This fine old Worthington Red Seal tractor spent the winter at Brookwood Farm in the Blue Hills.
Tractor
Mushroom
Unlike plants, mushrooms can't get energy from the sun because they lack chlorophyll. Instead, mushrooms live either symbiotically or parasitically with trees. Most of the mushrooms growing on the forest floor in Blue Hills — like this one on Wampatuck Hill — are coexisting with a nearby tree, specifically between the root ends of a... Continue Reading →
Branches
Have you ever noticed how much branches resemble roots? Trees are are kind of like huge hourglasses with life-sustaining ingredients coming flowing from both ends.
Hillside Meadow
Up along Unquity Road in Milton, before you get to the Blue Hills Reservation headquarters, is this meadow of long grass that drops away from the road. At the bottom of the hill is a trail marked "Border Path" on the Reservation map. Unfortunately, the path is lined with KEEP OUT and NO TRESPASSING signs... Continue Reading →
Old Pine
This old pine is actually an Eastern Red Cedar, the only juniper species found east of the Mississippi River. While these trees thrive in rugged, barren places, this old timer clings to the rocks in a particularly harsh environment, atop Wampatuck Hill, bearing the full brunt of wind and sun that comes up over the... Continue Reading →
Sunset on Ponkapoag
In the southernmost part of Blue Hills Reservation is a shallow, 200-acre body of water called Ponkapoag Pond, which locals pronounce punk-a-pog. The pond is home to largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, golden shiner, and the fearsome pickerel. And although my son and I fished without success one August afternoon, we were rewarded with numerous... Continue Reading →
Augustus
Near the top of what's known as Little Blue Hill is a pretty north-facing view. This bench waits stoically, in good weather and bad, for all who wish to look out and rest their feet. Augustus Hemenway was a philanthropist and public servant in Canton. He was the son of a wealthy Boston merchant by... Continue Reading →
Chickatawbut Hill
According to Massachusetts history, Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish and his Native American guide Squanto met a Sachem named Chickatawbut in 1621. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett, a word that translates roughtly into "near the great hill" and refers to Great Blue Hill in particular. One can be... Continue Reading →
Moon over Brookwood Farm
Once part of a massive estate belonging to General Samuel Parker, Brookwood Farm's 70 acres were owned and operated as a gentlemen's farm by Henry Saltonstall Howe until he donated the property to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation in 1976. Mr. Howe's goal in donating the property (and enlarging the Blue Hills Reservation... Continue Reading →
Breakneck Ridge
There are 22 hilltops in Blue Hills Reservation connected by a patchwork of more than 125 miles of trails. A few peaks, like Breakneck Ridge, afford a spectacular view. Breakneck Ridge is a somewhat rigorous climb from just behind the State Police barracks on Unquity Road. These cumulus clouds were just starting to form on... Continue Reading →
christopherlink.com 