Day Trip to Deerfield

Posted on by

It’s not every week that I get a Friday off so I wanted to take advantage of having a day that was almost the weekend. As I was going through my notes of “Places to go and things to do” I ran across some discount coupons for Magic Wings in Deerfield Ma. Magic Wings is a Butterfly Conservatory. I’ve been to similar ones before. There’s Butterfly World in Florida, and The Butterfly Place in Westford, Ma. but Magic Wings was a new one.

I met the folks from Magic Wings at the AAA Travel Show. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and was anxious to see how this compared with the places I’d been before.

Magic Wings sounded really nice in the publicity material. It said it features an 8,000 square ft tropical conservatory which is home to nearly 4,000 exotic and domestic butterflies. There is even a restaurant called the “Monarch”.

The only draw back was that it is quite a hike from Taunton to Deerfield. Mapquest puts the distance at just under 130 miles and 2.5 hours. I was planning to spend some time with my friend Nancy and her 2 children but I was concerned that the drive would be too much for the kids who are only 5 & 7 but Nancy said no, they would be fine. So with that assurance I filled the tank with gas ($3.77/ gal.) loaded up the camera and headed off to pick them up for the road trip.

We got on the road a few minutes after 10 AM. The kids did great for such a long drive. As we got farther out toward western Ma. we got into much more rural areas. The kids had a great time looking for cows and goats and horses. Horses were a big hit. They also liked watching for hawks soaring over the highway. If they started to get too restless we sang songs like 3 Blind Mice and Old MacDonald had a farm. We made one stop quick stop for bathroom breaks and leg stretches and then it was back on the Mass Pike. I actually think the kids handled the ride better than us grown ups. By the time we got to Magic Wings we adults were fading fast and wanted lunch. The kids wanted to get right to the butterflies.:)

This was one time when the adults won. The Monarch Restaurant is pretty small and it was almoxt full when we got there. We were seated quickly but I heard the hostess telling other people that there was a 45 minute wait. The service was pretty good as far as taking our food orders and bringing the soft drinks but then it broke down. We didn’t order anything elaborate yet we waited over 45 minutes for our food to be served. The restaurant that was packed when we were seated was empty by the time we got our food.

While we waited Nancy took the kids to the restrooms and came back to report that there was a cafeteria style restaurant where we could have picked up trays and selected our food from warming stations. We might have gotten served faster there but we had already given our orders.

On the plus side the food was good and it was hot when it came. The kids both ate well as did Nancy and I. Nancy and I both had the scallop roll plate. Alex (7 years old) had a grilled cheese and cup of clam chowder. Dawn (5 years old) had a hamburger and a cup of chicken noodle soup. The soups definitely looked homemade! We rounded the meal out with a platter of onion rings. The french fries were a little soggy but the kids didn’t seem to care and made short work of them. Wow this post is starting to sound like a restaurant review:)

By now it was after 2pm and we still hadn’t been able to get started on the Main Event. We took the kids to the restroom one more time before heading into the exhibit. If we never went any further the atrium then the trip was still worth it. Beautifully decorated with banners and butterfly themed articles, even the stone fireplace had a huge butterfly decoration, it was bright and comfortable with tables and even a butterfly bench.

There was a table with information on having weddings in the conservatory and a gift shop. Can you imagine getting married with butterflys all around! What better way to start a marriage.

Off the atrium was a large coat room. The attendant selling the tickets said it was really warm inside and the best bet was to leave our coats. She assured me it would be perfectly safe so that was what we did.

After taking the kid’s pictures on the butterfly bench and getting our hands stamped it was time to enter the inner sanctum.

More on that in my next post!

Roadside Oddities~Raynham Milk Bottle

Posted on by

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Wednesday would have been a rather routine day except that I got together with a friend that I haven’t seen in a long time. It seems like time just flys by and before you know it, a month has passed, then two and then another and before you know it a year and so on. It doesn’t mean that you like the person less or that you don’t want to spend time with them. You still value that friendship, it’s just that time gets away from you.

I’m lucky because most of the people I consider friends have the same hectic lifestyle as me. In a way it makes the times we  do get to gether to “catch up” all that more precious.

I am on Facebook almost everyday. Part of the reason is to see how my many far-flung friends and relatives are doing. I love to see their comments and stories posted there, a quick snapshot of their lives to help me stay  up to date. Face Book reminds me of birthdays..I’m terrible remembering birthdays…and other special events.

