In the greenhouse at Wellesley College
The trails hereabouts were all clear as we approached spring, until we were hit with a late season blizzard, and so it’s back to icy trails and the challenge to find safe places to walk. When my hiking buddy Jennifer suggested visiting Wellesley College’s Botanic Gardens, my first thought was, “Yeah, no ice!” I did not, however, expect to be transported back to the years of my childhood. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
On the shoreline of the Quinapoxit river, opposite the Mass Central Railtrail in Boylston
We have spent the past several summers riding our tandem bike along the available railtrails within about 3 hour’s drive from our home in Bellingham, MA. We have two substantial portions of railtrail, the Blackstone River Bikeway and the Upper Charles Trail, both within about 15 minute’s drive from us, and a portion of a third proposed trail, the SNETT, within easy walking distance of our home.
Sometimes we are lucky enough to discover additional options for travel quite near to railtrails we’ve explored in the past. Our recent “explore” near the Wachusett Reservoir in north-central MA revealed a new spot where we’ll be able to travel on our bike when the weather is warmer. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Hardy folks of the Ten Mile River Watershed Council, on the trail at the Fish Hatchery in N.Attleboro
Last weekend we had a kickoff meeting for our newest project. And since the project is an effort to document and share the trails and canoe put-ins of the Ten Mile River watershed, our meeting was held outdoors. No matter that the temperature hovered in the teens. The volunteers of this water conservation group are a hardy lot, and cheerfully headed out with me on the trail at the Fish Hatchery on Bungay Road in North Attleboro. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Bright yellow leaves wreathe the entrance to the trail at Choate Park
The oaks are particularly stunning this fall as the foliage season stretches past what we normally expect. But there are also maple trees that did not seem to get the message that they were supposed to change color in October. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Summers in New England are relatively hot, except when they’re not. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Back on the biketrail in Gardner, MA
It’s been over 20 years since I was able to hop on a bike and pedal myself down a path. That saying, “just like riding a bike” always catches me—people think riding a bike is something you can’t forget how to do. Yet for some of us, because of balance issues caused by many things, riding a bike is exactly what we can no longer do. Maybe it’s not that big a deal for some folks. But before my life changed because of surgery to remove a life-threatening brain tumor, I was physically very active. I loved to get outside, loved to walk, loved to swim, loved to dance, and biking was something that was easy for me. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks, Meditations/Liturgies
Joe’s Rock, Wrentham, MA
Last month I had an unfortunate encounter with an overenthusiastic farm dog, all while standing too close to the edge of the farm porch. The resulting fall has kept me homebound the past month, icing my hip, lower back, ribs, and shoulders as I waited for my body to heal. Gratefully, I have no broken bones, but walking has been quite painful.
Strangely, walking on level floors has been more painful than climbing stairs. Yesterday, as the sun rose and the sky filled with blue, I thought, why not climb straight up Joe’s Rock? Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Small dam in the Upper Charles River within sight of N. Maple Street in Bellingham
When I was growing up in S. Florida, we read Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire,” which left a lasting impression on me. I can still picture a lone man in the wilderness, struggling against the elements, fingers so cold he failed to hold onto precious matches, which were dropped, useless, into the wet snow. It’s been bitterly cold in New England, in the minus digits, something I associate with Alaskan, or Yukon Territories sort of locale, not New England. Whenever it gets this cold my thought go back to the reading of this classic story, and I want only to stay inside, sheltered and warm.
And yet, after a day or two, the cold relents, and the urge to get outside takes over. This afternoon it was a balmy 23 degrees F, so we ventured to a nearby trail I hadn’t visited in a long while, Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Fall in New England
I have heard it said that understanding and sharing your past can change your future, but it was only recently that I began to fully grasp this truth.
In my work as a freelance writer and personal historian, I often ask people, “How did you get to where you are today?” The question might be in reference to a person’s vocation, but it may also simply be about how a person came to live in a certain place. The answers I’ve received have been endlessly fascinating. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks, Meditations/Liturgies
Pout Pond, Uxbridge
I’ve been steadily working away at updating my first trails book, Easy Walks in Massachusetts. My first attempt at this sort of publication, Easy Walks, the first edition, lacked maps to trail heads, left out a number of area towns in the Blackstone River Valley, and omitted several really nice trails in the area the book covered. I’ve learned of some new trail systems, some quite nice, that I wanted my readers to know about. Continue reading
Filed under Blog posts--Easy Walks
