Hiking While Expecting

Kelly is about 98.5% pregnant (101% by her measure), with the baby due within two weeks. Even so close to the big day she is staying as active as possible, and came out with us on Saturday for an easy hike.





We've visited several of the Trustees of Reservations sites over the last couple of years, and each one has been fantastic so far. So we pulled up another one of their sites called Chapel Brook on the GPS and were directed on a long scenic ride to a small parking area, marked by the now familiar green 'Trustees' sign, right alongside route 116, way up in Ashfield...



A short hike in past some outbound snow-shoers, and there's another welcome sign with maps and other info, under the shadows of a huge rocky outcropping towering nearby.



We were on top of Pony Hill, and the 100' tall bare rocky ledge that rose above that would be sure to provide a fantastic view...if we could just get up there...



But there was no way Kelly was going find a way up that thing from this side, which is a favorite for rock-face for rock-climbers. Luckily for us mortals, there is an easier way up...



There's a one mile trail that loops around and up the back side of the massive Chapel Ledge, as the rock is called, and it appeared to be reasonably un-steep. Kelly gave the trail map a good look and decided she was up for trying it. If it became too steep or difficult, we could always turn back. We set out on the summit trail...



The trail goes upwards briefly, then down along the bottom of a gap where a brook, (Chapel Brook I presume), meanders through.



All the while, the tall rock looms above and on the right, among a mix of evergreens, beech and birch. The ledge is also surrounded by a demarcated 'erosion zone', and small signs are put up here and there to advise hikers to be careful not to damage the soil...



The Trustees know how to pic em'. This is yet another beautiful trail through uncluttered forest, alongside some impressive rock and gurgling streams.



Ashfield is on the eastern foothills of the Berkshires, and I don't know if it was the elevation, isolation from more populated areas, or just the fact that it was such a bright sunny day; but the air was incredibly crisp and refreshing.



We moved along slowly and deliberately, pausing whenever needed and helping Kelly over and under any obstacles. There weren't too many obstacles, except for more victims of the early winter ice storms that hit a couple months ago. In many places these trees still look freshly snapped.



Another major obstacle was where the hard packed snow would occasionally give way, causing an unsuspecting foot to suddenly sink knee deep.



But making careful progress we were soon on the back side of the outcrop where the trail begins to rise with tall stands of hemlock and pine all around.



The dog earned his keep on the steeper sections by helping to pull Kelly along...



The terrain eventually started to level off and the snow began to thin out until at the top the ground almost completely snow free.



Chris reached the summit first, and called back to us with; "Dad, you're gonna love this..."



Sure enough, we reached the edge of the wood and were presented with an awesome view of Ashfield hill-country below...



Even covered in bare trees it was a great view, and it must be even more incredible in the summer and autumn. We hung out for a bit taking it in, and scrambling around the ledges looking for new perspectives...



The oxygen rich air here must have gotten to our brains, and the kid and I were soon in a heated 'debate' about such important topics as which pine needles are greenest, and other pressing subject matter...



Meanwhile Kelly had found a seat up above and rested; for her part, she had proudly conquered yet another hilltop...



Still, no sense taking too many chances; and we timed our stay on the rock to made sure we'd head down with plenty of daylight left for a safe trek back to the car.



It was another thoroughly enjoyable hike, thanks again to the efforts of the Trustees of Conservation...



...And a satisfying drive home as the sun set on yet another small but important expedition...

Photodump

Some pictures from a recent jaunt to the quieting evening streets of Northampton...



It was about 10 o'clock, and the town was just winding down, with auto and foot traffic getting steadily lighter in the hour or so I was there. Northampton is the latest valley town to debate instituting a Business Improvement District to improve retail commerce...for my two cents, Northampton is perhaps the last town that needs a BID project...



Show up and check out the foot traffic pretty much any weekend or warm weekday or weeknight, and you'll see what I mean. The sidewalks are usually brimming over with people; a scene unlike any in the valley except maybe Amherst. If there is indeed a slowdown as some business owners are worried about it can only be attributed to the nation-wide economic nosedive; and a clean safe Northampton should be able to weather it as good or better than any valley town. Handing over the upkeep of the public spaces of downtown Northampton to private business can only result in something resembling an outdoor mall...

About 10 o'clock on a moderate February evening, the streets had begun to wind down for the night.



I parked near Starbucks, grabbed a coffee and broke out the tripod for a couple of night shots...



As I strolled around late at night looking for stuff to shoot, with a semi-expensive (to me) camera and tripod in my hand, I had hardly a care about getting mugged or abused in any way, shape or form. Though it might not seem like that big a deal, it is actually a rare situation, and a major reason Northampton is such a special place to be. Few if any town centers nowadays allow a person to walk about at night while remaining so unguarded. It's why I make the trip so often...



A quick loop through Pulaski Park and I was back at the car before the coffee got cold.



Right before packing up my stuff, I asked the guy parked next to me if I could get a shot of him and his car. He said absolutely, no problem.



Afterwards he introduced himself as Jeff Tobis, local painter, musician, and peace activist. Here's his website with some of his work, including paintings that will make his car suddenly make a lot more sense to you...

