#brewer brook

[patrickgarner]

Photo montage of some New England woods

From Saturday's trail hike (Berlin, Massachusetts). Tremendously varied terrain & types of ecosystems. This is definitely a lovely time of year.

Lichens on a glacial erratic.

Wetland edge beside pond: Cinnamon ferns in foreground.

Control structure outlet on a pond.

Pond lilies: last weeks before the massive die-back of September & October.

[patrickgarner]

A New Trail in Berlin, Mass--

I'll be teaching a wetland delineation course in October and one of my co-instructors took me out to a wooded preservation in Berlin where he proposed to hold the field session. The site is riddled with varying ecosystems and numerous wetlands. It turns out to be ideal for a field class. To my shame, I was unaware the site even existed.

It's a marvelous location with 70-100 year old woods (including a 250-year old Oak tree), a perennial stream (Brewer Brook) and a small earthen dam.

Several years ago local Girl Scouts created a couple mile trail through the site--the so-called "Reflection Trail." It's a lovely walk, with minor changes in topography, breathtaking views of a pond and all the signs of a trail rarely used by local residents. Here's a portion of the trail (the blue line indicates my walk a couple days ago):

To the Town's credit, trails are narrow, hard-packed and minimally maintained.

The above photo is a crossing over a small stream. MovNat would appreciate this challenge!

View of the pond in the lowest portion of the site.

How can these jewels be so neglected? Regardless, kudos to the Berlin Conservation Commission for encouraging open space and access.