Tag Archives: New England

Spring Excursions

May 23, 2023Blue Winged Warbler, Bluff Point, Connecticut, CT, ducklings, Ducks, Greater Yellow Legs, Green Heron, massachusetts, Nature, New England, snapping turtleBlue Winged Warbler, Bluff Point, Connecticut, Eastern Kingbird, Golden Crowned Kinglet, Greater Yellowlegs, Green Heron, massachusetts, Mt. Monadnock, Nature, New England, Sharon Healy Yang, snapping turtle, springhealy24yang

Well, you haven’t seen any blogs in a while because this spring has been so busy. Yang and I have had more than a few excursions, so I have plenty to report. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures because we were too busy enjoying the wonderful scenery or sighting extraordinary critters. So, let’s get started. To get a really good look at the photos, be sure to click on them.

While I was busy educating myself on Medieval and Renaissance literature, history, philosophy, and culture at the Keene State College Medieval and Renaissance forum, Yang was chugging up Mt. Monadnock. This was an extraordinary day with the temperature surging to 85 degrees. Still, you can hear the wind whipping through the trees in this video. Nevertheless, Yang almost made it to the top of the mountain. As you can see from these photos, the view was gorgeous. However, this is my favorite shot.

Later on, we were off on our bicycles and checked out the extension of the Fairhaven trail to Mattapoisett, MA. The day was warm and sunny. We were lucky enough to catch some sightings of neat shore birds. We saw this Greater Yellowlegs. You can’t actually see how yellow his legs are because he’s in pretty deep water. These birds are tall. This spring, we’ve also seen these guys in Connecticut and in western Mass. They love the shore on a lake or the ocean.

We also saw a Great Egret. Sorry, no picture. But his legs and feet are something: long black gams finished with big lumpy bright yellow tootsies! Like clown shoes! We do have several pictures of a particularly gorgeous bird: Green Heron. His colors are gorgeous – green/blue crest and back, chesnut neck, white stripes from his eyes to the back of his head, splashes of white dripping down a beautiful chestnut front.

Bluff Point is near Mystic in Connecticut. So, after a nifty lunch of croissant sandwiches and (for me) coffee latte, we drove over for a new walk. You start out along the shore, on the edge of the woods, then the trail can lead you into the woods where Carolina Wrens call out to you and songbirds tease you. One trail veers back toward the shore where you can walk or swim (not when we went, though!), then along a rise that becomes the point at the end of a peninsula. Lots of water birds like Cormorants sport in the waves, while I saw three Guillemots fly past, which Yang missed because he was looking out to sea with his binoculars. Bluff Point is beautiful place for a hike and even a picnic.

We made it to the trail we call “The Secret Place,” even though it’s not so very secret since we usually see at least one person walking there – and that day we saw a few kayaks on the reservoir. Anyway, I’ve blogged on this spot before: click here. On this Sunday, after bagels at the best bagels I know, Bagel Time, we saw some cool birds. Here’s a shot of a Golden Crowned Kinglet. These guys are so high up, it’s hard to get a really good picture. Last year, we saw Ruby Crowned Kinglets like nobody’s business, but no Golden Crowneds. So, yay! we finally got to see the Golden Crowned. We also saw one of Yang’s favorites, the Eastern Kingbird. Thank goodness these guys LOVE to sit on top of dead trees and stand out against the sky. They are extremely bold and vocal. You can see from his ‘tude, how he got the “King” in his name. Yang also got this great shot of the Kingbord soaring through the blue, below.

And wouldn’t you know, here’s another Yellowlegs. I’m not sure if it’s the Greater of the Lesser, but it’s definitely a Yellowlegs. To get a really good look, be sure to click on the photo.

We also saw a Mamma Mallard with her ducklings. At one point, the kids swam into and around the Yellowlegs. He was all, “What in Sam Hill?!” But he kept on trucking in his direction and the kids kept trucking in their own. We saw Pappa Mallard fly off squawking, leaving Mom alone with the kids – and on Mother’s Day, too!

