Whittling Away with Dick Brooks - Signs

As I slide down the slippery slope of seniordumb, I have noticed that that as my physical activity level gradually decreases, my powers of observation are increasing.  It may be the approach of my second childhood, which I am looking forward to.  I’m once again finding little things attract my attention more and more.  I spent a very pleasant time one winter morning recently watching a Chickadee.  I admired his skill and hard work pulling seeds through the wire webbing on the hanging feeder until my canine friend Telly got done investigating the possibilities presented by a chipmunk’s disappearance into a drain pipe.  Telly is interested in the little things also and often we have nice discussions about our observations.  He doesn’t contribute much verbally but he’s a very good listener.

As we continued our morning stroll, Telly pointed out to me the number of highway signs in our area by lifting his leg on everyone we passed.  He quickly became dehydrated and we returned home.  Later in the day, we boarded Casper the friendly Kia, and motored off on our appointed morning rounds.  On the mile and a half run into town, we counted 28 highway signs of one form or another.  They told us how fast to go, when to stop, curves to watch out for, what number road we were on, which town we were entering—so much advice in so little space.  Some sign poles had two or three signs on them.

Driving through town and still in sign mode, I noticed how many signs I’d been driving past for years without paying any conscious attention to them.  Some signs were  informative, but most were abrupt and rude.  Maybe I’d discovered why our society seems to be less civil than in years past.  Keep out, No Trespassing, Posted—No hunting, fishing, or any other human activity allowed, No Parking At Any Time. Violators Will Be Towed Away at Owner’s Expense.  The hair on the back of my neck started to rise, I don’t like being told what to do, ask me nicely and I can be talked into anything but don’t tell me what to do.  

I pulled Casper into a No Parking Zone and parked!  We sat there for couple of minutes and kind of enjoyed being violators.  Then, having our fill of naughtiness and hearing the approach of a vehicle that we were sure was a tow truck, we left.  We could have been prevented from breaking the law if the sign had just had been worded, Please Don’t Park Here, such a simple thing but it would have made a difference.  Some signs started off nicely, Welcome to Our Park, Please Help to Keep It Clean, polite and reasonable, but then came No Dogs, Skateboards, Bicycles, Picnics, Fires or Walking on the Grass Allowed.  Might as well go walk in the woods, except most of them are posted.  

Having spent the morning in hard observation, Telly agreed that we should go home for a snack.  Our only problem was the large dump truck in front of us had a bright orange sign on the back that said, “Construction Vehicle—Do Not Follow”.

Thought for the week—Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain.  And most do.

Until next week, may you and yours be happy and well.

Whittle12124@yahoo.com 

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Outdoors with Larry DiDonato - Feeding Deer in Winter Can Do More Harm Than Good

Viewing deer by your home or farm during winter is a pleasant pastime. It’s natural to want to “help” them through the winter by providing human sourced food, but that could do more harm than good. DEC warns, “…feeding deer during the winter or other times of the year is unnecessary, prohibited in New York, and can have very negative consequences for deer, your neighbors, and surrounding wildlife habitat.”

Biologists say in the winter months, deer primarily eat woody browse. That consists of evergreen vegetation and the tips of thin woody branches which frequently contain dormant buds to meet their “daily nutritional and metabolic needs.” They further posit, “The digestive enzymes in a deer’s stomach change in the winter to better digest this browse. If deer are provided with unnatural food sources such as corn or hay after this change in diet has occurred it can result in deer becoming ill or even their death. Deer will attempt to utilize the unnatural food source, but can develop acidosis (i.e., grain overload disease) or enterotoxemia (i.e., Clostridium overgrowth) disease because they can’t digest the food properly. Both diseases occur acutely and can result in the rapid illness and death of deer in winter even though their stomachs are full.”

Biologists also point out the dangers of deer gathering closely as they feed on food piles. This nose to nose contact increases the risk of transmitting malaties such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) and other diseases like tuberculosis. When multiple deer visit an artificial deer feeding site, DEC says, “…they can shed CWD prions in its saliva directly on the food, which can infect any other deer that feed from the same site.”  They also caution crowding deer at human sourced feeding sites increases the risk for car-deer accidents and damage to shrubs, orchards, and tree farms. Artificially increased deer densities from well-intentioned human sourced supplemental feeding can also cause local deer populations to exceed the carrying capacity of the surrounding habitat, resulting in wildlife habitat degradation. A better strategy to help deer make it through the winter is habitat improvement, especially the creation and promotion of early successional habitat.

