• Temp: High 20’s Partly sunny
• Playlist: Captain and Tennile, Carpenters Golda album
• Bog walk.
• Miles: 7.7
• Total time: 2hrs 45minutes

No pictures today. Just a day to chill out and reflect. Wish this curse of the shoulder would go away.

• Temp: Low 40’s
• Playlist: Best of Gordon Lightfoot Best of the 60’s (various artists)
• Round Pond Duxbury
• Miles: 4.8
• Total time: 2hours 9minutes

Round Pond Area in Duxbury consists of both unused and current bogs. Cranberries were one of three native fruits in America. Blueberries and Concord grapes the other two. Most of the site consist of the bogs but there are many wood trials connected allowing for a good day. Round Pond itself is a kettle pond common in the lower South Shore and on the Cape left over from glaciers 10k years ago.

Not sure where the name Nudd comes in, probably the previous owner

Left over cranberries from last falls harvest. Most animals will eat the leftovers but think they might be a bit tart. It can be a problem for the farmer prior to harvest when deer will eat both the foliage and berries

This bog is flooded providing food and a place to swim for ducks and geese. The bogs are flooded so sand may be spread on top of ice to later sink preventing roots from crowding.

This is a large deer scrape. The male deer’s antlers have a thin coating of “velvet” that has blood vessels and nerves helping in growth. The deer will want to rid itself of it come fall and find a tree to accomplish it. This looks to be a large deer from the size of the scrape but more from the height. The velvet is used as medicinal purposes.

Looking at my map while in the woods I was expecting a small pond but found what was a wet bog with no water. The bog was covered/filled with cattails. Cattails are native but are can be considered invasive. Unfortunately cattails will be pushed out by the European Common Reed, another very, very invasive species that will take over large domains of wetlands. Cattails use are many. The complete plant can be eaten. Roots roasted, lower leaves and even the seed head when young. https://www.mtpr.org/post/cattail-plant-thousand-uses Check it out!

Kinda hidden in the brush close to the water a set of Christmas lights. Weird thing is no one can see them to enjoy. But even weirder is that they still lighted by a battery pack. Well just maybe the person who sees them will enjoy them for a moment.

• Temp:
• Playlist: Highway Men, Best of The Village People,Best of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
• Ames Nowwel State Park Abington
• Miles: 4.5
• Total time: 2hours 23minutes

Can’t believe I only live 20 minutes from here and haven’t visited it since I was 18 for a family reunion. Originally there was grist mill late 1700. About 1920 it was bought and Beaver Brook was dammed creating Cleveland Pond and land was used as a bird sanctuary and hunting grounds. Not sure if those two mix? Ames Nowwel bought the land shortly after.

As the above map shows there a many trails of varied terrain to explore. Being first time here I was surprised the pond was so large, but pleasantly surprised.

A wood duck house put up close to the waters edge. The pole is metal to discourage a invader from stealing eggs during a 5 week incubation. Unlike other ducks the wood duck nests above the ground in vacant woodpecker holes. Once the ducklings hatch they leave the nest the next day and make their way to nearby water usually rivers and shallow ponds and lakes. It is one of the prettiest ducks, very colorful of any duck.

Beavers at work as seen by the leftover “beaver trimmings”. This large tree will have smaller branches chewed off and either used for food or to make a damn. In this case the it will be food. They eat the layer just under the bark.

An old beaver damn can be seen in background. Seems they retreated back to Cleveland Pond where they live just as easily as in a damn. Their lodge can be seen from the waters edge a small walk further along the pond.

A grave stone from a farmer many years ago. This is the last remaining stone of the Richards Family Burial Grounds. Have to wonder what happened to the others. A little way up the trial is small clearings that possibly could have been fields that still have apple trees.

At the bottom of Cleveland pond you find this damn with the stones in the foreground that may have been part of a mill. The damn is fairly new. There a lot places to the left of the damn to cast line for fish. Bass, pickerel, sunfish, bullheads, crappie and perch.

Winter can be the hardest time to take pictures as it is hard to get any color. With many rock ledges the northern side can have a lot of green moss to lighten things up.

WTF? This is not the color I was looking for. NOTHING pisses me off more than finding something of this sort deep in the woods. Just a quick question for the ass who threw this alongside the trail. If you carried/drank it for the last 30 minutes why can’t you carry it back out?

• Temp: 70
• Playlist: Wife talking
• Norris Park Norwell
• Total time: 1hr 11min
• Miles: 2.6

This is a nice little walk through old farmland that now hold oak and pines along it’s trails. Although very beautiful it is not my one of my favorites only from the fact it is small being about 2 miles. No pain, no gain.

There a numerous views of the North River. It is the 12 of January and I have pansy’s in bloom. Not complaining

• Temp: Upper 40’s cloudy and raw
• Playlist: Best of Spencer Davis Group, Best of Gary Puckett
• Tucker Preserve Luddams Ford
• Total Miles: 3.95

Definitely “to go place” You park and walk down the side of the Indian Head River and walk back on the other side. This river and land adjoining it has seen a lot of changes since the first settlers arrived. It is almost back to where it was back in the day except for the lower dam.

This is where I park. Water is a little high today. I knew someone who started canoeing down the river a few miles upstream with his 12 year old son. It was spring and the water was much higher. When he got here he really thought he could shoot these rapids. Not mentioning any names, sometimes I really wonder what I was thinking.

Barely visible is the original dam that flooded the entire valley behind it. There is another dam further down. This created the abilities for people to mess up the whole river and environment around it. Around the lower and upper dam they built factories including saw mill, iron works, anchor making, grist mill, carding mill and the Clapp Rubber Co which left still to this day a patch of rubber next to the lower dam. Anchor for the Warship Constitution made here in 1797. Late 1800’s after a unusual heavy wet spell, fortunately the dam broke and wiped out most everything.

