We have been here for 10 years.  Learning to identify and remove invasive plants is a work in progress. Removing bittersweet feels never ending.  The birds eat the seeds and poop them out planting more bittersweet every year.  It is something that needs to be constantly managed.  This year I learned about Mugwort.  It was moving in and taking over some of my garden plots.  So I have been removing this plant as well.  Once you learn what it looks like, you will see it everywhere.  It lines all of our major roads in town.  Autumn olive is another one that we have had to tackle and manage here.  Again the birds eat the seeds and poop them out and you end up with another Autumn olive tree.

So I will never be done with this task!  But am working on managing it.

We have 5 zones in our home and installed 2 zones with heat pumps.  Our furnace is at the end of it's life cycle.  We put the heat pumps in the zones that we use the most.  This will take a load off of the oil furnace which will become more of a backup system.

We have been taking our food scrapes to Groton's Transfer Station since Black Earth set up shop in town.  We love this system.  It does not cost anything.  It really cuts down on our trash. And we bring our own buckets to the Transfer Station and  pick up as much free compost as we can carry.  When I say "we", I mean my husband!

I have tried composting at home with a barrel.  It does not work very well. I don't think it ever got hot enough.  Getting it from the Transfer Station works really well!

We have been keeping our outside lights off for years.  We do have a motion detector light on our driveway, so it someone comes at night they can make their way into the house.  But then it goes off.

We are very aware of how this helps the insects in the summer and the migrating birds in fall and spring.

I started gardening in my yard 10 years ago. Back then I had no idea what a native plant was and had no idea that what I was planting did nothing to create habitat for our native creatures. Over the years I have been learning about native plants and have been able to witness what shows up when you plant native plants. My yard is a work in progress. It changes every year as I add more native plants and learn what works in my yard. I'm on top of a drumlin. So it is very sunny and windy. I have planted many trees to create some shade. But like the saying goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago! So I now have many native trees, but the oldest are 10 years old. I'm so excited to be able to do this type of gardening. It feels like I'm really giving back to the creatures that also call this part of the earth home.

We had a great experience with Basnett. Our 24 year old basement zone Trane XE90 finally gave up the ghost. When I called Basnett, Madeleine in the scheduling department was very helpful and friendly. Senior Technician Jay Agnew (our neighbour) came over within an hour or so, and diagnosed the multiple issues with our gas furnace. When we mutually determined that it was not the best or safest course of action to repair the furnace, Jay quickly put us in contact with Anthony Kent who came over and gave us all the options for replacing our system. There was no "hard sell" or pressure to spend more than we needed to. Just an expert and honest evaluation of our options and what incentives are available through the state for the replacement equipment. We were so impressed that we have decided to go with them installing new heat pumps and suplemental gas furnaces for both zones in the house. Basnett is a family owned business that actually cares about their neighbors, which is a rarity when so many HVAC companies in MA are getting consolidated by investment companies. Highly recommended for their service, pricing, responsiveness and the quality of their employees.

Update: I would also add after our install, the Basnett team came out two times to adjust air pressures and volumes. The new system allows us to schedule heating and cooling and take advantage of GELD's off peak rates. Our heat pumps don't surge cool or heat like the old system. It is a consistent temp and air volume all the time. There are no blasts of cold or hot dry air. We are super happy and the price after rebates was a bargain. GELD bill is lower given other projects that we did at the same time.

Update2: Sharla and I would be remiss if we did not mention in our recommendation how important it is to us that Basnett is a locally owned family company run by a person with real morals and community spirit. Rob Basnett hires veterans and young people who aren't perfect on paper but show a solid work ethic. The crew of people that he has trained from the ground up is unparalleled in our area. Not only is their service quicker, less expensive and better, you should realize that your money is going to train and employ local young people so that they can have sustainable careers. Sustainability concerns should include people, especially young families. Rob Basnett is building a sustainable business which Groton folks can be loyal to. That is everthing to Sharla and myself. Their YouTube page tells a positive story. Many thanks for reading!