A 2021 Monthly Guide to Exploring The Last Green Valley
New Year’s Day is Friday and each of us will welcome 2021 in our own way. I will be happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. The challenges this past year were unprecedented in my lifetime, and, even with the turn of the calendar…
Welcome to winter – the season of snowshoes
The snows of winter arrived early this year, even before this week’s storm that covered The Last Green Valley in significant inches. Despite the recent arrival of the white stuff, winter actually starts Dec. 21 at 5:02 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Welcome to the Winter…
Giving the Gift of Nature & Conservation in The Last Green Valley
As the holidays approach I have been thinking about what gifts to purchase for family and friends. I try to shop at smaller local businesses as much as possible and in recent years have focused on giving “experiences” rather than things. This has led me…
This Year, Help Your Loved Ones Find Joy All Thru 2021
Sharing the joy of the National Heritage Corridor is what we love to do here at TLGV. You can help us spread that joy by gifting a loved one a membership. Memberships – even gifts – are pay-what-you-can. Sign up for gift memberships here.
Join Us in January to Celebrate the Bald Eagle
We have a month of outdoor adventures planned to view bald eagles. All programs require registration, masks must be worn and participation is limited for each event to ensure safe social distancing. Specific locations will be given upon registration. We have chosen locations where we…
Join TLGV for a Winter Solstice Hike – A Day Early
Winter Solstice Sunset Hike: 2:30 pm, Sunday Dec. 20, Mansfield Hollow State Park, Mansfield, CT Join The Last Green Valley on the day before the Solstice as we welcome in winter. We will hike a 3.5-mile loop with about 100 ft. of elevation gain; the…
A late fall invasion of blackbirds: the common grackle
Two years ago my wife Julie and I were driving through Hartford on the way to visit our daughter in West Hartford. We had crossed the Connecticut River and were through the city when suddenly the sky was full, and I mean full as in…
Exploring the Last Green Valley: Beauty found in December evergreens
“Each pine is like a great green feather stuck in the ground. Myriad white pine boughs extend themselves horizontally, one above and behind another, each bearing its burden of silvery sunlight…” — from Henry David Thoreau’s journal, Nov. 30, 1851 Today’s column is the third in…
The Amazing Cranberry: More Than a Thanksgiving Side Dish
There are many seasonal and holiday foods that appear on supermarket shelves throughout the year. Halloween and Valentine’s Day bring out candy. There is lamb for Easter and corn beef and cabbage for Saint Patrick’s Day. Thanksgiving is all about turkey, and I know folks…