As I was taking that picture, Tobis pointed over to the street where a drummer was struggling to get his drum kit across. I slew the camera around for a what I thought would be a certain cool picture. The drummer even saw me trying to take the picture and paused for a minute, but as I was fumbling with the settings, he finally had to get moving out of the road before he got whacked by a passing car. So unfortunately though I wanted to get his face in the picture, the camera settings weren't right, and I ended up getting this ghost drummer image:



His name by the way was Mike Sully, who was playing at the Bistro restaurant earlier. Sorry Mike, maybe I'll have it set up right next time...

Spring Is In The Air...ish

We've had warmer days this winter, but for some reason the past couple of days there seemed to be just the slighted, tiniest, whisper-breath hint of something resembling Spring, in the air...

The days have been just a little brighter, just a little longer. The birds seem to be somehow slightly more active, singing and chirping just a bit more...

A quick run through the Stebbins Wildlife area in Longmeadow confirmed these inklings: The Blackbirds are back. Praise all that is warm and humid; the Blackbirds...are back.



I know, I know. We'll probably get walloped with a couple feet of snow this weekend and my allusions will turn to illusions. But still, to hear the Blackbirds' referee-whistle-like calls in the air again is a hopeful sound.

Stebbins was alive with action, with the bird feeders set up alongside the water turned into a battleground between sparrows, titmice, and woodpeckers...





At the moment, the ducks chose to stand above the freezing water rather than be in it.



Meanwhile the alien-looking Wood Ducks hung out, well, in the woods...



It was a wild scene, literally. And a Beaver even appeared to punctuate the springlike mood with a slap of the water.







Ah yes. won't be long now...

Getting Here From There

Less than ideal weather on Sunday...



Let's see...what can we do inside...

Ah! The Amherst College Museum of Natural History should foot the bill nicely...

I'd wanted to visit this museum a couple years ago, but they had closed it for renovations at the time, and the idea slipped away to the back burner. But then, recently reading a column by Steve Sauter who writes a monthly nature piece for the Hamphire Gazette called The Lookout, the idea for a museum visit was rekindled. Mr. Sauter is one of the curators of the museum. The man knows his stuff, and he knows the valley and dabbles in all things local: scientific, meteorological and natural.

Me, I fix air conditioners and wonder about the mysteries of the natural world in my spare time. And one of the best ways to wonder about those mysteries, is to visit a natural history museum. Amherst's serves both as a museum and as a lab and lecture hall for it's students, with the displays set up in the same building as classrooms.





It's not the biggest natural museum I've ever seen but for it's size it does have an astounding amount of exhibits, artifacts and specimens. It is also brand new in design, and the displays are nicely laid out. Smaller samples are tucked away in neat little drawers that can be pulled out for viewing...



The geological samples are plentiful, taking up several walls.



I always wonder why I've never run into any samples of the metals or minerals that supposedly can be found around here. But I guess that's because firstly I don't really know exactly where to look, and secondly, they probably don't look anything like the finished, cleaned up and polished product I'm used to seeing....



But they're out there...



One thing that makes this museum good is that it focuses largely on our valley. One section of the museum is devoted to the geological history and formation of the valley, mapped out on wall and table top displays.



The exhibits range from the very earliest fault line rifts that birthed the valley, with the break up of Pangea...



...to the effects of the most recent ice age 15,000 years ago. That ice melting created the massive Lake Hitchcock, a glacial lake that filled the valley from upper New Hampshire to mid-Connecticut.



Yep. We were all under ice, then all under water, for a very long time. Here's a fly-over of the Mt. Holyoke range, heading northwest, back in the day...



The lake was named after Dr. Edward Hitchcock, the Amherst college professor and preeminent natural historian and geologist of the valley during the nineteenth century who 'discovered' the lake. He was also among the first to record the numerous fossilized tracks located throughout the valley, and correctly identify them as 'dinosaur' tracks. Here's the fair doctor:



Fittingly dinosaur tracks appear to be the focus of this museum, with an entire floor devoted to giant, hanging slabs of rock, criss-crossed with fossilized tracks.



It takes a minute to 'sink in' that these are in fact impressions left behind from large reptilian creatures running across muddy river banks, millions of years ago. They were here. Here's the proof. Millions of years ago. We've only been here for a speck in time, and that speck could very well just stay a speck if we're not careful...



While your there, you can also catch up on the news of the day by perusing Fred Flintstone's 'Bedrock Gazette'...



On the main floor are the fossilized bones of other ancient creatures, mammalian and reptilian...



Massive forest-dwelling Mastodons and plains-roaming Mammoths...



Cool looking -and cool named- Saber Toothed cats...



Elk with incredibly large and seemingly unwieldy antlers...



Species very similar to present ones that have succeeded them...



Species that dead ended and made room for superior -or luckier- versions.



Species that collided in time with only one victor emerging...



Creatures of mythical proportions, like this Balrog, from deep underneath the Mines of Moria...



It's taken a long time to get here from there...





And speaking of time, it was getting close to closing, and outside the rain was turning to snow...



It was a very enjoyable visit the museum, but we had to make tracks ourselves, and head back home.



I had some risky business to tend to...