Home and Garden, and Real Estate- October 13, 2024
By L aura Daily
The Washington Post
WASHING MAchines come with more bells and whistles than you can count: different rinse cycles, built-in sensors and fancy apps, to name a few. Before you can even think about those things, though, you have to figure out whether you want a front- or top-loading machine.
So, how to choose? “Your top considerations should be lifestyle, space, needs and ergonomics,” says Stephen Hughes, owner of Mr. Appliance in Lexington, Kentucky. Here’s a look at the advantages and drawbacks for both types of washers, along with some maintenance and care tips.
Front-loaders
Pros:
• Use less water. For those with low-production water sources, such as a well, who live in drought-prone areas or who just want to conserve water, these machines use only about 10 to 15 gallons per cycle. That is 30 to 40 percent less than a standard top-load unit and 25 to 30 percent less than a high-efficiency one, Hughes says.
• Gentle on fabrics. The drums use a tumbling motion to clean, repeatedly lifting clothes and dropping them back in the water. This action, coupled with the lack of an agitator, helps minimize wear and tear on fabric, says Hal Strong, marketing manager for BSH Home Appliances, which manufactures washers and dryers, including Bosch.
• Ergonomic. It’s easier
Top
vs. front
loaders:
Is one type of washing machine better?
to move your load from the washer to the dryer when both have a front door, says Adam Whobrey, head of product management for LG Home Appliances. If bending and squatting is challenging for you, consider adding a pedestal to raise the machine 8 to 12 inches.
• Shorter dry time. They spin 10 to 20% faster than a traditional top-loader. “That higher spin speed extracts more water from textiles,” Whobrey says, meaning they require less time in the dryer.
• Fits in tight spaces. They are designed to be space savers, Strong says. Stack a dryer on top of a front-loader to conserve valuable floor space. Several companies even manufacture models designed to fit in closets or other tight quarters.
Cons:
• Prone to odors. The door forms a tight seal to prevent water leakage. That dark, cool environment and the limited air circulation create the perfect petri dish for mold. “The biggest complaint from customers is about mold and mildew making their clothes smell bad,” Hughes says. First-generation machines were especially susceptible. More recent models are engineered to use high-efficiency detergent, which reduces the chance of mildew building up, and some brands have mold-resistant gaskets.
• Heavy. If you have a second-floor laundry room, ensure the floor is structurally sound and can support the weight, Hughes says. These machines typically weigh 150 to 300 pounds (compared with 120 to 180 for a top-loader). And when they’re spinning 20 to 40 pounds of wet clothes at 72 mph, they can shake your home.
• The front door. Typically, it’s hinged on the left
side, opening from the right. Before buying one, make sure you have enough space for the door to fully open.
Top-loaders
Pros:
• Deep cleans. They use an agitator or the friction of clothes rubbing against one another to scrub laundry and remove dirt and stains. This heavy-duty cleaning power is good for people with an active lifestyle or kids or for those who love to garden or have a job that leaves clothes heavily soiled, Hughes says.
• Odor-free. Even when the lid is closed, they aren’t airtight. Natural air flow practically eliminates the growth of mold and mildew.
• Easy to load. Just drop in laundry. No bending or squatting required.
• Longer life. The average traditional machine lasts 10 to 15 years without major repair; an HE version’s life span averages between seven and 10 years, Hughes says. That’s two to three years longer than a typical front-load machine.
Cons:
• Shortens fabric life. The deep-cleaning agitator action means your laundry takes a beating. You’re more likely to find frayed edges on towels and pillowcases or stretched out elastic waistbands. Even agitator-free models may have edges on the drum that can snag fabric.
• Unloading can be tough. As easy as they are to load, they require a deep dive to reach the bottom when removing laundry, Strong says.
• Not everything may get washed. We’re all guilty of occasionally overstuffing our washer. Models without agitators gain extra space, but that’s deceiving. When tightly packed laundry doesn’t have the room to tumble, the result may be uneven distribution of de-
tergent and water. In some cases, you may even find items that didn’t get wet or cleaned.
• Require more space. They can’t be stacked so they need more floor space if you’re pairing them with a dryer. Also, any cabinets or shelving above the unit could impede the lid from fully opening.
Maintenance and care
Regardless of which type of machine you choose, you need to properly maintain it. Here are some tips from Ocean Van, owner of Coco Laundry in Long Beach, California.
Front-load machines
• Remove washed clothes promptly so they don’t serve as a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Wipe the inside door gasket and glass dry between laundry sessions.
• If you spot mold, dampen a cloth with household bleach and lay it on the gasket for about 15 minutes, or until it loosens. Then wipe off the mold and wash away excess bleach with hot water.
• Gently pull on the rubber door seal to remove debris behind it.
• Pull out and clean the dispenser drawer with a soft
brush and warm water.
• Flush the detergent compartments with warm water after each use.
• Leave the front door ajar so air can circulate, allowing the drum to dry completely.
• At the lowest point in the machine, you’ll find the drain pump. Follow manufacturer directions for monthly cleaning.
Top-load machines
• Wipe residue or dust from the bottom of the drum and around the lid with a microfiber cloth and warm water after each laundry session.
• At least once a month, pour vinegar and baking soda into the machine or add a product such as Affresh or Washer Magic, then run a cleaning cycle or use the hottest cycle.
• Avoid overloading the machine to reduce wear on the agitator and other components. Most top-load washers have a line or mark indicating maximum height to load.
Top-loading washing machine. (ADOBE STOCK IMAGES)
A front-loading washing machine. (ADOBE STOCK IMAGES)
lee reich | In the Garden
This ugly fruit is really quite peachy
AFEW DAYS AGO, A FUZZY
orb that I held in my hand became a time machine. This time machine was a peach, and time travel took place immediately after I took a bite out. There I was, no longer eating the peach on my friend Wendy’s farm, but in the backyard of my youth, biting into a peach from our backyard tree. (Our home “orchard” also consisted of two crabapple trees, whose fruit was morphed under the direction of a great aunt into jelly, and a pear tree that I remember bearing only one fruit that I watched daily only to find it, one day, gone, picked prematurely by my sister.) Back to the time machine peaches. These peaches would never sell at a supermarket, even a farmers’ market.
Their skin was very fuzzy and a washed-out yellow color, some with just a hint of a blush.
I remember, when I worked for Cornell University, Roger Way, the apple breeder at the time, bemoaning the fact that “Americans eat with their eyes.”
“Would never sell,” that is, unless a taste was offered. Protected within that admittedly ugly skin was a meaty, golden yellow flesh. The flesh was sweet and, in contrast to most peaches these days, very rich tasting, with a strong peachy flavor. It’s that peachy flavor that whisked me backwards in time.
GARDEN NOTES
WESTFIELD Stanley Park’s Garden Workshop
is, they must experience winter before they’ll sprout. If they sprouted now, the young, tender seedlings would succumb to winter cold.
Plant the pit outdoors, and it will be naturally stratified. I prefer to fool the pit by cracking the outer shell, soaking the seed in water for a few hours, then putting it in a plastic bag, along with moist potting soil, in the refrigerator. Seeds stratified in the refrigerator will often sprout in the bag within a couple of months, at which point they need to be planted. I plan to pot them up.
