Mobbs Farm Committee

It was a very busy October for the Mobbs Farm Committee. The following projects were initiated and completed:

• The "Anne's Memorial Stone" Bridge was torn down and replaced by Rabbit Tracks Trail Works of Jeffersonville. Construction debris still has to be removed from the Fitzsimonds Road parking lot and work site, by the new bridge.
• An experimental horse lane was installed by by Lackey Landworks at the "Snaky Boardwalk" . The new lane, comprised of crushed stone with a top layer of finer gravel material, was designed for safer equestrian passage, with drain pipes installed. Should the experiment pan out, we anticipate replacing the current wooden boardwalks with gravel bedding and drain pipes, to enhance the trail surface. This will greatly improve the quality of the experience for Mobbs visitors and minimize the need for maintenance. The trail will also become much more equine-friendly as a result.
  
• A new tree was planted in the orchard (donated by a family from Essex) and planking for a new stump bench was milled by committee member, Riley Glanz.
  

• Have ALL PHASE fully brush hog the meadow on the west side of Fitzsimonds Road
  
• Clear out debris from the New Orchard, created from the removal of red and sugar maple trees that dominated the canopy.
• Complete updates to the Mobbs Farm Management Plan (required every five years).
  
• Complete the Annual Report, by the recently announced November 13th deadline.
  
• Close all trails at Mobbs Farm to Equestrian / Mountain Bike use, during the two week rifle / deer hunting season. The Mobbs FB page, Town Website, FPF and both kiosks will be sources of info for all visitors, reminding them of these closures and to request that all visitors and pets wear blaze orange during the two week rifle season.

When: May 11, 2024, 9 AM to 12 PM
Where: Mobbs Farm - Valley, Fitzsimonds Road, Jericho, VT

Do you love Mobbs Farm?

If so, please join us Saturday, MAY 11th at the Fitzsimonds Road Parking Lot from 9:00-Noon.

Members of the Mobbs Farm Committee will be leading crews to clean up the trail network and attend to winter damage on the property.

- Mobbs Farm annual brush hogging has taken place in the MEADOW section.

- New sign markers and maps have been installed.

- During the VT Rifle / Deer Season, MOBBS FARM is CLOSED to all mountain bike and equestrian use. PLEASE BE AWARE of Hunting activity and WEAR BLAZE ORANGE on you and your pets when visiting between Nov. 11-26th.

NEWS from MOBBS FARM COMMITTEE

- 15 New, way finding signs have been installed at key intersections on both HILL and MEADOW sides of Mobbs Farm. The signs are laminated and mounted with enlarged versions of the area immediately surrounding each of the way points.

- The Mobbs Farm Fall Trail Clean Up day on Sunday October 1st resulted in some nice improvements on the Out and Back trail. Crews were split up and spent three hours hanging our new trail signs, while others worked on enhancing the walkway on the Out and Back. Many thanks to committee members and volunteers for their assistance!

- Mobbs Farm Meadow section will be brush hogged in the month ahead, following the first few killing frosts of the season. Maturing berry patches will be left uncut.

- The Mobbs Farm Committee sends special thanks to Wayne Howe for his years of dedicated work as member of the Jericho Selectboard. The committee thanks him for his time, patience and insights during the establishment of the Mobbs Farm Conservation Easement through the Vermont Land Trust. Thank-you Wayne! You will be missed.

Mobbs Farm Updates:

The trail work morning on Out and Back, July 9th, was very productive with new stone laid in place and the Old Stone Wall cleared of fallen trees.

Another targeted trail day is scheduled for Thursday evening, August 17th from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. If interested in volunteering, please meet at the Fitzsimonds Parking Lot. Carpooling is always appreciated!

The heavy rains that hit the Green Mountain State did not spare Mobbs Farm. The deluges created plenty of standing, pooled water puddles and eroded some steep banks. Please steer clear of the mud holes and sensitive areas. Also a good idea to plan ahead for the abundant mosquitoes that are benefitting from the pooled water. The bugs are out in force!

Blueberries and blackberries are ripe and ready for picking on the property. Best bet for blueberries is up on the hillside, New Orchard area of the property. 4 new blueberry bushes were planted at the end of June and are all bearing fruit.

An equestrian day took place, just before the heavy rains arrived. It was great to see a dozen or so horses and riders enjoying the trails at Mobbs Farm!

As always, if you are planning on riding your mountain bike at Mobbs Farm, please consider using the BROWNS TRACE parking lot, as it affords plenty of parking and riders may easily access both sides of Fitzsimonds Road from the BT parking lot. Thanks!

MOBBS MONTHLY

The Mobbs Farm Committee Newsletter

December 2022/ January 2023

Following a meteorological roller coaster to wrap up 2022, winter has finally settled in at Mobbs Farm. Although we experienced a few false starts to the winter season, with snow and Polar Vortexes arriving in late January, Jericho is finally officially winterized for 2023. It seemed bizarre to witness bare ground, after almost 24” of snow had fallen in December, but such was the case as exceedingly warm temperatures and abundant rain completely obliterated our early season snow pack by the start of the New Year. The SnowDog snow grooming machine was champing at the bit to get out onto the trails, but it had to wait until the final weeks of January, before there was sufficient snow to even attempt grooming the trail network. Thankfully, low temps and a decent amount of snow arrived to transform Mobbs Farm into a wintery wonderland. Over 4.5 miles of trails have been groomed by committee member Christine Smith and her husband Dan. The intrepid couple completed a 90% network groom the other Friday evening, allowing the tracks to set up wonderfully, in time for a busy, sun-drenched, wintery weekend of skiing and snowshoeing for visitors to Mobbs. Special thanks to the Smiths for their hard work, grooming the abundant trails on both the Hillside (east of Fitzsimonds Road) and Meadow (west of Fitzsimonds Road) sections of the property. Chatting with visitors to Mobbs, many expressed their thanks for the enhanced conditions, thanks to the grooming effort.

