Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAY, FEbrUArY 27, 2026 Saugus Gardens in the Winter Here’s what’s blooming in town this week to make your walks more enjoyable By Laura Eisener A mong the interesting things mentioned in the closing ceremony of the 2026 Olympics last Sunday were the comments on gratitude for water, especially the more solid forms of it, snow and ice, since this element is necessary for all of the Olympic winter sports. While most of us might have felt appreciative if we got a little less snow, schoolkids in Saugus might have been thankful since they got an extra couple of snow days falling on top of their February vacation week. The weather has been rough on wildlife, as the deep snow makes it much more difficult for many animals to search for food or to escape predators. Over the weekend I saw a few birds of prey at the Saugus Iron Works: a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) using the chimney as a lookout perch, and a hawk up in a tree somewhat farther away. On Monday, a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) caught its lunch in my front yard and ate some of it before flying off with the rest to its nest. Several of the birds at my feeder kept shaking their heads during the storm as the snow got in their eyes, and all of the blue jays were having “bad feather days” from bits of ice entangled in their crest feathers. The jays kept rubbing their heads against tree branches to scrape the ice pellets off as they checked out their surroundings during the storm. While in some years you might see a few plants blooming in late February, such as snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) and Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis), the plants are still dormant under all this snow. Still, unseen things are beginning to happen in the plant world. Many woody plants are beginning to come out of their winter dormancy due to the warming daytime temperatures, and sap has started running. Pressure builds in the sap vessels of the tree; if they encounter a hole in the bark, such as one drilled in a maple tree, some of the sap will run out. While many tree species have increased sap running in the spring, only a few tree species have sap that is sweet and flavorful enough for people to go to the effort of collecting. The best-known is the ANNOUNCEMENT| FROM PAGE 9 Slavit-Baylis, a lifelong resident of the North of Boston region, is a graduate of Merrimack College and Suffolk Law School. She has a long history of public service, including volunteering for the Lawyer of the Day program at Essex Probate Court. Earlier in her career she served as Deputy Campaign Coordinator for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and she is currently an active member of the Marblehead Democratic Town Committee. Slavit Baylis has also supported the work of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, having testified at legislative hearings and spoken at State House rallies to urge action on much-needed gun violence prevention legislation. TOWN MEETING | FROM PAGE 5 Meeting Members sign a piece of paper indicating if they will be running again and that’s it. Seeing that Town Meeting Members have a lot of responsibility in saying what is done with taxpayers money, I believe it’s healthy for members to regularly connect with the voters they represent. Collecting signatures instead of just saying you’ll run again encourages direct conversations and outreach with residents and gives people a better understanding of what Town Meeting does and why it matters. So, assuming I can find some time between the craziness of youth sports activities, I am going to try and write up an article like this if I can. A sap bucket at Breakheart is gathering the sweet stuff for boiling into sugar in March. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) A bluejay on Monday had a hard time keeping the snowflakes from freezing in its crest feathers. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eisener) sugar maple (Acer saccharum), which grows best in northern New England. Other tree species can also produce a sweet sap, such as walnut, although walnut trees have a lower concentration of sugar in the sap so syrup production for human use is much less efficient. Common walnut (Juglans re“I come from a tradition of public service,” said Slavit Baylis, the youngest daughter of former Haverhill Harbormaster William “Red” Slavit. “There is important work to be done on the Governor’s Council, and I look forward to engaging voters in a conversation about their priorities, and what I can offer them as their Councilor from the 6th District.” Stacey Herman-Dorant: The Precinct 1 Town Meeting Members plan to meet in early March to share initiatives, hear from residents and set goals. There may be articles that will be introduced at Town Meeting. I look forward to seeing the articles submitted and carefully weighing how they will impact our Town. Susan C. Dunn: No I don’t have any articles. gia) and our native black walnut (Juglans nigra), as well as other walnut species, can produce a sweet syrup if the sap is boiled down. Cornell University has conducted studies of walnut sap production and found it had a sweet, nutty flavor that taste testers liked, although it has not yet had great ROUNDUP | FROM PAGE 7 Leading the way was Michael Maraio (Peabody Veterans Memorial High School), who finished fourth. Cesar Cruz (Saugus High School) placed fifth. Jake Murray (Saugus High School) earned seventh. J.J. Figueroa (Peabody Veterans Memorial High School) placed eighth. Jackson Deleidi (Peabody VetSue Palomba: I am working collaboratively with fellow Town Meeting Members to review and support articles that promote fiscal responsibility, infrastructure upgrades, and long-term planning for Saugus. I strongly believe collaboration leads to stronger outcomes. One area I am particularly focused on is ensuring that any proposed spending aligns with clear, measurcommercial success. Birch sap, collected mostly from black birch (Betula nigra), has a distinctive flavor and has been used in the making of birch beer, a soft drink, and when fermented can be made into birch wine. Spring’s approach is obvious through the lengthening of days, but this coming week we have another good reason to look skyward. On Tuesday, March 3, we may observe the full moon, known as the worm moon, which coincides with a lunar eclipse around dawn on that day. The peak time of the eclipse is 6:33 a.m. erans Memorial High School) also finished eighth. The journey isn’t over. The All-State Championships are scheduled for Sunday and Monday in Springfield, where several Sachems will look to extend their postseason runs and add to what has already been a landmark winter. able community benefits. My goal is to support articles that strengthen public services while being mindful of taxpayer impact. We must balance progress with accountability. Through these efforts, I hope to accomplish thoughtful, forward-looking decisions that position Saugus for continued growth while preserving the strong sense of community that defines our town.
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