Seed-grown fruit trees generally don’t bear fruit identical to the fruits from which the seeds came. It depends on what variety pollinated the flower that became the fruit, and how the chromosomes got juggled around.
This year has been the best ever fruit year in decades around here, even right here on my farmden, where the low-lying site is not very fruit friendly. Peaches always fail here.
Against my better judgment I am going to once again venture into peachdom. Perhaps Wendy’s peach is resistant to peach ills: brown rot, plum curculio, oriental fruit moth, bacterial spot, and peach scab. (Yes, her fruits were afflicted by scab, but not enough to diminish the pleasure
of biting into them.)
Wendy isn’t sure of the variety name of her tree so I can’t order that one from a nursery. No matter. Pits saved from some of the fruits can be grown into whole new trees. Seed-grown peach trees grow quickly and take only three or four years before their branches are adorned by fruits. Plant a peach pit now, and it will not sprout until next spring, even if you keep it warm.
Like other temperate-zone fruits, the seeds need to be stratified, that
WEST SPRINGFIELD West Springfield Garden Club meeting
Peach trees are self-pollinating, which reduces the variability from fruit parent to fruit child, so there’s a good chance that a seed grown peach tree will yield tasty fruit. In contrast, plant an apple seed and there’s about 1 in 10,000 chance that the fruit from the resulting chance will even be edible.
If I wanted an exact replica of Wendy’s peach, I could beg a branch from her tree and graft it onto a peach rootstock. What’s a peach rootstock? It could be any peach tree grown from seed.
Come visit my garden at http:// www.leereich.com/blog.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, 10 to 11 a.m., the Stanley Park Greenhouse and Horticultural staff will lead a workshop on fall bulb planting and how to prep your home gardens for the winter. If time allows, take a walk to other garden(s). The workshops will meet at the fountain in the Rose Garden. Use gates 2 or 3 for parking and easy access to the Rose Garden. For further information on the garden workshop, to www.stanleypark.org or call the park office at 413-5689312.
done in the harshest winter weather. You will grow hardy, beautiful plants by springtime. This meeting is open to the public. Contact Joan at graceshad@msn.com with any questions.
tem and how they can be used in home gardens in place of non-native and invasive ornamentals. For more information, call Lil at 413-566-1137. Guest fee $5.
STOCKBRIDGE
On Thursday, Oct. 17, the West Springfield Garden Club will meet at the Irish Cultural Center at 429 Morgan Road, at 6 p.m. After a short business meeting, the featured speaker, Susan Allen, will inspire us to start winter gardening. She will share her experience and tips, demonstrating how to sow seeds in milk jugs, which can be
HAMPDEN Hampden Garden Club program
The Hampden Garden Club will host a program on Thursday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. at Academy Hall, 616 Main St. The program “Native Plants” will be hosted by Master Gardner George Kingston. He will discuss why native plants are important for our ecosys-
Upcoming program at Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire Botanical Garden presents the following upcoming program: Saturday, Oct. 19, “Salt and Seasoning,” 1 to 3 p.m.
Rolling Rock Salt of Sheffield will share the history of
salt, the various types of salt, and explore “no salt” options. Learn about peppercorns and herbal seasoning, make salty infusions and cook with all the salts, pepper and seasonings available. There will be a “stump the band” grand finale, and a salt and seasoning sale following the class, with all proceeds going to BBG. Cost is $60 for members, $80 nonmembers. To register or for more information, visit www.berkshirebotanical. org. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at 5 West Stockbridge Road.
Send items for Garden Notes to pmastriano@repub.com two weeks prior to publication.
The unattractive appearance of these peaches belies their rich, sweet flavor. (LEE REICH PHOTO)
By Jeanne Huber
The Washington Post
Q.Water leaked into our below-ground, wood-paneled den and seeped into the wall and baseboard. We fixed the source of the leak, and the wall is dry now. But the wood is heavily stained. I think the paneling is original to our 1966 house. It doesn’t appear to have a finish. Is it possible to restore the wood?
A. It might be possible to restore the paneling and baseboard. And if that doesn’t work, you have a few other options for improving the look of the wall.
From the picture you sent, it appears that sections of paper are stuck to the wood and that once you’ve removed those, the main damage will be a black stain a common problem when certain woods become soaked with water.
The color results from minerals in the water reacting with tannins in the wood, the same reaction that occurs around iron nails or screws, particularly in tannin-rich woods such as cedar or oak. Tannins are natural substances; the name comes from using oak and other wood to tan hides into leather.
Whether you’re dealing with a stained tabletop or stained paneling, it’s often possible to apply oxalic acid to reverse the chemical reaction that caused wood to darken.
But in your case, you first need to scrape off the paper that’s stuck to the paneling and baseboard. Because the paper probably stuck when the wood was damp, spritz the wall and baseboard first, which will probably make the paper come off more easily. Try using a plastic
scraper, like you’d use for cleaning pots or a glass cooktop.
Scrubbing with a pot scrubber might help, too. Avoid steel wool, though; if shards get caught in the wood, they will just make the stains worse.
Although it’s possible to buy oxalic acid labeled for use in refinishing wood (a 12-ounce tub of Savogran Wood Bleach is $16.99 on Amazon), you can just buy a can of Bar Keepers Friend cleanser in the cleaning-supplies aisle of your local supermarket or hardware store. (A 15-ounce can is $2.99 at Ace Hardware.) Bar Keepers Friend contains a weaker concentration of oxalic acid 7.5 percent to 9.5 percent, according to the product’s safety data sheet but that’s not a problem because you can apply it several times, if needed. Then follow these steps: Wear nitrile or similar gloves and consider wearing goggles, even though the risk of spatters seems low. Spread a plastic drop cloth and tape down the edges to protect non-wood surfaces. In your case, to protect the carpet, run the tape along the shoe molding at the bottom edge of the baseboard. Even if that might leave some dark stains on the molding, that would be better than bleaching the carpet. Mix cleanser and water to make a thin, milky paste. (On a tabletop, you could instead dampen the wood and sprinkle on the cleanser.) Brush the solution onto the wood, completely covering the black areas, and scrub it in with a white scrub pad or a sponge. It’s fine to also get some onto areas of paneling or baseboard that aren’t stained.
An example of a water-damaged plywood board wall (ADOBE STOCK IMAGES)
terry and kim kovel | Antiques & Collecting
Pumpkin spice has a long history
For the past few years, the arrival of fall has meant two things: pumpkin spice in everything and jokes about pumpkin spice in everything. The flavor may have exploded in popularity during the last decade or so, but it’s been around much longer than that. This tin by the Frank Tea and Spice Co., which sold for $153 at Morford’s Antique Advertising Auctions (AntiqueAdvertising. com), is proof.
The Frank Tea & Spice Company, probably best known as the inventor of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, was founded in Cincinnati in 1896 by salesman Jacob Frank and his brothers Emil and Charles. By the early 1900s, it was the fourth-largest manufacturer of spices in the United States.
