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Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Wellesley woman rescues lab from pond, dog owners reminded to leash up near icy water

March 10, 2021 by Bob Brown 4 Comments

Jason Connelly says he and his wife Tina could not have had two more different days on Wednesday: There he was comfortably Zooming for work while Tina arrived home sopping wet and with bloodied hands after wading into a pond at Centennial Reservation to save another dog owner’s pet that had fallen through ice.

The scary incident serves as a reminder to keep pets leashed when near bodies of water while the ice is melting, as it’s doing during this week’s warm-up. While the air temperature topped 50 degrees in Wellesley today, the water temperature wasn’t close to that.

“She could feel herself getting numb, and the cold water was talking her breath away,” Jason says.

centennial bezanson

Upon hearing a woman screaming about the dog, which had fallen through thin ice and drifted under the ice sheet on Benzanson Pond, Tina secured her own dog and waded in fully dressed.

She wound up swimming after a bit though because of all the muck at the bottom of the half-acre pond, which has an average water depth of under 3 feet and a maximum depth of about 6 feet. Once she got near the dog she wound up smashing the ice with her hands to free the animal, and get it back to shore.

The dog appeared fine, and the owner asked for Tina’s contact information to follow up with more thanks.

Jason described his wife as a good swimmer and comfortable around ice as part of a hockey family with two kids and 3 dogs. Still, it was a scary situation and all are relieved that everyone wound up OK.

Late last year, police and firefighters rescued an unleashed dog that broke through ice on the Charles River at Elm Bank Reservation.

Authorities discourage dog owners from unleashing their dogs near icy water, but urge the public to call 9-1-1 if a dog does get loose and into a dangerous situation.

“This is when I highly encourage everyone to keep their dogs on leash or a trained voice command,” says Wellesley Animal Control Officer Jenny Smith. “I never recommend letting dogs go out onto the ice. You never know how thin it is, especially with these warm days we’ve been having. Hopefully the ice will all melt away in the next few days and we will not have to worry about any other dogs falling in.”


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Filed Under: Animals, Weather

Linden Square, Wellesley
Fran's Flowers
Clearhaven Recovery

Wellesley snow sculpture challenge: Can you beat this?

February 2, 2021 by Bob Brown 4 Comments

The highly packable snow from Monday’s storm gave Wellesley’s Jonah and Seth Tobin, along with helper pup Carson, all they needed to create this 10-foot, 9-inch behemoth of a snowman.

Whatcha got? [email protected]

snowman tobins

Here’s a favorite from a couple of years back:

upside down snowman linden


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Filed Under: Art, Weather

Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley

Lack of access to Mass Hort lots at Elm Bank frustrates visitors

February 1, 2021 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Recently we got a reader question about parking restrictions put in place at Elm Bank Reservation in the three lots maintained there by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A sign at the entrance to the big lot near the gated entrance to the gardens informs visitors that no public parking is allowed. Barriers to entry at each of the lots have been put into place.

Mass Hort, Wellesley
Entrance to the large lot near the Elm Bank gardens entrance. Photo credit: BJ

Signage notes that parking is allowed for vehicles associated with The Boston Outdoor Preschool Network (BOPN), which operates Mon. – Fri.-, 9am – noon, and for Mass Hort employees.  “I see no reason why the lot can’t be open in the afternoons and on weekends/holidays. Also, after the big December snowstorm the parking spaces next to the main entrance to the woods were not plowed although the main roadway near had been,” the reader said in an email. Leaving the lot unplowed appeared to him “an obvious message to those who wanted to go for a winter walk” in the adjacent network of woodland trails that runs along the scenic Charles River.

Is perception of such a snub to trail walkers a reality? According to Mass Hort’s 99-year lease agreement covering its 36-acre use of the 175-acre state-owned property, plowing the loop and five of eight lots on the property is the Department of Conservation and Recreation‘s (DCR) responsibility. When it snows, DCR keeps that roadway and those five lots clear. I know they do. I can hear them at it all night long from my house.

The other three lots are maintained by Mass Hort, and those three parking areas happen to offer the easiest proximity to the trails. At this time the 150+ year-old organization chooses to clears its three lots of snow on an as-needed basis as it perceives need. So when Festival of Trees was in full swing in November and December, all three lots were fully plowed when a big storm hit during that timeframe. For the rest of the year, Mass Hort currently clears only enough spaces needed to accommodate garden programming, renters such as BOPN, and staff.

Nordic skiing, Wellesley

We checked in with Mass Hort head James Hearsum to learn more about parking onsite. He said the question about parking really turns on a wider lack of public clarity regarding Mass Hort’s lease of its 36-acres portion of the site. “It is perhaps not widely understood that the lease encompasses all areas inside the loop road, except the marked sports pitches and DCR lots. We invest approximately $700,000 directly into the leased site annually and take pride in that this large investment relieves a significant financial burden from the state. This was explicitly part of the reason for the long lease agreed to in 1996, and was seen as a much better solution than the housing previously proposed. We also keep open to the public all areas not in active and developed garden use.”

As for keeping open to the public its three parking lots, Hearsum says, “Due to the growth of the organization and the programs we offer, we now need the full capacity on a regular basis for our staff and garden visitors.”

