Category: Photography

Checking out the semi-finished southern end of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

I took a fairly short 13-mile bike ride this afternoon on the new, southern part of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, over the not-quite-finished Route 2 overpass and on to the West Concord train station, where the trail ended. From there I rode west on Laws Brook Road to the Acton line before heading back and then north to NARA Park, where I looped around before heading back to my car. Stretches of the path were technically closed, but we all ignored the signs and barriers and had a great time.

Heading south along the Route 2 overpass
Heading north just before the Route 2 overpass
Trouble
Corn season is upon us
At the southern end of the rail trail
West Concord train station
Acton-Concord line along Laws Brook Road

Riding through the woods of Watertown and Waltham

On Saturday I rode my bike from Soldiers Field Road, across from WBZ-TV, to the end of the Charles River trail in Waltham center. I hadn’t previously made it past Bridge Street in Watertown, so I had no idea that, as you keep traveling west, you’re largely in the woods, riding on dirt paths and elevated wooden sections. It was hot — low 90s by the time I got back — but mostly shaded and not that humid. I did a 15-mile loop; next time, I’ll try riding from home, which might bring it up as far as 25 miles.

Dam project underway in the Middlesex Fells

I hadn’t visited the Middlesex Fells for several months, and it looks like I missed a lot. The town of Winchester is rebuilding the 147-year-old North Reservoir Dam at a cost of $6 million. The water level has been lowered considerably in order to accommodate the construction. Here’s a story about it from the Winchester Star, back when there was a Star.

Oliver Mill

Oliver Mill in Middleborough on Sunday. A correction to the bottom sign: Muttock was not “largely ignored” until the 1960s and ’70s. Crowds always went there during herring season, where you could see waves of fish migrating upstream. The restoration got mixed reviews at the time, as it involved the removal of a lot of trees.

It was legal to catch herring back then. One time I brought a few home and cleaned them. My grandmother baked them. The taste was pretty horrible, and they were filled with bones, so I didn’t try that again. And no one called it Oliver Mill. It was Muttock.