Send in your guess identifying the April “Can You Guess The Location?” mystery Middlebury Land Trust property. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)
By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY
Each month, this column features a gem of land preserved in perpetuity by the Middlebury Land Trust (MLT). We also publish a picture of a mystery location on one of the MLT properties. Readers are invited to submit their guesses to see who is the first to correctly identify the mystery location.
Land trust property can be used and enjoyed through passive recreation activities such as walking, hiking, birding, geocaching, photography and schools’ outdoor educational projects. Information on MLT properties and more is on the MLT website, www.middleburylandtrust.org.
The February Spotlight article considered two of the larger Middlebury Land Trust holdings, Lake Elise (50 acres) and Fodder’s Folly (51 acres). The March focus was on one of the smaller ones, a 6.33-acre gem right in the middle of Middlebury, Bronson Meadow. Congratulations to Eric Olsen, the first to recognize it! Steve Savarese and Harold West Jr. also were among the eagle-eyed.
Bronson Meadow is on the north side of Route 188, Whittemore Road, just east of Pies and Pints. You might have driven past this field every day and never guessed this pastoral scene will be preserved in perpetuity thanks to its status as a Middlebury Land Trust property.
This parcel originally belonged to the Bronson family, who owned much of the land in that area. It was saved from potential development through the fundraising efforts of several Middlebury families. When it was deeded to the Middlebury Land Trust in 1977, Bronson Meadow became the fourth property thus conserved.
Unlike the previously described locations, there really isn’t enough land here to be hiked. Generally mowed for hay, it contains the wildlife that might be expected in such space, small mammals and field birds. Woodchucks and squirrels are the most likely to be spotted. Various land trust members and friends have spent many hours diligently removing invasive plants to keep the area in good condition so Middlebury residents can enjoying having this field near the green for generations to come.
The April mystery location, shown in the photo above, may be easier to recognize. As before, email your best guess to mbisubmit@gmail.com, and please put “Guess the location” in the subject line. If you missed earlier “Spotlight” articles, you can find them at www.bee-news.com. Find out in May who correctly identified this month’s mystery location.
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