**UPDATES BELOW**

We hope you can join us for the 2016 spring work day in Horizons Village! The Lower Commons Land Committee and FireWise Committee will host the event, which will help maintain the common land and walking trails.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Sunday, April 3, 10:00-12:30.

WHERE: Meet at the two large trees at the top of Cindy’s Meadow (Lower Commons).

WHAT TO BRING: Work gloves; insect spray; layered dressing, including long sleeves and good leg covering; sturdy shoes and a water bottle.

WHAT WE’LL BE DOING: Cutting and digging up small trees, vines, and thorn branches; mowing paths; weatherizing benches; cutting dead trees; moving dead tree limbs; and creating a chipping pile.

TOOLS WE NEED: Clippers (small, medium and large), one or two chainsaws, weed whackers, a wheelbarrow, and shovels.Please RSVP to Ken or Simona if you plan to bring a chainsaw, weed whacker, or wheelbarrow.

After our work, we’ll meet at Ken and Alice’s house at 1:00 (206 Old Turtle Place) for a delicious brunch and time to relax. Please bring a dish to share!

We hope to see you there!

Picture courtesy of Ken Wyner.

With spring upon us, our friends at the Center for Urban Habitats passed along a beautifully illustrated and informative fact sheet about one of our amphibious residents: the Spotted Salamander. These creatures thrive in the vernal pools and wetland areas of Horizons Village. Some grow to be more than nine inches long, and they’ve been known to hide as deep as seven feet underground! Click here to read the fact sheet.

Photo credit: By Camazine at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Thanks Corey for passing this along!

To Gary Strong, a Horizons Village resident and amateur astrophotographer, the dark sky above Horizons Village is a gift. Horizons Village has policies that protect our community, but the one that he especially appreciates is the policy that reminds residents to be mindful of the lights they have on at night. Residents are encouraged to only use lights when we need them, and, if we want a security light on at night, we try to have ones that only shine downward. It is because of our community’s dark skies one can capture incredible images like this one of the nebula in Orion’s sword, which Gary took from his front yard.