Working in the wildflower garden this weekend, trying to maintain control of the weeds, I noticed a wide variety of butterflies, moths and other insects taking advantage of the early blooms. Each plant was picked for its value to hummingbirds and butterflies and other birds and insects. I often get asked to explain the difference between butterflies and moths, each differing in habits and body structure. You will see butterflies mainly in the daytime and moths at night, but this general rule does not hold true for all butterflies and moths; in fact we are seeing a lot of moths this year during the day and night.The best way to determine if it is a moth or butterfly is to look closely at its two antennae or “feelers.” If they are clubbed, you can be quite sure you have a butterfly. Moths generally have feathery or threadlike antennae.Moths and butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera, meaning scale-winged. Their delicate wings are covered with thousands of minute scales that overlap like shingles on a house. The arrangement of scales reflects a variety of colors through the translucent membranes between the wing veins. The scales on a moth are erratic, often thin and hairy. A butterfly’s wing scales are more uniform and smooth.When resting, a butterfly usually holds its wings closed and upright over its slender back. The moth rests with its wings stretched flat or folded over and around its plump back. Many types of moth larvae or “caterpillars” make cocoons from where, after time, they emerge as adult moths. Butterflies do not make cocoons. A mature butterfly larva tends to make a chrysalis in which to grow. The chrysalis is attached to a plant for several weeks while the larva inside begins to develop into a butterfly.I remember searching for butterfly larvae and, when I found one, watching it make a chrysalis and eventually emerge as a mature butterfly. I was particularly happy when I saw the famous monarch butterfly. How fun it was to see that brand new orange-and-black butterfly emerge and flutter away for the first time! Unfortunately, our familiar monarch continues to be on the decline. In fact, wintering populations in Mexico hit record lows this year. Scientists have been pointing to several reasons for this decline, including unusual weather patterns and loss of habitat. Of utmost concern though, is the use of herbicide-tolerant crops that has enabled farmers, particularly in the Midwest, to wipe out the milkweed growing between the rows of millions of acres of soybean and corn, and with it, much of the butterflies’ food supply. Back here at home, we can help by planting and maintaining native flowering plants, including milkweed, to attract birds and butterflies. Letting excess lawn revert to more of a field condition is also good and reduces maintenance costs. When planting for birds and butterflies, it is essential to avoid nonnative invasive plants. I also recommend adding benches to these backyard landscapes that will enable you and your family to observe this wildlife close-up. To learn more about moths and butterflies and a whole host of other nature-related topics, and to see many different live animals, don’t forget that the Sharon Audubon Festival will be held Aug. 10-11 at the Sharon Audubon Center.Scott E. Heth is the director of Audubon Sharon and can be reached at sheth@audubon.org, (subject line: Nature Notes).
Latest News
Voters approve $650K move of historic Lakeville train station
Patrick L. Sullivan
Sep 22, 2026
A delivery truck strikes the overhanging roof of Lakeville’s historic railroad station on Ethan Allen Street on Monday, Sept. 21. The collision came five days after voters approved spending up to $650,000 to move the building back 19 feet from the roadway.
Madi Long
SALISBURY — Voters overwhelmingly approved spending up to $650,000 to move Lakeville’s historic train station and construct a new foundation during a well-attended town meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
The proposal passed 111-37, with 105 residents voting in person and another 43 online.
The project calls for raising the Ethan Allen Street building, moving it back 19 feet and constructing a new foundation. Longer-term plans include restoring the interior and installing new heating and cooling systems.
The Board of Selectmen selected Burlington Construction’s $611,111 bid to complete the work, subject to voter approval of the funding. Voters authorized spending up to $650,000, with the balance available for engineering expenses and contingencies.
First Selectman Curtis Rand has argued for months that the project is necessary to preserve the building and improve safety at the congested intersection. Delivery trucks have struck the station’s overhanging roof multiple times in recent years.
Concrete barriers placed in front of the building have helped prevent trucks from striking it but have narrowed the busy roadway.
The intersection is especially congested in summer, when children bike to and from the town Grove and Lake Wononscopomuc.
After approving three other measures at the meeting, voters turned to the station proposal, the main item on the agenda.
“And now what we’ve all been waiting for,” Rand said.
