#MiddleburyCT #MiddleburyLandTrust #SunflowerDays #Pies&Pub
The Middlebury Land Trust’s Sunflower Days returns for the second year Saturday and Sunday, September 7 and 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bronson Meadow (east of Pies & Pub). Rain dates will be September 14 and 15. Park on the grass along Rte. 188 or in the Pies & Pub lower lot.
You can just wander through the sunflowers and/or use the location for photo shoots, or you can buy some sunflowers you pick or ready-picked with the proceeds benefiting the Middlebury Land Trust trails project. Prices are: 2 stems $5, 6 stems $15, 1 dozen stems $20. Cash or check only.
Purchasers will get a 10% off coupon valid at Pies & Pints September 7 and 8 for dine-in or takeout orders.
MLT Board Member Jay Klemundt said during this week, The Middlebury Library has set up a special reading nook for children featuring books all about sunflowers. The library also will host a kids’ Sunflower Scavenger Hunt Saturday, September 7, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. — a perfect prelude to a romp among rows and rows of towering giant flowers!
This year the land trust asked farmer Mike Jedd of Kalanauskas Farm to plant four different kinds of sunflowers: the Mammoth Greystripe, the smaller Florenza, the richly colorful Autumn Beauty and the striking “Black Oil” varieties. In addition to enjoying the beauty of the blooming flowers at their peak, there is the pleasure of taking in the meadow’s setting, birds and its oasis of calm, despite the proximity to Rtes. 188 and 64. Even a short stroll there reminds us of Middlebury’s long history as a “truck-farming” community putting food on the table for the Greater Waterbury region. Your visit to Bronson Meadow might even link you to the timelessness and sustainability of this land upon which we rely.
A wonderful exhibit put together some years ago by Middlebury’s Historical Society and The Middlebury Library documented 16 operating “dairies” or farms with milking cows and farm families doing their own bottling and selling to town residents and nearby cities and towns. Perhaps you live on former farmland or a road that was once part of a pasture or cultivated field such as North Farms, Curtis Farms or Abbott’s Farm. The Bronson Meadow is a vestige of that agricultural community heritage and worth preserving for many reasons.
Do stop by this weekend if you have the time! Land trust members will not only be enjoying the fleeting beauty of spectacular sunflowers in full bloom but also celebrating their ongoing work to preserve open space, fields, forests, ponds, streams and lakes for present and future enjoyment by all.
For further information or to volunteer, please contact Klemundt at 860-882-3849 or jayklemundt@yahoo.com.
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