The Saga of the Herring Run Continues

Posted on April 11, 2011April 11, 2011 by Dusty Roads

A couple of posts ago I reported that the herring run seemed to have ended…no fish no gulls…but as with most things in life it is not safe to assume anything.

When I went to work Saturday I noticed a small flock of gulls gathered at the Herring Run off route 44 in Middleboro and I wondered about it but didn’t have time to stop and investigate. There were a lot of cars in the parking lots and people were wandering over the bridges and looking in the water.

On Sunday I have to go into work in the wee hours of the morning. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and the mist was rolling off the water and the gulls were back in force! There was an even bigger gathering than the first time I wrote about it. I’m not sure if we’re getting a second run or if the first one really didn’t end but the gulls know something.

I had the place to myself except for the “early birds” so I wandered over the bridges and along the ladder looking for fish. Usually when the run is in full swing you can see tons of fish jockeying for position to get upstream. Today I saw a few which is a few more than the other day but I’m not sure how many would be needed to call it a “run”.

Judging from the way the gulls were gathering I am guessing that a lot more fish must be on their way. I want to know how do these birds know?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Brewster Gardens, Plymouth MA

Posted on April 9, 2011April 9, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I’m back folks and wanted to tell you a little more about this wonderful little park in Plymouth.

When you come for your visit to Plymouth I would expect that you would visit the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock.

That done you need to take a short walk down the street where you will find the entrance to Brewster Gardens.

There is a paved nature trail that follows the Town Brook through the Gardens. Town Brook provided the water supply for the Pilgrims and the first garden plots were planted in this area. It was probably one of the major reasons the Pilgrims decided to settle in this area, as the brook provided a good supply of fresh water.

The lower end of the Gardens is decorated with some sculptures.

One is of the Pilgrim Maiden by Henry Hudson Kitson and the other is a more modern sculpture made of stainless steel honoring Plymouth’s immigrant settlers from 1700 to 2000.

I did a quick internet search but did not find a great deal of history on either sculpture. I can say they are quite different but equally captivating. They add a great deal to the attractiveness of the gardens. The Pilgrim Maiden stands in a fountain although the fountain had not yet been activated for the season when I was there. Way too early in the spring for that.

Crossing the little bridge will take you on the nature trail which will cross under Main St and Pleasant St. Along the way there are park benches where you can sit and enjoy the scenery.

The Herring also use the Town Brook as a herring run to reach their fresh water spawning area.

The walk is not long or strenuous and before you know it you will reach the Jenny Grist Mill. Jenny Mill is America’s first utility and represents the beginning of industry and trade in our country. The original mill was built by John Jenny, a brewery worker. There are tours of the Grist Mill available and tickets are purchased in the lower level in The Mill Stone Creamery and souvenir shop. I am sure there is much more information on this site available when you take a tour. There are tables on a deck facing the mill-wheel for a scenic place to enjoy a fresh dish of ice cream either before or after your tour.

Moving on up the stairs and across the street is Jenny Pond. There is plenty of free parking and the pond is loaded with birds and some say, fish. I can’t vouch for that as I didn’t try my luck. There’s a little bridge that crosses the pond but other than a scenic decoration it didn’t seem to lead anywhere. It might connect to the Pigrim Trail but I didn’t see that at the time of my visit. There is some access as there were vehicles parked there.

I am told that Jenny Mill and Pond are part of the Pilgrim Trail.

The Pilgrim Trail is a 10 mile circular trail through Plymouth. the Trail starts and finishes at the information center at exit 5 on route 3. I’m told there is ample parking, rest rooms and information on attractions. I will have to check this out and let you know what I find out for sure.

It seems that the more I learn about the area, the more doors that open up to me to explore. You can be sure that I will keep posting about my adventures whether they are local to me or on a distant vacation. Be back on Monday with more tales from the dusty roads. 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A confession

Posted on April 8, 2011April 8, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I made a commitment to post something everyday except Sunday. Even my travel passion needs a break sometimes. Then I buckle down and create the posts for the coming week. This past week I had a lot of things to do that prevented me from planning my posts but I still got some things in to share. But yesterday I had an awesome day that I can’t tell you much about.

There are strict guidelines about blogging about work and I don’t want to run afoul of them but I will tell you it was a really good day. The weather cooperated since I was “in the field” and provided a beautiful, sunny spring day.

I learned a lot about what our field employees have to deal with on a day-to-day basis and was lucky enough to be with one of the most thorough and detailed individuals I have ever “shadowed”. The customers he helped are sure to be in good shape for a long time to come. He went the extra mile on every call.

Well, that’s about all I can say. So my confession is that I am not prepared today.

I should be back on track tomorrow. Thanks for your understanding 🙂

Is It Finally Spring?