The lower dam has a fish ladder allowing herring passageway. It’s much nicer looking in the spring/summer/fall when there is color.

Teaberry grows low to the ground usually in moist soil with shade. The plant can be used for a variety of uses. If you are an old fart you have to remember Teaberry gum. The berries are edible and if the leaves are chewed between the front teeth extracting a nice flavor. Herbal uses include tea. The oil of the leaves resembles aspirin and the Native Americans used it for relief in pain being analgesic and anti-inflammatory

Not sure but I swear I saw a gnome run out the back side. And I hadn’t even had one adult liberation.

• Temp: low 40’s
• Playlist: Micheal Buble, That Thing You Do, Cold Play, Blood Sweat and Tears
• Cranberry Watershed, Kingston
• Total miles: 6.8

Cranberry Watershed is a conservation area created in conjunction with Kingston Conservation and the the State of Massachusetts. It consists of a mere 240 acres but there is a lot more private land adjacent with out any “no trespassing” signs”. Cranberry bogs abound with a few ponds. A lot of the bogs are old and have new growth of trees and shrubs.

I have been here several times before. Today I found some side trails and being adventurous decided to explore. Ended up not knowing where I was until looking at the All Trails map. Had to walk a mile or so on the road to connect to the Bay State Circuit Trail and get back on track. Some ponds had ice some not. Saw a lot of ducks on the open water.

Long shallow pond Reeds Mill Pond had some sort of mill on it at one time. It empties into Pine Brook which meanders and empties into the Jones River

At some point in the past most likely there was a house somewhere close. These are the Yucca plant which will have a plume of white flowers. Likes dry well drained soil, easy to grow.

Something didn’t make it. Could be natural causes or maybe a coyote or even another bird such as a hawk. What ever someone had a good meal. Nature.

• Temp: mid 50’s fair/sun/clouds
• Playlist: Jazzy Holiday, The Christmas Collection, Christmas Past
• Wompatuck State Park
• Miles: 9.7
• Total time: 4hours 25minutes

Good day on the trails. In the Christmas spirit as much as a old guy with arm in a sling can be. Sometimes life is good and sometimes it sucks. Not sure what it is today, guess it’s in the middle somewhere. Really wanted to get to 10 miles today. Came out of the woods it was cloudy and the sun had set. Tempted to do that last .3 miles walking up and down the main road and thought better and went home.

A Little more snow than I thought. At home only 20 minutes away it was mostly gone except where the sun don’t shine, (not there, get your mind out of the gutter). Not a lot of people have passed this way

Holly Pond. Another pond created long ago. Was probably a small brook dammed up with an earthen dike 12ft high. Water still flows out. 1,000ft up the trial is the “Restricted Area”that is fenced in with keep out signs. Have to wonder what is inside that fence? I am willing to bet it’s buried and very sure it’s not treasure.

Nice to see some one in the Christmas mood.

• Temp: 32 fair
• Playlist: Johnny Cash Melody of Christmas Hits
• Modified Bog Walk
• Miles: 4.9
• Total time: 2hours 5 minutes

Had to baby sit our grand dog for the weekend. Walked to Darrell’s house, got the dog and took a path to the Bog Walk before heading home.

Pooped out after that little walk? No, just wondering how long before her parents get home. It was a long wait – two days.

• Temp: 25 clouds/sun
• Playlist: Collection of “One Hit Wonders” Dean Martin
• Bog walk
• Miles 6.8
• Total time: 2hours 41minutes

This my “Bog Walk” but with additional mileage.

Col. Nathaniel Thomas Mill sits alongside RT58. It was the first dam built in Plymouth County to derive power from a water wheel. First used as a sawmill but later as a tack/nail and trunk factory. Today the mill can be rented by people or organizations for varied uses including weddings, functions, yard sales, and etc.

A little snow never hurt. Left over form previous days before and left in shaded areas.

The cabins at Camp Kiwanee which was retreat for Albert Burrage (who originally owned my “Burrage Walk” land) Camp Kiwanee now has camping in the cabins, the Needles Lodge can be rented for functions and such. There is also a beach, Cranberry Cove, on Maquan Pond. The compound is nestled in a pine groove set way off RT58.

It was sunny to start but clouds set in from the west. There were quite a few scenes like this appearing on the way home.

A view just outside Camp Kiwanee from a small hill looking down of the abandoned bogs. Indian Pond is in the background, 120 acres in size. The Bay Circuit Trail meanders through both Camp Kiwanee and the bogs leading into Pembroke.

• Temp: Low 50’s foggy and cloudy
• Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area Hanson
• Playlist: My wife talking
• Miles: 5.7
• Total time: 2 hours 27 minutes

“The Burrage” as it is called is in the towns of Hanson and Halifax. Once a thriving cranberry growing operation that went belly up and was purchased by the the state. With over 1600 acres it is a large piece of land for recreation including walking, biking, hunting, fishing and other. At one time it was the largest continuous cranberry bogs in the world. The bogs are still intact. There are connecting trails through out and one that leads to “The Indian Crossway” that is higher grounds that NA used to navigate through the cedar swamp.

The Burrage is almost completely flat as it surrounds cranberry bogs. If you walk around the perimeter it is about 5 miles. There are many trials connecting to many ponds and other bogs.

Started out foggy but cleared before going home

A little guy getting mid morning snack of berries

Winterberry from a distance. It likes wet spots and used commonly in Winter decorations. Birds will eat the berries before they fall