Finally, we did sight an extraordinary first-ever bird for both of us: a Blue-Winged Warbler. Of course, we were unable to get a good shot of him, so I’ll include a professional photo of one. this guy was a brilliant yellow, almost with a hint of orange; his wings were a blue-grey. His color reminded me of the yellow warbler. It was cool to hear him serenade us whole heartedly from atop a towering Maple. This photo perfectly captures exactly how he looked as he sang. Click here for more info on this bird from the Cornell Lab “All About Birds,” also the source of this image

Finally, here’s a tale of Yang’s heroism. We were walking on the Blackstone River Trail in Worcester, when from our vantage point on a bridge, Yang spotted a Gamera-sized snapping turtle flailing away on its back. Yang’s first thought was to flip the turtle. My first thought was for him not to have any limbs snapped off. He figured on getting a a branch to use as a lever. I figured to tell him to make sure the branch was thick and looong. He managed to get down to the river bank, and it took him three thick long branches (because two of them snapped under 100lbs. of turtle), but he did it. So enjoy the shots of the turtle he rescued.

So, that’s all for now – and I haven’t even reported on everything!

Halibut Point Feathered Friends

February 23, 2023American Black Duck, birds, Cape Cod, Ducks, Eider ducks, Great Scaup, Halibut Point, Harlequin Duck, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, New England, Rockport, scoter, Sealbirds, Eider ducks, Halibut Point, Harlequin Ducks, Longtail Ducks, massachusetts, Nature, New England, ocean, Rockport, Scoters, Seal, winterhealy24yang

Two Fridays back, Yang and I happened to be on the North Shore, so we stayed overnight in order to make an early visit to Halibut Point State Park. We’d been meaning to get there since November,

after hearing about all the cool water fowl hanging out there. Unfortunately, the opportunity hadn’t come up before this. So, after our breakfast of bagels and cream cheese (yum!), we headed out to the state park. We were not disappointed. In the quarry, we spotted a Scaup, Black Ducks, and Mallards. When we headed for the ocean, we got an even bigger treat. Here you see me peering out at the ocean’s wonderland – or wonderwater- of ducks. Isn’t that point beautiful?

At first, we saw only a couple of pairs of Harlequin Ducks, looking absolutely adorable. All the FB bird groups to which I belonged extolled the plenitude of Harlequins out here. So, we were happy to spot this couple chilling along.

Mrs. Harley seems to be finding a snack while her husband looks on.

Neat as this sighting was, things got MUCH better. Looking all around and out to sea, we saw flocks of Harlequins diving, chilling, and looking good. There were so many that we couldn’t always get them all in one picture. I would say we saw several flocks ranging from 9-15 Harlequins. And that’s not counting the friendly-neighbor Long-tail Ducks who joined the party. Counting the ducks was never easy, because, all of a sudden, the whole kit and kaboodle would take a dive on a hunt for food. So, Yang had to time his shots carefully to catch them. I guess it’s true that these ducks love rough waters, because that’s exactly what they got here and in the other place we saw them, Sachuest Point, RI. This was the biggest contingent of Harleys that I had seen. Though the ducks are hard to pick out in these pictures, if you just click on them you will get a better look.

Then we saw this Loon way off above the group of Harlequins. It’s the white figure in the upper left corner.

Wouldn’t you know, we also saw plenty of flocks of Scoters.

Here’s a closeup of a female Scoter. I believe these are all Black Scoters.

When we moved onto the harbor at Rockport, Yang also got a shot of a male Eider Duck. Usually we see big flocks of these guys, especially at Cape Cod (check out this older blog). Today, we saw this guy all by his lonesome.

Then, finally, what should we espy on the other side of the point in the harbor in Rockport? We thought we it was a brown female eider – except, Yang said that once the critter dived he could see her walking under water. Huh? Then “she” came up.

Yup, a seal! So I hope this critter can be a “seal” of approval for today’s blog.

She Can Do It! And so Can Janet and I!