We wonder if the organization is saving pots of money by leaving several dozen spaces under snow and inaccessible to the public for the season. Hearsum concedes that the DCR lots aren’t as immediate to the woodland entrances as the Mass Hort lots, but says getting to the entrances of the best hiking on the property merely involves “a short but pleasant walk over the open fields.”

We admire open fields as much as the next person, still, why make winter even more inconvenient than it already is? The tundra is frozen. The snow across those wind-whipped expanses deepens with each passing storm.

There’s hope. Mass Hort’s stated focus is on the development of the garden and growth in its programming. However, Hearsum has expressed an interest in friendly relationships with all stakeholders. “I will in the spring seek to meet members of the immediate community around Elm Bank, something that has not been possible since my arrival in early 2020. I would like to learn about the many interests and ambitions for Elm Bank and how I can facilitate rather than frustrate these. We are committed to doing so in a participatory way.”

MORE:

Nordic skiing on the trails at Elm Bank Reservation


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Filed Under: Gardens, Outdoors, Weather

Little Arnie's

Wellesley schools closing early due to snowstorm

February 1, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

From the Wellesley Public Schools:

Based on the timing of the incoming storm, the Wellesley Public Schools will be activating an early release schedule today, February 1, 2021.  

These are the Wellesley schools dismissal times by level:

  1. PAWS will dismiss at 11:40am.  There will be no afternoon PreK program today.  
  2. Elementary schools will begin dismissal at 12pm. 
  3. Wellesley Middle School will begin dismissal at 11:15am.
  4. Wellesley High School will begin dismissal at 11:15am.

Grab-and-go lunches will be available for students as they are dismissed. All buses will complete their regular routes for dismissal at these times. All afternoon and evening activities, including athletics are cancelled. 

These dismissal times reflect the end of classes today for all students, even in the Remote Learning School.  

Finally, all viral testing samples being returned today must be dropped off to school by 11:30am

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Filed Under: Education, Weather

No, a garbage truck parade did not just pass through Wellesley

January 31, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

It’s time to trot out a link to our 2019 post on Wellesley’s stinky but effective method of pre-treating roadways with a de-icing liquid that is 90% salt brine and 10% beet juice by-product.

snow stripes near upham

I just got back from a run in the Bates and Upham neighborhoods, and I’m pleased to say the usual stench from my shoes has been accentuated by this lovely beet-and-brine mixture.

Also on my run:

deer upham snow

upham mirror selfie
A rare selfie-ish shot at Upham Elementary School outdoor mirror

 

a giant dirty snowball
A giant dirty snowball on the playground

 


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Filed Under: Weather

Single digits lure skaters to Wellesley ponds

January 30, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

jan 30 2021 3 degreesWhile backyard skating rinks have popped up across town for the homebound weary, the single digit temperatures of the past couple of days have lured locals onto Wellesley’s ponds as well, including Longfellow and Rockridge Pond.

longfellow pond skaters ice

longfellow pond dog

rockridge pond skaters (1)

Ice and cold water safety


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Filed Under: Outdoors, Weather

My Wellesley car is kind of a stud

January 28, 2021 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Wellesley snow tires
Studded snow tires, ready to roll.

The dog dropped flat to the ground in full submission mode. He knew he was in the presence of greatness. Eyes cast down, paws tucked under his chest, the beta bowed down as the strange alpha being rumbled past.

My car has that effect on every canine it encounters. We’re not talking about a massive Chevy Suburban or high-riding Range Rover here. The ride that strikes terror into pups out for their afternoon walk is a sensible mid-sized sedan tricked out in studded snow tires. It’s those snow tires and the weird, tearing-up-the-road rumble they make that scares the bejesus out of family pets.

You know the old saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog?” That’s partly what’s at work here. The sensible Camry is little, but when it struts out on the town tapping its studded stilettos on the pavement, the Camry likes to think it’s fierce.

You know what they say about overcompensation? That’s mostly what’s at work here. The sensible Camry is given snow tires in a somewhat futile effort to let it run with the big dawgs when the weather turns dicey. For the past two winters, those tires have spent less time ensuring a safe ride on snow and ice and more time chewing up the dry pavement. Studded snow tires, like a beta dog with no purpose in the pack, turn toward destruction when they’re not given a real job to do. Studded tires want to latch onto snow and ice. So far this winter, falling snow and icy conditions have been rare events. In frustration, the tires resort to poking small holes into the asphalt. That kind of attitude is what’s gotten snow tires deemed illegal in ten states. That’s why I keep the snow tire thing going winter after winter. It makes me feel badass to do something that’s illegal in ten states.

swellesley snow

Truthfully, even in wintry-weather years the Camry doesn’t see that much action. Once I see the first flake, I go straight to my baby, the trusty Subaru Outback, pampered and seldom driven. On the road we go, looking for photographic snow scenes for a Swellesley post. The beautiful golden retrievers of Wellesley greet us with happy barks as we pass. This is a vehicle they understand. Confident in its abilities, the wagon doesn’t need the adoration or fear of the small and meek. The Subaru was born to ride in inclement weather and needs no implants for its strut down the runway. Just give it a snowy day, and let the winter-worthy wagon do its thing.


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Filed Under: Transportation, Weather

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Mon 12

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

April 12 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Tue 13

STEM panel discussion

April 13 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Wed 14

Fairies, Frogs, and Damsels (online program)

April 14 @ 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm
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Meeting and Discussion with 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss

April 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Wellesley’s Sustainable Mobility Plan online forum

April 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

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