Three Big Events

A busy week in Easton!  On Thursday, October 25th at 7, the Trustees of Reservations will be holding a public visioning session in the old Carriage House on the Governor Ames Estate. I really like the careful planning that the Trustees seem to devote to all their properties and think that they have been doing a fine job maintaining the property, but two things concern me.

One is the final plan for the "mansion" house itself. Smaller than most MacMansions built in Easton over the last decade and only 60 years old, the house on the estate sits in the footprint of the original mansion. Unless a use can be found for this building that allows the Trustees to break even on heating and maintenance, it will eventually be taken down. I think this would be very sad as the house is the focal point of the landscapes site lines. It also provides a wonderful niche for wildlife as I learned when I parked in front of it Sunday. My car was surrounded by a mixed flock of robins, bluejays, flickers, and kinglets. Maggie and I watched the flock until they moved on after 15 minutes. OK, I watched the birds while Maggie fumed about not getting out of the car to sniff things. It was like being in a bird blind because the birds at the estate are so unconcerned with people.

My other concern is the vulnerability of the property. Sheep Pasture has 158 acres of land while the Governor Ames Estate has less than 30. At Sheep Pasture much of the property is inaccessible, a boon to wildlife, but the part that is accessible to people is a constant maintenance headache-people are pigs. Our wonderful little children also seem to have one reaction to wildlife-chase it, screaming. The acreage of the Ames Estate is manicured and completely accessible. I'm not sure that the wildlife there has a chance against the influx of people some Eastoners are proposing. Plans to make the place "alive" may be the surest way to make it dead. As generations of quiet walkers have discovered, the Ames Estate is a place where you can hear the voice of nature in the rustle of leaves, the calls of birds. It only succeeds when people have the chance to slowdown and open their senses. A playground, a coffee shop and too many events will ruin it, I believe. Come see it before it changes, but be quiet, look and listen. Also, don't miss the meeting on Thursday night. It's your chance to help determine the future of this wonderful place.

On a happier note this Saturday the Easton Farmers Market will be holding its first ever Doggie Halloween Costume Contest. Puppy Luv, one of the original Farmers Market vendors, will be providing prizes in four costume categories: cutest, funniest, most original, and scariest. All doggie entrants will get a treat. The Contest starts at 11. Maggie will be present in her lion costume-no cowboy costume would fit. She will not be competing in protest of not being awarded both the cutest and scariest costume prizes in advance.

Also on Saturday at the Bay Road Fire Station, the Agricultural Commission will be hosting an informational session and sign up for the new Community Gardens at Wheaton Farm from 10 to Noon. The new garden space has been plowed and tilled so you can see it as you drive by. The plan provides for 15 twenty foot by twenty foot family sized plots and 10 ten by twenty foot single plots. The large plots will go for $75 per season with the smaller ones at $45. The proceeds of the rentals will go towards managing and improving the garden area. The goal of the garden is to use only organic practices. A water system and 12 foot high fence will be added before the garden officially opens in mid-April, 2013.