“We are in the middle of a fight right now with hydrilla, and each punch definitely hurts a little more.” Jeremiah Foley, Assistant Scientist and Biological Control Specialist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station/Office of Aquatic Invasive Species
Map showing hydrilla survey sites at state boat launches.
SALISBURY — Last summer, East Twin became the first lake in the state to discover the presence of a genetically distinct strain of invasive hydrilla, a robust aquatic plant which, if left unchecked, can out-compete native plants and devastate local ecosystems.
Until it found its way into East Twin, most likely by hitchhiking a ride on a boat or boat trailer, the novel variant had only been identified in the Connecticut River, where it has wreaked havoc since 2016, and continues to do so today, as scientists and environmentalists work furiously to find a way to manage and eradicate the aggressive weed from the state’s waterways.
In response to the growing threat, the state environmentalists plan to spend the next several months, the peak hydrilla growth period, surveying 94 state-owned boat launches throughout Connecticut in search of hydrilla, according to Jeremiah Foley, assistant scientist and biological control specialist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station/Office of Aquatic Invasive Species (CAES/OAIS).
Foley, who has paid numerous visits to East Twin, was the guest lecturer at the Aug. 3 annual meeting of the Twin Lakes Association (TLA) at Camp Isola Bella. His presentation focused on the status of hydrilla in Connecticut and specifically on Twin Lakes.
He noted that a novel strain of hydrilla, first found in 2016, infests the Connecticut River from Agawam, Mass., to near Long Island Sound.
“In 2023, molecular identification confirmed the plant was also in six Connecticut lakes and ponds, and in four of the lakes, the hydrilla was found in close proximity to public boat launches. This suggests the plant may be introduced by launch activities particularly by boats entering the lakes that had previously been in the Connecticut River,” Foley explained.
The state scientist said early detection and rapid response protocols would be enhanced if hydrilla surveys of areas near boat ramps were performed to quantify how common the Connecticut River variant of hydrilla is found near boat launches, and if so, “provide guidance to help boaters prevent introduction, and prioritize management decisions.”
The boat launch survey project, he said, will include all 94 state-owned boat launches, including launches located at lakes and ponds. Seventy-five of the sites accommodate trailers and 20 are only for car top/carry in, he explained.
“We have now found the Connecticut River hydrilla in several locations,” explained Foley, who, before joining the OAIS, worked on invasive species control and eradication, including hydrilla, in Florida, where his bread and butter, he said, was biological control.
“You guys were the first to get it, or the first to find it. This year alone, we found it at four more sites. I can’t even keep my data updated fast enough. We are in the middle of a fight right now with hydrilla, and each punch definitely hurts a little more.”
During the nearly two-hour meeting, Foley, TLA officials and Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand fielded concerns and questions from those in attendance, many of whom live or own property on the Twin Lakes. They discussed the importance of halting the spread and eventually eradicating hydrilla through aggressive monitoring and lake management.
TLA president Grant Bogle opened the meeting by noting that it was no surprise that the 2024 survey revealed hydrilla has spread at East Twin. “We should be expecting this for a few years until we get control of the situation,” he noted.
Hydrilla, which is among the most aggressive invasive aquatic species, able to grow in water up to 30 feet deep and double in biomass every two weeks, has taken root in three new locations along East Twin’s eastern shore, at the north bed and has formed deep mats around the boat launch.
“If you go down to the marina, look to the right and look to the left, it’s hydrilla. It’s everywhere down there. That’s ground zero,” said Bogle.
On a positive note, the TLA president explained that the state is allowing the expanded use of the herbicide Sonar, widely regarded as one of the most effective treatments, around O’Hara’s Landing Marina and further into the north cove, where the plant is rapidly growing.
The treatment area around the marina will expand to include 17 acres, according to Russ Conklin, vice president of lake management for the TLA. Treatments were expected to start Aug. 7.
