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Smallwood-Mongaup Valley

Love of Increase

James Loney
Posted 5/17/22

Driving home tonight in the dappling light of sundown Smallwood, I was astounded to see how green the forest suddenly shone along the edges of Pine Grove Road. Hurrah! We made it through and IT, the …

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Smallwood-Mongaup Valley

Love of Increase

Posted

Driving home tonight in the dappling light of sundown Smallwood, I was astounded to see how green the forest suddenly shone along the edges of Pine Grove Road. Hurrah! We made it through and IT, the high season of our lives, is almost here! Summer stands smiling greenly at our doorstep after a most bitterly cold winter. Now follows Memorial Day and the visitors who throng among us and fill our still very empty coffers! Hurrah, Summer, and welcome to Sullivan County!

Smallwood’s own Lucas Grecky has opened a new shop along Restaurant Row in Kauneonga Lake, “Mason Jar” by name. Don’t just drive on by on your way to the corner Post Office; park out front of Alex and Daryl’s recently expanded “Industry” and peek inside both stores. Mason Jar sells specialty foods and farm goods like cheese, bread, in-season local produce, cured meats, cookies, chocolates, candies, and gifts. What a welcome addition to our neighborhood is this store! Those of us who reside here live in something of a food desert. Mason Jar is all about trying to water this desert. Need some good cheese, prosciutto, or fresh milk? Hurray on over to Mason Jar and let’s support this shop making a difference in our lives!

Many living in the New York rural area right now, know that even in as pure and simple a place as Sullivan, habitat loss and habitat changes are wreaking havoc in the natural world. Bird species numbers on the continent are down by a quarter over the lifespan of most readers of this newspaper; that’s 3,000,000,000 (three billion) fewer birds around us each year. If you notice, as I do, a thinning of the birdsong every morning at coffee time, your ears are speaking truth. What can any one person do? A lot. You can pitch in to fight specious human encroachment on and dismemberment of natural habitat—think how SmART in Smallwood recently organized citizens to defeat the BESIDE development. You can also eliminate pesticide and herbicide use; natural alternatives almost certainly exist. Keep your cat(s) inside your home; cute pussy cats kill millions of birds each year for the simple feline love of assault and battery. In the winter and spring keep your bird feeders full with seed and suet. Those things are a start.

Bee and butterfly populations are also under huge pressure right now because of human activities (chemical use, mining, loss of natural habitat). You can help here, too, right now. This May, be lazy and delay the first cut of your lawn to allow early-spring flowers to bloom. Right now bees and some butterflies are already active in the early morning looking for flowers. Sit outside tomorrow morning with your first cup of coffee and your toes in the wet grass. Listen and watch carefully; as the sun rises the first golden bee will buzz through the blue periwinkle patch at your feet. Hurrah! This bee made it through, too! Let’s give him and them a high season of life in Sullivan County!

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