How about "Pink Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight"!

My 9 year old daughter took this picture this evening. We are looking forward to a great weekend and 4th of July!! Fireworks, cookouts, marshmallows and campfires, family and friends.

Remember the MPA tradition... the lighting of the flares around the shoreline... July 3rd at 9 p.m.

The Lake and Pet/Animal Waste

Rain yesterday, today and tomorrow. When it is not raining, the air is 100% humidity. Did you know Fuddy did a rain dance? Did you know a couple hundred residents of Whitin Reservoir met at St. Denis Church to talk about their dam and the water level? - not in the hall but upstairs in the church and many prayed for higher water.

Everyone can stop dancing and praying! enough rain!

Seriously, I have a little educational piece for you to check out. I found it while looking for info on dirt roads and nonpoint source pollution. You see, these heavy rains wash sediment into the lake as well as whatever else is found in the watershed: sand and salt off roads, fertilizers from lawns, oils, detergents, as well as bacteria from animal wastes and livestock manures. Check out the "DEP Fact Sheets" under Links in the column on the right. I had to take it out of the post area as it was too big:Educational nonpoint source brochure: Pet waste. January 2003.
It will make you think!

Tomorrow I will tell you about the state grant the MPA has submitted to help protect our water from these sorts of issues/problems.

Town of Sutton Transfer Station Goes to Bags

This week is it to dump that rubbish before the "Pay-As-You-Throw" Program begins at the Sutton transfer station. July 1st you will need a $25.00 1 year sticker/permit to enter the station and dispose of recycleables, bags of rubbish and other items. The town has a long list of "other items" and their fees from $5 for a can of paint to $10. for a chair to $25. for a TV. And the bags.... a big $2.50 for the 33 gallon size (Worcester charges $1, I am told) and $1.25 for the 14 gallon bag. The bags are only available at the Town Hall and the Sutton Center Store/gas station.

With recycling and composting, my household still generates about 6-10 14 gallon bags a week. Thats a good total and $$ per year! Perhaps a compactor for unrecycleable plastics and a shredder to recycle or campfire the office paper!

Another Sunday Visitor for Area 4

Another Sunday morning and we have company! A month ago it was a fox on my door step. This morning a visit from Mrs. Mallard and the twins! You can see the route she took: over the yard of the lake-front cottage, across the road, and on to my lawn. Perhaps the rain has made for few handouts on the lake (or she has had enough of the rain too and longs for dry land!) How many little families are on the lake this season? Anyone counting?

On the serious side... another visitor came in the afternoon - the MPA President. He brought sample legislation and bylaws for me to review for the watershed district effort. We're moving ahead! Check back - I'll keep you posted!

UNANIMOUS! Pursue Watershed District!

A crowded hall was the location of last night's meeting called by the Manchaug Pond Association to discuss the sale of the dam at Manchaug Pond and explore the option of establishing a watershed district. MPA members and other residents along the lake's shore listened to the COLAP speaker and District Clerk of Cedar Meadow Lake Watershed District tell of the sale of his lake's dam, and the 7 years of low water levels held by the new owner to try to get $$ out of the residents.
The MPA President led the meeting explaining the vote of the Board to Directors to point the MPA to the best option for the members and other residents: formation of a watershed district. The MPA has been talking with the mill and their law firm for a few months monitoring the situation and keeping communication open.

Red Sky at Night, Sailors' Delight. NOT!

What a storm came up moments after this red sky showed itself!! Mega wind, hail, rain, thunder, lightning. Whew! Glad our house is one row back as half the back yard, cabanas, etc, blew east into the trees as it is!












(This picture is what you see when you are not waterfront.... before you run down to the lake!)

Membership Meeting June 22 on the DAM!

The dam is going up for sale. Hmmm... That is a big one! I've been on the MPA Board of Directors over 20 years and short of the issue which brought our MPA Founding Father together, the proposed remake of Camp Blanchard to a campground, I have to say that this is just as big an issue to tackle - possibly bigger!

What makes this issue one of the most important? Let's look at past MPA action and results:

* Certainly, the current DEP Storm Drain grant (and watershed survey and water quality testing) we submitted this month is a big one as it will address some weed problems for the long term, and the few high nutrient levels we have seen here and there which concern public health.

* Also, the town management of the Public Boat Ramp was a big feather in our cap as we secured the portable toilets to eliminate the use of Blueberry Island and the other islands as bathrooms. Remember the complains of what used to float in to resident's beaches!!

* That effort also got us the Gatekeeper who closes the ramp when the parking lot is full, eliminating the parking up and down both sides of Torrey Road and an over crowding lake!

* Also, it was the MPA which continually asked the state for channel markers and a sign at the ramp - thank you to the staff at the Douglas State Forest for installing and keeping them painted and repaired.