Looking ahead to next year, TLA officials said they plan to start Sonar treatment earlier in the season and for the entire growing period, and treatment will cover the entire littoral zone of East Twin, rather than spot-treatment, a strategy that was met with success at Coventry Lake, in Tolland County, where hydrilla was discovered in 2015.
East Twin officials are looking to Coventry Lake’s success in eradicating hydrilla after a seven-year effort as a case study for East Twin, even though that lake’s strain of hydrilla is slightly different than the Connecticut River variant.
Coventry initially spot treated with an herbicide Aquathol and applied a subsequent five-year treatment of Sonar to its entire littoral zone. By the end of 2022, there was no evidence of hydrilla in the lake. No herbicide treatment was applied in the 2023 season, and after three hydrilla beds cropped up in August, their lake consultant, Northeast Aquatic Research (NEAR), recommended a return to Sonar treatments of the entire littoral zone for a minimum of three years.
“There is a lot of ignorance surrounding the use of herbicides…that you can put the product in the water and see it go downstream. That’s not the case. You can be selective,” Foley explained.
He noted that there are a dozen products highly regulated by the EPA, and that herbicides are just one tool within the tool belt of dealing with invasive plants.
“If you don’t do anything, that’s also a threat to that biodiversity,” said Foley.
As hydrilla grows, lake management costs soar, too.
Bogle said the TLA expects to spend $300,000 battling hydrilla this year, and $350,000 in 2025.
“Maintaining Twin Lakes for future generations,” he said, “requires us to commit to sustained investments of upwards of $350,000 per year.” For the 2025 season, Bogle said the TLA needs to raise upwards of $225,000 per year.
The bulk of responsibility for funding lake management will fall to the TLA membership, he noted, as annual membership dues account for less than 10 percent of the budget.
“Everyone is scared to death about these expenses. And here is the unfortunate news,” said Bogle. “It doesn’t go down next year or the year after that.”
The town of Salisbury is poised to contribute $100,000 for lake management in 2025 which includes the cost of launch monitors at the marina, he said, and the TLA will continue to explore other funding sources, including grants through DEEP.
D.H. Callahan
Bernie Williams and his Band of Friends at Millbrook Winery in 2025.
Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, precious few greats have been considered five-tool players. New York Yankee Bernie Williams was one of them.
To be considered a five tool player, one must show exceptional proficiency in five categories: hitting for average, hitting for power, running bases, fielding and arm strength. But there’s another tool Williams possesses that didn’t make it to the back of his baseball card: his mastery of jazz guitar.
On Aug. 1 at Millbrook Winery, that elusive sixth tool will take center stage as Williams and his Band of Friends return to the Vineyard for a night of jazz, wine and possibly a baseball reference or two.
Williams is best known for his legendary career with the Yankees. During his 15 years with the Bronx Bombers, he won four World Series championships, four Gold Glove awards and one Silver Slugger award in 1998, the same year he won the American League batting title, making him the first player in history to win a Gold Glove, a batting title and a World Series in the same year. Oh yeah, he was also an MLB All-Star every year between 1997 through 2001.
But while his work on the field is well known to New Yorkers and the broader baseball world, he almost took the musical route through life.
Williams first picked up a guitar when he was just 8 years old and was immediately taken by the magic of music. He was so passionate about it that he attended a performing arts high school in his hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. By the time he made it to the big leagues, he was known as the guy with the guitar in the locker room.
That reputation soon reached the Yankees’ fan base, with commentators telling stories of Williams and his outfield teammate Paul O’Neill’s jam sessions. O’Neill set up a drum kit in a paint room at the old Yankee Stadium, and the two would play together through rain delays, sometimes getting visits from New York City’s musical greats while they waited to play ball. MSG Network, which aired Yankees games at the time, even ran a promotional ad featuring the two World Series champions jamming together on a blues riff in their batting practice uniforms.
But unlike O’Neill, whose drumming is a hobby at best, Williams is a serious musician. During an appearance with Paul Simon at a charity event, Simon surprised Williams and his band by playing “Mrs. Robinson,” a song they didn’t know and hadn’t practiced. But just a few lines in, Williams was taking solos and riffing on Simon’s choruses with expert musicianship.
