Annual dinner grand door prize

The grand door prize at the annual dinner April 26 is a Specialized Live 1, one-speed light-duty utility bike offering classic urban style and functionality to carry groceries, a laptop, art supplies, or anything that suits your mood donated by Pumpkinvine Cyclery in Middlebury. 

Twitter update

This blog now has a Twitter update gaget on the right side of the screen.  I've made a Twitter post every day since Jan. 20.  Not many followers at this point. We'll see what happens when we announce it in the next newsletter.

There is a story in the Goshen News today about the donation of 2.04 acres in Middlebury from Jerry and Marie Corliss to the Friends of Middlebury Parks. This land is behind the Chalet Party Shop and adjacent to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail and Krider World's Fair Garden park. At this time, there is no decision on how the land will be used, but it will at the very least increase the park land adjacent to the Pumpkinvine -- a great gift to the Middlebury community and the trail. Does anyone have a picture of this area?

A Friends of the Pumpkinvine twitter account

Friends o Pumpkinvine Nature Trail have had a Twitter account for some time: @fopnt. We have not publicized it because we weren't sure how useful it would be. What would we tweet about? We'd be interested to know if our blog and Facebook fans thinks it would be useful and, if so, how it would be useful. We can think of one use, i.e., posting useful links, but that works on Facebook, too. Give us your feedback on the value of Twitter for trail advocates.


One use I did think of is posting notes about trail conditions. For example, it's too wet or there is a tree down at mile 2 or look for the Trillium wildflowers between CR 33 and the open field to the west.

Post about trail on Kalamazoo Seasons blog

It's nice to see other area blogs advertising the Pumpkinvine.  This link is from the Kalamazoo Seasons blog. Kalamazoo Seasons

Trail photos on Google Earth

We’d like to see more Pumpkinvine Nature Trail photos on Google Earth. (There are a few now.) If you have some, start by uploading them to Panoramio. tells you how to upload photos: http://www.panoramio.com/help/adding_photos . From there, check the help listing on the left under “Getting your photos into Google Earth”  -- http://www.panoramio.com/help/photos_google_earth   

Note that they will not accept photos that show people’s faces.

Letter to Goshen News on trails

This link is to a letter to the editor of the Goshen News, Dec. 7, 2011. It points up the extensive trail system that Goshen and Elkhart County is developing, including the Pumpkinvine. It is particularly gratifying to see that the letter came from a senior citizen and a resident of Elkhart. Here's the link: Goshen-Elkhart County trails are a joy