My mother used to start writing notes to friends and addressing Christmas cards the first week in December.  She had the most beautiful handwriting, having been schooled in the Palmer Method.  Even her quick “scribbling” was an attractive conglomeration of swoops and flourishes.  I treasure her knitting instructions, recipe cards and letters as part of our family history.

In a few months, Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor will celebrate its 30^th anniversary.  As we designed our 2016 calendar, we used the opportunity to renew our commitment to our environment and to announce our Trash Responsibly™ campaign.  We hope you will join us to make some responsible choices that will have a positive impact on our Blackstone Valley during the holidays.  Let’s start with holiday gift wrapping.

If you drive around the Blackstone Valley frequently, you have undoubtedly seen large black birds soaring overhead.  Not hawks, not ravines or crows.  Turkey vultures!

They could easily be mistaken for roosting wild turkeys as they are a like size and demeanor.  I saw one perched in a tree at the side of Route 102 in Burrillville a week ago.  However, up close, there is no mistaking turkey vultures for another species.  They are one ugly bird!

I love watching the night sky and we are lucky that there are parts of our Blackstone Heritage Corridor where there is dark country, places sufficiently devoid of man-made lighting where one can still see the night’s sky.  Not really an amateur astronomer – more of a celestial cheerleader, I find it easy to get caught up in information about astronomical occurrences.

I’ve been working here in the Blackstone Heritage Corridor for a little over a year.  What a great experience!  I’ve met lovely, interesting people who have all helped to orient me to life in the Valley and I am grateful for their many kindnesses.  I’ve come to really appreciate the days when I can leave the office and explore the 25 towns in the National Heritage Corridor, although those days are not as frequent as I’d like.  The exploring days always inspire some additional reading or provoke a memory which I may share as part of the blog on our new website.  Stay tuned!

Charlene Cutler is the Executive Director of Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc.

The staff at Blackstone Heritage Corridor has been working to create this terrific new website for the past four months. Frankly, it would have launched sooner but we kept adding great features and content and coming up with cool ideas. The whole process has really stimulated creativity in our office. And there is more to come – more content and, perhaps, more bells and whistles! So please return frequently to keep up with our interesting programs, projects and partnerships in the National Heritage Corridor.

It is our pleasure to officially present our new website to the world and we are looking forward to your comments!