While Williams’ music is the main draw for the event on Saturday, the relationship between the All-Star and the winery goes beyond the performance. The collaboration started in 2021, when Williams visited the vineyards and instantly connected with then-general manager Ian Bearup, bonding over baseball, music and wine. They quickly decided to team up and create a custom variety they call Bernie’s Blend. This year’s bottle, featuring art from Williams’ daughter, Beatriz, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and will be released at the performance on Saturday night.
While the VIP ticket levels are all sold out, as of press time, bring-your-own-lawn chair spots are still available. The wine will be available at the vineyard and online throughout the year at millbrookwine.com.
Elena Spellman
Deanna Hearn opened Lucky Orphans in 2003.
If horses could speak, Hearn believes they would offer just one piece of advice: “They’d tell us to slow down.”
From feeding retired racehorses before sunrise to guiding veterans, grieving parents and troubled teenagers through equine-assisted therapy sessions, Deanna Hearn rarely has a quiet day. As founder of Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue in Dover Plains, she oversees the care of more than 40 sanctuary horses while leading a nonprofit whose mission extends far beyond animal rescue.
What began as a childhood love of horses has evolved into a place where healing runs in both directions — for horses and for people. By the time you leave Lucky Orphans, it becomes clear that this place isn’t really about horses. The horses are simply how it begins. For Hearn, every rescued horse represents something much larger: hope, resilience, healing and second chances. The organization’s mission, she says, is simple: “People helping horses heal people.”
Growing up in the Bronx, Hearn was captivated whenever she saw horses. Her grandfather, a Korean War veteran, had cared for military horses during the war. After returning home, he struggled with addiction, and the invisible wounds of military service. Through every difficult chapter of his life, however, one thing consistently brought him peace.
“Horses bring peace,” he told his granddaughter.
When Hearn was 11, after years apart, Hearn and her grandfather began spending weekends riding together. Less than a year later, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Before he died, he asked family members to help buy Hearn’s first horse — a stubborn paint horse that bit, kicked and frequently threw her off. She wanted to sell him. Her father refused.
“Every life has value,” he told her.
Looking back, Hearn says that lesson became the foundation of everything she would later build.
What began as a boarding stable in 2003 took a different direction after the Dutchess County SPCA asked Hearn to care for horses seized in cruelty cases. She soon realized that although Dutchess County had one of New York’s largest horse populations, there was no dedicated nonprofit equipped to care for neglected and abused horses. Lucky Orphans officially became a nonprofit in 2008.
Some of the more than 40 horses at Lucky OrphansProvided
Today, Hearn is quick to point out that Lucky Orphans is not simply a rescue.
“We’re a sanctuary,” she said.
Many of the more than 40 horses living there arrive with broken bones, chronic illnesses, heart conditions, missing eyes or other injuries that make them unsuitable for riding or adoption. Rather than rehabilitating and rehoming them, Lucky Orphans makes a lifetime commitment to every horse.
In 2013, Hearn became certified in equine-assisted psychotherapy, combining her lifelong relationship with horses and the lessons she learned from her grandfather to create programs for veterans, trauma survivors, children and families facing emotional challenges. The transformations she witnesses continue to surprise her. She recalls one woman who arrived convinced she would not fit in with a group of strangers. During the session, a horse quietly chose to follow her without a rope or commands. For the first time in years, the woman said she felt truly seen.
Another memory has stayed with Hearn ever since. A teenager in a juvenile probation program, wearing an ankle monitor and struggling with anger, entered a round pen with a horse. As his frustration grew, the horse moved farther away. When he finally calmed himself, the horse walked directly toward him and rested its head against his chest.
“I told him, ‘If you can control your energy, you can control the world around you,’” Hearn said.
