Category: Photography

(Almost) spring in the Fells

I had a rare light day, so I hiked the Reservoir Trail in the Middlesex Fells. It was unusually dry for early to mid-March. No washed-out sections of the trail and very little mud. A beautiful day for a six-mile walk, but I managed to take a header near the end. I was able to pick myself up hike out, but we’ll see if I can walk tomorrow.

The western part of the loop was much better marked than it’s been in the past. I only had to slow down and look for the next orange blaze a few times. I’m guessing the new blazes were put up by the Friends of the Fells, so I felt like my dues were well spent.

Also interesting to see that there was some slushy ice on all three reservoirs. The Mystic Lakes are completely clear, so I’m not sure what the explanation would be.

North Shore art

I took one of my favorite rides Saturday — from Danvers Center along the rail trail and then east and north to Wenham, Hamilton and Bradley Palmer State Park, south to Route 97 and back along the rail trail from the Topsfield Fairgrounds to Danvers, a little over 18½ miles. I also cruised around the Pingree School and took pictures of some of the outdoor art installations. Enjoy!

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“On Your Mark,” by Michael Aldred and Tim Johnson
“Guitar,” by José Criollo
Unlabeled as far as I could tell
“Think and Be Free,” by Dale Rogers
“Fintasia,” by Steve Heller

The dog days of June

We got back a little while ago from the Bike to the Sea Day Ride, a 19-mile round trip from Malden Center to Nahant Beach. About 200 riders raised around $3,000 to improve and expand the Northern Strand Trail. It was a beautiful morning, though pretty crowded on the trail. Police officers or volunteers directed traffic at every intersection and guided us through the streets of Lynn for the last stretch.

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In memoriam

We tend not to think about the Battles of Lexington and Concord on Memorial Day, but the soldiers who died on April 19, 1775, are the first ones we should honor as fallen Americans. The fighting that day claimed the lives of 49 Colonists and 73 British soldiers, and set the colonies on the road to independence a little  more than a year later.

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Lexington Green

In bloom

Wednesday might have been the best day of the spring to see the flowering Bradford pear trees along Boston Avenue in West Medford and the Hillside neighborhood, which also happens to be the route that I walk occasionally to the Medford/Tufts Green Line Station. The Green Line takes me directly to Northeastern, and I learned something that had escaped me before — the trolley platform is also lined with Bradford pears.

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West Medford
Medford Hillside
Northeastern