Pumpkin pie was well established by then. Indigenous Americans cultivated, cooked and ate pumpkin for thousands of years. British colonizers didn’t take long to use this American vegetable the same way they did most other foods: putting it in pies.
The first known recipe for a “pumpion pye,” as it was spelled then, is in a 17th-century British cookbook, but it’s not quite the same as the pie we know today.
The recipe instructs the cook to slice the “pumpion” and fry the slices, then bake them in a crust with apples and raisins.
A recipe for custard-style
pumpkin pie like the one we know today appeared in the first cookbook written and published by an American, 1796’s American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. Favorite spices like ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon crept into these recipes by the 19th century, and this version of the pie has been gracing holiday tables ever since ... and now inspires a multitude of other treats.
Q. I am looking for a buyer for a leather jacket. It is handmade and signed with an old Bic pen “Hapiglop Woodstock.”
A. Hapiglop was a leather shop in Woodstock, New York, in the 1960s and ’70s. We have found out very little about them, but they apparently made and sold clothing like leather jackets and fringed suede vests that were popular with the hippie counterculture.
Their clothing tags had “Hapiglop” written in a style that looked like handwriting. Any clothing in wearable condition can be sold, and vintage clothing is extremely popular right now.
Leather often gets better with age; many buyers prefer the worn-in feel and distressed look of vintage leather jackets to new ones. Contact vintage clothing stores in your area to see if they are interested in the jacket.
Another possibility is selling online on a website like eBay or Etsy, or one of the popular clothing resale sites like Thredup, Poshmark or TheRealReal.
Q. I have an oil painting titled “Somebody Coming” with an identification label on the back for “Green’s Transport & Furnishing Co., Ltd., Stanstead, Essex.” The painting shows brown rabbits on a forest path
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Toy, car, AMT, Cadillac Coup de Ville, light blue, dark blue roof, friction, dealer promotion, Birmingham, Michigan, 8 inches, $60.
Bottle, flask, wheat sheaf, eightpoint star on reverse, calabash shape, aqua, 19th century, 9 1/4 inches, $65.
Satsuma, box, lid, round, wisteria and peony flowers, figures in fan shape, landscape around side, three buttress feet, c. 1900, 3 1/2 x 6 inches, $65.
Pottery-contemporary, vase, red ground, black figures, geometrics, two rows of insects, stylized flowers, cup shape, terra-cotta, Mariko Swisher, 8 inches, $85.
with fallen leaves on the ground. Any descriptive or historical information or estimated value will be greatly appreciated.
A. It usually takes an art expert to identify and evaluate paintings. A local art museum or an art department at a local college or university may be able to help you. Check your local library for access to online art databases like Artnet or Artbnk. It appears that Green’s Transport & Furnishing was a retailer in Hertfordshire, England, in the early 20th century, which can help date the painting. The frame can provide more information.
Up to the 20th century, frames were often gilded with ornate raised patterns like leaves or scrolls. Molded frames made of plaster, or a chalk mixture called “compo” were popular in the 19th century.
Earlier frames were made of carved wood. Original frames add value to a painting and can be worth
hundreds of dollars themselves. Oil paintings from the late 19th to early 20th century are usually worth about $100 to $300 if they are not by a well-known artist. Animals, nature scenes and landscapes are always desirable.
TIP: Never store an old painting on canvas flat and face up on the floor. The paint may crack at the stretcher. Store it upright.
Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer readers’ questions sent to the column. Send a letter with one question describing the size, material (glass, pottery) and what you know about the item. Include only two pictures, the object and a closeup of any marks or damage. Be sure your name and return address are included. By sending a question, you give full permission for use in any Kovel product. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We do not guarantee the return of photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. Questions
Print, Shaw & Nodder, Harlequin Hummingbird, perched on branch, engraving, hand colored, woven paper, The Naturalist’s Miscellany, 9 x 5 1/2 inches, $120.
Rug, Navajo, Ganado style, column of three diamonds, cream, red, brown and black serrated trim, wool, mid-20th century, 46 x 30 inches, $310.
Wooden, cup, saffron, lid, ball finial, painted, strawberry vine, red and green trim, pedestal base, round stepped foot, Joseph Lehn, 6 inches, $400.
Furniture, frame, gilt bronze, enamel, painted courting scenes, leafy trim, oval, easel back, France, c. 1900, 9 x 6 inches, pair, $1,190.
Silver, Austro-Hungarian, tea set, teapot, dome lid, pear shape, sugar, creamer, oval tray, swirled rib, parcel gilt, c. 1900, teapot 8 inches, four pieces, $1,420.
Basket, round, lid, multicolor weavers, blue, red, yellow, teal, green, graduated, Penobscot Bay, 19th century, largest 13 1/2 x 18 inches, four pieces, $2,250.
that are answered will appear in Kovels Publications. Write to Kovels, The Republican, King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 or email us at collectorsgallery@kovels.com.
This vintage tin is a reminder that pumpkin spice was a wellloved flavor long before coffee shops started adding it to their drinks every year. (MORFORD’S ANTIQUE ADVERTISING AUCTIONS)
Average 30-year US mortgage rate surges to 6.32%
Increase adds pressure to buyers facing high home prices
By M att O tt Associated Press
The average rate on a 30year mortgage in the U.S. surged to 6.32% last week, adding pressure on home buyers facing sky-high prices and a limited supply of houses for sale.
The rate ticked up from 6.12% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.57%.
Two weeks ago, the average rate slipped to its lowest level in two years — 6.08% — boosting home shoppers’ purchasing power as they navigate a housing market with prices near all-time highs.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including how the bond market reacts to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions. That can move the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
The yield on the 10year Treasury was 4.10% Thursday, up from 3.62% in mid-September, just days before the Fed slashed its benchmark lending rate by a half a point.
“We should remember that the rise in rates is largely due to shifts in expectations and not the underlying economy, which has been strong for most of the year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
“Although higher rates make affordability more challenging, it shows the economic strength that should continue to support the recovery of the housing market.”
Deeds
AGAWAM
Amanda Macrae, Amanda Labranche and Jake Norman Labranche to Kristen Steele, 52 Simpson Circle, $360,000.
Briarwood Twelve LLC, to Charlies Garden Park LLC, 1399 Suffield St., $525,000.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is still well below the 7.22% it hit in May, its 2024 peak. Until the past two weeks, rates had been mostly declining since July in anticipation of last month’s move by the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years.
Fed officials also signaled they expect further cuts this year and in 2025 and 2026. The rate cuts should, over time, lead to lower borrowing costs on mortgages.
The average rate on a 30year mortgage rose from below 3% in September 2021 to a 23-year high of 7.8% last October. That coincided with the Fed increasing its benchmark interest rate to fight the inflation that took hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When mortgage rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers.
The housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022 as elevated mortgage rates discouraged many would-be homebuyers. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in August even as mortgage rates began easing.
Economists generally expect mortgage rates to remain near their current levels, at least this year. Fannie Mae projects the rate on a 30-year mortgage will average 6.2% in the October-December quarter and decline to an average of 5.7% in the same quarter next year.