The single most effective way to improve survival of your local deer herd is to follow DEC’s guidelines for long-term conversion of older growth forests to promote young, new, edible, natural food accessible to deer year-round. If you want to help provide extra nutrition for deer in your yard this winter, cut young trees in a manner that folds them so that the tops touch the ground making them fully accessible and within reach of deer. If you leave enough of the diameter of the tree at the cut with the trunk still firmly planted in the ground, it will continue to grow throughout late winter and early spring. Early spring before “green-up” is the most critical period for whitetail deer concerning their nutrition. Fat reserves are depleted especially after cold winters with consistent deep snow pack. Its then they need lots of natural woody browse that their systems are accustomed to digesting, like that created by your half-downing younger trees. 

In short, this technique, plus and long term forest succession planning is “…the best way to ensure that deer and other species of wildlife have plenty to eat all year and avoids the negative consequences of deer feeding.” DEC provides assistance to folks who want to improve wildlife habitat on their property.  Contact a regional DEC deer or wildlife habitat management biologist for a list of tree and shrub species that deer prefer to eat in winter that you can promote on your property, visit DEC’s winter deer foods webpage. 

Watching deer in winter in a snowy white pastoral setting is a relaxing way to wile the long winter hours, especially when sitting beside the warmth of a fire. It’s encouraging to know we can engage in activities that provide food for wintering deer but important to know putting out piles of corn and hay for deer can do more harm than good. 

Happy hunting, fishing, and trapping until next time.

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NYS Freshwater Wetlands Act Revisions Learn at Lunch Webinar

As Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals members, you have important responsibilities in applying environmental protections. This webinar will provide an overview of the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC's) current freshwater wetlands regulations and how they are enforced. It will explain the need for the regulatory revisions and outline the forthcoming regulatory changes and their effective dates. The event is February 7, 2024, Noon-1:00 online.

As background, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law in 2022 historic revisions to New York's Freshwater Wetlands Act. Currently, DEC's jurisdiction is limited to wetlands that are equal to or greater than 12.4 acres (and certain wetlands of unusual local importance) and identified on the State Freshwater Wetlands Map. The new legislation will eliminate the map requirement beginning in 2025, and in 2028 DEC's jurisdiction will expand to wetlands as small as 7.4 acres.

The reforms will allow DEC to protect over one million acres of critically important freshwater wetlands that are currently unmapped and thousands of additional acres of smaller wetlands.

Webinar Speaker:

Krista Spohr, Environmental Program Specialist, DEC Bureau of Ecosystem Health will lead this webinar. Krista is honored to be doing the important work of educating the citizens of New York about its vital ecosystems, freshwater wetlands, and how DEC regulates them.

To register, email the NYPF Office at nypf@nypf.org by 4:00 p.m. on February 5, 2024 and include your name, municipality, and email address. You will receive the Zoom link to attend on February 6th. This webinar qualifies for one training credit.

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DEC Seeks Input on Proposal to Further Protect Freshwater Wetlands

https://dec.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2024/1/dec-seeks-input-on-proposal-to-further-protect-freshwater-wetlands

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today encouraged New Yorkers to review and comment on the development of proposed regulations that would further protect freshwater wetlands statewide. DEC released the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to begin developing regulations to implement the new law that expands the number of wetlands regulated by DEC to further protect water quality and wildlife habitat. 

January 3, 2024 DEPARTMENT OF STATE Vol. XLVI Division of Administrative Rules Issue 1 NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/01/010324.pdf

Department of Environmental Conservation INFORMATION NOTICE Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making for Potential Revisions to Freshwater Wetlands Regulations 6 NYCRR Part 664 Introduction New York’s 2022-2023 budget included landmark amendments to the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act, Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law (“ECL”) that contained three fundamental changes. 

First, existing maps depicting freshwater wetlands will no longer be regulatory beginning on January 1, 2025. After that date, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) will be relying primarily on available aerial imagery and available remote data to determine whether there are state-regulated freshwater wetlands on a parcel.

 Second, smaller wetlands of “unusual importance” will be regulated beginning on January 1, 2025, if they meet one, or more, of 11 newly established statutory criteria. Third, the default threshold for regulated wetlands will decrease from 12.4 acres to 7.4 acres in 2028. 

Implementing these statutory changes requires replacing the existing Freshwater Mapping and Classification regulations (6 NYCRR Part 664). 

The purpose of this Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“ANPRM”) is to solicit written stakeholder input which may inform DEC’s development of any future proposed rule making(s) to amend Part 664. The ANPRM is arranged into eight sections that correspond to specific areas where DEC is seeking feedback. Each section contains a question, or series of questions, the answers to which may assist DEC staff in identifying key issues or concerns that can be used to inform any future proposed rule makings. DEC staff are seeking answers to specific questions, as well as general input and suggestions on the full draft DEC is considering to replace existing Part 664, which can be found at: https:// on.ny.gov/3NAMsK5.

