to get for your very own embroidered and/or silk screened MPA logo hats, t-shirts, fleece vests, polo and denim shirts AND the MPA newsletter - now in full color and titled Splash!

If you would like to receive our newsletter and all other mailings, take a more active role in our advocacy work for Manchaug Pond, and attend our August annual business meeting and picnic,  just use the new PayPal buttons to the right.  Join us today! The 43rd Annual Meeting of the MPA is 3 weeks away and the fall newsletter - which promises to be bigger and better and only going out to paid members and friends - will arrive just after that in September. It is time you became a member or friend of Manchaug Pond actively supporting the important work of the MPA!

Welcome aboard!

Friday, July 30, 2010

YOU Provide the Caption For this Photo...



... when I saw the cat sitting in the boat, I thought... "Longing for the Open Sea!"

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Last week a busy week! Thanks for the ideas...

It has been a few days since we've had a post on the blog - pictures were taken last week but our work for Manchaug Pond and life on the lake has kept us busy.

So let's just recap a bit of last week's happenings:

First, let's thanks those readers who submitted suggestions to our FUNdrai$ing Committee.  All your ideas were brought to last week's meeting and let me tell you new events and activities are in the works!  Three are being planned for later this year... a followup meeting is scheduled for next week and then a Board meeting the week after for final approval. The goal is to have registration forms available for members at the MPA's 43rd Annual Meeting later next month. Also in 2011, you'll see once again the great RAFFLE event, Spring Social, and the Boat Decorating Contest.  So stay tuned!




Tuesday we found the Town of Sutton doing some maintenance on the drainage sites on Manchaug Road and having a telephone pole moved out of a drainage pipe/ditch.  Important work necessary to improving our water quality - minimizing run off of sediments and nutrients into the lake.





Also on Tuesday,  our invasive aquatic weed survey was being conducted by Lycott Environmental.

I didn't get a photo of the boat, but I can tell you the weather was perfect - blue skies and not much wind.  Hired by the MPA,  Lycott's boat was seen methodically working not too far off shore, raking up plants growing under water, identifying them,  and mapping by GPS the location.  You may have heard a shout out or two of "MILFOIL!" or "FANWORT!"  We look forward to the results of that survey so that we can compare it with past surveys/reports.

Last year's milfoil




And speaking of weeds... we are seeing PURPLE along the roadsides of the watershed once again!  ugh! PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE.  If you see it, pull it, bag it and take it out of the area.  Do not compost!  Put it in a plastic bag, and send with the trash or incinerate.  We do not want this highly invasive weed on the shore of Manchaug Pond!





How did your week go?
















Smooth sailing?













See you on Manchaug Pond tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Hello! We would like to hear from you!

Last Thursday's post asked what YOU would like to see as our next FUNdrai$ing event....


..... Only one reader commented. 

hmmm...
 
So what conclusions can we draw from a lack of respondents ...  well... 


....maybe we only have one reader...  No, that's not true as Google statistics on the MPA blog tell us that from January 1, 2010 to July 19, 2010 a total of 1,604 people visited the blog 8,332 times. That's a lot of readers and a lot of visit for half a year.


.... maybe no one visited since Thursday as it is hot and prime vacation time...  No, the numbers from Google show 192 visits since we asked for ideas on Thursday til yesterday.  No, you're out there...
 


... maybe no one is interested in fundraising events? No, I don't think that is it because the July 4th weekend Boat Decorating Contest was a huge hit with 91 visits to the blog on July 6th alone as readers checked out the photos of the great entries... and the Boat Raffle/$8,000 Giveaway sold ALL 100 tickets, raising the max. and with great attendance at the drawing/ Annual Spring Social.


... maybe our readers are shy...  Shy?   ...Bubby!  Are you still with us? Are you shy?!


...maybe no one thought we really wanted their input! that it was one of those rhetorical questions!  ...That's it!  You didn't really think we wanted to hear from you!



Alright then!  Go back to Thursday's post,  Give it another read,  and let the MPA FUNdrai$ing Committee know what you think and want!  

