Spring Splash at Old Frog Pond Farm

Buds appear on the apple trees in mid-April

One of our favorite spots, any time of year, is Old Frog Pond Farm in Harvard, Mass. Families can visit, volunteer, and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from the organic farm stand. Adding to the experience are outdoor sculptures by Farmer Linda Hoffman and her colleagues, which surprise the visitor around every turn, and perfectly complement the farmscape.

Right now, the buds on the apple trees are beginning to open (see photo). First, a bit of green peeks out, then the bud-leaves start to unfold. Orchardists have names for every stage of the bud opening. This one is called 1/2 in green or mouse ears, an apt description for the tender leaves. The amazing small signs of life in the orchard affirm the mystery of growth about to burst forth. We're clearing out all of last year's canes, fertilizing the young plants, and beginning the spring weeding. Volunteers are always welcome, please send an email if you have a few hours to share. It's lovely out in the fields with the plants.

In Linda Hoffman's sculpture studio, "3D Play" sculpture workshops are led by Linda and

Applying bio-fertilizer.

Margot Stage. In the first class, participants made sculpture with wire, wood, apple branches, and found objects, learning to attach disparate materials and ground their project with a solid base. The next two classes will be sculpture that hangs in the air and sculpture that floats on water. To be on the list for future classes, email farmer/sculptor Linda Hoffman.

"Right now, there is a spreading carpet of greens growing - salads, kale, spinach, mesclun, and more. We will be selling greens directly from the farm. The first planting will be ready in two weeks," Linda told the Dispatches. To be to be notified, send an email to vegetables@oldfrogpondfarm.com.

Exploring the "Emerald Necklace"

"We want a ground to which people may easily go when the day's work is done, and where they may stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of the streets where they shall, in effect, find the city put far away from them..." ~ Frederick Law Olmstead, 1870 ~

Late one night I got a phone call from my sister Fran. "So, what are you doing tomorrow," she said. "I was thinking you should ride up to the city. Some of my art is being showcased at the Thayer Gallery and I thought you might like to see it." I did want to see the exhibit but I also had a bee in my bonnet. Wednesday was Earth Day 2009 and I wanted to explore "The Emerald Necklace", a series of parklands surrounding the city of Boston. Over the years I have visited Franklin Park and of course Boston Gardens and the Commons, but I had never explored the rest of the "necklace." click here for the full photo essay by Elizabeth E.

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Boston by Subway

Boston’s subway system, known affectionately as the ‘T’ is America’s first subway system. The first green line subway cars began running in a tunnel underneath Tremont Street in 1897. Park Street Station and Boylston Station were the first two to open - both sit at the bottom of the hill within walking distance of the Massachusetts State House. Park Street Station is directly adjacent to the Park Street Church. more

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Secret Spots and Favorite Places

This isn't really a secret, since it's an Audubon trail, but the High Ledges in Shelburne are beautiful. To get there you take Route 2 (Mohawk Trail) West from Boston, take a right at the sign for Davenport's Sugar House, and then follow the signs to the High Ledges. The signs are small and wooden, not big road signs. The walk is an easy, flat 30 minutes, and the view of the Deerfield Valley when you get to the ledges is spectacular. Great for little kids or older folks.

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Wilderness Rafting Trips & Jobs

Many DayTrippers are planning spring and summer travels already, and this one's fairly close to home. Magic Falls Rafting Company is celebrating their 20th birthday on Maine's wilderness rivers this season. Owners Dave and Donna Neddeau, invested their savings to buy a raft, van and house trailer in 1989 and carried 38 passengers the first year. Today, the company is still family owned and operated with 41 rafts, 25 inflatable kayaks, a campground, lodge and inn for groups; recreation pavilion, retail shop on 15 acres alongside the Dead River. In 2008 the Neddeaus carried more than 6,000 rafting passengers. Note that Magic Falls is also hiring fit & experienced 18-plus guides for the summer.

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Saddle Up for a Birthday Party!

Winter? Schminter! We're bundling up and heading out next week to celebrate my daughter's 9th birthday party at Sweet Meadow Farm in Sherborn (where she and her friend Anna blissfully attended camp last summer). At the farm, owner Patty Michaud starts birthday parties at the barn and kids get to work with ponies, then tack up the horses. Weather permitting, each guest gets to ride and feed the horses. Then everyone heads up to the pet store at the Michauds' house, where they can observe and handle the guinea pigs, kittens, birds, and other small animals. Finally, guests go upstairs at the farmhouse for a small party which includes a Sweet Meadow gift for the birthday girl. It's a bit pricey at about $30 per guest, but we are huge fans of Sweet Meadow and the party is a reward for other achievements. (Grownup Alert: Sweet Meadow is also near the Natick Mall if you want to drop off!) When we return to Lillian's, there will be a movie and "campout" in a tent in the living room. Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream on Saturday morning. Wahoo!