 This ANPRM is a feedback-gathering exercise, not a regulatory action; therefore, it has no regulatory impact in and of itself. Future rule making efforts, if any, based on feedback gathered through the ANPRM may or may not have a regulatory impact associated with them, and those impacts will be assessed and shared with the public when any future rule makings are noticed in the State Register. Written comments on this Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making may be submitted until close of business February 17, 2024.

 Contact: NYS DEC – Division of Fish and Wildlife, 625 Broadway, Albany NY 12233-4756, Phone (518) 402-8920; E-mail: WetlandRegulatoryComments@dec.ny.gov 

1) Wetlands of Unusual Importance – Significant Flooding (ECL § 24- 0107) DEC is considering using the following criteria to identify freshwater wetlands located in a watershed that has experienced significant flooding or is expected to in the future:

 a) The freshwater wetland is located in a 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) that meets all of the following three criteria: 

1) It has 2 percent or more impervious surface based on recent land cover data; 

2) less than 5 percent of its surface area is comprised of floodwater storage zones in the form of lakes, ponds, reservoirs, or wetlands based on recent land cover data; and 3) it is located within 4 kilometers (2.48 miles) of an Urban Area as defined and identified by the United States Census Bureau. ‘Hydrologic Unit Code or ‘HUC’ means a hierarchical land area classification system created by the United States Geological Survey that is based on surface hydrologic features in a standard, uniform geographical framework.

 Each unit is identified by a unique numeric hydrologic unit code consisting of two-to-twelve digits based on the level of classification. Each hydrologic boundary is determined from topography and represents a drainage divide between the various levels of units. 

Question: a) What specifically could DEC do to improve the three criteria used to determine wetlands of unusual importance in watersheds with significant flooding? Please explain why these actions would improve the criteria and include in your response any relevant scientific data or information. 

2) Wetlands of Unusual Importance - Rare Animals (ECL § 24-0107) DEC is considering using the following criteria to identify freshwater wetlands that contain habitat for an essential behavior of an endangered or threatened species, a species of special concern, or a species of greatest conservation need identified in New York’s wildlife action plan: 

a) contains habitat for an essential behavior of a species listed as endangered in Part 182 of this Title; or listed as endangered by the United States Department of the Interior in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR Part 17).

 b) contains habitat for an essential behavior of a species listed as threatened in Part 182 of this Title; or listed as threatened by the United States Department of the Interior in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR Part 17). 

c) contains habitat for an essential behavior of species of special concern. Species of special concern are native species of fish and wildlife found by the DEC to be at risk of becoming threatened in New York based on the criteria for listing in Part 182 of this Title. d) contains habitat for an essential behavior of a species of greatest conservation need listed in the New York State Wildlife Action Plan (Sept. 2015) where habitat loss has been identified by the DEC as a high or moderate threat to New York populations. 

Question: a) Do you have any specific concerns with any of these criteria? Please explain the basis of your concern and include in your response any relevant scientific data or information. 

3) Wetlands of Unusual Importance – Vernal Pools (ECL § 24-0107) DEC is considering using the following criteria and process to identify vernal pools known to be productive for amphibian breeding: a) DEC shall determine that a vernal pool is known to be productive for amphibian breeding within a region of the state (See map of regions below) where it has documented one or more of the following in a particular vernal pool: 

1) In the Hudson-Mohawk Region, 55 or more Spotted Salamander egg masses, or 30 or more Wood Frog egg masses; 2) In the Great Lakes Region, two or more Spotted Salamander or Wood Frog egg masses; 3) In the Lower Hudson-NYC-Long Island, Adirondack, and Southern Tier Regions, 10 or more Spotted Salamander egg masses or 15 or more Wood Frog egg masses; 4) In the Lower Hudson-NYC-Long Island or Adirondacks Regions, one or more egg masses or larvae of Jefferson Salamander, Blue-Spotted Salamander, or hybrids of Jefferson and Blue-Spotted Salamander; or 5) In the Great Lakes, Southern Tier, or Hudson-Mohawk Regions, 20 or more egg masses or larvae of Jefferson Salamander, Blue-Spotted Salamander, or hybrids of Jefferson and Blue-Spotted Salamander; or 6) In any Region, one or more egg masses or larvae of Eastern Tiger Salamander, or Marbled Salamander. b) The department shall create and maintain on its website a list of geographic coordinates of vernal pools known to the department and that meet the criteria in subparagraphs (1) through (6) of paragraph (g) of this section. The department shall publish updates to the productive vernal pool list in the Environmental Notice Bulletin.

 Questions: a) Do you have any specific concerns regarding any of the six criteria for identifying vernal pools known to be productive for amphibian breeding? Please explain the basis for your concern and include in your response any relevant scientific data or information. b) Do you have any specific concerns regarding the notification and documentation requirements set forth in item b) above? Please explain the basis for these concerns and provide ways DEC could improve the language. Please see the Appendix at the end of this issue for the map depicting major regions of New York State for productive vernal pools.

