I didn’t point out the dangers to these responsible parents enjoying frigid family fun this time, but I did leave the video camera rolling to capture the inevitable. As a dog owner and parent of a young sledder I highly advise against sledding inside any dog run. Bringing children into a dog park adds responsibility for their behavior and a risk to their safety. Wrapping them up in fuzzy, furry winter wear and sending them screaming down a hill makes them a target for animal instincts. The fact they ‘got away with it’ this day was against the odds.

There’s little more enjoyable than a walk in the New England woods in Autumn. Waveny Park in New Canaan is a great place to capture the beauty of Nature.
Here are two photographs of the Sunrise in November, 2011.

[They're 1280 x 960. If you click 'em and download the large image you can set one as your desktop or your phone's lock screen.]

Enjoy.
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As tropical storm Irene made her way through Spencer’s Run in Waveny Park she uprooted one of the few remaining trees and knocked a large branch onto the perimeter fence with crushing force.

View a small gallery of images from Sunday, August 28th, 2001

[Show as slideshow]

After six-week of “drying out” during our rainy season, the park is expected to open by noon. Some wonder whether new rules will be implemented restricting dog behavior in order to satisfy the legalese of maintenance.

Get out and enjoy the wonders of Waveny Park, New Canaan’s woodland gem and recreation area for a myriad of activities.

Those on the spencersrun.org email list or visitors to the website received this message:

How frustrating indeed to arrive on a sunny Saturday (I arrived simultaneously with 3 other cars full of family and dogs) only to walk to the gates of Spencer’s Run to find a closed sign.

The practical reason it’s closed is to allow the grass to grow. One can refer to this website to find article after article, since the opening of Spencer’s Run, regarding their never-ending battle to maintain aesthetically pleasing grass. Since it’s inception, there has never been pretty grass. Close the park for 6 weeks, let the grass grow, then open the gates only to witness canines don’t tread lightly and in a matter of a week, it’s back to ‘normal’.

On a seldom tread path in a relatively unfrequented section of Waveny Park I sensed the first signs of impending Spring weather this week. The snow has melted enough to make trudging the forest paths possible for more than just the strong and the brave. With a terrific dumping of white this winter, almost all of the folks traveling the Waveny trails were on skis or snowshoes. Walking a mile in two feet of snow just isn’t an easy feat, not to say we didn’t do just that more than once this past January and February.

We even came across a secret message carved in bark and stuck like a road sign along the path; An arrow pointing with the message “over by that tree”. (Despite the park’s current regime, there are still hundreds of trees in Waveny.) We couldn’t figure out which tree the sign referenced or why but it was nice to be able to walk the paths without too much difficulty. We look forward to Spring weather and a renewed interest in enjoying New Canaan’s public land.

The remaining bits of Waveny Park that haven’t been contaminated with dredge spoils, paved with asphalt, deforested, landscaped beyond recognition or bastardized by a capitalist scheme are still a wonderful retreat filled with local flora. (the fauna is gone save for one or two squirrels).

…Just had to post this seldom seen sight.

BTW: The almost 2 feet of snow didn’t deter canines and their companions from enjoying the outdoors in New Canaan’s wonder-full Waveny Park on the once pristine Lapham Estate.