Borrowing costs on 15year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, increased again this week. The average rate rose to 5.41% from 5.25% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.89%, Freddie Mac said.
Carole S. Lane and Peter J. Shibley to Alex D. Shibley, 51 Rowley St., $312,500.
Charlene DeGray to Taia M. Vivenzio, 77 Alfred Circle, $240,000.
Charles Fijnvandraat, trustee, Charles A. Fijnvandraat, trustee, Charles J. Fijnvandraat, trustee, and CAF Nominee Trust, trustee of, to John Uneegar III, and Christine Uneegar, 12 Regency Park Drive, $155,000.
Daniel B. Williams and Mary B. Williams to Craig Anthony Zarlengo and Sally Ann Zarlengo, 451 North Westfield St., $310,000.
Glory Days Realty LLC, to 711 Silver LLC, 711 Silver St., $700,000.
Jamie Katherine Condon, Jamie K. Cullen and Matthew J. Condon to Laura Frances Tisdell, 418 Meadow St., Unit C7, $150,000.
Kara Murphy to Shirley J. Murray and Shirley Murray, 418 Meadow St., Unit C3, $240,000.
Ryan W. Taylor, Samantha A. Taylor and Samantha A. Power to Melissa Laws, 482 Mill St., $330,000.
Sandra T. Dufault and Laurent D. Dufault to Jessica Marie Kelso, 6 Gunn Geary Lane, $405,000.
Shirley J. Murray and William J. Murray to Alex Joseph Blair and Danielle Blair, 118 School St., $350,000.
BRIMFIELD
Christina M. Brigitini and Tina M. Brigitini to John Anthony Leroux, 10 Crestwood Road, $250,000.
Kathryn Chicoine and Nicholas Chicoine to James Parker and Samantha Carey, 116 Wales Road, $335,000.
CHARLEMONT
Dog & Cow LLC, to Shelburne Equity LLC, 1741 Route 2, $500,000.
CHESTER
Mark K. Leahy and Teresa A. Leahy to Chester Marks, 0 Round Hill Road, $19,000.
CHESTERFIELD
Rebecca A. Lacaprucia, Jeffrey J. Lacaprucia and Rebecca A. Hinton to Rebecca A. Lacaprucia, trustee, Jeffrey J. Lacaprucia, trustee, Rebecca A. Lacaprucia Living Trust and Jeffrey J. Lacaprucia Living Trust, 40 Curtis Road, $100.
Adam J. Hakkarainen and Jennifer S. Hakkarainen to Steere Home LLC, 73 North Road, $440,000.
CHICOPEE
David K. Pernell and Brenda A. Pernell to Jennifer MacGregor, 59 Sullivan St., $280,000.
Denise D. Duplisea to Edwin J. Ingles Torres, 22 Hillcrest St., $290,000.
Franco Giordano and Franco A. Giordano to Kaeble Realty LLC, 394 James St., $205,000.
Jesus M. Garcia, trustee, and Garcia Realty Trust, trustee of, to Samantha Garcia and Michael Rivera Jr., 25 Thomas St., $400,000.
Joseph F. Pasternak Jr., to Samuel W. Bradley and Ana M. Bradley, 75 Fisher Road, $350,000.
Joseph G. LaFreniere and Maria Lopriore to Tina Tetreault and Tina-Marie Blais, 101 Narragansett Boulevard, $275,000.
Lauralyn J. Carlson, Lauralyn Carlson, Beverly A. Midura, Beverly Midura, Robert J. Midura, Robert Midura, Mark L. Rosen, trustee, Mark Rosen, trustee, and Caroleen Midura 1997 Revocable Trust, trustee of, to Richton & Wynne LLC, 85-87 Charles St., $100,000.
Nancy C. Godbout, conservator, and Patricia McMaster to Susan Kelsey, 97 Mitchell Drive, $198,000.
Nilda Garcia to Eric Hopkins, 61 Abbey Memorial Drive, Unit 189-5, $222,500.
North Harlow LLC, to Treehouse Enterprises Chicopee LLC, 50 Linden St., $1,175,000.
Sushilaben H. Patel and Harry Patel to Robert Budlong, 50 Edbert St., $439,000.
DEERFIELD
Ann M. Butynski to Timothy Drumgool and Emily Bernotas, 196 Upper Road, $350,000.
EAST LONGMEADOW
Happy Acres LLC, to Veniamin Ovsiichuk, Farmer Circle, Lot 10, $175,000.
Nathan P. Strain to Jonnathan De Jesus and Nina Servidone, 59 Fairview St., $300,000.
Rena Christenson to Jillian Grassetti, 62 Worthy Ave., $360,000.
Sandra Carlson to Margaret A. McNeill and Donald R. Frigon, 216 Pinehurst Drive, $470,000.
William R. Bazin and Elizabeth A. Bazin to Muhammad Abbasi and Saman Sana, 112 Country Club Drive, $770,000.
GRANVILLE
Michelle Dupuis and Michelle Ann Dupuis to Matthew T. Olson and Molly E. Sandman, 248 Sodom St., $456,184.
GREENFIELD
Marcus Stetson to Judith C. Truesdell, trustee of the Judith C. Truesdell Real Estate Trust, 407 Country Side, $320,000.
Valencia LLC, to PRB LLC, 28-30 Lincoln St., 130 Elm St., 74 Congress St., and 154 Silver St., $1,200,000.
Kathleen M. Niedbala, trustee of the Niedbala Investment Trust, and Joseph J. Niedbala to Valencia LLC, 45 Congress St., $360,000.
William H. Bittner, trustee of the Bittner Irrevocable Real Estate Trust, to Deanna Scarfe, 153 School St., $261,000.
Christine V. Daniloff, personal representative of the Estate of Jennifer Ann Vielmetti, “aka” Jennifer Vielmetti, to Casandra Lee Rounds, 8 Keegan Lane, Unit 8 College Park Condominium, $185,000.
HADLEY
Carl J. Gustafson and Joanne L. Gustafson to Dana C. Gustafson, trustee, and Carl J. Gustafson & Joanne L. Gustafson Irrevocable Trust, Hillside Estates and Hillside Drive, $100.
HAMPDEN
Michael V. Barba and Kylie N. Bane to Noraimi Rivera, 89 Main St., $385,000.
Deeds
HOLLAND
George D. Allen and Aimee Allen to Sherida Hibbard and Robert Guerin, 7 Davidson Road, $291,000.
HOLYOKE
Adam Queneville to Halifax Capital LLC, and Sapataria Coelho LLC, 85 Congress Ave., $150,000.
David J. Rigali Jr., and Christina Rigali to Shauna Rigali, 328 Sargeant St., $92,500.
Heather Lemrise and Christopher Harnett to Jocelyn H. Weigel and Andrew C. Weigel, 78 Belvidere Ave., $310,000.
Loumag Alicea to Michael Grillo, 7 Willow St., $370,000.
McKenzie Brothers Realty LLC, to Michael Chatel and Stephanie Chatel, 84 Oxford Road, $360,000.
Nyles L. Courchesne and Splendora N. Courchesne to Cameron Wiley, 1164 Northampton St., $550,000.
