First Annual Herring Run Festival

Posted on April 14, 2014April 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

What was that I was saying about missing out on things because they were on the weekend and I worked? A perfect example was this past weekend.

I saw signs the day I drove over to the Grist Mill Pond; “Oliver Mill festival April 11-13”. I’d never heard of the Oliver Mill festival.

I like to take pictures at the Herring Run. There are bridges, stone ruins , a park with picnic tables and of course the fish ladder. There’s usually gulls and birds and often a Great Blue Heron for photo subjects.

Last year was a bit harder for photos than previous years because it was very crowded with people fishing and trying to kayak. All the human activity drove away some of the wildlife so I spent less time there and more time checking out alternate locations.

But back to the festival. Another photographer I know attended on Saturday.

http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-first-annual-middleborough.html?spref=fb

I was going to take a run down there in the morning Sunday only to find out it didn’t start until 11 am. I’d just have time to get there and have to turn around and come home to work. So I did the next best thing…I looked it up on the internet.

I found this little blip:

MIDDLEBOROUGH — This old town’s first big push to draw in tourists will be launched this weekend with a three-day party to celebrate a centuries-old annual phenomenon.

Organizers expect thousands to gather for the First Annual Herring Run Festival, based primarily at Oliver Mill Park on Route 44 but with other activities planned all over town.

Crowds of alewife and blueback herring, as they do every spring, are already making their way up the Nemasket River, adjacent to the park and considered the largest herring run in the state.

Last year, more than 850,000 herring made the trek to the 5,000 acres of spawning and nursery habitat in the river’s upper reaches where they lay eggs before returning to salt water.

That explains why I’d never heard of it before, this is the first year. Maybe next year I’ll be on that Mon- Fri schedule and able to attend for myself.

For really interesting comments and great photos check out : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photo-Bee-1-Photographing-the-Natural-World-Around-Us/191608700932223

Finally a Moment with Nature

Posted on April 10, 2014April 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Spring has been a long time coming this year. If it wasn’t snowing it was raining but finally on Monday, we had a brief respite.

As usual lately my days off are filled with errands. When did that happen? I needed to run to the grocery store, down to Walmat (which is the opposite side of town) and then in another direction to the pet store for filters for the pet fountain but I was determined to get some time with the camera. No cat picture today!

The sun was hiding behind a gray, overcast sky. Rain was predicted for the evening. My first stop was at Oliver Mills. It was crowded today. The herring have started running. You could stand by the fish ladder and see the little fish trying to make their way upstream. A few gulls braved the influx of humans but no Great Blue Herons. I watched from the car for a bit so when the gulls took flight, so did I.

I drove to Plymouth to check on a Osprey nest I found at the end of the season last year. When I got there I discovered that I couldn’t find my binoculars. The last time I had them (that I remember) was in Alaska. This nest is near a park and it was full today too so I didn’t linger there.

Getting to the Grist Mill Pond was a challenge. The main road was blocked for a funeral so I tackled the shore road down past the Mayflower.

That’s undergoing road work but passable. I skipped Brewster Gardens. Nothing appeared to be out and about, not even a duck or robin. But that wasn’t the case at the pond.

Here spring was in full swing with lots of courtship rituals going on…mallards, Canada geese, and Mr. Majestic, the mute swan.

After enjoying the antics here I made one more stop. I went searching for the “haul out” that I’d heard about for the seals. Usually I go to Chatham to view seals. Plymouth is closer but the seals aren’t necessarily any more accessible. I wasn’t sure I’d found them. Without binoculars I simple took pictures and crossed my fingers.

Once home I uploaded the images and sure enough…they were there. Next time I’m taking the BIG lens.

A Really Special Lunch

Posted on April 8, 2014April 8, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s been pretty quiet around here. The cats play and keep me entertained. The workload has picked up as we move into the spring busy season but the vacation planning seems to be complete and I haven’t started prowling the neighborhoods yet.

But I did have a very special lunch on Sunday. March 3o, 2013 was the day that my department at my old employer was dissolved. Go to Malden, MA or take a lay off they said. I took the lay off along with many others. The ones who stayed have the daily pleasure of commuting from south of Boston through the city to Malden in the north. Not a fun commute even on a good day.

The thing about this department is that we were all “long timers”. I was 6 weeks away from 10 years and one of my co-workers had 25 years in. We were a family and now we were being scattered to the winds. I didn’t mind leaving the company. We were overworked and underpaid while they told us how lucky we were to have a job and what a great place to work, the party line, but I knew I would miss my friends.

We agreed to meet after 1 year to see how everyone was doing and so we did. On Sunday we got together at a nice restaurant for brunch and a chance to catch up. Almost everyone made it. One person had moved away , we didn’t have contact information for another and 2 had conflicts but everyone else was there.

It really did feel like family. Everyone looked great. Everyone seems to be working, maybe not in their favorite job but at least they have landed on their feet. It was a really fun afternoon. There’s talk of doing it again next year. I hope we do. It was really special.

Photo of the Week ~ 13

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Wow this picture represents the end of the first quarter. 1/4 of the challenge down 3/4 to go. It’s been a hard challenge so far with so much bad weather. Snow pictures get boring after awhile and all look alike and rain.. well rain is just gray, cold and nasty this time of year. It doesn’t even have the advantage of looking pretty (like snow) when it first comes down.

The week 13 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Water Over the Dam with a total of 33 points.

To order Prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h260a0977#h260a0977

Rain Rain Go Away

Posted on April 1, 2014April 1, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Or maybe not! What crazy weather! It’s been raining for two days and rivers are overflowing and streets in many towns are flooding. I went out to run errands during a lull. I’m glad I took my winter coat. I thought it would be warmer since it was rain but while I was out it changed to sleet and freezing rain and then finally to snow..again! I think I’d rather have the rain than the snow.

RT 18 New Bedford Floods

I drove around a bit with my camera looking for something to photograph but there’s nothing sprouting yet. It’s just too cold. Just browns and grays…no color yet. 🙁 Thankfully the rivers and streams in Taunton (and there are many) are high but not overflowing the banks. A few years ago the main street , RT 44, was underwater for a week!

2010 Flood RT 44 Raynham/Taunton Line

Anyway I came home empty handed. This Project 365 is really getting tough thanks to the nasty winter that never ends. I actually came home to warm up but once inside I was not going back out so here we go with another cat picture.