Bill Littauer supported the project, citing his 20 years with the Lake Wononscopomuc Association and more recent involvement with the Lakeville Community Conservancy. He said both organizations have expressed interest in using the station.
Salisbury resident Victor Jermack described watching a tractor-trailer make a delivery on Ethan Allen Street, where restaurants line one side and the station extends toward the roadway on the other.
He urged the town to consider asking restaurant suppliers to use smaller trucks while the selectmen develop a complete plan for the station and determine the project’s full cost.
Tom Morrison, speaking as chairman of the Republican Town Committee, called the proposal “a no-brainer.”
“The status quo is untenable,” he said.
Margie Vail, a Salisbury resident, asked whether the town would continue to own the building. Rand said he did not know, but three nonprofit organizations had approached him about the property.
Phillip Oppenheimer of Salisbury warned that the $650,000 would cover only the move and foundation, while restoring the station would require additional spending. He said any future state grant would likely require matching funds from the town.
Oppenheimer questioned the wisdom of investing so much in a building with “no economic viability” and using money from the town’s debt service budget to pay for the project.
Cathy Shyer, who lives near the station, said she was speaking for herself and not as chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission. She described the intersection as hazardous because of the combination of trucks, cars and children riding bicycles.
“It’s a miracle we haven’t had a disaster there,” Shyer said. “I don’t care how much it costs.”
Mary Oppenheimer said moving the building back would not create additional parking along Ethan Allen Street. She suggested relocating it to another site instead.
Other residents raised concerns about the cost and its eventual use. Supporters described the project as overdue and said it would improve downtown Lakeville.
Rand said the Board of Finance could pay for the work using money from either the debt service budget line or the Bauer Fund, which is overseen by the finance board.
Voters also approved three other measures during the meeting with little discussion.
An ordinance providing a property tax abatement of up to $2,000 for eligible members of the Lakeville Hose Company and Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service passed 142-1.
An amendment to an existing ordinance waiving personal property tax bills of less than $5 passed 134-6. The waiver will not apply to vehicles at least 20 years old.
The town’s five-year Local Capital Improvement Plan, known as LOCIP, passed 142-3.
Keep ReadingShow less
Cornwall proposes ban on data centers, large battery facilities
Ruth Epstein
Sep 22, 2026
Cornwall Town Hall
File photo
Connecticut is making it easier for these data centers. We are concerned about the water and electricity needed for them. We don’t want them. — P&Z Chairman Anna Timell
CORNWALL — Cornwall is moving to shut the door on data centers and large-scale battery storage facilities before a developer attempts to submit plans for either type of project.
The Planning and Zoning Commission has proposed amending the town’s zoning regulations to define and prohibit both uses. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Cornwall Library.
If the P&Z Commission votes in favor of a ban, the zoning regulations will have to be amended to define centers and prohibit them.
The proposal comes as Connecticut offers tax incentives to attract data centers and promotes battery storage as part of its efforts to modernize the electric grid and expand renewable energy.
At the same time, communities are raising concerns about the facilities’ effects on electricity and water supplies, as well as community character.
In an interview, P&Z Chairman Anna Timell said commissioners are concerned that Cornwall’s fallow agricultural land could attract development, despite the town’s many conservation protections.
“But we worry about preserving those lands. Connecticut is making it easier for these data centers. We are concerned about the water and electricity needed for them. We don’t want them,” she said.
Janell Mullen, the commission’s consultant, prepared a memorandum in which she said data centers and battery energy storage systems “are becoming one of the most significant land-use challenges facing Connecticut planning and zoning commissions.
These projects can have profound impacts on local zoning, public safety, utilities, environmental concerns and the scenic quality of a small town like Cornwall.”
A data center is defined as a facility, structure or campus of structures primarily used for the storage, processing and distribution of digital data and information, including cloud-based services and network operations.
They typically include high density server and data storage equipment, telecommunications and networking infrastructure, mechanical systems for cooling, onsite electrical substations and security, monitoring and operational support infrastructure.
Traditional centers are often 25,000 to 100,000 square feet.
Mullen said towns in Connecticut are vulnerable because the state has established tax incentives to attract data center development. The law provides significant tax benefits for qualified centers and state agencies are actively marketing them as a destination.
