Monthly Archives: March 2011

Opacum Land Trust 2011 Annual Meeting

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The 2011 Annual Meeting of the Opacum Land Trust was held this evening at the elegant Fins and Tales Restaurant in Southbridge’s Delahanty Building. Members and friends started gathering around 6 pm to enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres, while chatting and listening to West Brookfield folk guitarist Gary Blanchard.

At 6:45, the meeting was called to order by President Jen Ohop. Next, Nominating Committee Chair Alan Smith read the slate of officers and directors, then Treasurer Jennifer Morrison presented the Treasurer’s Report. She emphasized that membership dues and unrestricted donations help support the organization’s day-to-day operations, which are vital to its mission of land conservation. Finally, Vice-President Leslie Duthie gave an update on the Flynt Quarry Project; the Trust is within a thousand dollars of the sum needed for the acquisition of the 165 acres in Monson (total project cost is $395,000).

Ms. Ohop also introduced historian Larry Lowenthal, Stewardship Director Howie Fife, and forester Scott Gerrish who has been working on obtaining baseline data for the Opacum properties. Mr. Fife reported that in 2010, maintenance work was done at all of the Trust properties, including Opacum Woods, the Thompson Family Forever Wild Preserve, the Claire Birtz Wildlife Sanctuary, and May Brook Glen.

Local artist Anna M. Ozolins was the featured guest this evening; she unveiled her watercolor painting depicting the Lost Village of East Brimfield and talked a bit about what inspired her to create this work.

Finally, a raffle was held for various door prizes. I kept hoping they would call  my numbers but luck was not with me tonight.  So I’ll continue my membership and look forward to next year.

Bulbs and Butterflies

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Browsing online recently for events happening at the Five Colleges, I noted that the Spring Bulb Show at Smith’s Botanic Garden is open until the 20th, from 10 am to 4 pm daily.  The colleges are on Spring Break this week, so it seemed like a good opportunity to visit the Lyman Conservatory again.  My younger niece is staying with me for a couple of days during her Spring Break, so I took the day off today and dragged her around the Pioneer Valley.

As soon as we stepped into the glass enclosure, we drank in the delicate floral scents and were almost overwhelmed by the masses of color: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, narcissus.  According to the brochure,

Many of our familiar garden bulbs hail from the Mediterranean area, where a combination of mild winters and hot, dry summers provides the perfect climate for these showy plants.

In addition to the bulbs, there were azaleas, camellias, cineraria, cyclamen, forsythia, freesia, primulas.  These photos don’t do justice to the splendor on display:

Red Flowers

Yellow Flowers

Purple Flowers

Orange Flowers

Our next stop was the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in South Deerfield, a 20-minute drive north on I-91 and Route 5-10.  In this 8000 square-foot glass enclosure, heated to around 80 degrees, thousands of tropical butterflies and moths flit and feed freely.  The facility opened in October 2000, and has expanded over the years to include an exhibit and display area, gift shop, food court, and outdoor gardens, in addition to the conservatory, with its koi pond, waterfall, profusion of tropical vegetation, gazebos, and park benches.

I believe most of these butterflies are not native to North America, but I can’t identify them.

This might be a moth

I vote this one “Most Photogenic”

This zebra-colored one is actually black and yellow

These are glasswing butterflies

These orchids are growing overhead

I tried capturing this butterfly in flight

Aren’t these birds colorful!

Magic Wings could probably do a better job of educating visitors about these fabulous creatures (for example, I wish there were more information about each species and its native habitat), but their mission is probably more limited. They certainly have created a peaceful sanctuary in which we denizens of northern climes can escape winter’s chill.