February 17, 20231940s mystery, A Moment After Dark, Always Play the Dark Horse, Bait and Switch, Bait and Switch, Dark Passage, Film Actors, Film Noir, Janet Raye Stevens, Jessica Minton, Joan Bennett, Letter from a Dead Man, Lisa Lieberman, Long Time, Lynn Bari, Lynnfield Library, massachusetts, My Sweet, mystery, Nocturne, Sharon Healy Yang, Sharon Yang, Smart-Talking Gals, suspense, Time Cop, World War II, writing1940s mystery, A Moment After Dark, Always Play the Dark Horse, Anne Shirley, Bait and Switch, Beryl Blue, Dark Passage, film noir, It's Been a Long, Janet Raye Stevens, Jessica Minton, Joan Bennett, Lauren Bacall, Letter from a Dead Man, Long Time, Lynn Bari, massachusetts, Murder, My Sweet, mystery, Nancy Drew movies 1930s, New England, Nocturne, Sharon Healy Yang, Smart-Talking Gals, Time Cop, Women and WWII, writinghealy24yang

I first met sister-author Janet Raye Stevens when my friend Lisa Lieberman (another mystery author) asked me to join her and Janet to do a ZOOM program on the importance of clothing and fashion in the development of our mid-century mysteries. This was my initial chance to read Janet’s Beryl Blue time cop series and her stand alone, A Moment After Dark. I was hooked.

Janet and I both love the 1940s, especially the era’s sharp and challenging mysteries, which inspire our own writing. We are especially taken by the “smart-talking gals” populating 1930s-40s mysteries, neither femme fatale not babyish innocent: a woman who has been around, learned the ropes, but has not lost her integrity.

We loved the sharp wit and clever cracks of the likes of Joan Bennett, Claire Trevor (when they were playing on the side of the angels), Lynn Bari, Lauren Bacall, Ella Raines and many others. We especially loved how they were usually the ones who set the noir’s anti-heroes straight, pulled together and made sense of the disparate threads of clues, and weren’t above skirting conventions and the law to see fairness prevail. So, it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows us and our smart talking heroines Jessica Minton (me) and Beryl Blue and A Moment After Dark’s Addie Brandt (Janet) that we put together our heads and came up with a presentation: “She Can Do It! Real/‘Reel’ Women and Mid-Century Mysteries.”

We did our initial run at the Lynnfield Library, thanks to the go-ahead from Assistant Library Director Marita Klements. Our space was a loft area in the former schoolhouse, now library, where we set up a multi-media show. We started by introducing the fact that with the war, women now had opportunities to put their considerable talents to work in factories, in the air, in battlefield hospitals, etc.

However, you can’t talk about the influence of movie smart-talking gals without showing some clips, can you? For fun, we showed a clip from a 1938 Nancy Drew movies, where a teenage Nancy not only recognizes a kidnapping and tracks kidnappers in her car, only thwarted when her car has a flat – which she changes herself without missing a beat. Sisters were doing it for themselves in 1938, and we talked about how the wave of independence continued through the 1940s, in real and reel life.

Janet and I broke down the presentation into three sections, first showing a clip (talking about it a little), then showing its influence on our development of our heroines by each doing a related reading from her own text that reflected what went on in the scene. Murder suspect Lynn Bari’s snappy but cool exchange with detective George Raft in Nocturne illustrated a woman with substance, unintimidated by authority. Dark Passage’s Lauren Bacall revealed a gal resourcefully rescuing Humphrey Bogart from persecution by unjust law. Finally, Anne Shirley, in Murder, My Sweet, showed our gal calling out both men and women who misjudge or threaten her. After reading related, short excerpts from our books, Janet and I explained how these smart-talking gals influenced our heroines

We had a lot of fun, watching our audience get into our writings as we read. (It’s always great when people laugh in the right places!) It was just as neat to see them enjoy the smart-talking gals tell it like it is, be unflummoxed by adversity – on the screen or on our pages. We also got thoughtful questions about our research, background on the films and the actresses, and the influence of these films on women’s changed roles during and after the war.

So, if you think this evening sounded like fun, get in touch with Janet (janetrayestevens@gmail.com) or me (syang@worcester.edu) and maybe we can make an appearance at a library, senior center, or other venue near you.

(P.S. Yang made my suit based on an actual 1940s suit that I own!)

Gooseberry Island Redux – or Reducks?

February 4, 2023birds, Ducks, horned grebe, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Oldsquaw Duck, scoter, Uncategorized, winterbirds, Dunlins, Grebes, Longtail Ducks, Loon, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Sanderlings, Scotershealy24yang

Yang and I returned to Gooseberry island on a sunny day for a change last Saturday – celebrating my birthday over the weekend. This time, no fog and plenty of sunshine. Also, plenty of water fowl!

