Category: Autumn

Tunnel Vision

A tunnel on the Mass Central Rail Trail provides a surprising sight for both art and nature lovers.

One can walk **through** the hill on the Mass Central Rail Trail in Rutland, MA.

Brilliant colors and exposed layers of rock vie for attention.

Unexpectedly, hikers spy a tunnel up ahead.

Inside, wanderers find a colorful woodland mural created by local amateur artists of all ages.

Flora and fauna of the nearby woods and fields are depicted on the walls in this work in progress.

Nature artwork blends with the leaf-strewn path at the end of the tunnel.

And it’s off on the open road (or trail) once again.

Milkweed in the Meadow

Milkweed shimmers in the afternoon sun at Wachusett Meadow.

South Meadow, Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Princeton, MA

I Walk the Line

Photographs from a return visit to the Mass Central Rail Trail.

Lily Pad Launch

Autumnal lily pads dance within and over the Wildlife Pond.

Wildlife Pond, Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary

Mass Central Rail Trail

An autumn stroll on one of the Mass Central Rail Trail’s fifty-one miles of linear park.

Partners in twenty-six communities are working to reopen a disused railroad line that spanned 104 miles from Northampton to Boston, MA. The line is being converted to a linear park for hiking, biking, jogging and relaxing. So far, fifty-one miles have been repurposed.

Golden Glow

The main road at the Moore State Park offers a golden canopy above with an edging of dry leaves below to enhance an afternoon walk.

Wetland Colors

The vegetation surrounding the Beaver Wetlands is bursting with gold, orange and crimson this week.

Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Princeton, Massachusetts

Heron Hike 2

The foliage in Central Massachusetts is becoming more brilliant each day. Swamp maples surrounding the beaver lodge at Wachusett Wildlife Sanctuary are nearly at peak color.

Meanwhile, the juvenile Great Blue Heron featured in the previous post is still roaming the sanctuary. It seems in no rush to migrate, perhaps because of the warm weather this week.

Beaver Lodge, Wildlife Pond, Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary

Heron Hike

Vibrant ponds and the sight of a Great Blue Heron stepping out across the meadow combined to make a memorable fall hike at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary.

An Appealing Orchard

Brookfield Orchards has served generations of Central Massachusetts residents during its one hundred and two year history.

Brookfield Orchards in North Brookfield, MA is one of New England’s oldest orchards, and a perfect setting for a fall picnic.

Lunch Break

From apples to zinnias: visitors can choose from a wide variety of tasty treats in my garden this week.

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit/ Scarlet Emperor Greens

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird/Scarlet Emperor Bean Blossoms

Monarch Butterfly/ California Giant Zinnia

Painted (Turtle) Portrait Redux

Out with the old, and in with the new: a turtle sheds its shell.

Last June, I photographed a turtle on this exact log at Mass Audubon Wachusett Meadow. Yesterday, the turtle I saw there was shedding its shell. As a turtle grows larger, the outer portion of the shell, called the *scutes,* must fall off to make way for the newer, larger scutes.

#OptOutside

I was surrounded by a colorful group today as I opted outside for Black Friday. The Summer birds are long gone, but my Winter feathered friends enlivened the landscape with flashes of red, white, gold and blue.
A bonus: it didn’t take me long to find these birds. They all visited the bird feeders within the space of a half an hour as I sat quietly watching.