Sunday in My City - Mass Central Rail Trail

Well, HELLO THERE! Remember me?

I haven't been around too much lately - you know, that thing called life has been pretty demanding. I guess that's a good thing!

Like most of the United States, it's been unbearably hot and humid here in New England. Really messed up my plans! By the time I was ready to fit strawberry picking in my schedule, the strawberries (which came about 2 to 3 weeks early in these parts) were gone. Blueberry season is usually starting full force in mid-July...nope, those beautiful blue babies were ripe and ready two weeks ago, although they will be around into July, thankfully. They are my favorite so it would be a shame to miss them completely!

A brief, but relieving rain storm came through these parts yesterday afternoon, so I figured today would be a good day to get out and maybe go for a little walk or hike, and of course, document it for Sunday in My City. If you're not familiar, Unknown Mami started this great idea of getting out and showing folks what's going on in your neck of the woods this Sunday! She's visiting Golden Gate Park today, and has some beautiful shots of a heron on her blog!

Anyway, here's what went down in my "city" today....

My husband worked 38 hours straight (yes, 38) so he was napping. I decided it would be best to get my 5 year old (as of last Saturday - Happy Birthday, Gracie!!) out of the house. I figured that rain and the slightly cooler weather that followed would make hiking a good choice. So we headed out to the Central Mass Rail Trail, which runs right through my town.

Rail Trails have been popping up all over the place, and they are wonderful! Around here, old railroad lines have been pulled up and converted into walking/hiking/biking trails, hence the name "Rail Trail". Eventually, you'll be able to walk right across Massachusetts, from Cape Cod to the Berkshires, but they're still working on a few gaps. Lucky for us, we have several well-established trails here in central Massachusetts. The one we visited today runs from Sterling to Oakham, through some of the prettiest woodlands I've seen.

There are many places you can jump onto the trail - we chose one not too far away, and pulled into the tiny parking lot. Our first site was this...

A quaint, charming little garden! It really was a nice surprise.

We even got our first glimpse of wildlife....

Then we headed down the trail. We were near the Quinapoxet River, which is part of the Wachusett Watershed...we visited Wachusett Reservoir a while back. Well, the Quinapoxet River leads to Wachusett Reservoir, which is the second larger reservoir in Massachusetts, and supplies drinking water to many communities between Worcester and Boston. For that reason, motorized vehicles are not allowed, and the trails are well-maintained and patrolled. In different areas, you may be limited as to what you can and cannot do. These signs are all over the place...

Where we were today, there were no dogs, no horseback riding, no motorized vehicles, no camping...basically you can walk, bike, fish, picnic (no fires, of course), canoe and in the winter, cross country ski.

At first the trail was comfortable, cool and shady, and a little breeze in the air.

I'm convinced my daughter is going to be something of a naturalist, because all she talked about was all the wild animals she wanted to see. This was one of them...

We walked along and came to a river - I;m not sure if it was actually the Quinapoxet, as I think that was on the other side of the road we drove in on, but down a steep hill was a pretty rambling river. Nearby, here and there, are stone benches you can take a break on.

"Mommy, look! Green stuff! What's that called again?"

Moss. I have a thing for moss, the cool feel of it, the earthy scent of it. I guess she inherited that from me, because she is fascinated by moss!

The main trail is wide enough to support a car, however there are hundred of footpaths and bike trails that run off the main trail.

We explored a few but never did find a way to get down to the river's edge.

We DID find some wild blueberries! A few were ripe, but I'm not sure you're allowed to pick berries here. I'll check on that for next time, because wild blueberries are amazing.

Here's another bike path than wandered off into the woods.

Back on the main trail, the sun started beating down on us and it was MUGGY! Thankfully, regular patches of shade sheltered us from the heat.

Eventually we came upon a bridge. We had seen this from above and finally found our way to it.

Here's the river from one side of the bridge.

All in all, we were out for about an hour and a half, yet we were never more than several miles from our house, and probably not more than a mile from the main road. Aside from insects, the only wildlife we saw were several birds and 762 chipmunks. Perhaps next time we'll make it to the river to see some frogs, turtles and fish!

Well, hope you enjoyed our little hike! What's going on in your neck of the woods today?

Meet the Dags

Even though it was pretty darn cold out when I woke up last Sunday morning - below 32 degrees F - I really wanted to get out for a walk. Thanksgiving was a recent memory, and we were just about done polishing off the leftovers, so now was as good a time as any to get back on the exercise wagon...at least for a couple weeks. I figure every step I take is better than not taking any at all. Just like every calorie and carb can add up, so can every step.