One of the first sightings I want to discuss are the shore birds. since we could actually get to the shore this time, we walked along the beach and saw a flock of shore birds whip around in tight and angular formation. When we came around some rocks, we got a good look at these cuties. I was surprised to find that we had a mix of Dunlins and Sanderlings together. This time, I didn’t mistake their tummies for seaside rocks, so perfectly had they blended in with sand and sea-smoothed stones, when I saw them in December. The Dunlins are brownish on top, with buff tummies and long, slightly curved beaks. The Sanderlings are grey on top with white tummies and shorter and straight beaks. They were fun to watch scurrying about in search of dinner, all while seeming quite at home with one another. These images might look tiny here, but if you click on the pictures to enlarge them, you can see the birds much more clearly.

Apparently, the pickings were getting kind of slim, for Yang managed to snap a shot of some of these guys taking it on the wing for better dining.

We also saw plenty of birds in the water that day. With perfect visibility and trusty binoculars, we could sight dozens of Long-tailed ducks near the shore and way out in the bay. Yang got some neat pictures of a few near us. This male is a handsome specimen. You can even see a little of his long tail in these photos. Apparently, these ducks can dive as deep as 95 feet and can stay under water longer than any of the diving ducks. Wouldn’t Lloyd Bridges be impressed? Yang took these pictures as we we heading toward the island along the causeway.

Coming back along the causeway, we found this Long-tail extremely close to shore. I think it’s a nonbreeding female, but sometimes they are difficult to distinguish from an immature male. I didn’t see a long tail on this duck, so I’m going to take a flyer and say this is a female. She was quite unimpressed by the humans walking by. She also didn’t seem to be much worried about the rocks towards which the surrounding waves were shoving her. Still, she did just fine for herself, bold duckess!

Another aquatic bird of which we saw tons were Scoters. We saw Black Scoters, White-winged Scoters, and Surf Scoters. Again dozens and dozens throughout the bay. Yang was only able to photograph some of the Surf Scoters, but he got some good shots. As we were coming back along the causeway, there was a trio: a male, a female, and an immature male (I believe). the female is brown with a white spot on either side of her head. The males all have that unique pink beak with a white spot on the forehead, white on either side of the beak, and one on the back of the head. You can see that one of the males doesn’t have the white spots on his face. We wondered if he were a Black or White-winged Scoter; however, neither type has a white patch on the back of the head like this fellow. So maybe the younger males take time to get all their patches in?

You can see from this shot that the Scoters weren’t alone. Here’s a Loon photo bombing the Scoters. We noticed him hanging out with this group from another species. We also have a nice picture of the Loon by him= or herself. I believe this is a Common Loon in winter plumage, but if I’m wrong, feel free to set me straight.

Another, smaller, diving water bird joined the show. A horned grebe! We saw one or two popping up (and back down again) amongst the various flocks of Scoters and Long-tails. Again, let me know if I misidentified the type of Grebe.

Last but not least, here comes the Bufflehead! Usually there are big flocks of these guys around in the winter, but today, this chap seems to be swimming solo. Well, it’s a big ocean and there’s room for everybody. So where are the Harlequins?

Happy Harlequin Hunting: Only Shooting with a Camera!

December 21, 2022birds, Deer, Ducks, Eider ducks, Harlequin Duck, mergansers, Nature, New Englandbirds, Deer, Ducks, Eider ducks, Harlequin Ducks, Nature, New England, Rhode Island, Sachuest Point, winterhealy24yang

For the past month, I’ve been seeing nothing but posts about all the Harlequin Ducks flocking down the coast of Massachusetts from Plum Island to Westhaven. Never having seen one, I was eager to make a sighting. Three trips to the coastal waters, and I was still a Harlequin virgin. That is until Yang and I visited Sachuest (don’t ask me to pronounce it) in Rhode Island. Of course, my prayers for a sighting weren’t answered at once.

We went down to a cove and saw two huge flocks of Buffleheads bobbing and diving in the waves. They are adorable with their big white spots on the sides of their heads that look like ear muffs. But no Harleys! Then, coming back to the parking lot, to start the trail leading around the other side of the point, we saw four deer grazing nonchalantly in the marsh field. Beautiful in their heavy winter coats – but not ducks.

