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Wandering Flushing Queens, May 5, 2022

April 19, 2022 /

Happy Wanderers are planning a trek to Flushing, Queens on Thursday, May 5; the group will depart by carpool from the DCA parking lot at 9 am. Among its other distinctions, Flushing is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of New York City, with large Chinese, Korean and Indian populations. The early Quakers settled here and built the second oldest public high school in the country. Wanderers will have lunch at a local dim sum restaurant before returning to Darien. If you have questions, contact Joe Spain, David Mace or Sunil Saksena.

1) At the enormous Chinese market on Flushing’s Main Street, featuring vegetables of all kinds, meat cuts both familiar and unfamiliar, fish, etc.
2) The group in front of one of New York’s oldest houses, that of John Bowne (1661). Bowne was an English immigrant who moved to what was then New Netherland. He and fellow Quakers were persecuted, Bowne was banished back to The Netherlands, made his case for religious freedom, and returned to Flushing two years later
3) The group at the entrance to Flushing High School, a 2,000 student, architecturally impressive high school built in 1912 and set on a five-acre campus. (Hard to capture the size of the building, so we took a photo at the entrance).

Hike Greenwich Audubon Center, May 23, 2022, 10:00

April 15, 2022 /

HIKING GREENWICH AUDUBON CENTER

GREENWICH, CT
10 AM MONDAY MAY 23, 2022

Greenwich Audubon Center is a 285 acre sanctuary which opened its doors in 1943 as Audubon’s first nature education center in the country. Located on land donated by Eleanor Clovis Reese and H Hall Clovis the center includes over 7 miles of trails through a rich diversity of hardwood forest, meadows, lakes, streams and vernal ponds. Also on the property are an expansive Nature Education Center, an old apple orchard and original New England homestead buildings. We plan to meet in the main parking lot at 10 AM and hike for about two hours over varied terrain including one steep climb and several sections of rocky trail. We rate this as a hike of moderate plus difficulty. We hope to see migrating birds but our wildlife scorecard has not been
good! As always, guests and spouses welcome but NO DOGS. Probably no lunch but more later on that. The Center is located at 613 Riversville Road in Greenwich on the north side of the Merritt Parkway. Exit at Round Hill Road and use GPS to get you to the center.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum or Bob Plunkett

 

On a windy, but mild, morning 9 DMAers and 3 spouses hiked about 3 miles over varied terrain in just over 2 hours. The hike took a little longer than anticipated due to two navigation errors by the hike leaders. The first was due to a sign issue which seemed to direct us one way but meant the other. The second was a total lack of any signage at a fork in the trail. We, of course, took the fork but it turned out to loop us around onto a trail already hiked! Once we got that figured out, the rest of the hike went smoothly. One would think that the pre-hike we made two weeks ago would have ironed out any confusion but it did not! The conversation among hikers tends to distract navigation despite efforts to stay focused. 

On the plus side, the wildlife sightings were way above average. Birds, butterflies, frogs and deer tracks were seen but the best was near the end where a mother duck and her 8 tiny ducklings were swimming in a pond. 

This hike concludes the 2021-22 hiking season. Since September of 2021 we have gone on a hike every month for a total of 9. Thank you to all who participated. We will resume hiking in September.

 

Dave McCollum and Bob Plunkett

Person-to-Person Mail Carrier Food Drive, April 27, 2022, 12:30-2:00

April 13, 2022 /

Person-to-Person Mail Carrier Food Drive. We are still looking for additional volunteers to spend 1 to 1 ½ hours after our general meeting on April 27 to staple information flyers to shopping bags in support of this effort to generate food donations for the P2P Food Pantry. There will be a sign-up sheet at this week’s general meeting (if we meet in person at the DCA) or you can reach out directly to Frank DeLeo via email (frankdeleo@hotmail.com) if you’d like to help. Easy work for a good cause. We’re looking for 10+ volunteers.

Cruise the Norwalk Islands May 31, 2022, 3:30-6:30

April 13, 2022 /

Cruise the Norwalk Islands and Green’s Ledge Lighthouse on the Norwalk Maritime Center’s “Spirit of the Sound”.    Revolutionary in design, this 64-foot all-aluminum catamaran was launched in 2015 as the first research vessel in North America with hybrid-electric propulsion. She runs virtually silently on electric power.  It has an outside main deck, upper deck and inside cabin.  (It also has a head).   The capacity is 40 people.

