#wednesdaywalks — Public Fediverse posts

I was way, way offtrail and saw a large green object in the woods. At a distance I could only guess it was a car, abandoned in the middle of nowhere like you sometimes find in the New England woods.

As I got close I could tell it wasn’t a vehicle, but had no idea what possibly could be this shade of green.

Moss! Like a kid’s magic marker. I mean, just soak it in.

#Moss #Mosstodon #WednesdayWalks

Was out yesterday morning doing a check-up of one of the conservation areas I monitor and got hit with a sudden covering of snow. Not too often I get to a boardwalk that hasn’t been stomped on yet.

#WednesdayWalks

The brook is still hanging on to its snow.

#WednesdayWalks #WoodedStream

Vacancy

#WednesdayWalks

#WednesdayWalks #WoodedStream

With an inch of rain and mid-50s forecast for Friday, I think the brook will be running loud and fast.

#WoodedStream #WednesdayWalks

Perhaps the last of the seasonal color from the pond and bog.

#WednesdayWalks

Off-trail amongst the large rock formations that seem to be around every corner in the woods of New England.

#WednesdayWalks #WoodedStream #Hiking

At about 10 miles long, the Norwottuck Rail Trail connects Northampton and Amherst, MA.

There are little spots to pull off to discover meadows, woods, and scenic sitting areas.

Like this one.

#WednesdayWalks #Kingfishers #BikePaths

This part of the forest was doing its best impression of a sculpture park.

#WednesdayWalks #Trees

Took a trek to my old stomping grounds in Concord, Massachusetts. There are so many large areas to explore, but the trails are often a mishmash of marked and unmarked trails, private property and historical landmarks, that getting turned around (aka “lost”) is quite easy.

But I did come across this old beaver’s den in a pond flooded by the recent rain.

#WednesdayWalks #Beavers

Over the weekend I made a quick trip to my hometown on the coast of Maine and spent some time barefoot in the sand and tide pools. My magical place growing up, a magical place still.

#Nature #Beach #Maine #WednesdayWalks

Bogs always make me feel better. Toss in a spectacular boardwalk and a massive rock formation, and, well, it was a good day.

#Nature #Bogs #WednesdayWalks

When I lived in Eastern Massachusetts, there were lots of trees (mostly oaks) that retained their leaves through the winter, so seeing the previous autumn’s leaves wasn’t all that rare.

But now living in the western part of the state, there’s a higher percentage of evergreens, which really make the American Beeches stand out. At this time of year they offer color before the other trees begin to bud.

#Nature #WednesdayWalks #Trees

In spring, vernal pools go from ice and snow to pools teeming with life.

This is one of my nearby ones. It’s officially certified so it’ll soon have some combo of Fairy Shrimp, Wood Frogs and breeding Spotted Salamanders… along with LOTS of other life. It’ll be a race against time for developing species as the pool will dry up in the coming weeks/months.

And I’ll be mucking about in my water boots and Magiscope, soon! 🤗

#WednesdayWalks #Nature #VernalPools

Everything melted so fast! And the brook rose accordingly. Coupled with the rain, it was roaring. This is a small winding brook in the woods but looks more like river rapids.

#WednesdayWalks #WoodedStream #Nature

Ice and snow on the brook has finally melted but there’s still plenty to be found in the forest.

#WednesdayWalks #Nature #WoodedStream

This might be the last walk with this much snow as we’re having a bit of a warm up this week.

#WednesdayWalks #Nature #WoodedStream

One of those walks where every step crunched through an upper inch of snow to the fluffy stuff down below.

#WednesdayWalks #Nature #WoodedStream

Colors and shadows are always so vibrant on snowbound days.

#WednesdayWalks #WoodedStream #Nature