But I’m getting off track. I wanted to say what a nice time I had with my friend Colleen today. Colleen is one of my friends that I don’t see often because we’re both so busy, Colleen with her business and me with life demands in general.  We met for breakfast at the Milk Bottle in Raynham. I’d seen it often enough and even stopped by once or twice but it was always closed. Turns out its only open for breakfast and lunch.

I was interested in it because there is a similar Milk Bottle in Boston at the Children’s Museum. That’s always  been closed when I was there too. I guess I don’t have much luck in that department. Colleen said that was precisely what caught her attention too, it’s similarity to the Milk Bottle in Boston.

Anyway we met there for a “catch up ” breakfast. A lot has happened to both of us since we’d seen each other. We had a nice booth and no one rushed us. We could linger and chat until we had to leave for other appointments. The food was good and quite reasonable. But take note…It is a CASH ONLY business. No debit or credit cards.

There’s a wonderful little court-yard with tables outside. It was cold and raw today but in the summer I can see this as a great place for lunch or a dish of ice cream.

I was curious about the milk bottle architecture so when I got home I did an internet search. I thought I would find something like ” first developed in the 50’s” or something like that but no such luck. I found a lot of pictures of milk bottle buildings but no information on how or when they came into vogue. The various Milk Bottle Buildings I found were almost all  snack or ice cream shops.  Just about all of them had gone through a period of abandonment and been close to demolition before someone purchased them and restored them.

The Boston Milk Bottle at the Children’s Museum was actually brought to its current location by ferry from its original location near the 3 Mile River in Taunton, Ma. That Milk Bottle was acquired by the H.P. Hood Co. who then renovated it and donated it to the Boston Museum. It was shipped in an operation known as the “Great Bottle Sail”.

As a well-known TV character from the 60’s would say “fascinating.”

Turkeys!

Posted on by

Ah the wildlife you can see on Massachusetts highways! I had left Patriot’s Place  fully intending to head right home. No more stops and between the fresh air, the walk and the early morning wake-up call, I needed a nap. But nature had another surprise for me.

It’s almost as if Mother Nature said “Ok you missed the geese, see what you can do with this!”

I was almost at the turn off for RT 140 when right there on the side of the road was a Tom Turkey and a pair of hens. Now I’ve seen plenty of wild turkeys. We have our own flock at work. They come visit every spring and fall but I still get a thrill seeing any animal in the wild.

I pulled into a little strip mall and grabbed the camera. There was a sidewalk so I just casually started walking along the sidewalk. One of the hens took off and actually flew across the road. I knew turkeys could fly but I don’t think I’ve ever  seen one do it. They are so clumsy. The other hen went the other way into the brush. The Tom didn’t know which way to go so he fluffed up his feathers and displayed for me then he walked into the road! It looked like a suicide mission for sure!

 

My heart was in my throat. I didn’t even think to take any pictures while he made his dangerous trek. I just watched and prayed he’s get across. He was lucky. Everyone stopped for him and he made it safely to the other side. He never hurried.

I was about to turn around and go back to the car when Mr. Tom decided to come back across to my side. I was sure he was going to be road-kill because a big delivery truck was barreling down the road right at him. That silly turkey, instead of hurrying, stopped right in the middle of that lane and fluffed out his feathers again in  display for the truck! He just stood there staring down that vehicle! That’s one Macho turkey. 🙂  Thankfully the driver was able to stop and Mr. Turkey continued to strut his stuff back to my side of the road.

Back where he started he looked around, then headed off after the hen that had slipped away into the brush. They are really ugly-looking birds except for their  feathers.  His head gleamed a bright blue, his body feathers were shades of green, brown and blue in the spring sunlight. I never noticed that coloring on the wild turkeys we see where I work. I watched him for a little while and then headed home. This time for sure:)

Patriot’s Place on Patriot’s Day

Posted on by

I’ve been meaning to check out a nature trail I heard about but just haven’t had the time. It’s at Patriot’s Place in Foxboro, home of Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriot’s Football team. The complex houses a shopping mall and conference centers as well. This is where the AAA marketplace was held last month. Bottom line, it’s hard to believe there’s a nature trail amid the asphalt.

As I left Lexington I noticed my gas gauge was getting kind of low. I expected I would need to get gas after making that trip to Lexington. I stopped at a service center with a  McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich. While there I checked their gas prices…$3.95 + / gal for regular. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The  egg McMuffin and orange juice w/ a small water came to $7.99! Friendly’s has a whole breakfast for $2.99. I thought McDonald’s was supposed to be cheap!