.... a golf tournament?  ... silent auction? ... road race? ... dinner dance? ... cycling race? ... calendar raffle? ...what?


or should I put up a poll?

Monday, July 19, 2010

LOST AND FOUND: 1 O'Brien Waterski


This ski was found by one of Manchaug Pond's facebook friends on Saturday in the rocks on the north side of the lake.  Anyone missing a ski or know who it belongs to?  Shoot us an email!

Fish skeleton washed up

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Looking for a New Toy? How about a High Visibility Watercraft

 I had to share this one with all of you: a transparent canoe/kayak!

Here's the review from Gear Patrol:

"Constructed of transparent Lexan the Transparent Canoe/Kayak ($1,475) measures just over 11′ in length and is designed for comfort with a wide water displacement with lower deck seating (adjustable). Carrying two people (up to 425 lbs) in high visibility comfort, the see-through skiff won’t satisfy our hard-core enthusiasts, but the Transparent Canoe isn’t just novelty – the clear polycarbonate material is the same used in jet-fighter cockpit canopies and fastened to a lightweight anodized aluminum frame that keeps weight down to just 40 lbs, not included photo model. That makes this canoe lighter than many aluminum or wood canoes of similar size.
Includes two double-headed paddles, water bailer, and two polyurethane flotation bags. If you live near Denver, CO you can save yourself the $125 delivery fee by picking it up yourself."

 http://gearpatrol.com/blog/2010/06/11/transparent-canoe/

(Please note photo provided by Gear Patrol - and NOT taken here on Manchaug Pond.)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

What Would You Like to See as the Next FUNdrai$ing Event?

The MPA Fundraising Committee is meeting next week. So we are asking you what event you would like to see next!

 The Annual Spring Social was a hit!


The barbecue chicken dinner received rave reviews! People enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones.

and the reverse raffle drawing for the Boat Raffle/$8,000 Giveaway was extremely exciting.

People are still calling to buy a ticket!


and the Boat Decorating Contest was a traffic stopper!




Great fun for both participants





and spectators!











So what would you like for the next fundraising event? Post a comment here today with your ideas and preferences! What do you think? a golf tournament? a dinner dance? a road race? walkathon or cycling race? a silent auction?  .... tell us your ideas!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Part 2 of the Sea Plane/Boat Plane


Thanks again to Laura and Rose for getting these wonderful photos!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Great Egret Visits Manchaug Pond!

If you're a twitter follower, you knew 9 hours ago that a Great Egret, Casmerodius albus (note the beautiful white feathers, yellow bill and black legs) was visiting Manchaug Pond today!






The large lanky bird was very tolerate of passing boaters and us tourist-types with cameras taking numerous photos.  It stayed  a long time  enjoying the breeze.


Our Audubon field guide tells us that the Great Egret, like the Great Blue Heron, is a solitary bird feeding on "fish, frogs, snakes and crayfish in shallow water."  Further, "each year individual birds wander far to the north of the breeding grounds."   Yes, Massachusetts is as far north as its found with its range which extending as far south as southern South America.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Sacred Sunday: One of Manchaug Pond's Resident Pileated Woodpeckers



Thanks to the MPA member who sent in today's photo! Photo contest material don't you think! 


 

Saturday, July 10, 2010

As I tried to upload a photo for today's post, I received this message from Blogger ...

We're sorry, but you have exceeded your photo upload quota. For more information, check out this Blogger help page.

 My response:

UGH!  We only have 1400 photos on the Manchaug Pond Blog!  Just one more? PLEASE!


 ***
We are experiencing technical difficulties...
please stand by.

***

Friday, July 09, 2010

Making New Friends on Manchaug Pond ...

While the MPA Board of Directors (of which 3 are the main photographers for this blog!) was deep into their July meeting reporting on last month successes and planning future ones, new friends were being made on Manchaug Pond.


A longtime favorite visitor to Manchaug is this 1976 boat plane. Landing on Blueberry Island gave an opportunity for boaters and the pilot to chat.



A very special thanks to Laura from the Old Holbrook's Place campground for bringing her camera to capture the seaplane up close!

