My collaboration with ABMI Cable 8 to bring viewers out on the trail with me has presented challenges. The biggest has been that winter is coming, and cameras do not do well in the cold. So we’ve been working to squeeze in our last few episodes before we have to take a break for cold weather. This episode we ventured to Choate Park, in Medway, MA. You can watch the show here.
Continue readingFiled under Blog posts--Easy Walks
Cable 8 in Bellingham/Mendon has agreed to partner with me to create an TV show visiting local trails. We will be talking about various ways viewers can take the ideas we talk about to safely get out on local trails and help them find Easy Walks in their own communities. Along the way we will be noting items of interest, local plants, foliage, mushrooms, and other fun items of interest along the trail
Continue readingFiled under Blog posts--Easy Walks
We are getting out very little these days hoping to avoid interacting with the Covid-19 virus. We are working from home, and making few social plans. After supper we headed out on a quick errand, and ended up doing a little exploring close to home. As we turned onto Mellen Street, off Grove Street in Bellingham, we hoped to find an access to the Upper Charles River. The sign said, “Bridge Out.” We stopped the car and continued on foot to see how close we might get to the river.
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View of the pond through the beech leaves
Sherborn does not make it easy to locate their public spaces. Information is not posted on line about their public spaces. A booklet, Sherborn Walks, is available for purchase at Sherborn’s town hall. Written in 1992, it has been frequently republished, but does not appear to have been updated since 1992.
My book, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, includes the town of Sherborn, MA, but presently only includes Rocky Narrows in Sherborn. I am in the process of updating the entire book, probably adding at least another 15 Easy Walks, and Sherborn was on the list of places I wanted to revisit. Continue reading
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Fall in full color at Silver Lake, Bellingham, MA
Like many in New England, I have been looking forward to taking in the stunning display of foliage that is an annual tradition around here. Usually happens around the first two weeks of October. But as we moved our way through this blessedly cooler month of the year (yeah!) I, and others like me, kept saying, “Hmm, not much foliage this year.” I heard other comments like, “No reds, just some yellow, so disappointing.” Continue reading
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Greating ready to head out at the MilfordYouth Center
We have been hosting Make Your Own Storybook walks since last January, and I keep being surprised at how much fun participants have, regardless of their age or ability. We have had grandparents, babes in arms, (well, backpack carriers), little ones who have not yet learned to read, and school age children as well. We have had adults of varying abilities, parents juggling several children, and my buddies who are visually impaired (or VIPs–Visually Impaired Person as they prefer to be referred to).
In the midst of all this variety, and having offered the program at different locations, I hadn’t quite realized the common theme; if there is a dead or dying fish on the scene, it’s going to end up in many if not most of the stories that are shared that day. Continue reading
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A gaggle of ducklings skitter about in the water at Franklin’s sculpture park
What a pleasure to introduce friends to lovely local spots around the corner from where I live. Despite having visited both spots many times in the past, surprises awaited at both locations. 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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Views of the Charles River, from the slope above the river.
The blue sky this morning was so inviting, but between a husband with a sore throat, and family and friends with lots of holiday plans, it was after lunch before I tracked down a friend who could join me on the trail today. Yes, it was clouding over, and yes, the trail was icy, with just a light covering of snow disguising the ice along the trail. But the company was good, the wind of the past several days had died down, and where we needed to turn around we got our reward, which was some nice views of the Upper Charles River as it flows quite near the downtown of Bellingham. Continue reading
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Views of the Charles River
Medfield State Hospital operated from 1892-2003 as a state mental hospital, sometimes referred to as an insane asylum. Now owned by the town of Medfield, the grounds are open to the public during daytime hours, and offer some stunning views of the Charles River. Accessed from Old Hospital Road, just off Rt. 27, north of Medfield Center, the property is surrounded by Charles River floodplain. Continue reading
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Marjorie Turner Hollman 