First are a few photos of the park in early spring of 2020.

This was the season of the Covid-19 Pandemic, so there was no Fall celebration at the park, and only one gathering -- a memorial to civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis. But plants and trees kept growing, and it was a good season to work. Below: new edging around the hazelberts, with daffodils just beginning to show their green.

Barbara bought three stepping stones in North Carolina: a sand dollar, a mandala, and a compass rose. In early spring, she "planted" them in the lawn.

Barbara also had the idea of making "do-it-yourself" stepping stones, using tinted Quikcrete and some leftover Mexican tiles. She made a few and hoped that local school kids might make more as an art project. That didn't happen, however, which may be just as well. Barbara's stepping stones, while attractive (see below) have not stood up to the weather and the tiles are deteriorating.

In early spring, there was even time for Wally to straighten the toolshed (below.) It was messed up again soon enough.

In spring, the cheerful daffodils appeared all over, planted by preschool and kindergarten children

and we had beautiful apple blossoms -- though not as many apples as we had first hoped in the spring.

Below: at last some of the trees have grown too tall for our backpack sprayer, so the park bought a bigger sprayer, and Barbara's family bought an older DR Powerwagon to haul it around. Now the spray -- which is always various organic concoctions -- reaches the tops of all the trees. 

There is always need for more water, especially for newly started trees and bushes.

Lupins any yellow primoses aways bring good cheer in summer.

We knew when summer had truly arrived because children were using the little swimming hole on the Ompompanoosuc.

  

Also, in summer everything got dry enough that spray was needed. The water comes from the Ompompanoosuc River, via a small Honda pump that works beautifully.

   Above, a moment of silence in memory of John Lewis. Below, a storywalk for children, set up by the Morrill Library

Above, white paint and kaolin are mixed with sand because beaver are not supposed to like the feel of it. So far it seems to be working. Beaver still destroy some trees, but so far they haven't chewed on any of the painted trunks.  The white paint also protects the bark of younger trees from sun scald and  makes it easier to spot borers before they do irreparable damage. Below: Mallow blossoms, and then cone flowers (Echinacea)

Pollinators are at work in summer.

2020 was a very good year for pears, gooseberries and blueberries, still green below, and for many other berries. (Apples were still few and far between. We would have gotten quicker results by planting dwarf apple trees, like those up at the tennis court, which are already prolific, rather than the full-size varieties chosen for the park, but then they would not grow and prosper as long.)

When colors begin to change, the season is winding down. 

Below: by running lawnmowers through leaf piles that are left for us at the UU Church, we can chop the leaves, bag them, and dump them in a wagon for transport to the park. It's great mulch.

As in most other years, there is a splash of color in the park from Global Warming Mums, which can bloom well into November, and from the Winterberries (all below).

A year of Covid gone by

Click here for the Pocket Park 2019