 4) Wetlands of Unusual Importance – Local or Regional Significance (ECL § 24-0107) DEC is considering using the following criteria to identify freshwater wetlands that have wetland functions and values that are of local or regional significance: a) It has wetland functions and values that are of local or regional significance because it meets one or more of the following criteria: 1) the wetland is located within an area designated, pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617, as a Critical Environmental Area (CEA) with specific reference to wetland protection by a local government; 2) the wetland is partially located within the Adirondack Park and jurisdictional to the Adirondack Park Agency. Questions: a) Do you have any specific concerns regarding the criteria to identify wetlands of local or regional significance? Please explain the basis of your concern and include in your response any relevant scientific data or information. 

5) Wetlands of Unusual Importance – Class I Wetlands (ECL § 24- 0107) Class I wetlands, regardless of size, would be regulated by DEC, pursuant to ECL § 24-0107(e). DEC is considering using the following criteria for Class I wetlands: A wetland shall be a class I wetland if it has any of the following enumerated characteristics, as documented by DEC: a) it provides habitat for an essential behavior of an endangered or threatened animal species; b) it contains an endangered or threatened plant species; c) it falls within, or is contiguous to a designated Significant Coastal Fish & Wildlife Habitat area; d) it is a tidally influenced wetland that is not regulated by DEC pursuant to Article 25 of the Environmental Conservation Law; e) it is contiguous to a tidally influenced wetland that is regulated under Article 25; f) it contains a wetland plant community identified as critically imperiled g) It is a nutrient-poor wetland; h) it is located in an area designated as a floodway on the most current Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); i) it is contiguous to fresh surface waters having classifications of A, AA, AA-S, A-S, A(t), A(ts), AA(t), AA(ts), AA-S(ts), or N, as set forth in 6 NYCRR Part 701. NYS Register/January 3, 2024 Rule Making Activities 5 ‘Critically imperiled’ means a wetland plant community, plant species, or animal species that because of extreme rarity, steep declines in population, or severe threats are at a high risk of extirpation in New York State, with generally five or fewer occurrences or few remaining individuals within the state. ‘Nutrient Poor Wetlands’ means the following wetland plant communities as identified by the DEC: black spruce-tamarack bog, coastal plain Atlantic white cedar swamp, coastal plain pond shore, coastal plain poor fen, dwarf shrub bog, highbush blueberry bog thicket, inland Atlantic white cedar swamp, inland poor fen, marl fen, medium fen, northern white cedar swamp, perched bog, pitch pine-blueberry peat swamp, red maple-tamarack peat swamp, rich graminoid fen, rich hemlock-hardwood peat swamp, rich shrub fen, rich sloping fen, seal level fen, sedge meadow. Questions: a) Do you have any specific concerns with any of the Class I characteristics? Please explain the basis of your concern and include in your response any relevant scientific data or information. 

6) Extending Adjacent Areas (ECL § 24-0701(2)) Where necessary to protect and preserve a freshwater wetland, DEC may regulate certain activities beyond 100 feet of the boundary of such wetland. DEC is considering the following criteria for extending regulated adjacent areas: a) The adjacent area of Nutrient Poor Wetlands documented by DEC shall be extended to 300 feet to protect and preserve the wetland pursuant to section 24-0701(2) of the Act. b) “Nutrient Poor Wetlands” means the following wetland plant communities as identified by DEC: black spruce-tamarack bog, coastal plain Atlantic white cedar swamp, coastal plain pond shore, coastal plain poor fen, dwarf shrub bog, highbush blueberry bog thicket, inland Atlantic white cedar swamp, inland poor fen, marl fen, medium fen, northern white cedar swamp, perched bog, pitch pine-blueberry peat swamp, red maple-tamarack peat swamp, rich graminoid fen, rich hemlock-hardwood peat swamp, rich shrub fen, rich sloping fen, seal level fen, sedge meadow. Questions: a) Do you agree with this approach? Please explain. b) Are there other wetland types that the DEC should consider extending the adjacent area around? Please explain why those other wetland types should be considered and include in your response any relevant scientific data or information. 