Robert Joseph Lyons and Judith Lyons to Margaret Ann Laroche and Conor James Hoey, 1150 Northampton St., $650,000.
William A. Laramee, Robert J. Laramee and Kathleen L. Downs to Yiwan Zhou, 106 Dartmouth St., $371,000.
LEVERETT
Grace A. Meldon to Gabriel Stafford and Lily Stafford, 11 Jackson Hill Road, $300,000.
Delta Sand & Gravel Inc., “fka” Delta Materials Corp., to Daniel R. Cooley and Sylvia Shepard Cooley, Juggler Meadow Road, $100.
LONGMEADOW
Lora J. Arnold to Michael Reagan and Julie Reagan, 232 Captain Road, $625,000.
Romeo V. Roque Jr., to Shawn H. G. Wills and Jennifer G. Wills, 83 Ardsley Road, $1,200,000.
U S Bank, trustee, and Mortgage Equity Conversion Asset Trust 2011-1, trustee of, to Sean Kenney and Nicole Esposito, 159 Bliss Road, $280,000.
LUDLOW
Tiago Boacas Martins and Jeffrey C. Dias to Jeremy Coloma and Somawathey Sokhan, 60 Blanchard Ave., $369,999.
Winnie W. Yu to Andrea C. Dallas and Juan L. Diaz, 69 Erin Lane, $500,000.
MONSON
Jeffrey M. Turner and Brenda J. Turner to Jonathan Murray and Courtney Murray, 237 Bumstead Road, $436,000.
Lawrence V. Lynch to Darlene A. Salmond, 5 Grandview Terrace, $162,000.
Rebecca L. Buswell to Linda Marie Cote, 18 Palmer Road, Unit 20, $325,000.
MONTAGUE
David J. Lewis to Jacob R. Lewis, 96 Millers Falls Road, $235,000.
Paul E. Duprey, personal representative of the Estate of John E. Duprey, to Lorna E. Sevene, J Street, Unit 3, J Street Condominium, $5,428.23.
Paul E. Duprey, personal representative of the Estate of John E. Duprey, to Lorna E. Sevene, J Street, Unit 4, J Street Condominium, $5,428.23.
NORTHAMPTON
Mary J. Marquard and Tricia L. McGovern to Mary M. Teague, 53 Avis Circle, $705,000.
Milan P. Peich Jr., Lyndsay E. Fishbein, Milan Peich and Milan P. Peich to Peich Properties LLC, 161 South St., $100.
Clifton McClure Johnson, Michael Pitcairn Johnson and Michael Pitcaln Johnson to Rebecca Walker and Ariella Yosefa Rosen, 20 Francis St., $709,000.
ORANGE
Neil P. Branco and Jordiana L. Branco to Lisa Fernandez, 79 Marjorie St., $291,000.
James M. Zingo and Amy Hinshaw Zingo to Christina D. Hughes and Jack Green Jr., 114 Pleasant St., $215,000.
Bass Family LLC, to Blue Whale Ventures LLC, 360 East Main St., $385,000.
Jacob Fedelski and Cassidy N. Duggan to Frances De Luca Hadsel, 3 Meadow Lane, $261,000.
BHO Realty LLC, to Joshua R. Carello, 31 Dexter St., $361,000.
PALMER
Allison L. Pereira and Jason R. Voyik to Jerry Bolduc, 12 Katie Lane, $575,000.
Christopher W. Breyare to Sa Nguyen, 6 Danielle Drive, $450,000.
Lorrie A. Poulin to Jessica Meghan
Lee Sands and Quinn William Carroll, 75 Fairview St., $295,000.
Mariajane Peich and Kevin P.
Oconnor to Richard P. Marceau II, 25 Harvey St., $300,000.
NSP Residential LLC, to Nicholas Kalogeras and Eugenia Kalogeras, 51 Fuller Road, $306,800.
Patricia Bernard-Waite, trustee, Patricia Ann Waite, trustee, and Waclaw J. Bernard Irrevocable Trust, trustee of, to Kacper Kania and Krystyna Kania, 501 Springfield St., $80,000.
Roger Parker to Salomon Pierre and Mona Astrid Posy Pierre, 42 Commercial St., $135,000.
Russell N. Bergeron, trustee, Linda M. Bergeron, trustee, and 18-26 High Street Realty Trust, trustee of, to PFGC LLC, 2022-2026 High St., $250,000.
Wells Fargo Bank to NSP Residential LLC, 51 Fuller Road, $275,000.
RUSSELL
Justin M. Holmes, representative, Justin Matthew Holmes, representative, Robert Holmes, estate, and Robert N. Holmes, estate, to Turtle Bend Properties LLC, 334 Woronoco Road, $100.
SHUTESBURY
David R. Gage, personal representative of the Estate of Margaret R. Gage, to Town of Amherst, Sand Hill Road, $100,000.
SOUTH HADLEY
Jonathan Murray and Courtney Murray to Brittany Nicole Tirrell, 20 Lawrence Ave., $245,000.
Bank of America NA., and BayBank Valley Trust Co., to William E. Johnson, 650 New Ludlow Road, $100.
Beverly A. Astley to Amie M. Jones and Kyla A. Astley, 156 Woodbridge St., $100.
SOUTHAMPTON
Holly T. Gaboriault and Paul J. Gaboriault to Ryan L. Geeleher, 306 College Highway, $667,000.
Scott K. Cooper and Catherine A. Cooper to Appleton Grove LLC, 222 College Highway, $120,000.
Scott Bergeron, trustee, Michelle Usher, trustee, Michelle Bergeron, trustee, and Paul J. Bergeron & Betty A. Bergeron Declaration of Trust to Luke McGrath and Jessica L. McGrath, 36 Gunn Road Extension, $490,000.
SOUTHWICK
Charlene A Wolfe-Stepro, representative and trustee, Irene J. Wolfe, estate, and Wolfe Family Trust, trustee of, to CKM Realty LLC, 51 Coes Hill Road, $240,000. Daniel R. Thompson and Debra
A. Thompson to Elizabeth K. Frechette and Keith J. Camyre, 38 Beach Road, $901,000.
SPRINGFIELD
Adam Hernandez to Shannon Weeks, 90 Bessemer St., $280,000.
Ana M. Bradley and Samuel Bradley to Jane Vernalia, 98-100 Whittier St., $340,000.
Ashley M. Rodriguez, Neriel A. Alvares-Ortiz and Neriel A. Alvarez-Ortiz to Michael Kuilan, 67 Jeffrey Road, $320,000.
Brickhouse Homes LLC, to Amber Haywood and Torrell White, 124 Stuart St., $275,472.
Carly Markham, Joanne Markham and Carly Leonard to Luz Van Orden, 542 Dutchess St., $300,000.
Charles P. Perenick, Debra Ann Cotela, Judith Kennedy, Judith M. Kennedy and Francis D. Perenick to Simon Van De Loo, 18 Charlton St., $301,000.
City Enterprise Inc., to Real Estate Investments Northeast LLC, 38 Berkshire Ave., $130,000.