We later even found a family of Eider Ducks, one adult male, one juvenile male and two females – joined by a Bufflehead, who popped up out of nowhere – but no Harlequins.

So, we made our way down onto a rocky beach after we spied some Lesser Scaups ( a first sighting, ever!), some Surf Scoters, and a female Redbreasted Merganser, but no …wait! What’s that black and white thing bobbing and diving out there?

See the tiny white and black thing in the middle of the screen? It was clearer and bigger with the binoculars. I said to Yang, “It’s, wait , I think it’s, yes! It’s a male Harlequin.” Now before you say, “Hey, I can’t see a darned thing, wait, big deal,” it gets better. After watching this guy and some Redbreasted Mergansers for a while, we moved on – and came across another Harlequin chilling with some Scaups. A little later, we came across a lone pair of Harlequins. These shots are better, but not our top prizes. I just love this one of the male flapping at us. Camera shy or a show off? You judge.

It’s really interesting to me that when the males look at you head on, with the light colored beak and the white stripe on their face, they appear more white-faced than they actually are. When we got to another spot, Yang got some gorgeous shots that show off all their glorious markings. So, here you go with a set of photos of another Harley pair from much closer up.

Here’s the male by himself. Take a gander at that gorgeous splash of chestnut on his side, the way the white stripes demarcate the patches of black, and look carefully for that line of chestnut down the back of his head.

Here is the pair together. Sometimes they point those short but sharp tails upward. Notice how the female has those lovely three white spots on the side of her head.

I think they must have had an argument. Yang and I noticed that the female did most of the diving/hunting. Maybe she got sick of her hubbie posing for the papparazzi when she was doing all the work. Anyway, they briefly went separate ways.

Well, deers, er, dears, that’s all for now.

Return to Riverside Cemetery: Autumn Leaves Bursting with Color

November 23, 2022Autumn, Cemeteries, Connecticut, CT, Fall, Foliage, Gothic, Halloween, mausoleum, New England, tomb stones, Uncategorized, WaterburyAutumn, Cemeteries, Connecticut, Fall, Foliage, Gothic, Grave monuments, Grave Stones, Halloween, Nature, New England, Sharon Healy Yang, Waterburyhealy24yang

This past October. we returned to the Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury with hopes of seeing the statuary complemented by gorgeous fall colors. Yang and I were not disappointed!

The entrance was serene and gracious, with background colors hinting at the beauty we would find beyond.

The highlight that these fall colors brought t o the monuments was deliciously melancholy. The leaves behind this woman leaning on a cross brought forth the saffron beauty of autumn.

Then there was the flame of orange encompassing this melancholy dame, flaring against the shadows of a of grey autumn day.

Or there was this lone, proud figure fronting a brilliant crimson of oak trees.

I loved this shot from behind of the woman gazing out over the rolling hills of autumn glory.

I think this deer must feel at home, encompassed by the gorgeous green morphing to yellow-gold of fall.

Likewise, this pensive young woman is lost in deep thought while greens turn to flame and yellow-green.

I was especially enchanted by so many trees that combined various colors as their leaves slowly shut down the ports to chlorophyll and let their true hues burst froth in brilliant glory.

Green and Gold

Orange and Red, like a flame reaching heavenward.

And then, some trees seemed to us gifted with four colors at once!

Well, maybe that’s a Japanese maple photo bombing the sugar maple.

Just gazing across the cemetery, you see slopes rolling with gorgeous fall glory:

The trees were so gorgeous, Yang decided to stick one in his back pack to carry it home.

Just kidding: optical illusion.

I particularly loved this sage woman’s pensive and imposing presence, her blue-green copper complementing the reds and greens of the trees behind her.

And that, my friends, is all she wrote.

Mallard, Mallard, Merganser?!

