Tag Archives: animals

Are we there yet?

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Having passed the “Fruitland” exit I continued along RT 2 heading west. There are a number of bridges along this route and a couple of them are really pretty. The first one I came upon that bears mentioning is the French King  Bridge which crosses the Connecticut River. There is something about the clean lines of this bridge that just really appeals to me. I think I read somewhere that it is a 3 span “cantilever” bridge but I just think it’s nice. Apparently people who know bridges agreed with me because way back in 1932 this bridge was awarded “Most beautiful Steel Bridge” by the American Institute of Steel Construction.

I actually stopped and parked the car so I could walk out on the bridge to see the river passing under it.

Back on the road I pulled into the little town of Gill. As I passed the town line sign I spotted some goats in a pen by the side of the road. There were a lot of picnic tables around so I wondered if this was a makeshift petting zoo or something. I pulled into the first gas station I came to so I could top off the tank and then turn around to backtrack.

The little pen was set up next to the Wagon Wheel restaurant.

There was a nanny goat and 2 kids.

They were the cutest little family. I pulled into the parking lot and grabbed the camera. I dropped to my knees next to the pen trying to get some nice close up shots of the kids. They are such teases. They’d look at me and just as I got the camera focused they’d bounce away. While I was so engrossed a heard a man’s voice right behind me ask me “You want to buy a goat?”

 Turns out the young man was the owner of this little family and the small produce stand that was offering vegetables, flowers, maple syrup and manure ( for fertilizer) for sale.

After getting a good chuckle I asked him seriously why he brought the goats. He said he would sell them but also people stopped to see them and that gave them a chance to see  his farm stand. I guess it works. It got me to stop! 🙂

I began to chat with him and a couple of young ladies that were there as well. It turns out that he runs a farm called Lally Laggy Farm. The actual farm is located in Lydon and is farmed the old-fashioned way, with draft horses. Molly and Maggie are American Creme Draft horses and are very rare. There are fewer than 400 alive today. He is working 186 acres that he leases. He raises some grass-fed beef cattle as well as his goats.  He said the farm has a Facebook page so I have to check it out. From the brief visit we had it sounds like he is really trying to make a go of this farm. He said he has hay and firewood as well as seasonal vegetables and flowers for sale. Before I left him we agreed that I can make arrangements to go out to the farm to really see what he’s doing with it. I can’t wait for that visit!

Since it was about lunch time I figured I’d try out the Wagon Wheel Restaurant since I was parked in their lot. I think their slogan was “roadside food the way it should be” or something like that. I liked the sound of it.

There’s seating inside or at the picnic tables outside. I ordered from the window for outside seating. When my number was called I picked up my sandwich and fries and retired to a picnic table to enjoy my meal.  They have a drive-in menu reminiscent of older days: grilled burgers, hotdogs, salads, fresh fish, homemade soup and homemade ice cream plus soft serve ice cream….yum!

Lunch over I chatted with my new friends of Lally Laggy Farm for a few more minutes and then headed off to my next stop; the little town of Turner Falls.

Whales, Seals and Sharks!

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It promises to be great year for sea animals on Cape Cod. Already we have had record numbers of whales feeding off the cape coming closer to land than in recent memory. Now in the news are reports of Great White sightings.

This is not unusual. I chased the Great Whites all last summer without success but it is early in the year for them. Normally they come in search of the seals that live and play on the beaches and barrier islands of Cape Cod. They prefer it when the water has had a chance to warm up a little but the really large sharks can tolerate the cooler temperatures. The reports seem to indicate that this was a large one, 18-20 ft and 2000+ lbs!

The latest news report said the Great White was circling a whale that had become entangled in fishing gear. The Woods Hole people have since towed the whale carcase away to exam it to determine cause of death…could it be its entanglement or the shark? I’m sure we’ll hear more about this as the season progresses.

Speaking of seals, I recently found out that there are 4 different species of seals that like to visit the cape. I was aware of 2.

The big-headed gray seals are also the largest in size of the 4 species. It’s been said that their heads look like horse heads and I guess that’s true. Gray seals are year round residents. Naturalists say that the resident population on the cape is in the thousands. The colony in Chatham is certainly large and boisterous. Gray seals were on the decline because of over hunting until 1972 when the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed. Removing that pressure has allowed their population to increase dramatically.

The 2nd species of seal that is a familiar sight on the cape is the one we think of at the aquarium. They have a cute upturned muzzle and are smaller than the grays. While the grays are said to look like horses these seals are most often compared to cocker spaniels. These little cuties are the curious Harbor seals.

Both the Gray Seals and the Harbor seals will interact with boaters. They swim up  to the boat and pop up out of the water to stare. Curiosity is certainly a trait they share with us humans.