Plus, I love this time of year, especially in New England. Brilliant fall foliage of September/October is one thing, but after the leaves have faded and fallen, and the sky turns that ice-white color, there is still beauty to be found here...you just need to take the time to look.

Another reason was The Dags. What, pray tell, are "The Dags", you ask?


Just ask Brad, aka Mickey....

That's a "dag" right there! My husband and I love quoting movies - I swear, we work one into just about every conversation. "Snatch" is one of our (many) favorites. Lots of good quotes in this one, and lots of great characters. Mickey, Boris The Blade, Bullet-Tooth Tony...even a couple shots of Frankie Four Fingers/Benicio Del Toro in his underwear....

Yeah, Benicio-schmenicio. Can we please go now???

That's Martha, the Newfie, on the left, and Merlin, the Great Pyrenees, on the right. I hitched up their leashes and we headed outside. I have to admit, frost means cold, but it's also beautiful - just look at the shrubs across the street...

Do you know that some people have hedges of rosemary? Not in this climate, but this shot made me think of that...wouldn't that be lovely??

Funny, I'm new to blogging and I keep worrying that I'll run out of things to blog about. I mean I am, how do you say? BORING! Yet, see that pile of rocks across the street?

There's a story there...stay tuned...

Anyway, I live on a pretty busy street, but less than a quarter mile away we turn onto a somewhat less busy road. I am still taking my life, as well as the dags' lives, in my hands. We have very few sidewalks, and the average speed limit on this road is probably about 40 mph. At least the scenery is nice.

You miss a lot driving. That's why I enjoy my walks. Here's a shot of a patch of cool moss at the base of a tree...and actually, it is the north side of the tree!

And this was another hidden gem. A tree stump, baby pine and patch of checkerberries.

I love these things - If you tear the leaves they release the aroma of spearmint. They are shiny and green during the spring and summer, but turn reddish this time of year. The frost adds a nice touch, too. Never would have spotted this from a car...at least not if my husband was driving.

As we come upon the pond, this is what we see.

Hehehe.... I'm walking a 130-lb. Great Pyrenees and a 110-lb. Newfoundland. (Insert "No Dumping Joke" here)

This is the pond - it's part pond, part bog/marsh type thing. We see some great wading birds here in the spring and summer. And hawks like you wouldn't believe, mostly Red-Tailed Hawks. None today though - in fact it's eerily/beautifully quiet this morning.

Ah, fungus! Fungus is cool, as long as it's not growing in my shower...

...Not that I would know anything about that.

Here we start up the hill. It's a pretty steep one, but since the road curves so you get the optical illusion that it's a gentle slope. The dogs aren't intimidated. I think this was Martha's first time up this hill, as we've only had her about a month, and she was a real trooper.

This is a side street off of this "hill" road - I remember when this was all woods. Now urban sprawl seems to be catching up to us here. Kind of a shame, but I suppose if I was going to live there I'd have a different point of view. At least they left some trees.

We reached the top of the hill and turned around, and this is what we saw...

That's Mount Wachusett...it's just barely a mountain, really, but it's still a nice view. I predict it will make another appearance in a future blog, as we like to hike there and go to some of the events. I hate skiing, though, so you won't be seeing me on the slopes.

And here's another future blog topic - stone walls. How I love stone walls! And we have oodles of them here in New England. I watched them construct these. Nice work. They cheated, but still, nice work! (I'm such a stone wall snob...)

More crap on the side of the road...man, it's getting colder. I'm losing interest in the flora and fauna, even though I haven't seen much fauna today.

What the....????

Never notice those red blobby things before! They look kinda like clusters of moldy raspberry/burr thingys.

Then I looked up....

...They were all over the place! Kinda giving me the creeps! Now I'm getting a little paranoid....HEY! What are you dags saying??? You're conspiring to leave me here with those red-blobby-berry thingys, aren't you?!

No, I think the red-blobby things spooked the dags too!

"Quick Martha! RUN!!" Merlin shouts.

"I'm running! I'm running!" replies Martha.

Pant-pant-pant.... "I think we lost 'em!"

Ah, here's a sight for sore eyes! Our red-blobby-thingy ordeal about 3/4 of a mile behind us, our neighbor Jack greets us as we turn up our street.

It's good to be home! Just me and the dags! Not a red blobby thing in sight.