Here’s a video my friend Liz Harkins created in her work with Milford TV, the community cable channel in Milford, MA. Liz not only paired me up with the folks from the Milford Youth Center, she facilitated the taping, along the banks of the Upper Charles River in Milford, of this 13 minute video about the upcoming “Make Your Own Storybook” walk, planned for May with the Milford Youth Center participants. https://youtu.be/BdTcRaahlqc
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
The Blackstone River rushes through the Gorge after heavy rains
The spring group walk promised to provide some history about the Blackstone Gorge. While I have often visited the gorge over the past thirty years I’ve been aware of it, I have never been well-versed in its past. For indeed, the gorge has a past, not just geologic, but a man-made past as well. Continue reading
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Liz Harkins with Mike Spurling, her crack camera crew, stop for just a moment so I could get their picture
I met Liz last year when we were publicizing the Massachusetts Walking Tour, which came through Milford on its tour of the Blackstone Valley and nearby towns. She works for the Milford Cable TV station and conducted an interview with the folks of the Walking Tour, and with me as well.
She got really excited when she learned about the Easy Walks in Massachusetts trail books I author. We kept talking about doing some kind of video taping along the trail to help publicize my books and to help viewers understand what a gift we have right in our own backyards in this area. Continue reading
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Getting bat boxes ready at Riverbend Farm
It was an afternoon program during school vacation, and several families showed up to Riverbend Farm to learn about bats. We saw no live bats (it was a daytime program, plus a little early for the bats to start coming out) but in fact, we were learning about bats, not getting up close and personal with the critters.
Amanda Melinchuk, Bat Research Monitor with Massachusetts Division of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) brought a slideshow of Myths and Facts, to help educate us about bats in general, and local bats in particular, and also to increase understanding about the challenges bats face. Continue reading
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Heritage Corridor volunteers getting a private historical tour of the grounds near the Kelly house in Lincoln, RI
As though our recent adventure out to Northampton with the Blackstone Heritage Corridor was not enough, Corridor volunteers were treated to a spring Thank you picnic (during Volunteer week–the timing was perfect!) at the Kelly House in Lincoln, RI, along the Blackstone Bikeway. Somehow we ended up with one of the very few bright and sunny days in a week of near monsoon-like weather, which allowed for a trip along the bike trail for the Bike Ambassadors, a personally guided tour of the area surrounding the Kelly house by Ranger Kevin Klyberg, and a delicious outdoor picnic dinner as well. Continue reading
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Caleb Rae (with cousin Em Turner Chitty) 2017, Coalmont, TN
Glen Kuhl, early 1900s, Wisconsin
The first time I saw the photo, my first thought was, “That’s my son.” But in fact, I was assured that the young man in the photo, who was standing in the dirt road, was actually my grandfather Glen, who had died before I was born. I’d never met him, and yet, I knew that stance. It was so familiar because my son often stood in this same pose, looking thoughtful, listening intently, or simply pondering his surroundings. Continue reading
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Mute swan swimming alone at Silver Lake
Mute swans nest at Silver Lake almost every spring, and we have been lucky enough to watch these large birds shepherd their little ones all summer and into the fall, when they are finally ready to learn to fly. But as I approached the spot I’d seen the swan perched on when I’d visited the lake a while ago, something did not look right. Continue reading
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Getting practice helping a person into an adaptive bicycle
I come from a long line of volunteers. My parents often volunteered their time, volunteered their home, made meals for those in need, and simply modeled that when you have the resources to share, it’s a nice feeling to offer a hand when the need is apparent.
Volunteering also has benefits. Sometimes it’s simply creating the opportunity to get to know other like-minded folks who also enjoy spending time helping others. Other times you see that your meager efforts have made a difference. Sometimes you have a chance to get behind the scenes, or understand better what it takes to host an event. I like the chance to do a task that keeps my hands busy while sharing a job, be it painting, cleaning, or making pies or salads with others who have raised their hands to pitch in. Continue reading
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Looking for spring along the banks of the Upper Charles River in Sherborn
There is a time when the calendar says spring is here, and yet, and yet, in New England, the landscape still has a bleak look. Buds are swelling, grass has started poking out, in the marshes green shoots reach skyward, and migrating birds have begun heading north. But the trees remain bare. Ferns remain hidden under the soil. Bushes hint of color to come. and broken branches from the multiple March snowstorms this year litter both yards and trails. Continue reading
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Happy smiles after a walk in the snow at Upton State Forest
I got some questions about whether we would cancel the Make Your Own storybook Hike scheduled for Upton State Forest. There had been (yet another!) nor’easter that had dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some areas, including Upton. But the snow was fluffy, and Division of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) staff members, Jody Madden and Kathryn Parent, were partnering with us for this event and did an amazing job plowing and shoveling so we could access parking and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) building, where we managed sign-ins and made our own books after our walk. Continue reading
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Marjorie Turner Hollman 