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Mayflies and Millages

Mayflies and Millages

Hey all! The weather's heated up again, so the newsletter might be on the short side this week so I can go back to hiding in our nice cool basement 😅 Still, if you're reading this, we both made it through without melting, so let's get to the news:

This Week in the Commons

If you've walked past a lamppost near White Lake recently, you probably saw evidence of the Giant Mayfly hatch that happened this week. While mayflies spend up to two years in their aquatic nymph forms, once they hatch into their adult form they only live for a day or two. They synchronize their hatching to maximize their chance to find a mate and avoid predators, which means that for a couple of nights each year, there are a LOT of them. In natural lighting conditions, this would mostly be of interest to local fish and birds, but now that humans leave so many lights on at night, the mayflies tend to get distracted and end up hanging out on Ferry St until their lifespans end. So if you were down there this week and wondered why there were thousands of dead bugs everywhere, now you know 🌈

In more uplifting (and better smelling) news, the library millage passed! The margin was a little close for comfort, but luckily a win's a win. This election is a good example of why it's important to vote in local elections. They don't get the media attention or ad spending of big national campaigns, but 136 votes saved our local library from radical budget cuts and service reductions. If you were one of those 136 voters, thank you for doing your part, and if you sat this election out, I hope you take a moment to think about how you might have felt if things had gone the other way.

A handful of feverfew seedheads sitting in a wire mesh sifter with a green plastic frame

My main project this week was harvesting and processing seeds. Feverfew and daisy seeds are both at peak harvest season, and with all of the seed packets we made last month I wanted to make sure we had something to put in them.

A set of green stacking sifters in sizes ranging from 1/12 inch to 1/100 inch

My secret weapon when it comes to processing seeds is my set of green stacking sifters. Each sifter has a different size of mesh, and they're great for quickly separating materials by size. As long as the seeds you're after are a different size than the pods, hulls, or other chaff that come with them, the sifters can considerably speed up the winnowing process. In this case, I put the feverfew seedheads into the 1/12" sifter and gently kneaded them against the mesh with the palm of my hand until the seeds detached and fell through to the lower levels. I shook the whole stack for a couple of minutes to make sure everything ended up in the right tray, and then checked the results.

Five white yogurt cups, each containing one size of seed detritus

The 1/12" screen contained mostly the bases of the seedheads, which probably have a proper botanical name for them but I'm not a botanist 🤷 The 1/20" screen mostly caught dried flower petals. These two I'll probably spread back in the garden, so that they can turn back into soil and any seeds still stuck with them can grow into new plants next year. The 1/30" and 1/50" screens both contained a mix of seeds and small bits of chaff, so I'll probably mix those back together and use them to fill the seed packets. (If I wanted to be 100% professional about it, I could try to use a fan to winnow the seed from the chaff, but they seem pretty close in density and since these are meant to be scattered rather than planted in any sort of deliberate spacing, it doesn't really matter if there's some chaff mixed in.) The 1/70" screen just had a bit of fine chaff, and nothing made it further down the stack than that.

A pair of Montague Commoners seed packets, one labeled "Glendale Feverfew" and one labeled "Artisan Market Daisies"

I still have the get all the seeds into packets, but hopefully we'll have them available at the Artisan Market on Saturday and at the local seed libraries within a couple of weeks.

A folding table with 14 complete and partial ecobricks on it. In the foreground is a small kitchen scale, and some of the ecobricks have weights written on them

Ecobricks at the Artisan Market went well this week, to the point that we actually ran out of plastic shopping bags! Never would have thought those would be a limiting factor. So if you've got a stash sitting around somewhere, feel free to bring them next week. We could also use any empty 2L soda bottles you've got on hand, and we're always looking for help with the ecobricking process.

Coming Up Next Week

  • Monday @ 6pm - Montague City Planning Commission meeting
  • Tuesday:
    • 4-6pm - White Lake Area Futures is having their Ice Cream Social fundraiser at the trailhead behind Montague Foods! Come meet local candidates and enjoy ice cream and games.
    • 6-7pm - Meet up with local Ranked Choice Voting enthusiasts at the Artisan Market before we head over to the bandshell to collect signatures before the concert starts.
  • Wednesday, 5-7pm - Lebanon Lutheran is holding their annual backpack giveaway for local students. Come by from 3-5pm if you want to help set up.
  • Friday, 12-1pm - Dance For Democracy protest down at the Weathervane! Bring a sign or borrow one from the loaner pile.
  • Saturday, 9am-2pm - Come see us at the Artisan Market! If we get more donations of plastic bags, we'll be making ecobricks, and if we don't we'll be bundling paracord for use at next year's sugarbush.

Solidarity Steps

The White Lake Bike Program needs more bikes! The program provides bikes and helmets at designated racks around the White Lake area so that people can get around without having to drive. You can donate working bikes by leaving them at the rack in front of the Montague library and emailing info@cityofmontague.org.

Recommendation Corner

The cover of Terry Pratchett's "The Wee Free Men", featuring an older witch in a black hat and cape, a young girl holding a book and a frying pan, and a small group of tiny blue men in traditional Scottish Highlands attire

This week's recommendation is the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. It's part of his larger Discworld series, but you don't need to have read any of the other Discworld books to make sense of the story. It follows a young girl who wants to become a witch so that she can protect her community from supernatural dangers. Terry Pratchett combines a laugh-out-loud wit with deep insights into human nature, and he's one of my very favorite authors. The Tiffany Aching books are his YA series within the Discworld universe, and they're a fantastic replacement for certain other magical-coming-of-age authors who have devoted themselves to destroying the trans community. The first book in the series is The Wee Free Men, and there are four more Tiffany Aching books after that. If you end up liking them, there are more than 40 Discworld books out there to enjoy, so you'll be set for quite a while.

This Week's Nails

You made it to the end of the newsletter, so that means you get to see this week's nails! I tried to do a half-and-half thing this week, but the colors I picked were a little too close together so the effect is pretty subtle. I'll probably try again next week with higher-contrast polishes.

Enjoy your week, try not to melt, and if I don't see you around town I'll see you back here next week.