Lunch, work and play at Natural Chimneys Park

Saturday, October 14, started out a bit rainy, but by the time HMNs met at Natural Chimneys Park for a potluck and some volunteering, the sun was peeking out on the (not quite peak) Autumn foliage.  This outing was the 2^nd seasonal “meet-up” for the chapter, designed to give us time to play outside and renew our connections with each other!

We started with our potluck lunch, highlights of which included paw-paw cookies, apple pie made from local heirloom apples, sandwiches, drinks and some of our famous Master Naturalist salads!  Ann Murray took charge of the “hosting” duties for the day, bringing beautiful wildflowers to decorate our tables, and making sure that we all had plates, cups and forks.  We spent about an hour in the event shelter at Natural Chimneys, chatting about the cool things we’ve seen in the fall (some snakes were mentioned), catching up on our lives and activities in the natural world this year. 

After lunch we split into 2 groups—one group took on the weeding of the Pollinator Garden (which was put in by HMNs in 2015).  Kelly Rourke, Natural Chimneys Park Coordinator, and Headwaters Master Naturalist, helped to make sure that we only pulled up the things we should have.  There were some Ailanthus trying to grow there, along with a healthy patch of generic weeds.  No injuries were sustained by the weeders!

Other HMNs elected to do a mini-bio-blitz at Natural Chimneys.  Prizes were awarded to our successful and prolific volunteers!  Sightings included birds, fungi and wildflowers which they encountered on this beautiful fall day!

Winter meet-ups will be a bit more challenging to schedule, but watch for information on them!

– Peggy Plass, President, October 2023

Click on a photo to see it enlarged and find a caption. Thanks to Peggy and Carl Droms for the photos!