Friday, March 29, 2013

Honeybees


Thank you to the Desilets for enlightening us on the world on honeybees.  
Thank you to Scenic Roots too, for helping to sponsor this SCT event.


The hexagonal wax honeycomb cells built by honey bees in their nests.


Shipping cage.




Beekeepers Claire and Paul Desilets
Looking for the queen.





Thursday, March 14, 2013

Volunteers Needed

We are looking for some volunteers to help clear some of the trails that have downed trees due to recent storms.  Shirley's Woods on Spring Hill Road is the property in most need.  If you can help, please contact Joe at 508-833-0861 or email him at joe.queenan@comcast.net.

SCT Event:  Sunday at 2 p.m. at the
 Sandwich Public Library 

 

Paul and Claire Desilets of East Sandwich have been keeping bees for many years, and their hives adorn many a cranberry bog in town. Their interest goes far beyond just selling honey, however. They have a passion for sharing their knowledge about bees, beekeeping, and nature and that’s just what they will do for us this coming Sunday.

“The Buzz on Bees” will be presented free of charge at the Sandwich Public Library, beginning at 2 PM., Sunday, March 17. If the circumstances work out, Paul and Claire may even have some bees with them – in controlled conditions, of course. If you don’t already know, honeybees are amazing creatures as well as beneficial to humans. Please come and join us for a great presentation at the library.

Thank you to Scenic Roots for helping to sponsor this event with the Sandwich Conservation Trust!

A few photos from Sunday's Take a Hike at 

Boyden Farm Conservation Lands,

 with a tribute to Benjamin Percival...



 





Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Take a Hike: Boyden Farm





Take a Hike:  Boyden Farm, with a Tribute to Benjamin Percival

by John Nye Cullity


The Sandwich Conservation Trust will host its March walk at Boyden Farm Conservation Lands Sunday, March 10, at 2 P.M.  This is an easy, level walk of 45 minutes or so, out to the edge of Peter’s Pond and back.  To spice up this straightforward walk, it occurred to me to add a feature: a tribute to Benjamin Percival.

It is impossible for me to separate my love of local history from conservation land work.  When I’m outdoors, I often think of or visualize what the land used to look like, and how it was used, and the generations of people who trod the land before me.  On our Sunday walk, we will honor a special figure from local history – Benjamin Percival.  He was a South Sandwich farmer, selectman, state representative, and most importantly, diarist.  In the course of our walk we will visit the graves of Benjamin and his wife Lydia at Tobey Cemetery.

Benjamin kept a fascinating diary from 1777 – Revolutionary War days – through 1817.  He was born in 1752.  The original document, kept at the Sandwich Archives, was painstakingly transcribed by his descendent Frank Barrow of Denton, Texas during the 1990s.  I believe only 60 copies were privately published.  Our tribute Sunday will consist of us reading several interesting excerpts, with a bit of interpretation by myself.  

If this interests you, please join us Sunday at the Boyden Farm parking lot off of Cotuit Road.  The walk will be cancelled if it is raining.  Call me with questions at (508) 888-7629.

Saturday, March 2, 2013




Don't forget to visit the Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit before March 24th to see the gallery showing, "The Magnificent Splendor of Trees: How Artists Interpret Trees."
 

The Sandwich Conservation Trust was chosen to be the beneficiary of sales from this exhibition. Doesn't your collection need some new works?

For more info, see the museum's website:
http://www.cahoonmuseum.org/
BEE TALK RESCHEDULED, March 17th at 2 p.m.




The Desilets will be presenting their talk, "The Buzz on Bees in the Garden" on Sunday, March 17th at 2 p.m. at the Sandwich Public Library.


Also note that the March "Take a Hike" will take place on Sunday, March 10, location to be announced soon.