7) Jurisdictional Determination Procedure (ECL § 24-0703) DEC is considering the following procedure for providing jurisdictional determinations for freshwater wetlands: a) Any person may submit to DEC a request for a determination as to whether a given parcel of land includes freshwater wetlands or freshwater wetland adjacent areas subject to state regulation. Such request may also inquire as to whether a permit is required for a proposed activity, provided the person has submitted a verified wetland delineation and sitespecific development plans to DEC. b) Requests for a jurisdictional determination or wetland delineation must be made in writing and submitted consistent with instructions that shall be available on DEC’s website. c) DEC shall provide a definite answer in writing within 90 days of such request as to the jurisdictional status of a parcel, the assigned classification of any wetlands present on the parcel, and whether a permit is required for proposed activities. Provided however, that weather or ground conditions prevent DEC from making a jurisdictional determination within ninety days, it may extend such period until a determination can be made. d) A positive jurisdictional determination shall be reviewable pursuant to the procedures in 6 NYCRR section 664.9. A negative jurisdictional determination shall be a complete defense to the enforcement for a period of five years from the date it is issued. Questions: a) How could the process of jurisdictional determinations be improved or clarified? Please explain.

 8) Jurisdictional Determination Review (ECL § 24-0703(5)) DEC is considering the following procedure and criteria for the recipient of a positive jurisdictional determination to seek review of DEC’s jurisdictional determination: a) Any person who owns property having received a positive wetland jurisdictional determination from DEC after January 1, 2025, may appeal such determination pursuant to this section. b) Any person wishing to make an appeal must first have an initial consultation with DEC and provide a verified delineation of the wetland or wetlands identified in the jurisdictional determination. 

If such person does not already have a delineation, they may request that DEC undertake to delineate the boundary of the particular wetland or wetlands on their property prior to the date of the initial consultation. c) If after the initial consultation, a landowner still wishes to formally appeal the determination pursuant to this section, they must complete a freshwater wetlands jurisdictional determination appeal application and submit it to DEC. 

Appeal applications shall be available on DEC’s website. Appeal applications are not complete until the applicant has provided all necessary information. Appeals must be submitted no more than 120 days from the date of the initial consultation. d) DEC shall issue a decision in writing within 60 days after receipt of a complete freshwater wetlands jurisdictional determination appeal application, provided that this deadline may be extended by the DEC for an additional 30 days if it determines that an additional visit to the property is necessary. e) The acceptable basis for an appeal is technical information indicating an omission of material fact, incorrect application of the current regulatory criteria, or incorrect application of guidance for identifying wetlands and delineating wetland boundaries. Questions: a) How could the process of review of jurisdictional determinations be improved or clarified? Please explain

https://dec.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2024/1/dec-seeks-input-on-proposal-to-further-protect-freshwater-wetlands

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today encouraged New Yorkers to review and comment on the development of proposed regulations that would further protect freshwater wetlands statewide. DEC released the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to begin developing regulations to implement the new law that expands the number of wetlands regulated by DEC to further protect water quality and wildlife habitat. 

“Wetlands are critical environmental and economic resources that protect water quality, provide essential habitats, mitigate flooding, and promote the resilience of New York’s communities,” Commissioner Seggos said. “Through Governor Hochul’s leadership, this new law is greatly enhancing the state’s stringent freshwater wetland protections already in place, and I encourage New Yorkers to review this initial proposal and provide input to help DEC develop regulations that will modernize protections of wetlands and ensure the long-term health of these vital ecosystems.”

Freshwater wetlands are lands and submerged lands, commonly called marshes, swamps, sloughs, bogs, and flats, that support aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation. New York’s Freshwater Wetlands Act was enacted in 1975 to regulate activities near larger wetlands, greater than 12.4 acres, and smaller wetlands considered to be of unusual local importance.  

Consistent with Governor Kathy Hochul’s commitment to protecting New York’s wetlands, the 2022-23 Budget included significant improvements to the State’s wetlands protection program, safeguarding an estimated one million additional acres of unprotected wetland habitat and helping New York adapt to increased flooding and severe storms fueled by climate change. 

Starting in January 2025, the scope of regulated smaller wetlands of “unusual importance” will be expanded to wetlands that meet one of 11 specific criteria in order to provide additional fish and wildlife habitat and to protect communities from flooding. The ANPR seeks feedback on the potential criteria that will be used to classify these newly protected wetlands.   

The purpose of this ANPR is to solicit stakeholder input through written comment so that DEC can refine potential changes to 6 NYCRR Part 664 as part of a future rulemaking. The ANPR is arranged into eight sections that correspond to specific areas where DEC is seeking feedback. In addition, the advanced notice contains a draft of the potential regulatory updates that DEC is considering. DEC staff are seeking answers to specific questions, as well as general comments and suggestions on the potential updates. Input on the ANPR will help develop a regulatory proposal that will go out for public review and comment later this year. 

The ANPR can be viewed in the New York State Register or on the DEC website.

Comments can be submitted by Feb. 19, 2024 via email to WetlandRegulatoryComments@dec.ny.gov  (subject: “ANPR Freshwater Wetlands Protection”) or sent to Bureau of Ecosystem Health, Freshwater Wetlands Unit, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4756. 