 

The boat will cruise the scenic Norwalk Islands, including Sheffield Island and Green’s Ledge Light.  It is an excellent area to view wildlife.  Long Island Sound is an important feature of our community.  DMA has had several speakers on the subject that you can review:

Tim Pettee, Saving Greens Ledge Light, April 22, 2020

Dick Delfosse: Norwalk Islands History, Secrets, Stories, Navigation, Wednesday, November 1, 2017

The War on Long Island Sound

January 25, 2017 Joe Schnierlein Norwalk Aquarium The environmental conditions of Long Island Sound

Leigh Shemitz, Ph.D., president of SoundWaters, October 31, 2018

The boat will depart at 3:45 sharp.  They must depart by then to get under a draw bridge that will not open between 4-6 for the rush hour.  Come early – there is a comfortable place to hang out.  Park at the foot of Washington Street.  (The parking system is strictly enforced and is a little tricky to deal with – another reason to come early).  The boat will return shortly after 6 when the bridge will again open for us.  Cost is $30.

Snacks and grog are allowed onboard. Bring your own.  No glass.  We plan an optional dinner afterward at local restaurant.

Fee TBD.

See Frank DeLeo or Gary Banks.

Trip report

 

 

HIKE MIANUS RIVER GORGE PRESERVE, BEDFORD, NY MONDAY APRIL 18, 2022 10:00 AM

April 8, 2022 /

HIKING MIANUS RIVER GORGE PRESERVE
167 MIANUS RIVER ROAD
BEDFORD, NY
MONDAY APRIL 18, 2022
10:00 AM

This hike should take us 2.5 to 2.75 hours. NO DOGS ALLOWED.
No lunch after due to the Monday date when many restaurants are closed.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If Monday turns out to be a rainy day the hike will be postponed. If in doubt, please contact one of us below.

DIRECTIONS: Google maps or Waze both recognize “Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Bedford”. The Preserve is off of Long Ridge Road.
Do not confuse with a similar named place in Stamford.

CONTACTS: Dave McCollum or Bob Plunkett

Hike recap:

Twelve hikers spent a delightful 2.75 hours traversing over four miles of trails at Mianus River Gorge Preserve today. We started out with thirteen but one very wise DMA’er realized that his knee was acting up near the start and retired for the day. A good plan for him as the trail climbs steeply in spots to over 400 feet above the river. The halfway point is back down at the reservoir that the river feeds before it is distributed into the water systems of Greenwich, Rye and Port Chester. The return trip follows a mostly different path through terrain very unlike that directly along the gorge. This area has almost open fields and many stone walls, a result of the farming that took place well over a century ago. 

This hike is one of the more spectacular venues we visit with its river views and water features along the way. Some glacier certainly distributed a million rocks around the preserve! Alas, no wildlife seen again.  Thanks to Marilyn Parker for her consistently fine photography, and great hiking!

 


CPR/Trauma/Falls Training various dates

April 7, 2022 /

Dates and times have been finalized for these training sessions. All sessions are at Post 53 headquarters.

  • Tuesday, May 24, 7:00 PM — CPR Certification training. $60 fee.
  • Thursday, May 26, 7:00 PM — CPR Heartsavers training (non-certified). No fee.
  • Thursday, June 2, 7:00 PM — Trauma/Falls training. No fee.

There will be sign-up sheets available at upcoming meetings. You can also reach out to Frank DeLeo via email to reserve a spot (frankdeleo@hotmail.com). Checks made out to Post 53 are requested when you sign up. There is limited space for the sessions so it will be first come, first served. If demand exceeds availability, we will offer more sessions in the fall.

Shore Cleanup of Pear Tree Road and Goodwives Meadows April 23,2022 1:00-3:00

April 6, 2022 /

We plan to clean up the roadside and shore along Pear Tree Road and the Goodwives Meadows Land Trust property on Saturday, April 23, 2022 from 1-3.  Meet at Pear Tree Beach near the boat ramp.  Wear boots – it could be muddy.  Bring gloves.

Contact Gary Banks

 

DMA (Bill Cavers and Gary Banks), the Darien Coastal Commission and our First Selectman cleaned up the Goodwives River inlet on 4/23.  The area included Pear Tree Point road and coastline as well as Goodwives Meadows, a Darien Land Trust property.  The results were a haul of 350 pounds of trash!

Selleck and Dunlap Woods trail prep – May 13, 2022 from 11 am – 1 pm

April 3, 2022 /

Selleck and Dunlap Woods trail prep in advance of its May 15 Adventure Day. We are looking for volunteers to help Chris Filmer walk the trails, clip branches, pick up trash, etc. on May 13 from 11 am – 1 pm.  Please contact Frank DeLeo (frankdeleo@hotmail.com) if you’d like to help.

 

Guided by DMA member Chris Filmer, who has been an active member of the nonprofit group dedicated to preserving Selleck’s Woods in Darien, Frank DeLeo, Charles Salmans and others helped rake leaves and prepare a children’s play area within this large nature preserve. Within the woods is an area dedicated to the fantasy play of young children, including an “I Spy” area to spot wildlife and a make-believe challenge of bridges, “spider webs” and other obstacles.

 

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