A Spattering of new, & recycled ideas for our community in the 2023 New Year. Jericho, Vermont

Happy New Year Jericho and Underhill residents! 

For those of you who are new members of Jericho, you can get a sense of the community from the listings that have been held in the past listed among those below.

For those and the folks who have been here, there are some new ideas and some old ones that have languished that might be reinstated or reinvigorated, or improved upon. 

Sometimes all it takes is an invite.

A Spattering of new, and recycled ideas for our community in the New Year 2023

Building human connection and a sense of belonging by encouraging and facilitating fun, personal interactions. 

1. *Winter barbecue on the Town Green (Coordinator needed)
2. Build a community of Snow-people on the 'Town Green' and throughout the community. (Sticky snow needed)
3. JFIN (Jericho Families in Nature) program. Currently Seeking Guides and Steering committee members. Contact Bernie or Abbey Heimlich, youth librarian, DRML.
4. HFL (Home Free Library) New Trial Program. Check it out.
5. Living Eulogy: Meet Your Neighbor. Share Your Story. 
6. Community engagement events - photos of past events. 
7. Snow & Ice Crystals/structures - photo sharing
8. Beards, mustache, facial hair club group photo. You grow it we will photo-crop it!
9. Snowshoe hike meetup (Date & loc TBD). Snowshoes are available for a week-long loan at the Library. 
10. Mouse Count (in-house only: D.O.A. dead or alive) contest
11. Xmas Cookie Sale (Need volunteers to re-establish this beloved event)
12. Holiday Tree Lighting Event
13. Family Kickball (all ages) game (winter or summer event) with hot chocolate or lemonade. (interested?)
14. Recommended Reading from the JLFL (Jericho Little Free Library) 
15. Donut and Coffee / Hot Chocolate day in the park (Homemade and store-bought donuts and muffins) Perhaps a joint venture with the J.C.S. 
16. Create a community tool, appliance, and bike Jericho Repair Cafe. See an example article here and here. Staff & Facility needed. "...reduce demand for material goods — for example through progressive taxation, by encouraging shared and collaborative consumption, incentivizing renovation and repair, and supporting community-based services." From the article: De-growth can work...
17. Create a tool lending library. Perhaps use the FPF need and availability archive function or Google Sheets to facilitate functionality. Staff and Facility needed. 
18. Short Story writing contest
19. 55 words or fewer - stories Contest
20. Valentine’s Day Phantom Event - Decorate the town with Hearts and quotes around a specific Valentine’s theme. 
21. Best Mailbox vote for
22. Jericho Art of the Month Display
23. Jericho Mystery Series photos - Where oh where in Jericho?
24. *Spring Bird Walks and Slow Birding (Big Sit)
25. Pollinator Plant Sale (April Sale for mid-June pick up).
26. Spring Chalk the Block event. Got chalk, a sidewalk? Go for it! 
27. Green Up Day Drop off Site meet up (food, photos, contest…) Organizers needed. 
28. Celebrate International Bee Day in May. 
29. Bio Blitz (May & September) Sponsored by JCC
30. Half Lawn Club - There Grows the Neighborhood! (Less lawn more biodiversity) #Rewilding. With an estimated 1 million species at risk of extinction and a 69% average plunge in wildlife populations between 1970 and 2018, we need to change our relationship with nature.
31. Riparian buffer best management practices outdoor onsite presentation (Interested in attending?)
32. Natural Resources Quarterly - Guided walk on a unique ecological priority area by landowner invite to the public.
33. Explore Jericho, Vermont @ https://jerichovermont.blogspot.com/2022/11/exploring-jericho-vermont-100000-views.html
34. Maple tree Tapping instructional demonstration and tasting
35. Wildflower and Biodiversity Talk By Bee the Change director Mike Kiernan. 2023 spring or early summer.  
36. Wildflower Walk (Ephemerals)
37. Greenbelt Beautification and Naturalization Vermont flower species planting.
38. Fruit and nut (bushes and trees) planting on greenbelts and other public lands for Food, Beauty, Traffic-slowing, and pollinator-friendly habitat. 
39. Invasive Management Day (Cut down invasive Honeysuckle b4 flowers go to seed). Mid to late May.
40. Hike and Read in the park (see S.B. example)
41. One Day Bakery and Conversation Meetup (Paris in Jericho) Homemade bread, local cheese, and cider! Need organizing committee.
42. Electric Vehicles & Electric Lawn Mowers Demonstration Day at a Jericho School.
43. Town Letter writing campaign (Pick a cause - EX. Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act
44. Conduct informal and fun polls (Prompt of the week #11 on the website) via FPF. See end-of-day questions. 
45. Crowdsourced Community Jigsaw Puzzle or Chess or Checkers game in a public space - play as you go or pass by. Open to all. (Interested?)
46. Story Book posted a page at a time along a community trail. A joint venture with the library? 
47. Record and report on the first signs of spring in Jericho
48. JOiNPC (Jericho Observing Nature Photo Contest)
49. Mobbs Trail building and maintenance (during May)
50. Walk and explore individual dirt road communities
51. *Summer Growing Young Gardeners Program (See S.B. Example)
52. Garden Tour with a theme of Vermont Plants (Plants that have evolved with insects and other wildlife in Vermont over centuries.)
53. Building amphibian critter houses hands-on demonstration project
54. Building Huglekultur mounds demonstration hands-on project. (Maeve gives a 1-hour class that covers building a Huglekultur). 
55. Discussions on regenerative gardening and beneficial insects. (Need a presenter and site facilitator for demonstrations). 
56. Soccer kick contest (teams or individuals) 1 kick per person at a time to try to score a goal into a net guarded by a volunteer goalie. Teams: Ages 1 - 104.
57. Talk by authors of Our Better Nature: Hopeful Excursions in Saving Biodiversity. (June?) (Contact is Curt Lindberg Waitsfield Conversation Commission chair). Sponsors TBD
58. Jericho Big Trucks (July)
59. Jericho Pet Parade (August)
60. Bio Blitz (May & September) Sponsored by JCC
61. Compete on team Jericho or team Underhill within the Vermont city and town Biodiversity project (Spring through Fall). 
62. Badminton team and singles competition event
63. Water balloon transfer game on the Green or at Mobbs
64. Bio-Diversity Celebration - Similar to Pet Parade only with insects (pets for one-day only). (June or July, or Aug). Transformative change is needed to conserve & restore nature and protect biodiversity. - UNBiodiversity
65. Cookoff - Grilling Contest & horseshoe tournament.
66. Storytelling: An oral celebration of family, community, and culture.
67. *Fall Ground Foliage Photo Contest
68. Garden Harvest Festival 
69. Potluck in the park (Possible C.C. benefit sale).
70. Comedy Central - Low-key short comedy talks by community members. (Need organizing committee). 
71. Pie bake-off Benefit CC sale.
72. Best Woodpile photos for bragging rights
73. Kite & airplane making and flying day.
74. Halloween Bike ride (See BTV example)
75. Re-tell Jericho Tall or Haunted more or less True Tales.
76. Annual Community Poem sharing
77. Fudge sale (Possible C.C. benefit sale). 
78. Outdoor Local Band or music night (Jericho got musicians?)
79. Heritage in Historical Homes photos and stories (You write, I will edit and publish).
80. Lasso a Goat or Sheep Event
81. Document all lost and found "Packages", "Dogs", "Cats" and other personal items in Jericho, for the historical record, if not the Guinness Book of World Records!
82. Join the housing and well-being over growth discussion: Public or cooperative housing, and a financial system that prioritizes housing as a basic need rather than as an opportunity for profit.
83. Join A Jericho Town committee and or attend a town committee meeting.

