A weekend of two halves

We spent all day Saturday doing our civic duty, voting to spend taxpayers money at the Lincoln Town Meeting. And yes, I did stand up twice to ask questions and make a point, although I left the hat at home.

Highlight was the adoption of a warrant article to reduce the use of fossil based fuels in new construction and major renovation of town owned buildings (including residential) by 50 percent by next year (2008) and to eliminate its use completely by 2030 - a very aggressive schedule. The town is following the lead of the Architecture Challenge 2030 initiative.

The warrant is particularly relevant given the Lincoln Public Schools K-8 identified the need to spend between $33 million and $65 million on rehabilitation or rebuilding over the next 10 years and the town's green environment committee identifies these public building as the least energy efficient in the town.

It was also good news for people who like to speed through Lincoln as they make a rat run around 128 bottlenecks in their dash to Routes 2 and 2A. The town voted to spend $5.5 million dollars over three years fixing its notorious - some would say quintessentially Lincolnesque - potholes.
Sorry everyone, the work will not start until after next winter's pothole season.

So if Saturday involved sitting in the dimly lit Brooks Auditorium for a little over nine hours, albeit for me for the first time in the "comfy seats" rather than steel chairs set out for non-voters, then Middlesex Fells once again provided an antidote of blue sky, bright sunshine and croaking of tree frogs in place of, at times, the long winded carping of residents.

We met up with AMC friends for a more leisurely walk of the Skyline Trail which afford the opportunity to spot and handle a garter snake, listen to freshly minted tree frogs and see numerous birds, including red tailed hawks and a great blue heron swooping overhead.

Sadly the Osprey Aether backpack was missing from this trip. It's on back-order - one of the many other signs of spring.