Dorothy I. Plante, Debra M. Ironside and Paul T. Plante to Kmak LLC, and Ryan Randall Real Estate LLC, 294 Roosevelt Ave., $170,000.
Elvis E. Olivares Vasquez to Kenel Raphael, 46-48 Albemarle St., $385,000.
Emtay Inc., to Onstar Properties AA LLC, 35-37 Hall St., $575,000.
Eva D. Greenough, Kyle P. Greenough and Cassandra L. Trudeau to Derek O. Palma, 101 Laurence St., $240,000.
Huynh D Le to Laura M. Tacuri Tarcuri, 21-23 Indian Leap St., $410,000.
James Anthony Moore and Marie Rhonda Michelle Moore to Ronnie Ross, 9 Prince St., $185,000.
Jessica Martinez to Paulett Maureen Webster, 299 Morton St., $350,000.
Springfield Portfolio Holdings LLC, to Pedro Pablo Matias De La Cruz, 385 Orange St., $394,000.
Melinda Lakota, Melinda Bickham and Raymond Lakota to Lucas Giusto, trustee, Dominic Santaniello, trustee, and Naples Home Buyers Trust, trustee of, 278 Talmadge Drive, $170,000.
Methuselah Realty Trust, trustee of, and Dominic Kirchner II, trustee, to Valerie Osei, 39 Ambrose St., $260,000.
Mooring NC IV LLC, to Anne M. Clifford, trustee, and Anne M. Clifford Revocable Trust, trustee of, 34 Sumner Ave., Unit PB5, $25,000.
Nolava LLC, to 202-212 Pearl Street Apartments LLC, 0 N S Pearl Street, $4,370,000.
P & R Investments LLC, to Illumi-
nation Home LLC, 49 Hillmont St., $215,000.
Richard A. Glashow and Janice M. Fialkow to Zoraida Aguayo, 247 Cabinet St., $400,000.
Ronald S. Bearse, representative, Charles H. Bearse, estate, and Charles Henry Bearse, estate, to Manchester Enterprises LLC, 195 Almira Road, $170,000.
Shane L. Guertin Dit Milette and Shane L. Milette to Skyspec LLC, 26-28 Wendell Place, $235,000.
Stephanie L. Parnin, Stephanie L. Morris and Jessica C. Morris to Becky M. Goulet, O Rear Wisteria Street, $269,900.
Stephen P. Gray to Edwin Santa, Ss Bowdoin Terrace, $6,000.
Timothy Aznavourian and Julianne Aznavourian to Jorge Vargas, 480 Roosevelt Ave., $350,000.
Veronica Martinez-Lopez to Diany D. Santos-Vazquez, 64 Eleanor Road, $297,000.
Virgilio Santos to Kristina Cavers and Jacob Clini, 33 Ambrose St., $255,000.
WestMass Area Development Corp., to MassConn Excavating & Landscaping Inc., Robbins Circle, Lot 3A-1, $275,000.
William A. Shattuck IV, and Estesany Shattuck to Tabitha W. Maina and Paul Njuguna, 15 Clayton St., $341,900.
William D. Robinson II, to Fiona M. Nabagereka, 33 Wakefield St., $299,000.
SUNDERLAND
Daniel R. Cooley and Sylvia Shepard Cooley to Delta Sand & Gravel Inc., Hubbard Hill Road, $100.
TOLLAND
Ralph C. Leavenworth III, and Lisa A. Leavenworth to Brad Salerno and Stephanie Salerno, 16 Hill Drive, $172,000.
WALES
Bradley Arcoite to Keith A. Masse, 100 Stafford Road, $405,000.
Garett M. Fulcher and Shannon L. Fulcher to Frederick R. Rogers Jr., 3 Reed Hill Road, $308,000.
WARE
Megan G. Berube and Chad Balicki to Dominic Kirchner II, trustee, and Rahab Realty Trust, 84 West St., $126,000.
WARWICK
William A. Filsinger to Damien Higgins, Northfield Road, $130,000.
Can you get rid of your front lawn without offending the neighbors?
By M argaret Roach
The New York Times
WHAT WILL THE NEIGHbors think?
It didn’t take long for that question to become front of mind when Sara Weaner Cooper and her husband, Evan Cooper, bought their first home, in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 2022.
One question that answered itself right away: From the first pass with the mower over their 5,000 square feet of turfgrass, the couple knew that mowing a big lawn every week was not for them. But neither was the possibility of being seen as inconsiderate neighbors in their new community.
How could they reinvent their front yard without making an unwelcome impression? This would be their first attempt at making a garden, but Sara Cooper was no stranger to the subject of lawn alternatives.
She has vivid memories from childhood of a backyard with “all these fun nooks in which to play, get lost in and explore.” That yard was the work of her father, Larry Weaner, a landscape designer in Glenside, Pennsylvania, for more than 40 years and a leader in the ecological landscape design movement in the United States.
Since 2019, Sara Cooper, 34, has been the executive director of New Directions in the American Landscape, an organization Weaner founded in 1990 to promote ecology-based landscape design and practice. There, she develops and coordinates educational programs, many for a professional
Deeds
WEST SPRINGFIELD
AGA Brothers LLC, to LCR Park Street LLC, 334 Park St., $500,000.
Christopher Sean Hastings, Christopher Sean Hastiings, and Ruth-Ann Ostrander Hastings to Ryan Tellier and Nicole Fazio, 147 Peachstone Glen, $800,000.
Cliff K. Chak and Tami Ve Mach to Silvia Lujan and Valeriu Lujan, 627 Morgan Road, $330,000.
Denise Coughlin to Alyssa Piotrowski, 80 Brush Hill Ave., Unit 25, $200,000.
Donna M. Stewart, representative, and Barbara J. O’Brien, estate, to Liliya Crady and Riley Crady, 52 Houston Road, $350,000.
included; she is also doing a webinar about the yard adventure on Nov. 21.)
Cooper knew that most people don’t have a mentor they can text or call with questions the way she and her husband do. And right from the start there were questions — so many questions.
Like that one about the neighbors.
Avoiding a ‘whole brown lawn’
After some discussion with Weaner about possible designs, Cooper and her husband began visualizing a meadow in front of their house.
But they knew that preparing the site by getting rid of the grass — either using herbicides or solarization under plastic to kill it, or a sod stripper to remove it completely — would create “a whole brown lawn for a while,” Cooper said. Not a delightful sight for the neighbors.
Was there another tactical approach that was organic and also minimized the ugly phase, she and Evan Cooper asked Weaner?
As she and Evan Cooper were getting started in the fall of 2022, she took what proved to be another important preliminary step. She put out a lawn sign reading “Native Meadow in Progress” to communicate to neighbors that what they were about to see happening was intentional, not the beginning of a pattern of neglect. The sign invited questions and included her contact information.
Then the couple began their efforts to weaken the lawn and make it more receptive to what was coming — to the planned overseeding with meadow species and to young transplants of other types.
First, they applied sulfur to lower the pH of the underlying soil and bind nutrients to it, making the elements less available to vegetation. “The turfgrass needs fertility, and the meadow doesn’t,” Sara Cooper explained. “So that benefits the native meadow plants.”
audience.
