There was a comment recently that the current garden at Sunny Meadow was “not truly accessible.” That made me stop and think a bit. We have not seen full public plans yet for the new garden changes, so rather than speculate, I figured it was worth talking about what accessibility actually looks like in a […]

As we started dismantling the deck, it became clear that the screws used were not stainless steel. They were breaking repeatedly, which made removal extremely difficult. There is a workaround tool available (about $6 at Harbor Freight), but with the rain moving in and the cold conditions, we made the decision to call off the […]

Spring is here, and with it comes tick season. Right on cue, John Ray spotted his first tick of the year at Koulas Farm this week. It is a good reminder that they are already active even with cooler mornings. Ticks are most commonly found in areas where grass meets woods, along trail edges, in […]

A Simple Idea for Making Outdoor Water Connections More Accessible I was in the shop at Sunny Meadow recently and came across a box full of connectors and splitters used for water systems. These are the fittings that are added to faucets every spring so multiple connections can be made, or so an open spigot […]

This weekend we are filming two more episodes of the series “Cooking Buckets Sugar House: Making Syrup.” Episode 4 will be a longer virtual tour of the sugar shack. This one is called Inside the Sugar Shack and will walk through the entire process from raw sap to finished syrup. It will show the evaporator, […]

Sometimes a simple question can open the door to a much bigger story. Someone recently suggested that, as the trees grow, perhaps branches from them could someday be used to graft new trees. Those new trees could be planted at conservation sites, parks like Roberts Field, or even near gathering places around town. The idea […]

Sometimes when walking through Chelmsford’s open spaces, you stumble across something that makes you stop in your tracks. Hidden just off the trail in one of our larger conservation areas sits this rusting piece of farm equipment. It is not in the best condition, and it is certainly not something anyone should climb on, but […]

The Last Farms of Chelmsford Looking at where farming stands today and whether there is still room for the next generation Chelmsford began as a farming town. For centuries the landscape was shaped by fields, orchards, pasture, and working woods. Even today the stone walls running through the forests quietly remind us that much of […]

COSS Educational Series: Maple Syrup Production in Chelmsford One of the missions of Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship (COSS) is to share educational information with residents and the public. This includes stories about local history, nature, community events, and the farming traditions that continue to shape our region. This weekend is Maple Weekend across Massachusetts. During […]

The Sap is Running in Chelmsford The maple season is now fully underway, and the new sugar bush at Sunny Meadow Farm is already showing what it can do. With the new tapping method, we are seeing about 25 gallons of sap per day coming in from the Sunny Meadow trees. What makes this even […]