Views of the French River from the trail
Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
In this time of “all things virus-related” worries, we decided to explore a small trail in Webster last weekend along the French River, the French River Greenway, site of the former Perryville Cotton Mill. Continue reading
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Beaver pond at Fort Nature Refuge
We decided to stay close to home when we ventured out a few days ago. Searches in nearby towns turned up Fort Nature reserved in North Smithfield, RI, a short drive from our home just on the other side of the border in Massachsetts. This small (235 acre) property offers some nice variety of outdoor experiences. But you will find no forts here–the name refers to the Fort family, which donated the property to be kept as open space. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Miles of beaches await at Sandy Point
We visited Sandy Neck beach on a mild winter’s day. We were not the only visitors. A number of others strolled the beach, but with 6.5 miles of beach to walk, it was not crowded. Unlike most beaches, Sandy Neck allows, with multiple conditions, motorized vehicles and horses on certain portions of this beach. It is not every beach that requires stop signs. Permits are required to access these trails with motorized vehicles. Continue reading
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Mute Swans sail out of Flat Pond, adjacent to South Cape Beach in Mashpee
We headed to the Cape on a gorgeous winter’s day and found birds–lots of birds, each place we stopped along the coast in Falmouth and Mashpee. We focused on Waquoit Bay, and found several places to take in the shoreline. Each stop offered views of migrating birds, some soon ready to fly north, and others just arrived from the south, much sooner than usual. Continue reading
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Lots of eider ducks swimming in the canal, near the Bourne Bridge
We headed to the Cape during this mostly snow-less winter, and as we drove over the Bourne Bridge we spotted probably a thousand eider ducks swimming in a line on the north side of the canal, almost direclty below us underneat the bridge. Grabbing this chance to get some close up views of these large ducks that mostly live north of us in warm weather, we crossed back over the bridge and hunted for a place with easy access to the Cape Cod bike trail near the bridge. Continue reading
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Moonrise over Newport
We headed for the shore in the aftermath of a substantial storm that downed trees and hit some coastal areas with near hurricane winds. We figured the waves at Beavertail State Park would be impressive, but we were a little surprised at how cold those winds made us feel. The temperature registered around 39 degrees F, but it felt so much colder it fairly took my breath away. Good thing we had down jackets and warm hats and gloves. Continue reading
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Yup, it’s Florida and there are alligators (and snakes!), even at Disney
A professional conference took us to Orlando in January, a welcome change from New England’s winter. The conference took place at one of the hotels near Disney World, and I found the area well set up for walkers and those hoping to use public transportation. Continue reading
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Yes, the pond was frozen, but we got our tandem bicycle out to enjoy temps in the 60s along the Bruce Freeman rail trail in Concord
We experienced an unseasonable warm wave (not exactly heat wave, but still) in January, and people went out in droves to spend time outdoors. We realized we could even manage a ride on our tandem, so pulled it out, and got it ready. Where to go? We’d heard of a new section of the Bruce Freeman trail in Concord, so off we went to explore. Continue reading
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Guest post!
Christine Doyle is a passionate seaglasser. Her hobby takes her to many beaches searching for treasures from the sea. Besides these tangible treasures, she has also discovered intangible lessons that she shares in this story. Enjoy! MTH
I developed a love of seaglassing around a time I went through a terribly stressful period with my mother which culminated in her passing away. Experiencing so many feelings all at once had me reeling and not knowing what to do so I sought out the beach. It was there I could wander, my head […]
via Life Lessons Learned Through Seaglassing — Christine’s Writing Experience
Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors, and is the author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed, and Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are. Her memoir, the backstory of Easy Walks, is My Liturgy of Easy Walks: Reclaiming hope in a world turned upside down.
Sycamore in Winter, Chase Farm, Lincoln, RI
Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors. Link to all Marjorie’s books.
As winter sets in, we seem to have small windows where ice-free trails may be available, but there is no guarantee. The ground is freezing up, we’ve had some rain, some snow, then more rain, so avoiding ice is a matter of strategy and hope. We headed out to Lincoln, RI to the area near Chase Farm, figuring that it was south of us, closer to the coast, but not far from home. If it was not safe, we hadn’t spent hours driving to learn it was a bad choice. As it was, we guessed right. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Marjorie Turner Hollman 