Let's Laugh, Dream, Try and Do Good TOGETHER

Read last year's (2022) Jericho Community New Years "Year of Caring" Letter @ https://jerichovermont.blogspot.com/2021/12/2022-year-of-caring.html

Lake Champlain monster "Champ" Shoots Fire into the Sky: Fury or Fiery Love?

 December 29, 2022, the sunset over Lake Champlain as seen from Jericho, Vermont, was firey red, or was it a mythical creature (Champ, the Lake Champlain Monster) letting out some fire and steam over the goings on at Chris Cleary's house in Jericho?

Chris Cleary and Friends (Matt, Ian, Nate, Alex, and Andres) Champ it out in Chris Cleary's secret workshop in Jericho, VT. Ok not so secret since the article by Sally Pollak, Seven Days titled  "Chris Cleary to Burn a Wooden Champ Sculpture on New Year's Eve".

     This may look like a sunset, but in fact, the hot ball is the result of Lake Champlain's Champ making a rare above-water appearance to shoot out a flaming ball of hot fire roiling the Lake with steam before it splashed back underneath, into its deep water cavern. 

Seldom does Champ emerge, and even less often flame up in such a conspicuous manner. The heat nearly melted all the snow in Burlington, all the way through Jericho, and part way up Mount Mansfield. 