Posted on April 7, 2011April 7, 2011 by Dusty Roads

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It was a beautiful day. I wore a pull over “hoodie” but tossed my winter coat in the car just in case. I didn’t need it.

It looks like the Herring Run for 2011 has come to an end, as fast as it started, it seems to be over. I drove over to the Middleboro Herring Run today and there was not a fish in sight. The gulls were also absent. After all the activity of the last few days it was almost spooky!

I went on to Plymouth to see if I could find the fish ladder there. I was told there was one just a few hundred yards from Plymouth Rock. What I found was a hidden gem in plain sight!

Everybody knows about Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II and even Plimouth Plantation but nobody ever mentioned the Town Brook and the little park called Brewster Gardens to me.

I parked at a meter on the waterfront not far from Plymouth Rock and started looking for a brook or stream connected to the harbor that fish might use to migrate to their spawning pond. I admired the little decorative benches along the way. I took some pictures of the shadows they cast on the sidewalk. I liked the patterns they made.

Crossing the road there was a park and that is where I found the brook. There were lots of people out and about. They were walking their dogs or feeding the ducks..in spite of a sign saying not to. This, it turns out, is Brewster Gardens.

I checked out some of the statues then crossed the little bridge to a path that followed the brook. As I wandered along I took pictures of the area. It was so lovely and the sky was so blue.

It didn’t seem like a very long walk before I came to the Jenny Grist Mill. This presented a lot of photo ops. The lady in the ice cream and souvenir shop told me to continue on to the top of the hill where I would see a pond. She said there were tons of photo ops there too. She was right.

I walked around the pond getting pictures of ducks and a swan. The swan was on shore and seemed to be doing some form of Swan Tai-chi or yoga. It was quite comical to watch. Once the swan wandered off, I headed back to the car. I wasn’t sure how long I had been but I had only put enough money in for an 1 1/2 hours.

Back at the waterfront I saw a couple more ducks and stopped to get their picture before I returned to the car. That’s when I saw a terrific scene. A flock of ducks was coming into the harbor but they weren’t flying…they were swimming. They looked like a tiny armada. It was the cutest thing. Definitely worth watching.

Once they got a little closer I got a better picture. I believe they are Merganser ducks.

As what almost always happens after I stumble onto something, I will do a little research on the park and it’s statues and the Grist Mill and fill you in on my findings.

The Herring are running!

Posted on April 6, 2011April 6, 2011 by Dusty Roads

It’s a sure sign that spring is coming when the herring return from the sea to spawn.

I’ve been watching more and more sea gulls gather at the Herring Run in Middleboro. I figured they must know something so Monday on my way to work I stopped to check out the waters.

The gulls were everywhere, lined up like they were going to a free buffet and in effect, they were. Those poor fish not only have to fight their way upstream from the sea but have to run a gauntlet of hungry gulls and even a great blue heron.

I was on my way over to the bridges when a man approached me. He told me he helped maintain the run. He saw my camera and said if I was into photography I should go to the fish ladder in the center of Middleboro. He said the herring run only last a a couple of days and that it had been two days already…not much time left. He gave me directions and I promised to check it out.

Since I had to work that had to wait until Tuesday and Tuesday was a “wonderful “, rainy, windy day. I reminded myself that April showers bring May flowers. When the rain seemed to be letting up I hopped in the car and headed over to Middleboro.

I didn’t think I’d remember what the little map meant that the gentleman had given me but before too long I found myself in the center of Middleboro heading toward the municipal light plant. And that’s where I found a little park and the fish ladder.

My informant was right! There were fish everywhere. I knew what a fish ladder was but I’d never really seen one up close or watched fish using one. This was really interesting. As the fish worked their way upstream the ladder made the jump smaller and provided calmer water on each side to let them recover for the next jump. The ladder was teeming and I felt bad when a fish would make the jump only to be swept back again because they didn’t get into the calmer water on the side fast enough.

Down at the river end was a little falls and there the tiny fish were trying to jump them. These fish are much smaller than salmon and don’t jump as high but trying to photograph one in the air was just about mission impossible. It gave me a whole new insight into those National Geographic pictures of the salmon in mid air flying over rapids and falls. I took over 60 pictures and only managed to catch a fish part way out of the water in one. It’s no prize winner but I will include it here simply because I don’t have anything better. It will illustrate the torrents these fish were trying to navigate.

The park itself is a very pretty little park with picnic tables and benches. I bet it’s a pleasant place on a sunny spring day.

The gulls were here too but they were just flying overhead. Maybe my presence was keeping them away. It wasn’t too long before the rain started again in earnest so I wrapped up my visit with a last picture of a grass-covered boulder or hummock that made me think of Cousin It from the old Adams Family Show.