Monday April 29, 2024 
Capital District Senior Softball League Looking for Players
Capital District Senior Softball League is recruiting players for their 53+ mens leagues for the spring/summer season.
There are 53+ hi-arc, 53+ modified (flat pitch), and 65+ modified divisions. All games are played at Veterans Field in Clifton Park.
Visit cdseniorsoftball.com, or call Richard at 518-350-3711 for more information.
The S’mores Tours: Animal Tracking: Saturday, February 18: 1pm-3pm
Hike or snowshoe (depending on conditions) along the shoreline of Dyken Pond Center in search of animal tracks and enjoy some s’mores by a toasty campfire before heading back out of the woods. All ages welcome that can hike 1 mile. Free snowshoe loans available for youth. Adult rentals available for $5 per ½ day. Preregistration required at dykenpond@nullgmail.com or (518) 658-2055. Donations welcome to help cover our expenses.
Winter Break Snowshoeing: Wednesday, Feb. 22 and/or Friday Feb 24.: 1pm-2:30pm
Snowshoe along the picturesque shoreline of the Dyken Pond EEC searching the forest for animal sign and other seasonal wonders.
For all ages and skill levels. Free snowshoe loans available for youth. Adult rentals available for $5 per ½ day. Preregistration required at dykenpond@nullgmail.com or (518) 658-2055.
Tuesday Treks : Every Tuesday 12:30 – 2:30
Join Len Tremblay on a moderately paced 3 mile hike every Tuesday in February to explore the wilds of Dyken Pond Center. Learn the trail system one at a time with a knowledgeable guide. Each week we’ll discover new ground and nature. Hikes will be cancelled in bad weather. Preregistration required at dykenpond@nullgmail.com or (518) 658-2055. This program is free for adults and older teens.
RPA Speaker Series Presents: How Deer Affect Your Woods
How Deer Affect Your Woods with Kristi Sullivan. Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 7pm on Zoom
Kristi Sullivan, Wildlife Biologist at Cornell University, will discuss the effects deer are having on New York’s woodlands, and share clues you can use to determine the degree to which deer are affecting a particular forest. Learn how deer browsing affects the health and future of your forest and the plants and animals that live there. Find out how you can use AVID, a citizen science method to Assess Vegetation Impacts from Deer (aviddeer.com), to learn if deer are affecting your woods.
Pre-registration is required. The suggested voluntary donation is $5, though any amount is welcome. Register at Rensselaerplateau.org/events.
RPA Book Club Continues
You are warmly invited to RPA’s Nature Book Club, with Rama Hamarneh, PhD. The book club provides a space to discuss books related to nature, together as a community! One evening a month, we will meet on Zoom to discuss a book we have read, and the work’s relationship to nature. We will explore multiple aspects of nature in literature – represented through multiple genres and authors from around the globe.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 28 at 7pm on Zoom
For February 2023, we’ll read Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America by Peter Wohlleben and Jane Billinghurst. Do you use all five senses to explore your surroundings when you walk in the woods? For most of us, the answer is no—but when we do engage all our senses, a walk in the woods can go from pleasant to immersive and restorative. Forest Walking teaches you how to get the most out of your next adventure by becoming a forest detective, decoding nature’s signs and awakening to the ancient past and thrilling present of the ecosystem around you.
This book is available through the Upper Hudson Library System in physical format, on Libby and hoopla via the library as an ebook and audiobook, at Market Block Books, and through other book sellers.
The Zoom link for each meeting will be sent out to the book club email list a few days before the meeting. The book club is free to attend, and all are welcome.
RPA Winter Tracking Workshop with Dan Yacobellis
Winter Tracking Workshop with Dan Yacobellis; Sunday, March 5, 9am – 12pm; Gutierrez Family Forest, 720 Garfield Nassau Road, East Nassau.
Learn to read the tracks and sign of the animal residents of the Rensselaer Plateau. This ancient art/science will give you a fun way to connect with and get to know the local ecology, wherever you may be. From the signs animals leave, we can learn what they like, where their favorite places are, who they avoid or gravitate to and how they interact with all the species of plants, trees mammals and birds around them. Sometimes, we can even figure out what they are thinking or feeling!
Pre-registration is required. Space is limited, so register early. The registration fee for this special event is $40/person. Register at Rensselaerplateau.org/events
Frear Park Old Timer’s Golf League
The Frear Park Old Timer’s Golf League is now accepting applications for membership. The League plays the back nine every Tuesday, at 0800, starting in late April.
A, B and C groups are available. Handicaps will be established or accepted from the 2022 season. Open to all residents of the Capital District who are 65 years young.
Call Bob at 518-424-5045 or e-mail to 302tomhannock@nullgmail.com.