What did Champ set its eyes on with the look inland into Jericho?

Once a Dragon is born, albeit in pieces, slats of wood, an unattached head, and yet to grow out spikes and scales, there is no turning back. Through the dark of night, Chris and his team work on Dec 29, a sort of witches' hour as the great red ball in the sky slowly diminishes, for now. 

About nine years ago Chris and his wife Kim started Cirque de Fuego — a Jericho-based circus troupe that entertains crowds with fire.  Chris acknowledges  “You can breathe fire right at them or send a fireball at them" speaking of his entertained and awed audience, but nothing compares to the roar of fire from Champ.  

But what is Champ's reason for suddenly coming out of the obscure hideaway in the deepest part of Lake Champlain, some 400' down? More to the point, why is Champ breathing fire right at Jericho Center, lighting up the sky in molten red as though it were August in Vermont? 

Matt Speroini (above) and Ian (below) race to finish the creation before Champ resurfaces on New Year's Eve. 

As the sea serpent scales harden as the hours go by, they become tougher to finesse. 

“I truly believe that community art should be community."  said Chris. He has a burning desire to share the experience with many others at the Lake Front New Year's Celebration. 

Let's hope the real Champ feels the same fiery love. 

The Lake Monster's fury would not bring a welcoming New Year. 

    Lake Champlain's Champ lights up a Vermont winter sky like no other. 

Fury or Fiery Love - Join the BTV Lake Front New Year's Celebration to find out - If You Dare!

Passersby Matty and Jonathan had to stop and exclaimed something along the lines of Wow dude what's up with THAT? Sea monsters are rare enough on large bodies of water like Lake Champlain. Seeing the birthing of one on dry land in Jericho, VT is nothing short of extraordinary. Who wouldn't stop to get a closer look?

Nearby neighbors check in on progress. Shortly before they arrived, a man and a woman visiting from Virginia tracked their way from the BTV Waterfront to Jericho to get a view of Champ II being birthed on land. 

Meanwhile, the work goes on. 

Like a puzzle, every piece of wood is needed, and every scale must be placed in just the right location. 

 The Final Stages of Birth of CHAMP II 

go on late into the night.

Awaiting  - a chin job.

The scales start out sandstone color, and metamorphose to green, but can also briefly change on command to orange, purple, pink, or red depending on the serp's mood. 

Serpent blood fully engorging the scales. 

NOTE THE EYE. I call this the awakening and personality-defining moment.

The serpent's eyes light up with self-awareness. 

Heat begins to radiate from the jaw;

As Ian gives a few words of encouragement to the new fledgling.

The final touches are fine and particular

as the serpent is fussy about its appearance.

Spikes will grow once the serpent

 is in sight of Lake Champlain water!

Scales begin to quiver searching for water. 

What will the delivery to the Lake Champlain lakefront on New Year's eve cause? 

Will the real champ fall in love or display jealous fury? 

Watch the skies 

they will either be filled with fireworks

or

filled with a red glow from Champ

 breathing fire into the midnight sky

all the way to Jericho, Vermont.

Behind the Scenes Early Development 

(The Skeletal core of Champ)

Jericho births a gazillion rocks 

and an occasional serpent. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Laugh, Dream, Try, and Do Good

Bernie

VIEW CHAMP II WITH HER SPIKES @ 

https://jerichovermont.blogspot.com/2022/12/lake-champlain-monster-champ-reaches.html

Lake Champlain monster "Champ" reaches full maturity Spikes Adorned.

The early morning hours of Dec 30, 2022, found Champ II restless being still nestled on dry land in Jericho, Vermont. 

A gallon of Lake Champlain water delivered on-site, raised more than the serpent's spirits. 

The dreamy-eyed serpent drank heavily of the fresh clean tasting Lake Champlain water quickly downing all two gallons. Then the transformation occurred as spines broke through and shot out. 

In a matter of twenty minutes, the pointed thorn-like extensions along the main body gave a sign that the serpent was maturing and more eager than ever to head to the Lake Champlain Waterfront. 

 

A quick look at the reflection assured the serpent the new growth was worthy of its claim to serpenthood. 

It is always important to have the fire breathing apparatus clear. 

She is behaving like a true CHAMP

Ah, now the crowning decor. 

She is looking like a Lady. Time to get moving to Lake Champlain Waterfront and display her in all her glory.

 Let's get her on the truck.  

VIEW CHAMP II loaded onto a truck and transported to the Lakefront here.