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One of our board members reports on two rather nasty trash incidents along Muller Road.

The first was seeing a truck driving along and the fellow in the passenger seat throwing used gallon paint cans out of the window, into the woods. There were 10 or more cans tossed. He was not able to catch a license plate number so he just went into the woods and retrieved the paint cans.

The second event was seeing a 10-wheeler truck park right on the road and the driver then taking a stove and small refrigerator from the back of the truck and then heaving them into the woods. Our board member interceded, including calling the police, and got the driver to get help from his headquarters to retrieve the stove and fridge, put them back in the truck and depart.

Mary Cummings Park, particularly along Muller Road, is seen by some as a garbage dump. We will continue to monitor this activity. It seems pretty remarkable that there are some people who see a woodland as nothing but a garbage dump, but that is how it is.

There is also constant tossing of cups, wrappers, bottles and such from cars, which our members take pains to clean up.

Because Mary Cummings Park is not Burlington town property, our Police have limited ability to deal with major trash dumping events, unless the property manager makes a formal complaint.

So our board and other park fans will simply continue to monitor the park for trash abuse and clean it up as it happens.

Here is a short video from Warrick Angus that shows that there is at least one fisher cat living at Mary Cummings Park. The fisher cat is not a cat, but rather a relative of the weasel. We are at the very southern end of their extensive range up into Canada. Learn more at Wikipedia.

Fisher cats are widely suspected of being big predators of house cats that are allowed outdoors, so be forewarned.

Much of the work to establish the new entrance to Mary Cummings Park has been done: the new parking area is open; the lawn and meadows are planted; trees are planted and being nurtured.

From the parking lot it might look as if much of the land newly cleared – from tangles of invasive weeds, vines, and shrubs – will now be lawn, but from the drone view above you can see that MOST of the new area will be wildflower meadow, a major addition to the spectacular meadow at Flyer’s Field.

The boardwalk is done and it makes a good destination for a short walk and a relaxing visit. The trails to the boardwalk from parking still need work, but you can get there if you wish, even now.

Signs and trail maps are on the way.

The volume of construction was a surprise to many, but now that it is done, nature is quickly filling the area back in with new plants. (Whether the native species will win out over the invasives will be a spectator sport for the next few years.)

This year’s crop of wildflowers in Flyer’s Field has been really astounding. Check back on this website for a video and slideshow of vast sprays of gold and purple.

Here is a look at the new boardwalk into the wetlands at Mary Cummings Park.