Thank You for Your Consideration

Thank You for Your ConsiderationBrandi Delancey2024-05-02T13:46:41-04:00

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willowsfordconservancyandfarm

willowsfordconservancyandfarm

May 22

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Current local celebrity: the Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) 🦎

Fast? Yes. Tiny dinosaur energy? Absolutely. These native lizards spend their days hunting insects and other small critters, making them a pretty helpful neighbor to have around.

May 19

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Farm stand season is officially back!

We kicked things off with two opening celebrations last week, and it felt great to welcome everyone back to the farm stands.

Thursday evening at the Boathouse was lively despite the chilly weather, and Saturday was a gorgeous day to be outdoors. Both days were filled with live music, great food and drinks, kids’ activities, and time for neighbors to connect with volunteers, farmers, and local partners.

We saw kids learning about termites at the activity table, meeting a few of our chickens with Farmer Paul, and plenty of great conversations throughout the stands.

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make the start of the season feel special.

Farm stand season is now in full swing:

Thursdays at the Boathouse Farm Stand | 4–6 PM
Saturdays at the Grange Farm Stand | 9 AM–1 PM

We hope to see you this season.

May 6

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A red-bellied Woodpecker emerging from its nest at Cedar Pond.

Woodpeckers don’t build nests with twigs. They carve cavities directly into trees, creating a protected chamber for eggs and young.

Once abandoned, these holes can often become homes for other wildlife.

May 5

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We’re kicking off the farm stand season with two chances to celebrate fresh flavors, local goods, and time well spent outdoors.

Join us at the Boat House Farm Stand for our Season Kickoff Celebration, then help us welcome back the Grange Farm Stand for its Summer Reopening.

Both events will feature live music, food trucks (@lamativa_ on Thursday and @mangomamamango on Saturday), and lawn games, with a special happy hour on Thursday, including beer and wine generously donated by Honor Brewing.

Come shop, explore, and ease into the season with us. We can’t wait to see you out there.

Check out the events on our calendar as we continue to add more of the amazing friends and partners joining us.

Apr 30

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We’ve been adding some new finds, local snacks, spreads, and pantry staples that pair perfectly with what’s coming out of the fields.

Build your own farm picnic with crisp apples, carrots, hummus, and a few extras you might not expect.

Need dinner too? @killertpizza will be joining us with delicious wood-fired pizza 🍕

Willowsford Boathouse Farm Stand
Today, 4–6pm

Apr 23

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Looking for a volunteer opportunity that’s easy, flexible, and fun? Join our Bluebird Monitoring program!

Help us keep an eye on our bluebird trail by checking nests, tracking hatchlings, and recording observations on your own schedule. No experience needed. Training is provided by Willowsford staff.

This is a hands-on way to support local wildlife and contribute to real citizen science right here in the community.

Apr 20

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Willow the River Otter, first spotted in Willow Lake on April 9, has since moved on to new waters. For a brief visit, they brought a lot of excitement to the lake and plenty of sightings to talk about.

Did you catch a glimpse of Willow during their stay?

Apr 17

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🌎 Earth Day is best spent outside! Join us April 24th for an evening of live music, good food, and hands-on ways to connect with nature.

Settle in with a blanket , enjoy the music, and visit the activities that bring the farm, forest, and wildlife a little closer.

Apr 16

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Willow Lake just got some new residents!

This past weekend, we restocked the lake with 50 Largemouth Bass, 350 Bluegill Sunfish, and hundreds of minnows to support a healthy, balanced fish population.

A big thank you to our volunteers who came out to assist the Land Stewardship team. We appreciate your help!

Restocking like this is based on ongoing monitoring of the lake and helps maintain a strong mix of species and a thriving ecosystem for years to come.

Apr 14

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Things are growing at the farm 🌱

Our seedlings have been thriving, and this week they made their way into the ground.

It’s exciting to see the fields starting to fill as the season gets underway.

Apr 14

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Thank you to everyone who came out yesterday for Scrape for the Grape at Willowsford. The Conservancy and @willowsfordlife hosted just over 40 volunteers of all ages at our obstacle course and Bull Run trailhead. We scraped 1,487 egg masses totaling about 52,000 spotted lanterns eggs. We appreciated participating in this community-wide service effort where over 1,000 volunteers scraped over 10 million eggs in total! @virginia_cooperative_extension @loudounwildlife @loudouncountygov @loudounwine and the amazing Loudoun Invasive Removal Alliance

Apr 12

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These Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are classic spring ephemerals, meaning they take full advantage of the short window before the forest canopy leafs out. For just a few fleeting weeks, they soak up sunlight, bloom in brilliant color, and support early pollinators before retreating underground until next year.

