Different Reasons to Visit

People come to Great Meadows for a wide variety of reasons. Friday morning was busier than most at the refuge; by noontime the parking lots were full.

I had come to capture some of the maintenance activity that happens at the refuge. Ziggy was there with the chipper. He and Alan were cutting down many of the maples that were growing into the banks of the dike.


You can barely see Ziggy and his chainsaw cutting down the cluster of maples


Forty five minutes of cutting is rapidly turned to wood chips and recycled into the refuge


Every morning I was at the refuge this summer, I would encounter Mora who was obviously pregnant, speed walking to stay in great physical shape. While I was helping Alan and Ziggy by dragging branches they had cut to the chipper, I saw her for the first time in a couple weeks with her new son Phineas. She stopped for a brief moment to let me take their photo.



A large group from Temple Sinai in Brookline came to the refuge for a wonderful walk on a sunny day to enjoy God's creation, hold a small service for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, and spend time in fellowship. For a change birds got to hear people singing and the blowing of the shofar. Before they left, the children enjoyed using the telescope and the views from the tower.






Back in the refuge the sparrows are very active up and down the trails. They are often seen along the edges of the trails and in the reeds. One very cooperative subject worked his way up a cat tail until he was perching on the top, reminding me of this summer's Marsh Wrens.








Wandering around the refuge several other sights caught my eye.


While the ducks are generally skittish, this pair were feeding amongst the smart weed creating a classic Great Meadows image.


Ladybugs are everywhere (well it just seems that way) if you look close enough


This explosion of mushroom occurred in the last week. It wasn't here the last time I walked by.

Glimpses of a Walk

Wednesday morning, I stopped by Great Meadows for a morning stroll to enjoy a sunny day before several days of forecast rain arrived.

Some post I have encountered a photographic "vein" that I mine and share those results. Other times, I visit with a certain predisposition, like shooting landscapes or birds, and share the results. Today was just take a walk and see what caught my eye. Some sights were new, others are old favorites but remarkably cooperative or slightly different than previous photos of that subject.


Click on this image to see the detail in the moth


Milkweed seeds departing the pod




Mushroom pushing aside the leaf litter to expose itself to the world


YACG - Yet Another Canada Goose


Great Blue Heron flew so close, I could barely fit it in the viewfinder


Chickadee looking for food under the lichen


Goldfinch on Evening Primrose with Spider Web

They Are Everywhere!

Monday I unsuccessfully attempted another time lapsed video of a day at Great Meadows. The video of the early morning so greatly exceeds the rest of the day, that my Rose Mary Woods moment was just my preliminary edit. Please take a moment to watch the fog, mist and sunlight dance across the upper impoundment.



Autumn is my favorite time of year. Whether cuased by divine creation or random chance you must admit that the fall interplay of color and light is one of the special aesthetic joys of living in New England.











Wandering out the Cross Dike Trail you could not help to notice that spider webs were everywhere. Draped in morning dew, they sparkled like diamond necklaces. The spiders were equal opportunity weavers, even the lowly tick trefoil was bejeweled.










With the onset of fall, the population of dragonflies has been greatly reduced. The reddish Meadowhawks are the perfect complement to the earth tone pallet of fall. I have been noticing more damselflies. The dragonflies that persist are now much larger.








Most of the flowering plants have turned to seed. The few splashes of floral color are like small paint splatters that were not cleaned up after the summer's painting. Down in the shade of the cattails I saw this chicory plant blooming. The insect was a bonus.




Turtles were not quite as prolific, but I encountered several during the day. This tiny baby snapping turtle was crossing the dike trail along the lower impoundment. When it encountered me, it wasn't sure how to react and just froze until I retreated to a safe distance. Along the observation deck several painted turtles were sunning themselves. One appears to have caught the "planking" craze. I wondered what his plan was to get back down.








More ducks have been visiting the refuge. Wild ducks are skittish so they are often found hiding and feeding among the aquatic vegetation of the impoundments. Occassionally you will observe them closer to shore...until they realize you are watching them. The best observations are as they take off and land.








While waiting for more ducks to arrive I was lucky to observe these Great Blue Herons fighting over a fish. One had caught this large fish and the other flew over to get his fair share of the food. The fisherman was able to scare away the thief and focus his energy on exactly how he was going to swallow that fish.






Will all the wet weather fungi and mushrooms of all types are prolific, especially in the woods. Here are a few more species that I haven't shared before or are better photographs.