But in response to increasing inquiries from lay people, she had an idea that will come to fruition in December, when the organization kicks off a multisession online course for home gardeners called Landscaping With Nature. Taught by Weaner, it is “a condensed, simplified version of our professional intensive course,” she said, complete with its own manual. (A short segment on her DIY front-yard project will be
Edras Medina and Helen Medina to Jocelyn Marie Soto, 94 Riverdale St., $300,000.
Gina M. Mesick, trustee, Lisa Vignato and Bourcier Revocable Trust Agreement , trustee of, to Ashley Barry and Ronald Craig Barry Jr., 86 Sikes Ave., $355,000.
Peter Dzhenzerukha and Olga Dzhenzerukha to Said Bakhouch, 65 Verdugo St., $405,000. Sareen Properties LLC, to Mateo Sanchez and Mckenna Mortimer, 126 Lancaster Ave., $326,000.
Tarkan Topcuoglu and Hilal Topcuoglu to Khanisa Khan and Omar F. Dar, 483 Cold Spring Ave., Unit 483-3, $122,000.
Teofila J. Evangelista and Mario J. Evangelista to Nhu Thi Huynh Bui and Quan Van Le, 133 Monastery Ave., $398,000.
WESTFIELD
He offered a suggestion, although it wasn’t his usual practice. “He said we could try seeding and planting into the existing turf, and just try to weaken the existing turf and strengthen the native plants,” Sara Cooper said.
This would be a bit of an experiment, they understood, and wasn’t the quickest means to an end.
“The things that we are doing are definitely a longer process than the maybe more conventional way of killing or removing the turfgrass first, and then just seeding or planting into bare soil,” she said.
Alex J. Blair and Danielle Blair to Kassandra Pepper, 166 Hillside Road, Unit 5, $200,000.
Dale N. Clark to Harrison James Ouellette, 21 Avery St., $335,000.
Diana Theresa Stucchi, Diana Lane and Jacob V. Lane to Alexis Ferris and Timothy Girard, 16 Stephen Lane, $400,000.
Gabrielle M. Scheufler, trustee, and Diane M. Batchelder Revocable Trust, trustee of, to Michael B. Mazaik and Aliisa Marie Mazaik, 515 Loomis St., $320,000.
Jesscia Marie Benson and Jessica Kelso to Timothy J. Kelleher, 50 Loomis Ave., $282,000.
John J. Fitzgerald and Sarah Beard to Nicholas J. Morganelli IV, #3/5 Bush St., $424,000.
Lorna Van Horn and Lorna Helms to James R. O’Brien, 5 Westminster
St., Unit C, $185,000.
They mowed the lawn short, and then had at it with a dethatcher, or power rake, rented from a local big-box store. “Basically, we disturbed the top layer of soil and disrupted the shallow root system of the turfgrass in order to thin out the grass,” she said. “That allows more light to reach the soil surface where the seeds will be, where we seeded eventually.”
Looking for signs of success
Seeding wouldn’t happen until the next January, following another round of dethatching.
Melissa L. Weber to Yekaterina Chemeris, 20 Crestwood Circle, $305,000.
Muhammad H. Chaudhry to Kayleigh Hannon and Anthony Hannon, 66 Butternut Road, $700,000.
Richard Schneider, trustee, Edna E. Schneider Revocable Trust, trustee of, and Richard E. Schneider, trustee, to Gloria Schimke and Paul Schimke, 24 Valley View Drive, $325,000.
WHATELY
Robert E. Bedaw Jr., to Chelsey Bedaw and Ryan Doton, 151 River Road, $113,000.
WILBRAHAM
Abigael M. Burgos, Abigael M.
Crowther and Wilfredo Burgos Jr., to Thanyarat Ingman, 415 Soule Road, $391,500.
Cathryn Gregson and Michael J. Gregson to Ryan Edward Dentremont and Meredith Westgate, 242 Crane Hill Road, $390,000.
Craig A. Lampani to Miguel Goncalves and Lauren E. Dones, 2205 Boston Road, Unit A-1, $310,000.
Daniel Robert Tusler to Cathryn Ann Gregson, 547 Stony Hill Road, $373,000.
Scott J. Arel and Sheri L. Arel to Justin P. Doyle and Sarah E. Gould, 4 South Park Drive, $445,000.
Timothy P. Godlew to CKJ Realty LLC, 7 Pomeroy St., $270,000.
U S Bank, trustee, and Corporation Home Equity Loan Trust Series 00MC 200 6-HE5, trustee of, to Unlimited Property Services LLC, 882 Glendale Rd, $234,675.
Evan Cooper, left, and his father-in-law
Larry Weaner transplanting a volunteer seedling of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) at Cooper home
Blue Bell, Pa. It isn’t easy or fast, but converting a grass yard into native meadow can be done. (SARA WEANER COOPER VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES)
Wood refinishers usually cover an entire surface, not just a stained patch, because oxalic acid can affect the texture of the wood and any finish on it, leaving the treated patch looking different from the surrounding wood. But treating the paneling all the way up to the ceiling seems like a lot of work when that paneling isn’t stained. So, you might want to treat just the immediate area of the stains and then decide whether you need to go the full height on a subsequent treatment to get an even look. Leave the oxalic acid mixture on the wood for a few minutes, then wipe it off.
Rinse by going over the area several times with a moist sponge or rag that you rinse out between passes. Avoid using so much water that it drips all over or soaks into the paneling enough to cause the surface to delaminate. Let the wood dry, then evaluate the look. You can repeat the treatment with the cleanser several times if the first treatment made the stain less noticeable but didn’t remove all of it. When you see no more improvement, stop and evaluate. If the stains are mostly gone, lightly hand-sand, just to smooth off rough fibers. Spritz a little of the untreated paneling with water to see whether it beads up; if it does, you might want to brush a matte acrylic over the area you treated to make it blend in better.
If you can’t get the stains out, one option is to replace the damaged panel. You probably can’t find plywood paneling that has matching vertical grooves, but most home centers and lumberyards sell sheets of very similar plywood, often labeled as lauan, luan or meranti underlayment. Flooring installers use it under vinyl or other flooring to provide an even surface, but you could use a circular saw to cut vertical grooves to resemble the paneling in your den. Use a fine-tooth plywood blade set to barely pierce the surface and attach a straightedge to guide the cut. Underlayment is sold in eighth-inch and quarter-inch thickness; the quarter-inch panels are more likely to match the thickness of your vintage paneling. Removing a damaged panel can be relatively easy if it’s just nailed on. If the installer used adhesive, it takes more prying and scaping. First pry off any crown molding and the baseboard, and remove any outlet covers. Then find one of the side edges of the damaged panel and pry that up. YouTube videos provide tips.
If replacing a panel seems too scary or complex, another option is paint. If you plan to keep furniture in front of the area and like having wood paneling, you could just paint the stained area and use a faux painting technique of lightly brushing on a lighter or darker color to give the area somewhat of a wood-grain look, resembling the rest of the paneling. Or, if you’re willing to give up the wood look, you can paint the whole wall any color you want. First, though, be sure to apply a primer that’s labeled as a stain blocker.
