The Cormorant, the Dragonfly, and the Bee: foliage

Showing posts with label foliage. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Mill Pond October Colors

Ashland's Mill Pond is a section of the Sudbury river located adjacent to the town center. It contains a trail called the "Riverwalk" along the edge of the pond. This trail is a small part of the Bay Circuit Trail which is a (not yet completed) 230 mile long trail in the Greater Boston area. The Riverwalk became available when the bridge was completed over a section of the north side of Mill Pond a few years ago. See #6 below for a photo of the bridge.

The Riverwalk shows wonderful colors during the fall season. This post contains photos I took there on October 10 and 11.

Mill Pond 2022 #1

Mill Pond 2022 #2

Mill Pond 2022 #3

Mill Pond 2022 #4

Mill Pond 2022 #5

Mill Pond 2022 #6

Mill Pond 2022 #7

Mill Pond 2022 #8

Mill Pond 2022 #9

Mill Pond 2022 #10

This visitor chose to cross the trail directly in front of me:

Mill Pond 2022 #11

Mill Pond 2022 #12

Mill Pond 2022 #13

Mill Pond 2022 #14

Mill Pond 2022 #15

Friday, October 9, 2020

October Leaves

In this post I've included foliage views seen during the same walk discussed in my previous post. I did not expect to see a lot of leaf color yet, as these photos were taken on October 1, and this turned out to be mostly true. However, the nice thing about foliage is that, sort of like micro-climates, there seem to always be rotating pockets of leaf color throughout the fall season. It's just a matter of where one looks.

Here is some of the color I found on that day!

Dancing Blues

Leaves Down 1

Leaves Down 2

High Flying Foliage

Foliage Fun

Deciduous Before Evergreen

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Tyringham, Massachusetts

According to their mission, "The Trustees of Reservations preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts."

One of the Trustees' properties is "Tyringham Cobble," located, naturally, in Tyringham, MA.

This type of "cobble" when used as a placename in New England, New York, and New Jersey is basically a quaint term for a rounded hill. A friend of friends, who enjoys local hiking, recommended we hike there. We had asked a question similar to "If we were to go on only one local hike in Western Mass, something in the under five mile range, where would you recommend we go?" Tyringham Cobble was the the very informed response: many types of interesting terrain along with pleasant scenic views can be enjoyed over a relatively short distance. A portion of the hike is on the Appalachian Trail.

We were fortunate to get a wonderfully sunny fall day to explore the "cobble." All photos in this post were taken on November 6. Despite the somewhat "after peak" fall date, there was still some foliage to admire.

Between the Trees

Pinkish

Warming

Cotton Candy

On the Way Down

As an aside, just before arriving at the turnoff to park our car for the Tyringham Cobble hike, we drove past a unique place called "Santarella." It was *so* unique that we just had to stop, take a few pictures, and find out more about it. A sign, seen on the property, provides some additional information:

Santarella is the historic home of the sculptor Sir Henry Hudson Kitson, who lived and worked here until his passing in 1947. He spent over 20 years transforming the carriage house of a colonial homestead into his sculpting studio, creating the incredible rolling roof using handcut asphalt shingles of different colors to mimic the surrounding hills in the fall. In addition to the roof, Kitson added many other whimsical architectural details, and maintained a beautiful, exotic garden with the help of his full-time gardener, Awoki.

Santarella is a private residence and is not open to the public. We host guests for vacation rentals as well as for weddings and special events. Detailed information is available on our website. Rental enquires can also be made by phone:

(413) 243-2819 http://www.santarella.us

Here are three representative photos I took of the "residence":

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Autumn at the Res

During the same walking event of my last post, I took several other pictures, presented below. It's almost impossible for me to let the fall season pass without taking pictures of the local color. In my photos, I'm always striving for yet another way to capture the joy of the changing leaves.

From Above

At Water's Edge

Through the Y

While there were actually four cormorants on this rock, I slightly prefer this composition containing just three, mostly because the rightmost cormorant's head is nicely in the same line, and I can zoom in a little closer within the same frame. I had to wait to just the right moment to catch them all relaxing and not self-preening.

Let's All Look Left

For reference, here's a wider view. You can see that the lowest cormorant also enjoys looking left, while the rightmost one has become slightly distracted from the sun salutation.

Four on a Rock

Abstract Surface

Yellow Planes

Many Flecks

Between

Autumn Wind

Chlorophyll be Gone

Downturn

I was done with my walk and returning to my car when I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this venturesome duo out on the res also enjoying the day.

Hats and Sunglasses

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Walden Pond Visit

The mid-October weather and fall foliage inspired us to go for a walk around Walden Pond. I used to go to Walden Pond frequently when I was growing up. In those days it was a quiet place to explore and get some solitude, perhaps as Thoreau himself might have done.

While still a lovely spot, in the last several years it has become extraordinarily popular. Many times, during the summer, when we attempt to visit for a walk and swim, it is so crowded we cannot get a parking spot.

On this recent visit, on a lovely fall day, it was crowded yet again, yet thankfully still with available parking spots. Walden Pond, as always, remains a very special place.

That said, I have only a few photos to share from the day, shown below; only the first one shows any water at all;)

This cormorant was giving us a nice display of his/her "pebbled" wings, a technique called "wing-spreading". The feathers of Cormorants' wings are not waterproof, so they hold out their wings to dry their feathers after a swim. The photo was taken through an opening in the trees from 85 feet away.