The Chichester Library
has been given some unusual magazines. They are all on the subject
of “Miniatures.” Some of the titles are Nutshell News, Doll House
Miniatures, and Miniatures. Call the library at 798-5613 if you are
interested.
The Chichester Heritage Commission will
meet on Thursday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Chichester Town Library
at 161 Main Street. This is an open meeting and all are welcome to
attend.
Happy Birthday to Tracie Davison on May
24.
The Chichester Historical Society will be holding their Annual Yard
Sale on June 4th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are looking for
donations of items to sell. Please, no big items or old televisions.
If you have items to donate you may call Lucille Noel at 798-5709 or
Bernd Reinhardt at 736-7074 to arrange a time to drop them off or
for pick-up if necessary.
The Local Community Design Charrette Team
will meet on Monday, May 23, at 7 p.m. at the Chichester Historical
Society Museum at 49 Main Street. All are welcome to attend this
open meeting.
Santa Fe Chicken and Aztec Rice will be on
the menu at the May 25th Community Supper at the Chichester United
Methodist Parish Hall. Come at 6 p.m. to enjoy a meal with friends
and neighbors. The suppers are free, although donations are welcomed
and used to support future meals.
Chichester Grange will hold its annual
Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 30, at the Grange/Town Hall
at 2 p.m.
Out Of Your
Attic Thrift Shop News
Submitted By Carol
Hendee
One of our new donations was a number of Life Magazines, definitely
collectible! Come check them out.
We could use donations for use by The
Attic of: safety pins; batteries (AA & C); clip or screw-on
earrings; large black leaf bags; and especially kids books-all ages.
Sandals are out, even for the tiny ones.
Find us on Rte 28 north, near the Pittsfield line; Mon. 8-12; Tues.
& Thurs. 8-4; Wed. 11-4; Sat. 10-4. 247-7191.
Chichester
Town Library News
Tonight is Local Authors’ Night at 7 p.m. The venue has been
changed to the Library for acoustical purposes and that construction
will not impede the event. Kati Preston, a holocaust survivor
and writer of Holocaust to Healing: Closing the Circle;
Stephen Pascucci, who has written Return to Kesan; Dudley Laufman,
who has authored many poetry books; and Gail Laker-Phelps, who has
published a beautiful book of her photographs showing the life of a
New England farmer, are all expected to be there to share their
experiences with us.
Preschool/Kindergarten Story & Craft Hour is scheduled for tomorrow
at 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, May 21st, is the annual Plant Sale, held in conjunction
with the Used Book Sale. Come early for the best selections of
both plants and books. The door opens at 8 a.m. and the sale
continues until 1 p.m.
The Photography Group is expected to meet
on Monday, May 23rd, at 6:30 p.m.
The Down Cellar Writers will be meeting
Monday, May 23rd, at 7 p.m.
The Library will be closed on Monday, May
30th for Memorial Day.
Backyard
Farming Lecture Addresses Meeting Limited Mobility Challenges Of
Gardening
Chichester ‘s Garden Club and Agricultural Commission “Backyard
Farming” lecture series welcomes Diane Hall-Hersey of Down Home
Organics - Workshops in Rural Living - as its speaker. The
topic: Meeting Gardening Challenges while living with Limited
Mobility at 7pm, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, Chichester Town Library
Community Room, 161 Main Street. Open to the public;
$10/person and $5/members.
The May 25th “Gardening for the Retired”
lecture - Introduction of modified tools and aids to meet the
challenges of limited mobility, with doctor’s permission - was
designed with the retired citizen in mind, as well as for many
disabled who are or want to become gardeners.
Down Home Organics’ Workshops in Rural Living out of Franklin NH
teach people how to be more self-sufficient for weather emergency or
a lifestyle change. A wide range of workshops - from planning
organic vegetable and herb gardens, composting, herbal teas
and recipes to herb harvesting, food preservation, country cooking,
alternative energy sources and homesteading (603-848-6555;
[email protected]).
Diane offers 16 different organic gardening and sustainability
workshops and has a great policy - students receive a discount card
so far they get a 10 % discount at Bryant & Lawrence in Tilton and
Osborne’s Agway in Concord.
Diane comes from a long line of New Hampshire farmers. Her
Great Uncle Ray owned Ried’s Poultry Farm in Bedford, NH, an egg
business of some 2,000 Rhode Island Red laying hens. Ray and
his wife Annie, taught Diane the OLD WAYS of the 1930’s – Walton’s
Style.