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The Tapestry with Dr. Deb Herodes - When Love Isn’t Enough

At a certain time, in a long-ago world, a little girl grew up believing any relationship, with a partner or child, could be solved and preserved with love.  And so, she believed no matter the issues in the world, love would abide, and her prospective family would be safe from all the complications that would surely come.  Listening to the music of her time, she would hear the words of hope for a near perfect adult relationship with a spouse and the children that would come because of this love. The wedding would be planned, the children would be born, the forever home would be purchased, and the dog would add some family feeling, but the years would drag on seeking that perfect love that was supposed to come with the creation of her family.  No matter the size of her heart, no matter the work of her hands, the disappointment of being unfulfilled grew and grew.  The loving husband had become disenchanted with the girl he had married, as her baby-weight and patience had gone their ways with the pregnancies and child-rearing ignorance of her own hygiene.  The children, who she had rocked and cooed to sleep, during their infanthood, were constantly fighting with each other, making incredible messes, talking back to her and seemingly disenchanted with the “mama, mama” adoration of their early years. A quick look in the mirror made her see what she had become, despite her monumental attempts to keep up with all she believed important.  Her eyes were tired.  Her hair was in serious need of a cut or at least a style that wasn’t a ponytail, and her brain needed more than kids schedules and sizes and doctors’ appointments, while trying to keep up the perfectly clean home with perfectly nutritional meals.  The smiles she feigned each night for her family were starting to fade because no matter how she tried, nothing turned out like she thought it would. 

Part of the problem here is she believed forever she was able to keep up with everything and everyone in her family, and worse, she was supposed to be able to juggle it all, with a smile on her face.    Exhaustion, insomnia, a need to use her summa cum laude brain was knocking at her soul, but she keeps plodding forward believing all will be fine if she just keeps on keeping on.  But then the break comes; the marriage is failing, the children are misbehaving at home and at school, their grades are falling and the friends her kids had chosen to make were most certainly going to bring her flesh and blood down the wrong road.  The unmaking and undoing of all she had given her heart and soul to had slipped from her hands and something had to change.

It is difficult to make a change in your own life when everyone in your life has depended on you for everything, but you must take a break from all these responsibilities to recognize how to save yourself from these daily doldrums and disappointments. Certainly, to disengage with everyone and everything is impossible, but finding peace with what is crumbling around you is doable.  When one begins to realize that no matter how hard she tries to keep up with the laundry and the bills and the lunches and the bath schedules and the continual birthday celebrations of kids’ friends, and the boy and or girl scout meetings, and the sports schedules, and the music schedules and the dentistry of the kids, and the homework, and the heartbreaks of young lives, and the illnesses of her offspring, and the disappearance of her husband at the dinner table, it is impossible and, then the healing of an exhausted brain must begin.

It needs to begin with a chat with the family, as they have a right to know that you are going to start putting yourself into the needs of the clan.  You have given them every moral lesson you can think of.  You have supported them in every endeavor, and they need to learn that you are important too.  Although they love you, and I am sure they do, this doesn’t stop the use of your energy to make their lives easier.  They are never too young to teach them to value those who do the most for them.  Giving them responsibilities around the house and letting them know that responsibilities for their actions at school were now their own, is a good start.  There comes a time when letting go is the best thing you can do for them and for you.  Will they disappoint you? Yes.  Will they cause you turmoil? Yes.  But they do anyway, so perhaps it is time to lead by example and show them how to respect themselves, through respecting yourself.

If you begin to use that “baby-saturated’ brain of yours, outside the kitchen and nursery and teenage cave, and secure a job outside of the home, your self-respect will grow, but make no mistake, you will still be busy.  Juggling a job, the kids and the home is mind-numbing, but you will have time in your daily life for a coffee break and even some work kudos will come your way for a job well done.

Figuring out child-care, transportation here and there, housekeeping and quality family time is going to be a challenge, but don’t you feel guilty for one second that you are doing what you must do to save your own sanity, because let’s face it, without you, your children will be on their own. Trust your children to make good decisions, but do not hesitate to intervene when you see what they are doing is totally wrong.  Learn to let them defend themselves, within reason, and do NOT come to their rescue when what they have done is wrong.  Defending bad behavior by inserting your adult power teaches them nothing about living in the world.

Making schedules and housework that needs to be shared need to be part of your day-to-day life.  Homework time must be established.  As much as you love your kids, set boundaries and let them know that their lack of help in the family unit and their decline in their school obligations and expectations will result in consequences.  Get in the habit of saying, “no,” to them and saying “no” at work, if any of these requests will upset time you need for your self-preservation i.e. a bubble bath, a walk, a book.  As women, we tend to let all these things slide in lieu of children’s needs.  Guess what?  They can wait, while you self-energize!