The ban would also prohibit a battery energy storage system (BESS), which is a stationary system or facility designed to store electrical energy using rechargeable batteries or similar technologies for later use. They store and discharge electricity as needed. They can occupy several acres and contain hundreds of lithium-ion battery cabinets.
The state’s electric grid modernization efforts and renewable energy goals are driving demand for utility-scale battery storage facilities, Mullen said.
In her memorandum, she noted Morris has enacted a two-year moratorium on data centers and Groton, with a one-year moratorium, has developed regulations governing their location and operation.
She said many Connecticut towns are beginning to realize they have little, or no zoning language addressing either use.
Keep ReadingShow less
More than 50 teams test their knowledge at Kent Quiz Night
Lans Christensen
Sep 22, 2026
More that 50 teams filled the Kent firehouse Saturday, Sept. 19, for Kent Memorial Library’s annual Quiz Night fundraiser. Creative team names included “Let’s Get Quizzical,” “Trivia Killed the Radio Star” and “I Thought This Was Bingo.”
Lans Christensen
KENT — More than 50 teams packed the Kent firehouse Saturday, Sept. 19, for Kent Memorial Library’s annual Quiz Night.
Competitors gathered around tables beside the firetrucks, bringing food and refreshments for an evening of trivia and community competition.
The teams showed some creativity before the questions even began, with team names that included, “Let’s Get Quizzical,” “Trivia Killed the Radio Star,” “Schroedinger’s Cats,” “We Couldn’t Find Two Friends,” “I Thought This Was Bingo” and “Kent We Just Google It?”
Teams of four answered questions over 10 rounds, with a break at the halfway point. The highest-scoring team was eligible for a $200 prize.
Each team paid an entry fee and contributed a bottle of wine toward a raffle basket. Proceeds from the event benefited Kent Memorial Library, an independent nonprofit library that relies on fundraising, memberships and donations in addition to financial support from the town.
The categories were creative and designed to stump as many contestants as possible. Topics included camp songs, human-body trivia and hairstyles.
One of the most talked-about challenges involved tasting and identifying saltwater taffy flavors, including the exotic chili mango.
The winning team was Lizzie Bennett and the Pemberlies, made up of Kent School faculty members.
“It was a very silly evening,” library Director Sarah Marshall said, “and we made a nice, tidy profit for the library.”
Marshall said a final total could not be determined until expenses were calculated, “but it was a good night all around.”
Keep ReadingShow less
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Sharon housing project gets $500K
Christian Murray
Sep 22, 2026
SHARON — The Sharon Housing Trust has received a $500,000 state tax credit allocation to help finance its 10-unit affordable housing campus on North Main Street.
The funding will support renovations to six existing apartments in three buildings at 91, 93 and 95 North Main St. and the conversion of a fourth building, the former town community center at 99 North Main St., into four additional apartments.
The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority approved the award through the state Housing Tax Credit Contribution Program.
The program allows businesses to contribute funds to approved nonprofit housing developments in exchange for credits against certain Connecticut taxes. CHFA administers the program and allocates the credits.
The latest award brings major grants and donations for the North Main Street project to at least $2.75 million. The trust previously received $2 million from the state Department of Housing and $250,000 from the Low Road Foundation. Individuals, businesses and other foundations have also contributed.
Following a groundbreaking ceremony in fall 2025, work began with roof repairs on the existing apartments. Additional construction work was delayed while the State Historic Preservation Office reviewed plans for the four buildings: the three existing apartment buildings at 91, 93 and 95 North Main St. and the former community center at 99 North Main St.
The historic preservation review has been completed, according to the trust, which is adjusting its plans in response. The organization will next seek bids for the remaining renovations and hire a general contractor to convert 99 North Main St.
The six existing apartments are two-bedroom units and are occupied. The conversion of 99 North Main St. is expected to create four more two-bedroom units.
The housing campus will be landscaped using a design donated by Sharon resident and landscape designer Lynden Miller.
“The grant of $500,000 from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority’s HTCC Program will help us make sure that our affordable housing campus provides real benefit to the town of Sharon,” trust President Richard Baumann said in a statement.
The project comes as home prices and rents have risen sharply in Sharon. The median home sale price reached $762,500 in the 12 months ending in May, according to figures reported by The Lakeville Journal.