Half of the Mobbs Farm Committee attended the recent Town of Jericho, Committee Appreciation Pot Luck at the Jericho Community Center. Those in attendance for the dinner reported that it was a really fun opportunity to meet informally with Jericho residents serving on a variety of other committees in Jericho. “Three goals” were expressed by each of the committees in attendance and Sam Graulty, vice chair of the Mobbs Farm Committee, delivered the MFC’s top three goals for the upcoming year: Repair / replace bridges & boardwalks as needed, Infrastructural upgrades for trails & drainage, ramp up special events for visitors.

Given the importance of bridges and boardwalks that connect the trail network, members of the Mobbs Farm Committee are working to secure funding and grants to replace and repair many of the walkways that are in need of some major TLC. It will be a busy spring and summer as these projects are undertaken by contractors hired by the MFC.

Interested in tracking critters at Mobbs Farm? Livy Strong of the Jericho Underhill Land Trust is organizing a nature walk around Mobbs Farm with noted wildlife tracking specialist, Sophie Mazowita on March 4th at 10:00 AM. Sophie is a naturalist, educator, and wildlife guide based in Jeffersonville, Vermont. She offers online and in-person tracking workshops through her website, Tracking Connection, and also guides week-long wildlife trips to Yellowstone and to Canada's polar bear country with Natural Habitat Adventures/WWF. At home in Vermont, her work focuses on identifying wildlife corridors and monitoring forest connectivity at a town and regional scale, and she manages the community science program for the nonprofit Cold Hollow to Canada. She also manages Tracker Certification, the nonprofit that offers CyberTracker wildlife tracking certifications across North America and hosts the biannual online North American Wildlife Tracker Conference. She holds an MS in Plant Biology from the UVM Field Naturalist Program, and her graduate work was focused on a natural resource study and management plan for Red Rocks Park in South Burlington. She has taught and coordinated chapters of the Vermont Master Naturalist Program for both South Burlington and Cambridge. The March 4th event will feature a walk around the property, to find and identify wildlife that live or travel across Mobbs Farm. Please contact Livy Strong (julandtrust@gmail.com) if interested in signing up as space is limited and pre-registration is required.

For kids of all ages, sledding is available at Mobbs Farm and easily accessible from the Brown’s Trace Parking lot! Following a quick walk up the hill from the lot, sledders will find a number of well-marked (see Field Daze photo) sledding trails that provide schussers a great opportunity to whiz down the trails into the large meadow below. Enjoy!

MOBBS MONTHLY

The Mobbs Farm Committee Newsletter

September / October/ November 2022

WOW! To put it mildly, the past two months featured some of the most fabulous foliage ever witnessed at Mobbs Farm! Fears of a “…meh” foliage season were put to rest when the Green Mountain State became ablaze with some of the most colorful displays ever seen. Based on this past summer’s hot temperatures and spotty rainstorms, the consensus going into September and October was that the foliage season would be unimpressive and short-lived. Neither scenario unfolded and locals were treated to an incredible, long-lasting display of beautiful orange, red, yellow, purple, brown and green. The festive fall foliage at Mobbs Farm provided the perfect backdrop for a special “Thank-you!” event, recognizing four entities that made financial contributions that paid for the establishment of the Vermont Land Trust Conservation Easement of the property, on October 8th. Although pen met paper and all the legal framework for the conservation of Mobbs was established back in May, 2022, the Oct. 8th event was held to thank those groups and individuals who contributed funds to establish the easement. Invited guests included (pictured left to right in the photo below): Bob Heiser of Vermont Land Trust, Tom Baribault, who represented the Jericho Conservation Commission, Livy Strong of the Jericho-Underhill Land Trust, and Town Clerk Jessica Alexander, who represented Jericho Town Hall. Adding to the festivities on the brisk Saturday morning was a brief, but significant, snow squall that blew through, just in time for the brunch-celebration event. Following presentations, each guest was introduced and presented with a special commemorative, framed, photograph of a vibrant, fall foliage display, complete with a rainbow arcing through the dark sky in the photograph. Following the brunch-celebration, a tour of the orchard at Mobbs Farm was held, introducing guests to this unique section of the property. Many thanks to all and special thanks to the generous donors who pitched in to conserve Mobbs Farm, in perpetuity, for future generations.

With the arrival of sub-freezing temperatures in Jericho, the entire meadow section of Mobbs Farm will be brush hogged, to keep the property open for all to enjoy. Mowing was delayed as long as possible, to allow all pollen-dependent species the opportunity to feast on the many native plants found at Mobbs Farm. Please keep an eye out for the mower as it makes its way around the meadow and as always, please keep pets under your control, especially around machinery.

Special thanks to Mobbs Farm Committee member, Terry Hook and his wife Andrea, for their diligent work repairing bridges and boardwalks around the property over the past two months. Also, a special note of recognition to committee member Christine Smith and her husband Dan for all their work with Fellowship of the Wheel, leaf blowing trails and establishing re-routed trails around the 200+ acres of Mobbs Farm!

REMINDER: The annual Vermont Deer Hunting Rifle Season is upon us and as you will see posted on all parking area kiosks, Mobbs Farm will be closed to all Mountain Bike and Equestrian use from November 12-27th . As Mobbs prides itself as a true multi-use area, please be respectful of hunters and for the enhanced visibility of yourself and your pets, PLEASE WEAR BLAZE ORANGE when visiting Mobbs during this two- week period.

Mobbs Committee Chair, Pete Davis, gives a tour of the new Orchard at Mobbs during the recent walk given to stakeholders and supporters of the Conservation Easement project.