These photos were taken along Bull Run in The Greens during our Spring Wildflower Walk this morning. Bluebells thrive in rich, floodplain soils and often appear in sweeping patches along stream banks. If you want to see them yourself, be sure to go soon before they disappear!

Apr 9

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We have an unexpected visitor at Willow Lake…an otter!

A North American river otter was first spotted by staff about an hour ago enjoying the waters of Willow Lake. These playful mammals are excellent swimmers, capable of holding their breath for up to 8 minutes and diving to depths of around 60 feet in search of fish, frogs, and crayfish.

River otters are also known travelers, with home ranges that can stretch for miles along connected waterways. In other words, this curious visitor may just be passing through. Keep an eye out for our new friend on your next walk around the lake!

Mar 12

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Warm weather made for an amphibian-packed vernal pool walk last week! 🐸 Our group was treated to an impressive show from wood frogs and spring peepers, filling the evening with their unmistakable calls. In the water not only were there plenty of frogs, but also lots of eggs. The gelatinous masses of wood frog eggs were abundant along the southern edge of the pond. Next month, these eggs will hatch into thousands of tadpoles.

One unexpected (but very exciting) highlight was a spotted salamander! As the walk wrapped up, a few lingering explorers noticed tiny spermatophores scattered in the leaf litter which are little DNA packets left behind by male spotted salamanders. And sure enough, just a few feet away… there it was! These elusive salamanders are fossorial and live underground most of the year, only emerging during a short period for mating in vernal pools.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for an evening of springtime magic in the vernal pools! We plan to continue monitoring amphibian activity throughout Conservancy land, particularly breeding activity in vernal pools. If you see egg masses or salamanders while exploring Conservancy property, please let us know.

Please note: This salamander was handled carefully with clean, damp hands, gently lifted from the water for a quick look, and immediately released.

Feb 28

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Our trail cams had a little surprise for us in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a bobcat prowling through The Grant! Under the cover of darkness, this sleek, spotted neighbor made a rare appearance. Bobcats are not endangered and have wide territorial ranges, but they are still uncommon in our immediate area, so spotting one on camera is definitely an exciting find.

As opportunistic hunters, bobcats will feed on small game and, if available, small livestock. Like with bears, our approach to coexistence is simple: Give them space. We encourage residents not to feed wildlife, avoid leaving pet food outdoors, and monitor bird feeders. While bobcats rarely cause conflict with people, they have been known to prey on domestic cats, so keeping pets indoors, especially at night, is the safest choice.

This sighting is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. As a top-level predator, they play an important role in maintaining ecological balance and we are happy to have them here in Willowsford.

Feb 24

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If you’ve been out at dusk lately and heard a sudden “peent!”….congratulations, you’ve been serenaded by the American Woodcock! Also known as a “timberdoodle” this plump little creature is a one of a kind forest dwelling shorebird. The woodcock probes for earthworms with its long bill and its set back eyes help it keep an eye out for predators.

The buzzy “peent” call you hear in the video are part of the male’s mating calls heard in the spring around dusk. After several calls, the male will often perform a “sky dance”, flying into the air and spiraling down.

Feb 20

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When the snow melts, the salt on our driveways and roads doesn’t disappear, It flows straight into our streams. ❄️💧

After the recent snow melt, we measured chloride levels in Lenah Run in the Grange village that were nearly double compared to the levels we were measuring before January’s snowstorm.

While concentrations remain far below chronically toxic thresholds that harm aquatic wildlife, this spike is a clear reminder that everything we put on our roads, lawns, and driveways eventually makes its way into our waterways. Whether it’s salt during the winter or fertilizer in the summer, nothing stays put and it all ends up downstream eventually.

Feb 19

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It's Week 8, the LAST week for the 2025 Winter Farmer's Choice CSA! Farmer Andy shares cooking tips about black spanish rasdish as we take a trip around the pack line. Are you an Winter Egg CSA member? Your share continues through the end of April and you can still order a la carte veggies and more!

#Agriculture #shoplocal #eatlocal #loudouncounty

Feb 14

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Love is in the air… and echoing through the trees. 💘

Pileated Woodpeckers form strong pair bonds and often stay with the same mate for life, teaming up to defend territory, and raise their young. This Valentine’s Day weekend (February 13–16), show your love for birds by joining the Great Backyard Bird Count, a global community science event where anyone, anywhere can help track bird populations.

Just spend at least 15 minutes counting the birds you see and submit your observations online, it's that easy. Click the link in our bio to learn how to participate.

Feb 5

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It's week 7 for the 2025 Winter CSA! Farmer Andy takes us around the micro room (packing in a warm space today) for this week's Farmer's Choice.

#agriculture #shoplocal #EatLocal #loudouncounty