Weir Farm National Historic Park

Weir Farm National Historic Park

There is something very special about spending time in a national park. I was lucky to have worked and lived in Yellowstone for a summer during college and hope to do that again in a few years. That was the beginning of my love of national parks. I was excited to learn that we have our very own and very accessible National Historic Park (formally a National Historic Site) right here in Wilton and Ridgefield. So while my feet are still here in Brookfield, I have the opportunity and pleasure to volunteer at Weir Farm National Historic Park. This park is a 60 acre piece of property that was the home, work place, and rural retreat of American Impressionist painter, J. Alden Weir in the latter part of the 19th century. The property continued to be used by subsequent generations of word class artists and was established as a National Historic Site in 1990.

Read More

St. Johns Ledges

When my son and his friend decided to take on a hiking challenge on the CT portion of the Appalachian Trial, my husband and I took the opportunity to hike a section of the trail that I had not done before. We had a three hour window of time in the Kent area before checking in with the boys, so we chose to hike St. John’s Ledges. This section is considered the most difficult section in CT because of the enormous rock walls and steep inclines, and the name alone did nothing to ease my apprehension.

Read More

Discover Pine Knob Loop Trail in Sharon, CT

Last summer when I was looking for new places to hike, I discovered Pine Knob Loop trail in Sharon, CT and have been back three times since. Each time I went I brought a friend who I thought would find it as nice as I do. The reason I keep going back is because this loop trail has a little bit of everything that I like a hike to have…mountain views, water features, glacial erratic, a variety of terrain, interesting flowers, and lots of tall trees

Read More

Maple Sap Collection Team

Maple Sap Collection Team ;Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust in Woodbury was founded in 1963 by Natalie Van Vleck who was an artist, farmer, businesswoman, and environmentalist. Of the 7 preserves and sanctuaries that the Land Trust owns, the Van Vleck Farm property is considered the main teaching campus and it is where the majority of activities happen.

Read More

Andrea’s List of Local Hiking Trails

A few of my thoughts as we head into 2021… We are fortunate to live in an area where we are surrounded by state parks, nature preserves, state forests, and all sorts of trails to discover. I have spent the past several years exploring many of these places as a hiking guide for the Senior…

Read More

Connecting with Nature – Mallory Schneckenburger Preserve, Sherman

Looking for a change of scenery today, I ended up in Sherman at the Mallory Preserve which is a property protected by the Northwest CT Land Conservancy. I chose this location for three reasons: 1) I had never been before, 2) I knew there would be ample parking behind the Town Center buildings near the IGA parking lot on route 39, and 3) It is a short trail.

Read More