When you finally reach the empty nest stage in your life, and your grown children are not sharing your domicile with you anymore, the helplessness of not being right there for them is overpowering.  They make mistakes, they do dangerous things and sometimes they totally deflate you, leaving you with sorrow and desperation.  Watching from your dining room window for grandchildren, running from their cars in search of your arms, begins your new cycle of hope.  You may see them from time to time, but their parents are busy with schedules and family time of their own, and so “Cat’s Cradle” begins to play in your head, even though nearly every second of your life had been for your children.

Somewhere in time, a grown woman looks at graying locks in her looking glass and realizes her life is passing her by.  Tracing the tracks of her tears or the lines on her face, reminds her of her young days and her belief that love would solve every problem.  On her dresser sit the photos of her children’s families and a gold watch from her place of retirement.  Now is not the time to give up!  She needs to start once again and discover the woman who still lives inside her aging body. Learning tough lessons is all part of life as it is, as it was, as it will be, so do not be afraid to step out into a world without hand-holding a child or carrying an infant.  She needs to find the purpose she was born to pursue; to look at her life as her life!  It belongs to no one else anymore and so she is able for the first time to make decisions, without considering anyone else. Everything is perspective, so she makes perspective one of new beginnings for the girl she never had a chance to recognize.  She needs to remember, however, as she reinvents her life, that no matter how good she is, how much she does or how much she loves, it is never enough. 

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IS IT HALCOTTSVILLE OR HALCOTTVILLE?

Musings of a native…

How often does the spelling of a town’s name change? The small Hamlet of Halcottsville (or Halcottville- no S) has gone through a name change through the years, losing the S then regaining it years later. In the early 1900’s, according to postmarks seen on early postcards, the S was used at least in 1906 for many years.  When it became Halcottville (no S) is unknown to me.  At the time the white iron signposts that were erected at each of the hamlet were installed it became Halcottville (no S).  These signs were in place through the 60’s until Route 30 was re-routed above the hamlet.   I was told that as late as 1969 there was still no S in the name.  Sometime after that DOT must have discovered the S and added it to the signage.  To this day, older natives of the hamlet vary in the pronunciation of it and many conversations have centered around the “real’ spelling.

As a community, Halcottsville hasn’t changed much.  The old firehouse is now a museum with a newer bigger building across the street, the old Griffin’s store is still an operating post office but the general store has been gone for years.  The Grange Hall, home to so many church suppers by the Methodist Church congregation, has been restored and used for various events.   The Old School Baptist Church in the center of town would be opened once a year for services and was always somewhat scary to peek inside expecting to see a ghost.  Behind the church were sheds that were used for parking and storage but the main attraction would be the ringing of horseshoes on summer nights.  This writer learned how to pitch there with the local men and at one time was the Northern California Ladies Horseshoe champion.

Clear drinking water ran out of Bragg Hollow to the hamlet through a small reservoir which was treated periodically with some sort of purification system but we all knew when the water coming into our kitchens was “riley” not to drink it.  Bragg Hollow was all farms and the cows regularly crossed the stream to go to pasture. To this day, that may be a reason why a lot of locals have not had some of the dreaded diseases of today as we ingested many types of bacteria from those cows and run-off from the fields.  

It was a wonderful sheltered life growing up in the little hamlet with friends from those days still friends today.

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Cairo-Durham Central School District Announces Greene County Chief ADA Jeffrey Low as First “Mustang Monthly Alumni Spotlight” Recipient

CAIRO – The Cairo-Durham Central School District is proud to announce the January 2024 recipient of the “Mustang Monthly Alumni Spotlight” is Greene County Chief Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Low (‘89). 

Low has lived a life of public service following his graduation from Cairo-Durham High School, serving the U.S. Border Patrol and operating a sole legal practice prior to his appointment as Greene County Chief Assistant District Attorney in January 2024. 

“I am humbled to be recognized by the Cairo-Durham School District’s (Mustang Monthly) Alumni Spotlight,” Low said. “I spent the entirety of my elementary and high school years at Cairo-Durham. During those formative years, I was taught the value of hard work that allowed me to accomplish my goals. The true inspirations and heroes in our community come from the tireless efforts of our teachers and educators. Those heroes provided me with the educational foundations and the confidence to graduate from law school.” 

Low, who has served as a prosecutor for the Cairo-Durham and Greene County communities for 10 years, was nominated by Lillian McCabe for his ability to give back to the next generation of Mustangs. 

“Personally, Jeff presents genuine character marked by modesty and empathy. He does what is right rather than what is expedient,” McCabe said. “Jeff has volunteered his time outside of work sharing the athletic abilities he developed at Cairo-Durham (as a 1988 Baseball Section II champion) coaching local youth baseball and he has been competing in triathlons. Jeff Low is undoubtedly a meaningful role model to our students, personally and professionally.”

