Great Outdoors

Of hummingbirds, hawk moths and ephemerals

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Years ago, I received a phone call from Melissa, my cousin in Philadelphia. It was early May and she wanted to know about a baby hummingbird hovering over a small patch of flowers. After 27 years of tending to my hillside garden in Vermont, I knew the “baby” was actually a hawk moth, also known as sphinx moth.

Great Outdoors

Connecticut Ag Day at Capitol

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Rachel Antonucci and Sara Esthus of the Granby Agricultural Commission represented Granby’s farms at Con-necticut’s “Ag Day at the Capitol” on March 19.
Save the Date: Granby Open Farm Day will take place this year on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Granby Land Trust

Emery and Hart families gift land to GLT

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As author, planner and conservationist William H. Whyte said in a 1962 report to then Connecticut Governor Dempsey, “Saving the ridges would be an act of imagination, but what is at stake is close to Connecticut’s identity, and once gone is without price.”

Great Outdoors

Sign up for plot in the Granby Community Garden

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Granby residents have a fantastic opportunity to lease a 20×20-foot garden plot at the town’s community garden—for just $10! Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a beginner eager to learn, this is the perfect way to enjoy fresh, homegrown food while connecting with nature and your neighbors.

Great Outdoors

Scents and salamanders, the early signs of spring

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For me the scent-sational start of spring is the smell of the rich, damp forest floor awakening. It’s actually geosmin, a Greek word meaning earth and smell, a soil-based compound produced by bacteria and blue-green algae. I take deep breaths to revitalize my winter-weary senses.