Boiling Frog

Think the pending ConCom diktat on unleashed dogs only on weekdays in Willard's Woods is acceptable ?  Think again.  What do you think the ConCom will do in 6 months? Here is the metaphor of the boiling frog (from wikipedia)

The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually. According to contemporary biologists the premise of the story is not literally true; an actual frog submerged and gradually heated will jump out. However, a variety of 19th century research experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true, provided the heating is gradual enough.

Next, probably there will be fences.  Here are some that could be used for ConCom Option 3 to divide the land into off-leash and on-leash areas:

Next, no dogs allowed on Conservation land.  Just my luck, they will go for the German Shepherds first as they did here in Luzern.

After that, no dogs off leash anywhere in the town.

It's a slippery slope.

JUNE 22 : URGENT, URGENT, URGENT: WW VOTE TONIGHT

THE VOTE ON WILLARDS WOODS IS TONIGHT, TUESDAY, JUNE 22 CARY HALL, 7 P.M.

It appears that the CC is going to rule SQUARELY against us. They have NOT taken into account the many, many opinions they heard at the public hearing and this whole process has been a sham. Unfortunately, we are going to have to fight--and fight hard--this next battle, perhaps with legal action. Therefore, we need everyone to step up now and participate--this is not a battle that 10 people on the steering committee can fight alone.

WE NEED EVERYONE THERE TONIGHT!!! Although we can not influence the vote this evening, the CC needs to see clearly that they are about to have a VERY ANGRY MOB on their hands.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE COME TONIGHT AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS. DO NOT RELY ON OTHERS TO ATTEND FOR YOU. WE NEED EVERYONE PRESENT!!!! (Even if you can't stay the whole time or have to come late, please just come!!!!)

Bring your buttons, your signs, and your voices. Be prepared to boo and shout when the ruling is made (but no tomato throwing please! :-)


Thanks,






the FOWW Steering Committee

COMMISSION TO VOTE ON JUNE 22!

From Leslie Goldberg, Friends of Willard's Woods

Hi, Everyone!

It appears that the Conservation Commission will vote on the Willard's Woods recommendations THIS TUESDAY, JUNE 22ND (7:00 P.M. IN CARY HALL).

We realize that sitting through another ConCom meeting isn't anyone's idea of a good time, but it's important to show that FOWW is willing to stay-the-course and continues to have significant public support. PLEASE PUT THIS DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR and be part of the off-leash dog contingent on Tuesday, June 22nd.

The public hearing on June 7th demonstrated to the Commission that many people in Lexington support the FOWW recommendations and do not want to see any of the three more restrictive ConCom's options enacted. We had a respectable number of supporters that night. Thanks to all who spoke and to everyone who attended. The ratio of those testifying in favor of keeping dogs off-leash vs. the anti-off leash people was about 8 to 1 in favor of off-leash. No one supported the Commission's options.

Everyone has been doing a terrific job of keeping the woods 'poop free' and looking good. Here are a few guidelines that we think are worth keeping in mind:

1. Keep picking up after your dog and telling others to do the same
2. Keep your dog under voice control and out of the abutter's yards
3. Avoid conversations with people in the abutting neighborhood if they start to complain about your dog or dog walkers -- anything we say will be used against us. Some neighbors have complained that people walking dogs in the woods have yelled at them, used profanity, and have been rude. Try to stay above it -- the less negative interaction you have with these folks, the better!

See you on Tuesday, Cary Hall, at 7:00 p.m.!

3D Helicopter Coyote Hunter

Coyotes are a source of amusement around the country but a big problem at Willard's Woods. Since this is a family-oriented site, we have decided not to show any depictions of coyote hunting and are in fact only showing a picture of a Lego helicopter.  You can find plenty of videos of coyote hunting techniques on YouTube.  Even some with helicopters.   However, we could not pass up this description of 3D Helicopter Coyote Hunter:

Hop into the pilot's seat of a new 3 dimensional super-futuristic helicopter equipped with highly advanced coyote seeking radar. As you fly through the array of missions you will be equipped with the best weapons available: an ultra-fast rifle, powerful shotgun, flame thrower and an electronic ray gun. You will need to use these weapons to save the farms before they are overrun with dangerous coyotes. This game contains stunning 3D graphics, and ten perspectives. You will also have to deal with variable terrain, weather, the glaring light of day or the gloomiest of nights, making your coyote hunting experience intense! You will travel anywhere from the heartland of Middle America to the exotic city of Transylvania. Home of the famous vampire coyote. The demo contains 2 out of 20 levels. The full version contains 20 difficult missions to fly. Your fuel, ammunition and time are limited. You'll need to learn to fly your realistic helicopter and need to practice your shooting, flame throwing and ray gunning in the coyote arcade mode before you can proceed to the do or die missions where there will be no margin of error. Not only do the coyotes become more cunning as you advance to the further missions but also you will have to deal with different types of coyotes. Among the different types of coyotes you will have to cope with are rabid, mutated, vampire and even coyotes wearing bulletproof vest. This game is not for the faint of heart. You will find that your reactions must be lightning fast. Any hesitation on the trigger can cost you and the farmers of the world serious and dire consequences. Get ready to protect the world from coyotes. Brought to you by Cosmi, the inventors of the helicopter flight simulator. 3D Helicopter Coyote Hunter requires Direct X 6, Windows 95 and higher. 3D Helicopter Coyote Hunter is a free to try software. You can free download and try it for an evaluation period.

Transylvania is a region of Rumania, not a city.

JERRY NEEDS NO HELP PLAYING WITH HIS BALL

No political or Willard's Controversy content in this one. As of this posting, this has been watched 4.5 Million times.

June 7 Meeting - Illustrated Summary

From the Conservation Commission Public Hearing, June 7. Selected notes, illustrated by vintage and contemporary photographs. No names.

Willard's Woods is the friendliest place in Lexington.

I see my "dog friends" every day.

Dogs drive away kids who used to set fires in the woods.

The Woods were a real mess, but the dog owners have picked most of it up.

I saw some drunk people at the picnic table near the North Street entrance one morning.

I would like to see a one year moratorium on rule-making.

Coyotes are unleashed 24/7. If there were no domestic dogs, Willard's Woods would turn into a coyote park.

Under "Voice Control" needs to be better defined.  There needs to be some kind of "test" given to the dog before a permit is issued to be offleash.

Mowing the fields actually destroys the wildflowers and small animals and birds that might be nesting there.

People pay to use the town swimming areas, why not pay for permits to use Willard's Woods with unleashed dogs?

Coyote Alert!

We heard today that coyotes were menacing walkers in the woods around 5:15 yesterday.  This is serious and walkers need to take precautions.  A nautical friend suggested whistles or canned-air horns.  This got us to thinking the appropriate nautical item is a flare gun.

A flare gun was used by a jogger on Cape Breton to scare off a coyote this spring.  The "coyote sprang from the woods and began to circle him."

I’ve been running since 1995 and put a lot of miles on this road and have seen coyotes. They usually just run off in the woods, no big deal, but (Tuesday), that was scary. He was aggressive. He charged me. He meant business.

He had a flare gun handy because he was a fisherman.


Flare guns are dangerous.  This example was filmed in a different zip code than 02420/02421, probably one with a somewhat lower SAT average and where the most popular books bought on Amazon are not the AP exam guides: