A New Sign

There was a new sign posted by the entrance to the cross dike path this morning. After years of rumor, the US F&WS received all the permits required from Army Corp of Engineers, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Town of Concord to begin dredging the channels in the impoundments.

After three years of seeking approvals, Monday they received their permits. With time rapidly to implement this year rapidly dwindling they did not waste any time getting started. They started at the outflow of the lower impoundment and will work their way up and through the upper impoundment. They will be dredging this year until things start to freeze and then will resume in the spring.

What about the threatened Blandings Turtles that live in the impoundment. WE the dredging is actually going to be for their benefit creating some deeper water for them in times of low water. During the actual dredging US F&WS will be monitoring the locations of the Blandings to ensure that they are not near the dredging operation.



Our very OWN DEP file number


About an hour's progress, care to predict how long until they are finished?


The biologists back from confirming that Blandings were staying out of range today


A different angle


I liked the rim lighting




Maples on dike starting to turn




Bees moving very slowly in the cold air


Swamp Sparrows are everywhere


A huge spider came to watch the dredging


A young downy woodpecker



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The Canada Goose daily circle - honk, they fly away, they return

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