Stories like these sustain her through the difficult realities of running a nonprofit. Operating the sanctuary costs roughly $52,000 each month, and Hearn lives on the property, where the work never truly ends. Veterinary bills, staffing, fundraising and the daily care of dozens of horses are constant concerns. Then someone returns years later and tells her that the horses changed their child’s life.
“That’s why I keep going,” she said.
Looking ahead, Hearn hopes more people discover what makes Lucky Orphans unique. The organization is expanding its community programming with educational visits, yoga sessions, horse encounters, volunteer opportunities and family events designed to reconnect people with horses and with one another.
Her vision is simple: to create a place where people slow down, reconnect and remember something modern life often makes us forget. If horses could speak, Hearn believes they would offer just one piece of advice.
“They’d tell us to slow down,” she said.
After spending an afternoon at Lucky Orphans, it’s hard to disagree.
For more information or to plan a visit, go to luckyorphans.org
Jennifer Almquist
A brass quintet at the Yale Music Shed at Weekend in Norfolk 2025.
Norfolk bursts with activity in midsummer with Weekend in Norfolk (WIN). An all-volunteer committee transforms the town with free public events for all ages. WIN 2026 begins Thursday, July 30, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 2.
Norfolk sculptor Jon Riedeman, the new head of Norfolk Artists and Friends (NAF), organized the group’s 19th annual art exhibition, featuring paintings, sculpture, photography and jewelry by area artists in the Art Barn on the grounds of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Riedeman expanded the show this year by inviting artists from New Marlborough, Massachusetts, to participate. The exhibit opens with a reception Thursday, July 30, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Music fills the air throughout the weekend. On Thursday night, take in the Emerging Artists Series concert from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Music Shed, featuring the next generation of professional chamber musicians presented by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Then enjoy Friday Night on the Green, a welcoming party with live performances and free food.
The Bistro at Infinity Music Hall is extending its hours from noon to 9 p.m. throughout Weekend, with live music during the day. Don’t miss the Yale Brass Quintet performing in front of the historic 1833 Opera House. In addition, Norbrook Brewery will host a tap takeover featuring its celebrated local brews.
The Sidewalk Sunday Street Fair fills Station Place and Robertson Plaza with local artists, authors and craftspeople selling directly to visitors. Open Studios invites the public into working galleries and private studios for live demonstrations and artist meet-and-greets. Food trucks will also be available at the street fair.
Guided and self-guided tours showcase Norfolk’s historic estates and Victorian homes, while Tiffany stained-glass tours let visitors view Louis Comfort Tiffany windows in local chapels. The Village Green hosts public weddings and vow renewals as part of the festival.
Choose from five garden tours offered Sunday, Aug. 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Outdoors, guided nature walks explore Barbour Woods, with birding treks for wildlife lovers. Great Mountain Forest opens its 90-year-old weather station to the public, and workshops cover fly-fishing and pollinator gardening.
Food traditions include a Blueberry Betty social and an old-fashioned ice cream social. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the IceBox Cafe is offering 50 cents off its signature freshly brewed iced chai. On Saturday, the cafe will serve buttermilk pancakes all day, complete with Great Mountain Forest syrup.
Kids’ programming features movie screenings, yoga on the grass and art workshops.
Visitors can begin their adventure at The Hub, 2 Station Place, where volunteer “WINbassadors” will hand out maps and schedules. Full event details and ticket information are available at weekendinnorfolk.org.
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Richard Feiner And Annette Stover
Multimedia pioneer Laurie Anderson makes Tanglewood debut with a weekend of performances.
Musician, composer, performing artist and multimedia pioneer Laurie Anderson is one of the most influential and controversial figures in American contemporary and avant-garde arts. Her ambitious multimedia projects, encompassing music, film, visual projections, dance, and the spoken and written word, have enjoyed great public visibility, and Anderson has been recognized with many honors, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Gold Medal for Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and this year’s Kyoto Prize for Arts and Philosophy in the field of music.