November 22, 2022Autumn, birds, Ducks, female mallard, mergansers, Nature, WorcesterAutumn, birds, hooded merganser, Mallard Ducks, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Worcesterhealy24yang

The nature trail through the marsh/river across from Holy Cross has presented us with many an interesting critter. We’ve seen deer, black snakes, muskrats and turtles. Our avian sightings have included Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers, Red-winged Blackbirds, and assorted warblers. Once, we even met up with a Bob White strolling back and forth in front of us along the promenade. There hasn’t been a shortage of aquatic birds, mostly Canada Geese and Mallards. However, for the past week, we noticed a Mallard flock of about 15-20 had an interesting guest!

What was an adult male Hooded Merganser doing in that flock? There he was, swimming up and down the river with the flock – just one of the guys. Occasionally, he’d disappear in a dive for food. Then, back up he’d pop to join the crowd. He seemed especially to bond with a Mallard couple. Yang thinks that he was adopted as a duckling. Who knows? What do you think? He is quite the beauty. If only people could be as welcoming to the “different” as these birds. After all, we’re all ducks.

Fairhaven, Fair Gothic

October 24, 2022architecture, Autumn, birds, gargoyles, Gothic, massachusetts, medieval, Nature, New EnglandAutumn, Dante, Egrets, Fairhaven Massachusetts, Fall, gargoyles, gothic architecture, Gothic church, Great Blue heron, New Englandhealy24yang

At the end of September, Yang and I finally made it back to Fairhaven, Mass. for a fun bicycle ride. We didn’t see loads of critters; however, passing by a marsh we did come across a Great White Egret convention. Yes,

take a closer look: those white blobs in the trees are EGRETS! And there was one Great Blue Heron. Master of ceremonies. We were especially happy to discover that the trail had been extended and is supposed to reach the next town in November. It’s a sweet spot for a long ride through trees, fields, marshes, and along the ocean.

All that said, what we found especially intriguing was our walk through the town of Fairhaven, where we came across some absolutely delightful gothic architecture! The person responsible for this gorgeous architecture was nineteenth-century millionaire, Henry Huttleston Rogers. He not only funded the design and construction of the Town Hall, seen to the left, but the library and the Unitarian Universalist Church. The Town Hall was dedicated by none other than Mark Twain, and the library, still a free public library, was designed “in 1893, [as} a memorial to his beloved daughter, Millicent, in the form of an Italian-Renaissance palazzo” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairhaven,_Massachusetts). Here’s the library below:

The “Italian-Renaisance design” certainly explains the outside relief on the building. Notice the cherubs peeking on either side of the column.

And who’s that poking his head right out front? Why it’s Dante himself! I had conjectured to Yang, when I saw that kisser, that it must be Dante. And now I understand why the library is called The Millicent Library. A beautiful memorial to a daughter taken from her father too soon. We didn’t get a chance to explore the inside of the building; however, as I said to Yang, here’s a library to put on my list for trying to do a reading. Next spring or fall? I may have another novel out by then!

Yet the most spectacular of the edifices was The Unitarian Church. We’d spied the tower through the trees as we walked along checking out these other buildings. We were drawn like iron filings to a magnet to discover what kind of Gothic delights this building might hold. Gosh! We were more than delighted with what we found!

We were expecting a Catholic, or at least an Episcopal. cathedral. So imagine our surprise that this ornately appointed church turned out to be a Unitarian/Universalist place of worship. Even the Parish house of the Unitarian Memorial Church was replete with gargoyles and saints.

We not only found gargoyles on all the corners, but saints and patriarchs beneath the gargoyles.

And even a few patriarchs and saints on their own.

The Church, itself, was designed by architect Charles Brigham of Boston (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Memorial_Church), and is decorated with so many fascinating types of gargoyles on its corners and cornices. There were owlgoyles.

Cat-or-pumagoyles

As well as your standard flying dragony-type things, maybe with one have a hint of the leonine.

Particularly interesting, were the head sculptures adorning the outer walls of the church. I wondered if some of them reflected the founding members of the Church – not all of them, though. You’ll see what I mean when you take a gander at some of their visages. Here is a solemn dame, who seems right at home in a Medieval world.

Here is a beautiful young girl, who would seem at home in a world of Medieval romance.

This chap looks as if he would have been one of the better fed pilgrims to Canterbury.

This guy has a perfect 1960s-style flip. Must be the early inventor of Dippity-Do.

What can I say? St. Theresa of Avila stuck next to Pickle Puss!

