Boughton park in snow

(Photo by BobbaLew.)

Constant-readers of this here blog, if there are any at all, know I think the world of Boughton (“BOW-tin;” as in “wow”) Park.
As residents of West Bloomfield, one of the three towns that own it, we are entitled to use the park with a permit, which we have.
The other two towns are East Bloomfield and Victor.
Permits are available from the Town Clerks of the three towns that own it.
Boughton Park is in East Bloomfield, and used to be the Fairport Water Supply.
Two earthen dams were installed long ago, and they formed two fairly large ponds.
It’s been kept pretty natural; undeveloped.
There are picnic tables, and a picnic pavilion.
Rest-facilities are Porta-Johns, and occasionally people camp in there; e.g. the Boy Scouts.
Although they have to have a permit to do so.
Canoeing instruction is held on the ponds.
But there’s no swimming, nor powerboats.
Motorized recreational vehicles are not allowed on the trails.
Like most park users I’ve encountered there, I use it to walk my dog.
Every day my dog insists on a long walk in Boughton Park.
It’s the Happy Hunting Grounds; critters galore — deer and chipmunks and squirrels.

Photo by BobbaLew.

There’s a road in from the Boughton Road parking-lot, but it’s gated.
I walk the dog on a leash, and we walk in that road.
I leash her because I have to; otherwise she’d run away.
Plus she’s not too sociable with other dogs, especially unleashed ones.
I also run there — still can, despite advancing age.
Yesterday, Sunday, February 28, 2010, the park was gorgeous.
The road in hadn’t been plowed yet, so was laden with about a foot of snow.
A one-lane trail had been tramped in, and occasionally you see cross-country skiers in there — I have done so myself.
Everything was blanketed in a layer of glistening clean snow.
And it was still snowing; had been since the previous Thursday night.
And there was no wind. —What snow there was wasn’t getting blown off the trees.
In fact, it began snowing harder as we went along.
That park is maintained by a volunteer board and I used to be part of it.
Years ago a West Bloomfield commissioner split, and I decided to try it to see if I still could despite my stroke.
I finally had to give it up; too many conflicts, and I wasn’t doing much.
About all I did was shepherd a park brochure, and write most of it.

• We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester. To the east is the rural town of East Bloomfield, and the village of Bloomfield is within it. To the north is Victor, a quite larger rural town.
• “Fairport” is an old suburb east of Rochester on the Erie Canal.
• Our current dog is “Scarlett;” a rescue Irish-Setter. She’s four, and is our sixth Irish-Setter. (A “rescue Irish Setter” is an Irish Setter rescued from a bad home; e.g. a puppy-mill. By getting a rescue-dog, we avoid puppydom, but the dog is often messed up. —Scarlett is from a puppy-mill; and is therefore poorly socialized.)
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993.