Anyway, I decided to try to get to a gas station I know on RT 1. It usually has less expensive gas and I could go home by way of RT 1 instead of RT 128. In fact when I got there the gas was $3.73/ gal.  Big difference!

So with a bit more gas in my tank I headed off down RT 1. On the way I drove by Patriot’s Place and for the first time saw a sign for the Nature Trail and Cranberry Bog. It was still so early I decided to take the time to check it out. It’s located behind Bass Pro Shop and be warned, the dirt road to the dirt parking area has pot holes big enough to swallow your car.

For the most part the parking lot was empty. There were some construction vehicles and a port-o-potty on the far end of the lot. I didn’t take all the camera stuff, just my monopod that doubles as a walking stick, the new super telly and my 55-200. I left the backpack and the kit lens in the car locked in the trunk.

 The path is well-marked. The upper portion is brick-paved and there is a little sitting area and a man-made water feature (waterfall). It’s a pretty little spot. The trail itself is dirt but well maintained. Much better than the access road! It’s a short loop, only about 1/2 mile. To the left is a gentle downslope to a bridge/boardwalk over the marsh to the bog. To the right the trail is more steep. Going right would be the easy way so of course I went left first!

I loved the boardwalk over the pond. It even has a little bench where you can sit and watch the birds. There were the Canadian Geese , of course, a pair of swans, quite a few red-winged blackbirds and a variety of finch/sparrow type birds. I didn’t see any ducks this trip but I am sure there must be some around.

I followed the path through the Cranberry bog. There are two statues of Elk set on the shore and another bridge that crosses the irrigation canal on one side and the pond on the other.

 At that point  you enter the woods and the terrain changes again. It’s still an easy walk but now you climb a couple of hills.

There’s another little bridge over a brook that feeds the pond. In here I spotted squirrels playing hide and seek but that was about all.

Back at the start I took advantage of the seating area to set up my new lens. I need to get used to using such a heavy lens and the monopod. I found the swans on the pond and was amazed at how big they came out with the super telly. The only thing is it’s a bit cumbersome. I think it will be great if I’m looking to shoot from a blind or someplace where I will be sitting or standing for a bit, in other words, where I can set up housekeeping. 🙂 It’s not a lens to just snap on the camera and go hiking. I’ll stick to my 55-200 for that. It will definitely travel with me when we go to Alaska.

The day seemed to be warming up a bit but that wind was still cold so I wrapped up my morning and it’s only 9 am!

 Just as I took the lens off and packed up the geese started honking like crazy and the whole gaggle took off in formation! A very impressive sight  and me with no camera ready! Why is it that this always seems to happen to me! Oh well, another picture that got away 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After the Battle

Posted on by

On Battle Green in Lexington after the smoke had dispersed many of the re-enactors remained to mingle with the crowd. They willingly posed for pictures.

There was a Redcoat showing off his sword,

 A judge or preacher…not sure which…

And of course the militia

But I think my favorite picture was one I set up. I called it the old defenders and the new. There were some Rangers there in their uniforms and I asked them if they would stand with a couple of the Patriot’s for a picture. Both groups liked the idea and began to line up. I had to back up because of the lens I was using. As I was framing the picture I heard a man’s voice behind me. He yelled” Hey, here’s a great picture” and pushed me right out of the way. I didn’t get the whole picture I set up and I was not happy about that but almost immediately I was behind a wall of photographers taking the picture that was MY idea! I’m willing to bet that picture will be in some of the local newspapers by tomorrow!. Another lesson learned..Change you lens before you start setting up your pictures!

Anyway, here is what I was able to get before I was muscled out of the way! There were more Rangers and Militia but if I had backed up to get them in I wouldn’t have gotten any shot.

That about wraps up my visit to the Lexington Battle Green on Patriot’s Day and it wasn’t even 8am yet! I was ready to find breakfast!

There were many more events planned for the day plus a movie but I think Rocky told you that I am not a morning person. I left the house without bringing my list of events. As a result I didn’t know where anything was or what time an event would be held. I was so focused on the Battle on the Green that everything else just passed  right out of consciousness until the reenactment was over.   With all that it seemed prudent to skip the rest and head home. Now that I have an idea what to expect I will be able to plan it better for next year.

It was definitely worth the lack of sleep!