Walden in Winter

The sunlight was perfect at Walden Pond from 2 to 4 pm on on Jan. 4. My son and I found that walking the 1.7-mile pond trail loop was a great time to reconnect and have a free-flowing talk, easy and from the heart. Strangers seemed oddly familiar and wished us "Happy New Year." The parking is $5 but the machine was broken so we wrote a note that we would leave a donation; the store reopens on January 15.

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BUG Me!

Why drive thousands of miles for a vacation this year when you can have loads of fun close to home? New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods is the exclusive 2008 New England site for 13 BIG BUGS, David Rogers’ sculpture exhibit and the Web-of-Life Extravaganza through October 31. Every week there is another festival with giant sculptures, costumed characters, crafts, live bugs, lots of outdoor activities, even a Bug-Venture Guide to help you maximize your experience. Enjoy a remarkable mini-vacation each week and share the glories of Garden in the Woods with friends and family.

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Map Your Workout

Decrease the time you spend waiting on your bike at lights, or vary your workout by mapping your bike route or your walking/running route. One DayTripper Diva tells us: "I figure my mileage as I am training for the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure, which is 60 miles over three days in October. Am I ready....no way! (grin). But the MapMyWalk site helps."

Joyriding with Bikes, Not Bombs

Family and Distance Training Rides
Sponsored by Bikes Not Bombs
Saturday, May 17 & Sunday, June 1

Bike-A-Thon & Festival June 8

Get in shape for BNB’s June 8 Bike-A-Thon and summer biking! Both routes start at the same place and time on the two days, then go their separate ways. Meet at the BNB HUB: 284 Amory St. Jamaica Plain - in the Brewery Complex by Ula Cafe, at 10 AM and look for the crowd out in front with the bikes. Bring your own snacks, water, and helmet (required). Join these joyrides free of charge, but they'll pass the BNB freewill donation helmet.

• FAMILY RIDE: This ride stays in parks as much as possible, returning to the start location. We take an easy pace to make it nice and fun for all involved. Trailers and trail-a-bikes are certainly welcome, as are young and/or inexperienced riders. Short miles, good company! We're gradually increasing towards the goal of 15 miles, which is the length of the Bike-A-Thon's shortest ride and the one which draws the most families. Contact ride leader David (parent of two youngsters under 10 who've completed multiple Bike-A-Thons) at dweinstein@boston.k12.ma.us for more information.
• DISTANCE RIDE: As the weeks roll on, these rides will build up the miles progressively - with eyes trained on the 62-mile route! Pace will be moderate and will adjust to the riders. For May 17th we'll be getting up just over 50 miles, but we hope to include an option for a group to break off and have a ride in the 30-some mile range. Contact Esther at ecervantes@abml.org or 617-983-3665 for more information on routes or to get in on the email group.

Enjoy!

Middlesex Fells Hiking

The DayTripper Divas & families love the Fells, year-round! Click here for photos.

Going to Walden

by Mary Oliver

It isn’t very far as highways lie.
I might be back by nightfall, having seen
The rough pines, and the stones, and the clear water.
Friends argue that I might be wiser for it.
They do not hear that far-off Yankee whisper:
How dull we grow from hurrying here and there!

Many have gone, and think me half a fool
To miss a day away in the cool country.
Maybe. But in a book I read and cherish,
Going to Walden is not so easy a thing
As a green visit. It is the slow and difficult
Trick of living, and finding it where you are.

From The River Styx, Ohio and Other Poems, published in "New and Selected Poems," 1992. Found in the Busa Farm newsletter, November 2007

Sea Turtle Rescue on Cape Cod

One of the great things about living on Cape Cod is the tremendous number of opportunities to get involved with ongoing work to preserve the environment and to protect wildlife, reported reader Rick Silva on the Dispatches Gather group. Rick and friends volunteer at the Humane Society's Cape Wildlife Center, and are involved in saltmarsh monitoring through the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (also see the author's recent article on fish monitoring with the APCC). On Monday, Rick was among a large crowd of spectators who came to Dowses Beach in Osterville MA to watch a group of sea turtles get released into the wild.

