Finishing April

Another week and most of another month have flown by.

I was out of town on Tuesday evening so I missed the candidates' forum. As I returned, I saw the the fire at a house east of town. I did not get pictures. I later learned that the fire department had burned the house. They posted pictures on their Facebook page.

 In Park news, work on a walking trail at the Jasper Foundation Park, aka Monnett-Staddon, has begun.

 On Friday afternoon at the same park the Rensselaer Urban Forestry Council celebrated Arbor Day with a proclamation from the Mayor. The planting of a black locust tree had been done earlier in the day. The Council is planning to plant many trees this year, with most of them in the parks.

Rensselaer will need to have a lot of trees planted to offset the many dead or dying ash trees that are being taken down. Earlier this week Practical Tree Service was removing trees along Milroy Avenue.

 The ash trees, which have fallen victim to the emerald ash borer, are huge.

 On Friday at noon I stopped by the Jasper Newton Foundation for a workshop on their community calendar. The presenter pointed out the different ways to view the calendar (using the little icons near the top of the screen) as well as how to use filters to focus on only those items that are of personal interest. She also walked through the steps to submit an event. Anyone can submit. Events that are submitted are reviewed before they are posted, and the review usually takes less than a day. Check it out if you have not already.

My yard is full of violets. They are very pretty but they are also a nuisance in the garden.

 I also have white violets. I do not know if they are the same species as the purple ones or not.

The forecast is for a chilly weekend but Spring is definitely here.