Citing federal housing data, the trust reported in a June presentation that 380 Sharon households are burdened by housing costs, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
The trust, formed in 2005, says its housing is intended for local workers, families, young people, seniors and others who cannot afford the town’s market prices.
In a separate project, the organization plans to replace a bungalow at 160 Silver Lake Shores Road, near Mudge Pond, with a three-bedroom house. The property was donated anonymously in December 2024. The trust hopes to complete the house in 2027 and sell it at an affordable price to a qualified buyer.
Keep ReadingShow less
Mark Edward Peck
Lakeville Journal
Sep 22, 2026
VILLAGE OF MILLERTON — Mark Edward Peck, 70, a lifelong area resident died peacefully at his childhood home in Millerton, New York, just as his beloved father had several years prior. Mark worked as a self-employed roofing contractor for MCM Construction in Millerton, prior to his illness.
Born June 5, 1956, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was the son of the late Alan G. and S. Jean (Bathrick) Peck. He was educated in the Webutuck School District and he graduated high school with the class of 1974. On Sept. 22, 1984 in Copake Falls, New York, he married the love of his life, Jane E. Robertson. Mrs. Peck survives at home in Millerton.
Mark was an avid musician and played and sang in multiple bands throughout his life. He loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed caring for his lawn and yard work in general. He was an avid New York Giants fan and greatly enjoyed long rides over Mount Riga with his beloved wife Jane. Mark will forever be remembered as an all-around good guy and he will be dearly missed by his family and many dear friends.
In addition to his wife Jane, Mark is survived by his son, Edward Brammer III and his wife Amy of Sandisfield, Massachusetts; two brothers, Bruce Peck of Au Sable Forks, New York, and Glenn Peck and his wife Lynn of Webster, New York; two grandchildren, Jessica Stevens and her husband Will of Canaan, Connecticut, and Abby Magner and her husband Alex of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and five great grandchildren, Brayden, Lyla, Eli, Wyatt and Noah. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother, Gary Peck of Copake, New York.
Calling hours will be held on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, New York. A funeral service will take place at 3 p.m. at the funeral home. Pastor William Mayhew will officiate. A reception in Mark’s honor will follow at the Millerton Firehouse. To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree is Mark’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com Arrangements have been entrusted to Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
Keep ReadingShow less
John H. Belter
Lakeville Journal
Sep 22, 2026
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — John H. Belter Jr. 77, of South Burlington, Vermont died on Tuesday Sept. 15, 2026, at home, following a battle with liver cancer.
He was born on June 12, 1949, in Sharon, Connecticut, the son of John and Doretta Beaupre Belter. He graduated from Housatonic High School and the Ag School at the University of Connecticut. He was married in St. Marks Church in New Canaan, Connecticut to Joyce Nelson.
John and Joyce started their adventure with their own dairy farm by renting a farm in Lakeville, Connecticut just down the road from his family’s homestead. They leased it for three years until they were able to purchase Ethan Allen Farm in South Burlington, Vermont. John enjoyed being able to raise his family on his working dairy farm. He received numerous awards in FFA, the National Corn Growers Association, Farm Bureau, and Jaycees. Being selected as one of four Outstanding Farmers in America in 1984, lead to having breakfast with his family at the White House with President Ronald Regan.
John served on the South Burlington planning commission for many years and was active in the Jaycees, Kiwanis, 4-H Leader and Holstein Fresian Association. John enjoyed many sports including golf, basketball, and tennis.
He is survived by his wife Joyce, his son Todd (Caroline) and his daughter Sarah (Anthony); five grandchildren; Jackson, Brayden, John, Cole, and Hadley; his brothers; Tom (Terry), James (Mindy), Stephen (Lori), and his sister Ann (Steve). John is also survived by Joyce’s sisters, Pam, and Sherry (Ken), along with many other loving family members.
He was predeceased by Jennifer, his daughter, who passed on Sept. 9, 2026, at the age of 49 from Ovarian Cancer, and by his parents.
Visiting hours will be from 2:00 to 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 26, at LaVigne Funeral Home,132 Main Street, Winooski, Vermont. A graveside service will follow at 5:00pm at Merrill Cemetery, Route 15, Colchester (Across from St Michael’s College). In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in John’s name to the American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice.
Keep ReadingShow less
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
loading