Thursday, July 08, 2010

While the MPA Board of Directors is meeting....


a longtime favorite visitor to Manchaug Pond delights new lake friends.












More photos and details to come.....

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Manchaug Pond: A shallow pond with a mean depth of 13 ft ...

Navigating Manchaug Pond is a challenge for today's motor boaters!  Boats are bigger than they used to be.  This vessel was seen on the lake Monday, its size dwarfing the pontoon boat to the left.


Witnesses report that when it left the lake through the channel, it hit the end of the wall/rock/bottom sending the vessel and occupants rocking!

Mass Dept of Fish and Game/MassWildlife's bathymetry map of Manchaug Pond shows its shallow depth - 6 to 8 ft around much of the shoreline.  Not show on the map in these areas are the large boulders just under the surface, the Blueberry Island sandbar, and other potential hazards to unknowing boaters.


Thanks to the 3 gentlemen who put in the green and red channel markers this afternoon to help boaters get through the causeway. The new buoys mark the end of the wall with their colors indicating the way to the ramp or the lake: "red, right, return" is the rule of thumb out on the ocean when navigating your way home from the open sea.

Check out this link for the Mass Boaters Handbook, the online boat safety course, and for more information on navigational buoys:
http://www.boat-ed.com/ma/course/p3-7_navaidsbuoys.htm

Saturday, July 03, 2010

A Weekend of Winners: 1st Annual Boat Decorating Contest - 7 winners!

And the Judges' decision is in!

The winners of the 1st Annual MPA Calling All Boats! Boat Decorating Contest are:







The Grand Winner is entry #4 Captain Karen Bronson and her Hawaiian pontoon boat. But it was not the grass and palm trees but her hula dancing husband Mike in the grass skirt and more who put their entry over the top with the judges! Congratulations!



Tied for Second Place:

#11 The SS M&M pontoon boat, captained by Kevin and Lesa Bickford. Judges found the theme different and creative and full of details! The entry also looked wonderful at night.


#10 Captain Andy (and Kim) Mosher brought us the very original Patriotic Red Sox pontoon boat equipped with bases, bats, flags and Big Papi himself!


#15 Captain Patti Eklund, with glass in hand, brought us to Margaritaville where the judges especially loved the parrot!



#1 and lead boat, The Support Our Troops Flag Ship, captained by David Charpentier was described as very patriotic and fantastic by the judges.


#8 Patriotic USS Independence, captained by Ted and Paula DeMeo was awesome and another patriotic winner!


And one of the smallest but not least was a favorite...

#3 Beaver Boys Beaver Dam paddle boat captained by Aimee and Myles Hibbard and sons was deemed very clever by the judges.




Honorable mentions go to:

#2 The Yellow Submarine kayak captained by Rose Charpentier. The judges loved the bubbles!


#5 Captain Donna Smith took us to It's Five O'clock Somewhere in her adorable 12' dingy!


#6 And who could not fall in love with the Chiquita Banana Boat captained by Diane Smith in the yellow Tahoo.


#7 Captain Keith Orphin, in his tri-hull pontoon boat took us on a patriotic cruise by night and played disco by day!

# 9 The USA Birthday Cake with 234 candles captained by Dave Schmidt was full of enthusiasm. Three cheers to the man holding the flag the entire distance around the lake!




#12 The Fire Boat pontoon was a hit with one of the judges at it squirted water with Captained Jim Oberg and crew in full gear!


#13 Captain "Gokey" (and Monica) Gauthier took us to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in his Party Barge!


#14 Patriotic Keywest Fishing Boat was a hit with Lee and Diane's Patriotic them!


and did you see  #16 Under the Sea, the bowrider captained by Jim and Caryn Gagner.

#17 Captain Linda Cadrin brought us her patriotic pontoon boat all decked out in red, white and blue!


#18 Standing tall, simple and true, Captain George Kuipers Flag Ship brought us the U.S. flag and the air raid siren all through the celebration!




A great time was had by all!  All traffic stopped as our boats passed by!

This week we'll also post photos of our fabulous, awestruck spectators!!  Special thanks to our judges!

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

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