Diane’s Grandmother Hazel, Ray’s sister, was Diane’s primary
baby-sitter who shared valuable lost country arts. Diane
watched her Grandmother tend the organic garden and fruit trees;
lessons followed in how to garden and cook on the kitchen wood
stove. The rustic Glendale stove provided a challenge and lots
of humor. And so, Diane learned how to live a 1935 rural
lifestyle.
In the 1970’s Diane bought her first farmstead and put her country
skills into practice. She cleared land and established organic
gardens, as well as owning a waterfowl hatchery. The farmstead
flourished with rabbits, chickens, horses, geese and ducks.
Neighbors, both young and old shared rural skills and time honored
traditions.
Diane is now part of the Hersey Farm in East Andover, NH.
It is a working farm of grass-fed Herefords, commercial hay and
logging. She and her husband, Jim Hersey, are building in the
woods, at the base of the 350-acre historical farm. They will
offer workshops in woodland Permaculture. Jim’s brother, Jerry
lives in the main farmhouse and runs the farm is a good steward of
the land. Diane is in charge of revitalizing their mother’s
organic kitchen garden. There will be classes on-site.
She also plans to raise small farmstead animals again and teach the
art of wet-hatching geese & ducks. It is a healthy New
Hampshire country lifestyle, to be appreciated by those who wish to
preserve and era gone-by and pass on traditions that would otherwise
be lost.
The purpose of an agricultural commission is to protect farmland,
support the local agricultural economy, preserve rural character and
promote local agriculture to community members and visitors.
As ambassadors of the farming community, agricultural commissions
act as educators, advisers and promoters to help keep agriculture
viable in New Hampshire. The Chichester Garden Club’s
objective is to encourage more flower and vegetable gardens in
Chichester, promote the love of gardening, civic beautification and
environmental responsibility through education and example.
To RSVP or join the garden club, email
[email protected]
or leave a message for Ann at 603-903-3891.
Robert and Faye McAnney
Chichester Community
Citizens 2016
Although Bob and Faye McAnney grew up in
Vermont, they have lived in Chichester for fifty years. In that time
they raised three children: Robin, Faith, and Evan, and they have
been good stewards of their 19th century homestead, Pumpkin Hill
Farm.
Faye has been a special friend of the Chichester Town Library for
many years, helping it grow from a small loft to a busy two-story
space. She has provided delicious cookies for many library
events and shelved books in the book room for book sales. She even
painted the stairs going from the main floor down to the book room.
When the Heritage Commission started up,
both Bob and Faye quickly became involved. They painted and restored
a message cabinet by the Town Hall door and contributed to the
Commission’s Master Plan Chapter. They planted hundreds of daffodil
bulbs at the Library, along the Carpenter Park walking trail, and at
sites along Main Street.
Bob with help from Faye played a major
role in replacing the centuries-old maple trees which lined
Canterbury Road. The McAnneys dug holes, and staked, watered, and
fertilized young salt-resistant maple trees so the road could retain
its historical character. Bob served as manager for the Heritage
Commission Maple Tree Project and set up a tree nursery at Pumpkin
Hill Farm where Faye planted baby salt-resistant maples.
Faye has provided flowers to decorate the
Heritage Commission’s booth at Old Home Day. Both Bob and Faye
helped to man the booth and to set up and break down the displays.
Faye has maintained “clipping” files in notebooks for the Heritage
Commission, keeping track of preservation efforts and barn and house
articles.
The McAnneys have always been supportive
of programs offered by the Historical Society and have contributed
generously by donating to the Society’s yearly yard sale. Over the
years they have supported the Town of Chichester and its
organizations in every way – quietly, graciously, effectively, and
unselfishly. Chichester Grange is proud to honor them as Citizens of
the Year.
Why Do We Need
Dragonflies ?
Submitted By David
Michaud, Chichester
For the past two or more years I have been
trying to “farm” bees and dragonflies. Bees because they are so
vitally important to our being and dragonflies because they control
the mosquito population. One dragonfly can consume hundreds of
mosquitoes and other pest. Have you ever noticed that when you mow
your lawn that there are dragonflies zooming forward, backwards, in
and out. Sometimes dragonflies might even land on one’s shoulder to
say, “Hi.”
