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.
Tag: Middlesex Fells
A brown day in the Fells
I took my first hike in the Middlesex Fells since last December. It was a beautiful day, but the trails were much drier than I expected. That doesn’t bode well unless we have an exceptionally wet April. No signs of greenery yet. No patches of snow, either, although there was a little bit of slushy ice on one of the smaller ponds. Click on the photos for a larger view.
Fungi in the Fells
Middlesex Fells
A few pictures from earlier today with my new iPhone SE.
Snow and hail — snail!
Middlesex Fells between the Middle and South Reservoirs at about 3:30 p.m.
While you were impeaching
Middlesex Fells earlier today — in Stoneham, if my phone can be believed.
Long Pond
Long Pond in the Middlesex Fells — 6.2-mile hike this afternoon ahead of the storm. 
Gray day in the Fells
Middle Reservoir, Middlesex Fells. Looking north.
COVID Diary #1: When a public park on a nice day is something to be feared
We’re living through a historic moment. Following the lead of many others, I’ve decided to start keeping a COVID-19 diary. Don’t expect anything startling — just a few observations from someone stuck at home, lucky to be working and healthy.
In early March, I began running for the first time in many months, starting out at a cautious two miles and gradually working up to five. During the intervening weeks, the world started closing down around us. I settled on main drags where few people tend to walk and where I could head out into the street if necessary. My goal was to give people 15 or 20 feet of separation.
Then, yesterday, a beautiful spring day, I took a chance that I should have known wouldn’t work out. So many parking areas around the Middlesex Fells have been closed that I thought the fire roads around the North Reservoir might be relatively empty. No such luck — it was like a beach in Florida, only with trees. I got maybe a quarter of a mile in before I could see that it was hopeless. I stopped, put on my mask (which I had carried with me) and walked out.
Today: Back to the streets.
Middlesex Fells by moonlight
I took this shot toward the end of a hike through the Middlesex Fells around Winchester’s North Reservoir. If you’d like to see more, please click here.
Media Nation 