Anderson will make her Tanglewood debut in a series of special events and performances Aug. 13-16, along with longtime collaborators and special guests, giving audiences an opportunity to experience her groundbreaking and challenging work, which has been received with both acclaim and confusion for its wit, innovation and interdisciplinary scope.
A concert on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 8 p.m., part of Tanglewood’s recital series that spotlights chamber music and solo performances curated specifically for the acoustics and atmosphere of Ozawa Hall, features Anderson, guests and members of the BSO in a selection of Anderson’s compositions for string orchestra led by conductor Dennis Russell Davies, principal conductor of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and artistic director and chief conductor of the Filharmonie Brno.
A program highlight is “Amelia,”a piece inspired by the pioneering pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world. The piece draws upon text from Earhart’s pilot’s log from her final international trip. In its blending of historical fact with atmospheric electronic music, minimal instrumentation and evocative soundscapes, the piece can be seen as emblematic of Anderson’s focus on transforming a historical event into a meditation on universal human experiences.
On Saturday, Aug. 15, at 2 p.m. in Studio E in Tanglewood’s Linde Center, the renowned opera and theater director and educator Peter Sellars will speak with Anderson as part of the Tanglewood Learning Institute’s Spotlight Series. Sellars is active at Tanglewood as a director and curator of contemporary works, and will guide Anderson in an exploration of her groundbreaking career and creative process. Their discussion will shine a light on their long history of artistic collaboration and their common interest in expanding the boundaries of music, language, technology and storytelling.
On Sunday, Aug. 16, from noon to 6 p.m., Studio E will present the Lou Reed Drone, a drone-based sonic installation curated by Anderson using guitars from her late husband Lou Reed’s collection. The event features performances by Reed’s former guitar tech Stewart Hurwood and a roster of guest artists rotating throughout the afternoon.
Finally, on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Ozawa Hall, Anderson will present “The Republic of Love,” an evening of music and storytelling reflecting on America’s past and present, featuring the genre-defying jazz ensemble Sexmob in its Tanglewood debut, along with special guests Mazz Swift and vocalist Christina Courtin.
As the title suggests, the piece plays on the classical idea of a republic — a political community governed by shared principles — to imagine what such a community would look like if its organizing principle were love rather than power. According to Anderson, the work isn’t sentimental. Instead, it examines love as a political and ethical force that shapes how people relate to one another and to institutions.
Collectively, these events will celebrate Anderson’s continued explorations of the power of words and language, visual imagery, and cutting-edge technology to challenge perceptions and to help audiences make sense of some of the most compelling questions of our day.
For information and tickets, go to tanglewood.org or call (888) 266-1200.
Ruth Epstein
As August looms, college students begin to think about the upcoming academic year. Concerns over roommate compatibility or maintaining good grades are common. But for some, mental health challenges can arise in the campus setting.
Author and psychiatrist Mathilde Ross deals with the subject in her book “How to Thrive at College: A Guide to the Ups and Downs of Mental Health on Campus.” Ross, the daughter of Cicily and Joseph Hajek of Sharon, will be among the writers featured at the Hotchkiss Library’s 28th annual Sharon Summer Book Signing on July 31 from 4:45 to 7:30 p.m.
In an informative yet humorous style, Ross, a senior staff psychiatrist in the counseling center at Boston University, dispenses advice to both parents and students. The book provides strategies for communicating about difficult topics and determining when there is a serious problem and when symptoms may be normal behavior.
Ross takes readers through a college calendar year and shares a series of cases she has encountered during her tenure. She’s counseled students with debilitating fears of dogs or flying, eating disorders and sleep deprivation — challenges that prevent them from functioning. Others are gripped by the certainty that they will fail out of school.
She also discusses those who suffer from depression, live with obsessive-compulsive disorder and contemplate suicide. Many problems can be traced back to childhood, she notes.
Ross says there are some things “we know are very, very bad,” labeling them “the Big Three: child abuse, domestic violence or a parent with an addiction. Each creates an unsafe and unstable early childhood environment, which is very bad for human development.”