* Oh yes - police patrols. The MPA was instrumental in getting that effort on the lake - securing a boat, some equipment, and funding for officer time. Use of the lake is down, so weekly patrols are not necessary.

* And of course the weed control efforts: lake level drawndown coordination with Guilford Ind., weed surveys, testing for nutrients from the watershed which promote weed growth.

SO, to get back to the dam and the water rights and why this is such a big issue...

sale of the dam means control of the water level. Too low water = "mud flats" as Fuddy calls it! or swamp - sand and less water for boating and swimming on the lake, dangerous exposed or under the surface rocks. Too high water - flooded property, gurgling septic systems, damage to docks and walls and if too high to yards and homes. Improper timing for lowering the lake level for the winter means more weeds (we lose lake level drawdown as a free, non-chemical control of invasive lake weeds along the shore), and fish and amphibian kills as they hiberate in the mud, docks in ice....

What can you do? Come together Thursday night with other MPA members and learn what your Board of Directors has research as an option for Manchaug Pond and see what other lakes have done when in the same situation!

See you there!

Area 7 - Spring Wildflowers in the Watershed

These photos were taken about two weeks ago in Area 7 along the roadside. Do you know the names of these wildflowers?





Jack-in-the-Pulpit,
Pink Lady Slipper,
Canada Mayflower

On the Water!

Sure felt good to be out on the water! Enough with the rain! The lake is full and we are ready for summer. Bring on the sunshine!

Photo from Area 2

A great photo of a sunset taken from Area 2 by our Vice President. I won't say when - let's just say it is from the archives!

MPA Emergency Mtg June 22!

Our dam is scheduled to be sold. As of Friday it was not yet on the market, but it will go as well as the Guilford mill and the other to dams: Guilboa and Whitin.

MPA President Dave Schmidt and the Board of Directors have been monitoring the situation; speaking directly with Guilford, their law firm, and leading residents of Whtin Reservoir; as well as exploring the options which would best benefit us- the people who live on and near the lake.

Thursday, June 22nd at 7pm at St Anne's Church hall, the MPA is calling a meeting of all members and interested parties to decide what action we need to take.

A guest speaker, the District Clerk of the Cedar Meadows Watershed District, will tell you how the dam on his lake was sold to a private party who proceeded to let the water level down and tried to get $$ from the residents before he would raise the level. This went on for 7 years until they united to form an association and take control of the water rights and the dam through the subsequent formation of a watershed district.

We have an association- the MPA. We have a great working relationship with Guilford. The time is NOW before the dam is sold.

Spread the word and attend this important meeting. It does effect you!

Remember...it wasn't that long ago that the lake was way down...

Water Level Remains Over Full as Raining Continues

Here's a photo of the main gate and spillway of our dam - the water is raging out at full force!

When we are over full, Fuddy will check more than once a day to make sure he has it open enough to have an effect. The past few weeks he has had to take out boards as the lake continues to rise.

Thunderstorm Hits Lake and Puts Us Over Full!

Thursday evening a thunderstorm rolled in and brought rain, hail and the destructive lightning we all dread. The Sutton Girls Softball teams playing at Camp Blanchard canceled the 6 p.m. game with the rain starting about 5:50. A large white pine tree was hit by lightning on Manchaug Road and another strike on Irma Jones Rd started a home on fire with the Manchaug/Sutton Fire Dept. responding within minutes. Our power went out at 6 p.m. and was restored Friday afternoon around 1:00. My cable was just restored this evening ... Thurs.-Sunday. Is that good service? When I called Saturday I was on hold for 1 hour before I got to talk to someone. When I called today I found out I was scheduled for appointment on the 7th ?! Four neighbors called me to compare notes.... we learned that the Cable Company won't send the truck out until 3 homes have called reporting an outage- SIX called but not all were registered as an outage. Ugh!

And the lake... Fuddy reported Saturday morning that the lake was 4 inches OVER full and he is measuring twice a day and watching homes for flooding after having opened the dam a bit. He called again today having opened things up a bit. Remember the drought we were having... the lake was too low! New England weather! Thanks Fuddy for being on top of things on a daily basis!

Memorial Day and Water Level is at FULL!

Our friend Fuddy, the caretaker of Manchaug, Whitins and the Gilboa Dams for the dam owner called yesterday morning to report the water level is at FULL as promised. Saturday the lake was down one inch but came up to the full mark by Sunday morning.
Some laugh and call Fuddy "lucky", but he wants you to know that he is doing what he always has done for the past 22 years. He does credit "Mother Nature" for the rain!

Fuddy further reports that he and 4 others remain at the Douglas mill: an environmental, fireman, electrician, and a mechanic. The mill is quiet with few coming in to check it out.

Our Lake's Dam/Water Rights to be Sold!