An active participant in Cairo-Durham activities, Low said the lessons he received from influential staff members during his time at Cairo-Durham helped shape his career path and skillset. 

“My time at Cairo-Durham not only included classroom learning. I was a member of the school band and a representative for my class in the student council. I played basketball for Coach Waldron and baseball for Coach Karnes. Involvement in these extracurricular activities instilled life lessons on the value of teamwork and leadership. I want to say thank you and express my gratitude to my teachers, guidance counselors and coaches during my years at Cairo-Durham. Go Mustangs!” 

In an effort to bridge the community and the Cairo-Durham Central School District, the “Mustang Monthly Alumni Spotlight” was created to provide an opportunity for community members to nominate members of the Cairo-Durham Class of 2018 or prior who have made an impact in the community, embrace Cairo-Durham pride and serve as role models to future generations of Mustangs to be recognized on the District’s platforms. 

Nominations for the February 2024 “Mustang Monthly Alumni Spotlight” are officially open and can be submitted at the link below by Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 at 3 p.m. Past nominations will also be considered in the selection process. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6E7pmIEC7Bw3VWEDLAISw-0dw82HuLxScSNR JhIjSChbwtQ/viewform?usp=sf_link 

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ASF Readies for 20th Annual Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend

WINDHAM —  The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) will be hosting its 20th annual Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion® (WIM) Winter Sports Weekend this week from Thursday, February 1-Sunday, February 4.

The foundation will welcome 19 U.S. veterans and their families to the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center, including Jennifer Jutkofsky-Pine, a retired Navy Reservist who is local to the area. Jutkofsky-Pine grew up in neighboring Columbia County and skied when she was a teenager, but she’s excited to try snowboarding with her step-daughter during this weekend.

“I plan on snowboarding at least one lesson with my step-daughter, who is actually on the autism spectrum, so this is a great opportunity for both of us,” Jutkofsky-Pine explained. “This will be her first time snowboarding too, so I’ll be able to fall down with her and build those stories with her.”

The veterans and their families will arrive in Windham on Thursday evening to begin their winter excursion. The trip will begin with equipment fitting, where they’ll receive the skis, snowboards, and proper adaptive equipment they’ll be using all weekend, making sure that everything fits properly and comfortably for three days of hitting the slopes. After everyone gets situated, the warriors and their families will then dine in the ASF Lodge for a catered dinner from the Millrock Restaurant in Windham. The Bruderhof Community will also be providing dessert for the occasion.

Friday will be a special day for the veterans. Not only will they hit the slopes for morning lessons, but they will also be treated to a celebratory lunch to honor the warriors and their service in the U.S. Military. The ASF and Windham Mountain Club is hosting this luncheon at Seasons in the Windham Mountain Club base lodge, and it will feature guest speaker, VFW Post 1545 Post Commander Marc Farmilette, and a patriotic performance by the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Elementary Chorus. After lunch, the veterans and their families will take a group photo on the slopes before heading out for their afternoon lessons. Later that evening, the WIM participants will dine with Farmilette and other fellow veterans at VFW Post 1545 in Windham, who have been hosting the ASF’s warriors for several years in the past.  

The warriors will have another full day on the snow on Saturday, as they’ll receive lessons both in the morning and the afternoon. The lessons will be separated by a lunch in the ASF lodge. When their final lessons of the day are over, the participants will be able to head back to their hotel rooms to wind down and relax after a second-straight day full of skiing and snowboarding before going back to the ASF and enjoying a dinner.

On Sunday, the final day of this special weekend in Windham, the veterans and their families will have one last lesson in the morning before they enjoy a lunch in the ASF lodge and depart back to their homes.

Each morning, the warriors and their families will enjoy breakfast prepared for them by the ASF’s kitchen volunteers, and their lunches on Saturday and Sunday will also be made by ASF volunteers.

During the summer, the ASF’s WIM programs are typically just for the warriors themselves, but the Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend is an opportunity for these military veterans to bring family and loved ones with them to support them and also learn how to ski or snowboard.

“One thing I’m looking forward to is participating with my family. A lot of these programs do a lot for the warrior, which is awesome, but we’re home now,” Jutkofsky-Pine said. “I think it’s important to have an integration of the family that you left behind while serving in the military and having this shared experience with them.”

Thanks to the foundation’s generous donors, the ASF will be able to provide all lessons, equipment rentals, meals, hotel rooms, snacks and drinks for this weekend. If you’d like to donate to the many programs the Adaptive Sports Foundation has to offer, visit www.adaptivesportsfoundation.org/

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