Here's a new trail I discovered that you should check out. It's right by the entrance to the UMass Renaissance House on East Pleasant Street. Just look for the sign above. Unfortunately, a short ways down the trail you encounter this broken bench, and it isn't really clear what direction you should travel to continue. Sadly, the trail has been neglected. However, if you look closely you can see some clearings between the trees so just slip through to reach a wider path.
This path leads you behind the UMass Renaissance House itself.
Here is a bust of the poet and playwright William Shakespeare, with a plaque saying that it was donated by Bernard Spivak. When I was a UMass student a thousand years ago, I had a Shakespeare teacher named Charlotte Spivak. I suspect they were married.
Past Renaissance House the path takes you into a deep field, where the grass is sometimes as high as your head.
Occasionally you encounter a man made bird house.
This totally overgrown bench is testimony to the fact that not many people follow the path this far.
Just when you think you are completely isolated, looming into view is this large shack with all kinds of plant growing contraptions around it.
Approaching the shack we see there is a sign on it. I have no idea what the sign means.
Isn't a mentally ill person said to have a pathology? I guess this is a UMass facility for studying crazy plants. If so, where's the ganja and magic mushrooms? Alas, we searched in vain. We did however discover there is a garden in back, with this instrument for measuring rainfall levels.
There had been a torrential downpour the night before, and the instrument said more than an inch of rain had fallen. Continuing down the path, we came to this faucet for a cool, refreshing drink of sparkling water.
The rest of the trail was anti-climactic, as we came out behind the new dorms the university has built next to Sylvan. Follow the road and you end up by the Furcolo School of Education, with the Grad Research Tower hovering in the background.
There was a former Governor of Massachusetts named Foster Furcolo. Anyway, you should check out the Montague Trail sometime, it is not too long and very scenic.
1 comment:
About 15 years ago, a guy from Cambridge Ma while visiting his sister that lives in the
area, had an idea. He became very interested in Bluebirds. This is exactly the same as the design that he used when building, from the little angled side air vents, to the latch and protection around the hole. He built hundreds of them!
That little extra piece of wood around the hole is to keep Raccoons from scavaging a meal. The extra length that the Raccoon has to reach in prevents it from bending it's wrist, or angling it's arm for the eggs or the babys. It's nice to see that some Bluebird houses still exist. He would come every Saturday from Cambridge to monitor his boxes.
We called him the John the Birdman. I learned a lot from him. He had many books in the rear of his old "Station Wagon". He would look up a problem he was unfamiliar with on the spot. He was a younger Man than myself, and maybe he is still around doing his calling. He was to the Bluebirds what Quabbin Res was to the Eagle Program. Nice to see something that brought back a good memory. If you go back there, the front of the box isn't latched at the bottom. Some predator might have already been there of the human kind. Maybe someone just wanted a peek. Nice Photography.
My favorite was the guy with the shirt. I cut & pasted it and sent it to everyone telling them they know what to get me for my Birthday.
Best of everything,
Larry
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