Our dam at Manchaug along with the dams at Whitin Res., and Guilboa are to go up for sale with the Guilford Mill. The MPA President has called two emergency Board of Directors meetings to discuss this, the ramifications to us on the shore and watershed of Manchaug, and the best course of action for us to take. If the new company buying the mill does not need water for their manufacturing process than our dam and water rights will be up for sale. A meeting of the entire membership is being scheduled for June. So watch this site and your mailbox for details.

Area 4's Morning Visitor

This morning at 7:00 a.m. my husband noticed a little visitor on our porch: a red tail fox kit! Our visitor is very small, with our cat being taller and longer. We have seen the kit, it's sibling and a parent often crossing the roads in area 4. We heard they were born in a den the parents made under a deck at a home on Torrey Road. A third kit was found hit by a car on the side of the road.

I apologize for the poorer quality of the photo as it is taken through two glass doors and facing the rising sun!

Tell us about your visitors!

Water Level is 5 inches until full!

Here's a photo taken mid-April of the channel. Should we call it "before the rain" and you could look out your window for "after the rain"!

Fuddy (the keeper of the dam!) called this morning pleased to report that Manchaug Pond (or Lake Manchaug as some wish) is only down 5 inches! The boards are all in and the spillway gate is open one inch - and the gates haven't been touched in over a month.

He states that "Mother Nature took care of the dry spell and we will be full by Memorial day!" We came into the spring season with no snow and had an extremely dry season until the recent rains.

While the east coast was flooding, Manchaug was smiling! Keep dancing Fuddy!

Mute Swan visits Manchaug Pond - Wild but NOT Native

The visiting swan is a beauty: large and magestic. Seeing us on the shore while about 100 feet out, it swam immediately to us looking for food. My 9 year old got within 7 feet before it started to hiss. Click on to the title of this post for a link to a Humane Society which details an encounter with "Genghis swan" and their recommendations as to how to handle this large birds. Beware as they will attack and capsize a canoe!

For a little background, the Mass. Department of Fish and Wildlife reports: "The swans you are seeing are mute swans, and like English sparrows and starlings, they are not native to North America, but an introduced species. Originally brought in from Europe and Asia as ornamental waterfowl to grace the ponds of Long Island estates, some escaped to the wild where they became established, spread up and down the coast and are now moving inland. Highly aggressive and territorial, there is evidence that they are displacing native waterfowl and can be destructive to some aquatic habitats, destroying more vegetation than they actually eat.

Unlike native waterfowl, mute swans were not federally protected until Dec. 2001 when a court ruled that mute swans must be granted federal protection under the same Migratory Bird Treaty that protects native swans, the tundra swan, and the trumpeter swan much to the consternation of people who view the mute swan as a destructive interloper."

Water Level and Fuddy's Rain Dance!

Rain yesterday, rain today and rain in the forecast! Go rain!!

Sunday, our friend Fuddy from Guilford(the keeper of our dam), gave me a call to update me on things from his perspective...

Fuddy has been in his position monitoring our dam and the water level on a daily basis for 22 years. He reports this is the worst he has seen it: a dry spring and of course no snow melt to bring us into spring. We started with hurricane Katrina and then a winter which saw snow which melted inbetween storms. With the early melts, I was calling Fuddy to open the dam as the high water level was causing havoc with docks and boats usually high and dry on shore.

Fuddy has had the dam closed for March, April and May or open just a "trickle". He wants you to know he can't do much about the weather (he says it is the Man upstairs!) but did report doing a rain dance last week!

Further Fuddy reports he is still on the payroll with Guilford along with about 20 other employees. Guilford has relocated to North Carolina where the winters are mild making for lower energy costs and cheaper labor. He did say workers from up here had to go south to train the new mill workers. He also reports an envelope company renting the upstairs of the mill, but no buyer yet.

We need alot more rain to get this lake filled. So MPA members keep praying and Fuddy keep dancing! With the rain we can break out the puzzles, hot chocolates, and enjoywatching the trees leaf out!

Noises in the Night

11:10 p.m. Thursday night: Did you hear it.... not a puppy barking, not a duck quacking but something inbetween? The commotion lasted 10 minutes until 11:20 and I had a front row seat! I put the spot light on and there in my neighbors driveway and in the road directly in front of my house there was a small red-tailed fox and another neighbor's calico cat in a stand off! The fox and the cat seemed about the same height but I think the cat was a bigger weight wise!

Living on Manchaug Pond doesn't limit the excitement to the water, our watershed has a great diversity of animals - commonly visible to us all. Stories of fisher cats, deer, wild turkey, black Grey squirrels and "flying" squirrels, fox, raccoon, skumk and possum are everyday - did I leave anyone out?!

Tell us of your encounter with nature here in the watershed of Manchaug Pond