That first fall, they planted strategically placed drifts of live plants — some mixed groupings and others a mass of a single species, like blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis) and clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum).
The drifts of transplants would help shorten the waiting time before there was some visual payoff, flowering sooner than seed-grown choices.
After sowing, they waited and watched expectantly. And then: seedlings!
“It was so fun to see the first few things coming up,” Sara Cooper said. “It wasn’t a given.”
Identifying newly emerged seedlings, which don’t necessarily resemble the plant they will become, is not typically part of a beginning gardener’s skill set. But it was essential here, to make sure their efforts favored the keepers.
“The first thing that I saw that I knew wasn’t turfgrass turned out to be partridge pea,” Cooper recalled, referring to Chamaecrista fasciculata, an annual that eventually bears bright yellow flowers. She had seen it and thought, “That definitely looks different,” but didn’t know its name.
Who needs a plant-identification app when you have Larry Weaner in your virtual address book?
“I took a picture, and I sent it to my dad — that was my plant ID guide,” she said. “I said, ‘What is this?’ and he said, ‘Oh, my gosh. It’s partridge pea.’” Spoken like a proud grandfather.
Next to emerge and get a positive ID was another annual, lemon beebalm (Monarda citriodora). And the small triumphs continued, one after another.
An evolving mowing regimen
Once-a-year mowing, around the end of March, is now part of the care regimen for their increasingly established meadow. But along the way, the mower was called into service repeatedly in targeted maneuvers at key moments, cutting the growth to varying heights to further weaken the lawn in the evolving mix. The couple cut the grass as short as possible with their
electric mower around the drifts where the transplants were gradually getting established. Elsewhere, once the seeded plants started coming up through the turf, they needed to keep knocking back the grass without beheading the desired seedlings.
“The first year and this past second year, we needed to do that strategically timed mowing,” Cooper said. “I was able to adjust the mower higher and higher to just keep cutting that turfgrass, but not cut the seedlings. Once the seedlings got taller than the turfgrass, then obviously I stopped mowing.”
They also used a weed whip to give desired species an advantage in key spots.
Conversations with people and plants
Not long ago, Cooper was outside doing some yard work when she noticed a lawn-care service at work on a neighbor’s yard.
At the time, she was weed whipping the faded tops of some dandelions, “and the seeds were going everywhere,” she said. “Oftentimes, dandelions are associated with people letting their lawn go, not using herbicide to get rid of them. They are just a sign of lack of care.”
When some had begun to emerge in May in their meadowin-the-making, she hadn’t gone after them aggressively. And even now, she was just doing a
cosmetic edit, because she knew the natives would eventually outpace the dandelions.
“I was just so conscious of the juxtaposition of what I was doing and their nice lawn,” she said. “I realized that I want to explain to any neighbors that would ask, just to let them know that these dandelions are really temporary and they’re going to be outcompeted.”
She and Evan Cooper welcome talking about this new way of gardening, which is a kind of living discussion in itself — and not one conducted simply person to person.
“By better understanding the underpinnings of why a plant or a group of plants is behaving a certain way, it will inform the way that you converse with the land and the plants themselves,” Sara Cooper said. “It’s more of a conversation and less of just dictating our will on the garden, which is oftentimes what’s been done in the past.”
Recently, she and Evan Cooper removed a perimeter of invasive burning bush (Euonymus alatus) in the backyard, the first step in the next phase of their unfolding education.
“This isn’t just manipulating plants,” she emphasized. “It is engaging in a larger system of ecological processes.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
An undated image by Larry Weaner of Evan Cooper and Sara Weaner Cooper, who knew that weekly mowing was not for them, and their front lawn meadow in Blue Bell, Pa. It isn’t easy or fast, but converting a grass yard into native meadow can be done. (LARRY WEANER VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES)
Live Onsite &Webcast PUBLIC
Live Onsite &Webcast PUBLIC AUCTION
PUBLIC AUCTION
MORTGAGEE’S FORECLOSURE AUCTION HELD ON THE PREMISES
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2024 2 PM
MORTGAGEE’S SALE OF REAL ESTATE AT PUBLIC AUCTION
Friday, October 18, 2024
10:00 AM - SPRINGFIELD
59-61 Algonquin Place
2 fam, 2,510 sf liv area, 0.1 ac lot, 12 rm,
6 bdrm, 2 bth, Hampden: Bk 18229, Pg 48 11:00 - AM HOLYOKE
51 Longwood Avenue
sgl fam, 1,942 sf liv area, 0.11 ac lot, 7 rm, 4 bdrm, 2 bth, Hampden: Bk 23046, Pg 339 12:00 PM - LONGMEADOW
237 Concord Road
sgl fam, 2,675 sf liv area, 0.45 ac lot, 9 rm, 4 bdrm, 2.5 bth, Hampden: Bk 18592, Pg 206 1:00 PM - SPRINGFIELD
64 Cherokee Drive
sgl fam, 966 sf liv area, 0.2 ac lot, 5 rm, 3 bdrm, 1.5 bth, Hampden: Bk 19966, Pg 398
TERMS: Cashier’s or certified check in the sum of $5,000.00 as a deposit must be shown at the time and place of the sale in order to qualify as a bidder. No CASH. No personal checks will be accepted. Cashier/ certified checks should be made out to whomever is going to bid at the auction. The balance to be paid within thirty (30) days at the law offices of Korde & Associates, P.C. 900 Chelmsford Street, Suite 3102, Lowell, MA 01851, Attorney for the Mortgagee. Auctioneer makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information contained herein. NORTH CHELMSFORD (978) 251-1150 www.baystateauction.com MAAU#: 1029, 2624, 3039, 116, 2484, 2919, 3092, 3107, 0100030, 3099
MORTGAGEE’S SALE OF REAL ESTATE At Public Auction on the Premises
79 OAK STREET (Parcel I) 0 NS QUINCY STREET (Parcel II) Thursday October 17, 2024 @ 2:00pm
Terms of Sale: : A deposit of $10,000.00 in certified checks at time and place of sale. (Checks no more than 90 days of sale) Balance due within 30 days of sale. Other terms at time of sale.
Atty: Luks & Santaiello LLC 745 Boylston St Boston, Ma 617-227-5660
SALE HELD BY
TRAVERSE REAL ESTATE INC. 555 ADAMS STREET MILTON, MA 617-696-1181
TRAVERSECOMPANIES.COM MA LIC #105
ESTATE AUCTION
FRI, OCT. 18, AT 6 P.M.
Fine art including paintings and prints, a quantity of Furniture - early, Victorian, modern and custom, collection of American stoneware, clocks, silver, banks, Currier & Ives sleigh, glass and china, oriental rugs, and more. Weavertown Coach Surrey with The Fringe on Top 20’ Interstate enclosed trailer
PREVIEW: THURS. 8 AM - 4 PM & FRI. 8 AM - 6 PM View Numbered Catalog Online www.DouglasAuctioneers.com
AARON POSNIK & CO. INC. Indust & Comm. Auctions 31 Capital Dr. W. Spfld. 733-5238 www.posnik.com