There are alot of fun and interesting
facts surrounding the dragonfly and pictures of dragonflies have
been etched on the walls in caves and temples dating back to the the
dinosuar age.
Despite their name, dragonflies are not
flies at all and, in fact, are part of an entirely different order
of insects called, “Odonata Order.” Here in the United States there
are about 400 species of Odonata (which include dragonflies and
damselflies) and, more than 5,000 individual species worldwide.
Dragonflies have (2) two pairs of wings that are very, very thin.
Small veins crisscross their sheer wings to give them strength. The
eyes of a dragonfly contain 30,000 individual lenses. The dragonfly
is mesmorizing to watch, flying forward, backwards, up and down and
can even hover in one spot for more than a minute The dragonfly
comes in a vast array of colors, green, blue, red, purple, nearly
clear, yellows, yellow streaked and various combinations of colors.
Dragonflies are recognized by their long needle shaped bodies and
tapered wings.
Immature dragonflies, also known as
“nymphs” are used as bait for fishermen. In their laral stage which
can last up to (2) two years or more, the dragonflies are aquatic
and eat most anything -tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other insects,
insect larvae, and, at times, eat each other. Some scientitists
theorize that “high oxygen levels during the Paleozoic era allowing
dragonflies to grow to monster sizes. Some dragonflies only live a
few days while some live for a year or more. Dragonflies catch their
prey by grabbing it with their feet. If a dragonfly cannot fly, it
will starve and die because they eat prey while in flight.
Dragonflies eat insects as adults and are a great weapon in the
fight to control the mosquito population. Hundreds and thousands of
dragonflies of several different species will gather in swarms for
feeding and migration purposes. Little is known about their
behavior, but there is a “Dragonfly Swarm Project” established to
collect and gather information on the swarms of dragonflies, to
better understand the habits of dragonflies.
Nymphs, or immature dragonflies, have (6)
six spindly legs and a body that is only a few times larger than it
is wide. They have (2) two fairly large eyes. Some of them have a
mouth part(s) that is (are) modified to shoot forward, to grab prey.
They breathe water through gills in their abdomen and can squirt
water out so fast that it propels their movement. Most dragonfly
species spend their winters as nymphs in the water, but some migrate
south and spend the winter as adults. A few species lay their eggs
in the late summer or fall, the eggs do not hatch until spring.
Dragonflies emerge in the warm months of
spring or summer. Dragonflies need sunny, warm months to be able to
fly, usually the temperature must be 65 degrees celcius. If it is
cold and wet, the dragonflies will hide in the tall grass or other
vegetation. Dragonflies communicate visually much more than most
other insects. Male dragonflies fight for territory by performing
aerial duets, displaying their great size and speed to each other.
Mating pairs probably communicate by touch, possibly chemically,
too. Dragonflies sole purpose and role in the ecosystem is to breed
before they die. Dragonflies are the top predators in ponds with no
fish. Adult dragonflies help control populations of mosquitoes and
other flying pests . The benefits of dragonflies are how they
interact with us? Dragonflies help us, control mosquitoes so we do
not get bit and contract diseases such as Triple E (EEE), West Nile
and Zika. (As well as other diseases, too).
Dragonflies are probably the most
misunderstood insect of all the insects. There are many myths that
have developed over centuries of time about dragonflies. Dragonflies
can live for a few months to a few years. The aquatic nymph can molt
up to 15 times in a growth cycle that can take several years to
complete. The main objective of an adult dragonfly is to mate before
dying and so they really do not live very long. Dragonflies do not
die of old age, but at the bellies of predators, like birds.
Dragonflies might look threatening and
dangerous, but their tail is not a sting apparatus, the dorners and
petaltails specifically are designed to splice open plant sterns and
to insert their eggs into the plant material.
Dragonflies cannot sew up your mouth, nor
sew your eyes and ears shut as punishment for talking badly. Just
because the dragonfly has a long, pointy abdomen does not mean that
it can run a stitch to sew your mouth.
Truth be told, Dragonflies are our
friends. They are, in fact, very, very beneficial to us if we
consider how many mosquitoes each dragonfly can eat, both as nymphs
(when they eat mosquito larvae) and as adults (when they catch and
eat mosquitoes while in flight ). That is the reason(s) why we need
dragonflies.
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