red berries

red berries
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

It was looking very autumnal at the DeCordova.

deer

deer
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I was surprised to come across three deer along the pipeline trail, on the way back to my car. One seemed to be a fawn, and it's not in this photo because it had already scampered into the woods on the left.

The other two were relatively bold. They seemed more curious than afraid. They moved off into the woods as I approached, but didn't go far. I made cooing baby noises at them, and they stared at me.

very nice

very nice
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went hiking for about 2.5 hours at Blue Hills Reservation yesterday. Mostly I meandered around the eastern section, trying to follow trails that I haven't been on before.

At some point I noticed a thin track going uphill and followed it. It was mostly marked with faded purple and yellow blazes, but sometimes I'd suddenly come across a bright green circle like the one in this photo. Garish, but clear!

I stopped here to sit down, and it felt so incredibly peaceful that I was reluctant to get up again. This was a great spot, and I will have to come back soon.

milk snake

milk snake
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today's hike: 3 h 40 min | 7 mi | 1.9 mph

I went hiking at Blue Hills Reservation, again. I took the Skyline Trail from the Headquarters Path parking lot to somewhere around Nahanton Hill at intersection marker 3103, and then turned back. On the return trip, instead of returning to the parking lot, I continued on almost to intersection marker 1094 before heading back to the car.

At Nahanton Hill, I was startled by this snake, which was coiled up at one side of the trail. As I fumbled for my camera, it began to slither off away from the trail. But then it nicely decided to head back and cross the trail, giving me a good photo op. It seemed to consider me a nuisance more than anything else. I think it was a milk snake (PDF). The only thing that makes me doubt that is that milk snakes are supposed to be mainly nocturnal. Maybe this one had insomnia.

cherry tree

cherry tree
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

It's Spring!

duck pond

duck pond
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I was hoping to find some ducklings at Ponkapaug, but I didn't see any waterfowl at all. I took a little detour over to Duck Pond, which is to the east of the main pond, but there was nothing there either! It was a nice spot to sit for a while, though. Except for the traffic noise from nearby Rt 24.

I can't recommend this trail, at the moment. There's a project under way to improve a dam to the west of the pond, and the trail has been rerouted through a golf course for at least a mile. I couldn't help but have the feeling that I was intruding as I walked past all the golfers teeing up. Golf and hiking do not mix well.

ponkapoag boardwalk

ponkapoag boardwalk
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today's hike: 2 h 5 min | 6 mi | 2.9 mph

I took another walk at Blue Hills Reservation today. I'm just taking it easy working my way into the hiking season.

I did about 6 miles around Ponkapoag Pond. This is a very flat trail, so although it felt like a stroll, my pace was pretty fast.

I went down the Ponkapoag boardwalk for a short distance. The water was so high that some of the boards would flood when I stepped onto them, so I decided to try that some other time and turned back.

Blue Hills Reservation

Blue Hills Reservation
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

First hike of the season today: 1.5 h along the trails at Blue Hills Reservation. I did a lot of stopping and listening.

tulips and hyacinth

tulips and hyacinth
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I took this photo on Easter, last Sunday. I think it's going to be a really fast Spring, over soon.

Walden

Walden
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

From the DeCordova I hiked over to Walden. The round trip hike took about three hours.

The weather was abnormally warm, so I hiked in my shirtsleeves. That was nice. However, the rain had made the leaves slick and I hiked more slowly than usual. Despite the caution, I did wind up landing on my butt just once.

Towards the end of the hike I got a weird stabbing cramp at the top of my right foot. It went away and came back again. What's that about??

snake

snake
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I was lucky to notice this small snake along the trail. It kept very still, and I might have easily missed it. It was very small, taking up no more space than my outspread hand.

I have not been able to identify it. My best guess is that it is a juvenile something. Possibly a juvenile northern water snake or a juvenile black racer.

milkweed

milkweed
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I did about 11 miles on the Midstate Trail today, covering the region from Sampson's Pebble to Paxton Road roundtrip in about 4 hours, for a pace of about 2.7 mph.

I don't much like this section of trail because the trails are wide and converge with trails that seem intended for motorized vehicles. Today, however, I didn't run into that kind of traffic. And there are some nice views. The area around Browning Pond is beautiful.

I saw this milkweed plant closer to Paxton Road.

pickerelweed on Muddy Pond

pickerelweed
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

There's a lot of pickerelweed in Muddy Pond. It grows in patches near the shoreline. This shot was taken off the little pier near the open face shelter.

rhododendron

rhododendron
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This area has the finest display of flowering rhododendrons I've ever seen while hiking. Perhaps they are doing so well because they are out towards the cliff side and get lots of light.

snake on the trail

garter snake
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This little garter snake did not seem to be the least bit perturbed by me. It just sat there getting its photo taken. Very nervy.

This is the second snake I've encountered this year. I've been seeing lots of tiny frogs (or toads) on my hikes, as well.

glacial boulder

glacial boulder
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

A sign along the trail pointed to this glacial boulder. Not the biggest one I've ever seen, by far, but kinda cute.

This section of the Midstate Trail is wonderfully hilly... best hiking in the state, so far!

Redemption Rock

Redemption Rock
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today I did a four hour hike on the Midstate Trail. I started at Redemption Rock, and went south to climb Mount Wachusett, finally turning back at the intersection of Stage Coach Trail with Harrington Trail. The peak of Wachusett is around 2000 feet high, and I think I was coming from somewhere around 1000 feet up. Good times!

Redemption Rock has an engraving which is barely visible in this photo. The reality of the history here is pretty horrifying!

view at Chickatawbut

wildflowers
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Coming down from Chickatawbut there's a beautiful little area with lots of wildflowers blooming right now.

pink corydalis

pink corydalis
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I hiked for about three hours at Blue Hills Reservation this morning. I went up Hawk Hill, Chickatawbut Hill, and Buck Hill, which all told probably amounted to less than 1000 feet of climbing.

Up near the top of Chickatawbut there are a lot of little pink corydalis plants flowering. Weirdly shaped, but pretty colors.

fern

fern
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I hiked around Mount Misery, today. Mount Misery is not a mountain, more of a glorified hill. There is no view from the top, but the slope breaks the monotony of flat ... flat... flat... walking. So far, Connecticut hiking is far superior to Massachusetts hiking; clearly I am located too far east in the state.

It was fun to get a view of the Sudbury River. Except for the big sign that warned against eating its mercury-loaded fish, posted in English, Spanish, and I think Thai.