The other 2 species are more rare. I don’t think I’ve ever seen either one in the wild. The first is the Harp seal which gets its name from the distinctive dark wish-bone shaped pattern against a silver-white coat. When you see all of those horrible posters protesting the seal hunts with the baby white coated seals about to be clubbed, you are looking at baby harp seals. The Cape seems to get the “in-between” harp seals. Still juveniles they are too old for the creamy white coat and too young for the silver-gray with the harp pattern. Most have a light-colored coat with irregular blotches of brown.

Last but not least is the Hooded Seal. These seals are the most rare of the 4 species. They, along with the Harp seal, are considered “ice seals” because they prefer to live on the pack ice of the Arctic. Still the long stretches of secluded shoreline and abundant sea food make Cape Cod an attractive place for these seals to visit.

I think it’s safe to say that as long as the seals keep coming to Cape Cod we will be hearing of Great White Sharks patrolling our shores. I can see I will have many entertaining hours to look forward to this summer on the Cape.

Writer’s Block

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Well it was bound to happen one of these days. I set a pretty ambitious goal to post something 6 days a week. The biggest problem is time. There is lots to write about but I like to give you up to date information and pictures. In fact, I subscribe to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words so if I have no pictures, I have no tales.

The past few days were a combination of things including weather that kept me from getting much exploring done. I didn’t even have much time to take pictures for my photo blog. I had my car in for maintenance so with no wheels to get around I missed being out and about gathering stories. It still need some more work too so I hope it won’t be tied up too long. After all I have places to go and people to see and things to do and then tell you all about it all here!

I asked Scout if he had any new tips and he admitted he hadn’t put anything together. He said he could have some in a day or two but by then I should be back on track.

I thought my friend Julie would bail me out with stories of her recent trip to Arizona and California but she had the day off so I haven’t caught up with her at work yet.

My cuz in Florida is going to share her experiences on trip she took to Ireland but she’s still putting that together. I have another co-worker that went to Ireland as well but I haven’t set up a time to get his stories yet. My fault on that one.

My friend Diane still has many, many stories and pictures to share but again I dropped the ball and didn’t leave myself enough time to get together  with her.

Another friend and co-worker, Jay, just got back from his rafting vacation but we haven’t had a chance to chat about that in any detail yet. I can’t wait to see his pictures and he says I can share them here. That will be a treat for us all, I am sure!

Well, sometimes it seems I spend more time making excuses and if I’d just taken that same time I would have had something to write but it’s just human nature, I guess.

I will be on my work schedule now for the next 2 days so I won’t have any time to go anywhere but maybe I can dredge something out of the archives that you might enjoy.

Or maybe I should remind you that you’re welcome to contribute too! I love your comments but you can also share you travel experiences too. Don’t be shy. Sometimes a fresh voice is just what’s needed. In the meantime I’ll share some photos from some of my jaunts. I’ve written about all of the trips shown in these photos but selecting the pictures makes me think that there may be more stories in them to share. Something to think about.

Well enjoy the pictures until I get my next post together. Remember my next trip is fast approaching and we know there will be a lot of things to share from that.

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He’s Back!

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“Who’s back” you say? “My little friend!” I say excitedly. All last spring, summer and early fall I would watch for a little woodchuck or if you prefer groundhog that seemed to make its home in a field on the side of RT 44.  I drive by there at least 4 times a week to go to work and sometimes errands take me past there on my days off.

It became a game that I embraced enthusiastically to see how many times I could spot the little animal. If I didn’t see him or it, not sure of its gender, for a couple of days I would worriedly search the side of the road for a squashed little body but I never saw one and eventually Mr/Ms Groundhog would be back.

A few times when I was not rushing from one place to another I pulled over and managed to get pictures to prove to my doubting co-workers that there really was wildlife to be seen in our little urban corner of the world.

I began to think of the little rodent as my “furry, little friend” and was disappointed when I wouldn’t see him. He disappeared for several weeks during the summer when we had a drought and the field he was in turned dry and brown. I wasn’t sure if he had moved on or died. Life in the wild is hard enough but with cars, exhaust,  lawn mowers and pesticides, throw in drought and the poor thing didn’t have an easy time.

Even so once the rains came and the grass got green again, he was back. Along about September or October I saw him for the last time. I watched and watched and even stopped and checked for signs that his burrow under the rocks was being used…nothing.

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I don’t know if the little creatures hibernate but it seemed too early for that with lots of grass still available. I kept an eye out all fall and even in the winter because habits die-hard but there was never any sign of him so imagine my surprise when I saw something brown moving at the edge of that same field as I drove past! I slowed down and there he was! I didn’t have time to hang out and watch him today but it’s enough to know that he or another of his kind survived the winter and will be back to entertain me for another summer.

Patriot’s Place on Patriot’s Day

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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 🙂

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