There were also other fascinating sculptures adorning the church. An angel holds a book of good works or devotions or philosophy.

Another angel stands guard.

Four women represent the celestial power of music.

Here, Yang stands before one of the entrances, Mr. Pudgy Pilgrim looking over his shoulder.

For the official website for this church click here.

Finally, we found another intriguing building, though not nearly so ornate, right where the trail enters the town. I’m not sure what this abandoned brick building once was, now overgrown with trees, holes in its roof. A factory? A school? Who knows. I don’t, but I wonder what story it could tell us.

Return to Colebrook Reservoir

October 4, 2022Autumn, birds, Colbrook Reservoir, Common Mergansers, comorants, Connecticut, CT, Ducks, egret, Fall, Gothic, Greater Yellow Legs, hiking, mergansers, New England, Spotted SandpiperAutumn, birds, Colebrook Reservoir, Common Merganser, Connecticut, Great Yellow Legs, Nature, New England, Spotted Sandpiperhealy24yang

Two years ago, Yang and I made our first trip to Colebrook Reservoir on a brisk Halloween

afternoon. What a treat!. After at least a year of drought, the old Rte. 8 was completely clear and dry of the water. We even saw part of the “ghost bridge” and the stone walls marking the boundaries of farms in what had once been a community displaced by the formation of the reservoir. That day, we saw our first slate-colored juncos of the season, while the fall colors were still in bloom. (Check out an earlier blog on our adventure here).

We came back last year, after an extremely rainy summer and discovered just how quickly a reservoir can fill up! Not even a trace of the road we traveled between a slope of boulders and the water. We were lucky the parking lot wasn’t swimming!

Ah, but 2022 brought another summer drought – and maybe the only good thing about the dearth of precipitation was that the way at Colebrook became so much clearer – though not nearly as clear as two years ago!

So, here’s my report, with photographic evidence! On a gorgeous September afternoon, we were able to take the road (old Rte. 8) down from the parking lot for a bit of a stroll, until the inundation of the low road cut us off. Were we daunted? Not we two Yangs! We scrambled over 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile of boulders flanking the waters. You can get a bit of a picture from this photo, though you can’t see quite how steep the slope was – it was too hard to take pictures and scramble at the same time!

Where the road rose on higher ground, it was clear of water. Unfortunately, there were gaps of low lying road that were inundated. So, we managed to circle around the submerged road through rock-strewn mud flats, where we saw all kinds of fauna tracks: deer, lynx, big herons. We also saw some neat flora, as well. I was taken with these nettles, some of which were accompanied by red berries. Anybody recognize them? We kept an eagle eye out for ticks! Also, for fellow MSTKies, we did watch out for snakes. None sighted – not even in the water.

It was fascinating to see how the wash of waters over the past few years had covered what was left of some of the road with gravel and how the flooded areas created islands of what had once been roads. Yang and I were both struck by how torn up the exposed blacktop had been since the last time we’d walked this road. When we went through a stand of trees, we found some big trees down that we had to climb over. No riding our bikes here the way we did two years ago when we had returned the day after Thanksgiving.

Last time we were here, we had walked out to a highway bridge from the 1950s that crossed a stream emptying into what was originally a river (now the reservoir). There was even a jetty to walk out on a little further along. Well, at least the bridge was still there, but water was almost even with it. Still we had a nice walk there and a little beyond, until the road dipped and the water filled in everything. As you can see, we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the bridge. The area seemed to have become the playground for female and juvenile male Common Mergansers. These ducks were having a grand time strolling about, splashing, and playing in the water.

Speaking of birds, Yang was disappointed not to see any Juncos (though it’s a bit early). Nevertheless, he more than made do with the many water birds we saw. Across the waters were Great Egrets, and on our side we saw several interesting types. On the left is one of the Spotted Sandpipers we saw, though we usually saw only one at a time. Maybe it was the same one a few times over? We also saw this Greater Yellow Legs. It might have been a Lesser Yellow Legs, but we didn’t have anything with which to compare him. Less than whom? There were plenty of Cormorants, too.

This was a pretty scene of the shore across the reservoir. I really enjoyed the view. Too bad we won’t be able to go back this year when the colors really go full-on autumn.