She also speaks about the enormous pressure some parents put on their children — whether to succeed academically, excel in sports or pursue a particular talent — and the effects such expectations can have.
She writes about “young people who are burned out, and don’t know who they are. They know who their parents want them to be — they’ve gotten that message. But they’ve been driven to achieve, at the expense of knowing who they are, how to take care of themselves, or even if it’s worth it. A parenting style that emphasizes achievement at all costs … has a cost.”
Ross introduces readers to terms such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention, generalized anxiety disorder, stimulus restrictions and parenting pandemic.
While the subject can be heavy, Ross’s style adds a lightness to her message. Often self-effacing, especially when speaking about parenting her three children, she nevertheless provides tips that are easy to understand.
Ross said the impetus for writing the book came in 2017, when headlines blared about a mental health crisis among young people and she began seeing increased demand at her clinic. Friends, knowing her profession, peppered her with questions and concerns. Her short answer is, “The kids are all right. Not every single one, but the vast majority are very extremely totally all right.”
Her book, she said, is her answer to the public confusion.
For tickets to the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon’s Summer Book Signing, visit hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org
Kerri-Lee Mayland
Perhaps that’s why summer travel is so irresistible. It isn’t just the promise of sunshine or a change of scenery. It’s the chance to step outside our routines, notice how other people live, taste something we’ve never tasted before, discover a beautiful object made by local hands and come home just a little different than when we left.
The best trips don’t end at the airport or in the driveway. They continue in the way we cook, decorate, entertain and even dress. That’s why I always try to bring a little piece of wherever I’ve been home with me.
You don’t have to travel far to do it. A weekend in Vermont might introduce you to maple syrup from a family sugarhouse. A drive through the Berkshires could lead you to a local potter whose serving bowl becomes the centerpiece of family dinners. A stop at a Connecticut farm stand might send you home with lavender, local honey or a recipe you’ll make every summer.
The best souvenirs aren’t necessarily what you think they might be.
As I unpacked after a recent family trip to Italy and France, I found myself searching first for the two little mementos I’d brought back. They weren’t expensive or particularly remarkable, but I knew they’d be the things that would keep our vacation alive long after the suitcases were put away.
One was a small container of chunky flaked salt from a market in the South of France. My friend who hosted us insisted on buying it for me after I admired hers while cooking together. The other was a colorful silk scarf I found fluttering outside a tiny shop in Sanremo, Italy’s historic district, while my family waited for dinner at the restaurant next door. I know when I wear it, I will think of that evening again and again. The salt cost $8; the scarf, $12.
Since returning home, I’ve sprinkled the salt over tomatoes from my garden and used it to season pasta sauce. Every pinch brings me back to that bustling market and reminds me of the friend who gave it to me.
Some of my favorite souvenirs this summer, however, didn’t arrive home with me in my suitcase.
One afternoon, a friend served slices of fresh cantaloupe from a farm just down the road where we were staying. As I reached for a piece, she asked, “Don’t you want a little salt and lemon?” I never would have thought to pair those flavors, but together they transformed an ordinary melon into something unforgettable. Another day, I watched homemade hummus come together in minutes. I honestly didn’t expect it to taste much different from the store-bought kind. I was wrong. It was creamy, fresh and so flavorful that I doubt I’ll ever buy prepared hummus again.
Those recipes are now souvenirs, too.
That’s what is so satisfying about travel — it can change your everyday life long after you return through the keepsakes that come home with you. They’re recipes, ingredients, traditions and simple objects that carry a memory every time you use them.
The destination isn’t what matters most. It’s the feeling a place leaves with you and finding simple ways to carry that feeling into everyday life.
The next time you travel, whether it’s to Europe, Cape Cod, the Berkshires or just down the road, maybe you’ll be inspired to get creative when considering what to bring back.
Because the best souvenirs don’t just remind us of where we’ve been; they invite us to go back, if only for a moment — until we can meander again.
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