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A few of the turtles seemed a bit confused at first, but then slowly headed down the beach...

Nature Educates at Harvard

This week's report from Rob Gogan's Nature Watch:

COTTONTAIL RABBIT hops leisurely through the grass by the Business School's Cotting Hall.

RED-TAILED HAWKS perching on light towers hunt young rabbits hopping out from beneath the shelter of Newell Boathouse. "Only the cautious survive," notes a boatman. Another curious red-tailed cocks its head 90 degrees to peer inside Holyoke Center 10th floor windows. Up above the roof of Holyoke Center, two red tails circle together. One of them alights on a cell phone antenna about 20 feet above Holyoke staffer...Cineaste immature red-tailed calls out plaintively for its parents from the tower of Memorial Hall, where Denzel Washington's large crew films "The Great Debaters.

WILD TURKEY returns to the HBS campus. She trots outside the fenced-in children's playground at the Soldiers Field Park day care center.

DOWNY WOODPECKER inspects the trunk of a maple on the bank opposite the Weld Boat House. Meanwhile, another downy feeds in a tall maple behind Widener and another patrols the bark of a tree near the Fogg... Black and white checker of another downy flashes into an elm near Memorial Hall.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE comes to light among the plane tree leaves on the corner of Western Avenue and Soldiers Field Road.

WHIPPOORWILL calls just before dawn behind Greenough Hall.

CAROLINA WRENS sing near 5 Bryant Street.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE flies about in the branches of the tree in front of the Fogg, calling sweetly.

ROBIN behind Grays Hall pulls up an earthworm and arranges it in his bill before flying off to feed his fledgling in a secure spot. A robin and several STARLINGS happily share the bathing opportunities of a puddle behind Sever Hall.

WHITE BUTTERFLIES flit among the white pine in Harvard Yard, on the ivy of the brick wall in front of Lamont on Mass Ave, and flit across Quincy Street towards the Yard.

RED ADMIRAL butterfly (Vanessa Atalanta) rests on a chainlink fence post by the experimental garden by the OEB Greenhouses. Three more Admirals butterflies also cross Quincy into the Yard from the Barker Center and the Faculty Club, probably after enjoying nectar and the flower garden in full bloom.

Big BUMBLE BEE enjoys a cone flower in front of Loeb House.

Blue CHICORY and yellow EVENING PRIMROSE come into bloom up and down both banks of the Charles.

See Ryan Lynch's fabulous website mapping and identifying (nearly) every Harvard Yard tree!

Thanks to birder and Harvard facilities associate manager Rob Gogan and his "Campus Nature Watchers" including Pete Atkinson, Betsey Cogswell, Marge Fisher, Justin Ide, Sonia Ketchian, Joe Shea, Bob Stymeist and Ray Traietti!

Botanical Delights in Acton

The Day Tripper Divas recently rediscovered that Acton Arboretum, near the town's center, is an easy place to take a stroll and get a beautiful botanical education. Choose from the Orchard Loop, the Wildflower Loop, or the Highland/Bog Loop; and/or take a picnic and visit the nearby nursery. Enter via Wood Lane, Minot Avenue, or Taylor Road. Information is availalble at the website or by calling the arborists at 978-264-9631. The site is in Acton, about 15 minutes from 2/128. Many pathways are wheelchair/stroller friendly, and the Arboretum is working on making more trails accessible.

Low-Carbon Road Trip

Have you ever wanted to drive across the country? A New England Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Council member's family is doing just that – on biodiesel fuel! Here’s a passage from their blog: "This summer we are planning a cross-country activism trip to see as many of the National Parks and the lands across America as we can before they are permanently impacted by the effects of climate change. Along the way, we will be visiting as many organic cafes, farmers markets, "green" yoga studios, biodiesel stations and sustainable businesses as possible to include in our video documentary." Stay tuned for more about this amazing trip!

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Roots & Shoots New England is now a Day Tripper Dispatches sponsor! Click here to learn more about Roots & Shoots, the international youth organization founded by renowned primate researcher and environmental activist, Jane Goodall.

Discover the Forest on Drumlin's New Trail

Drumlin Farm's new Forest Discovery Trail is a favorite with younger children, reports Banks Poor of Mass Audubon - a fact confirmed by my own daughter, who is attending Explorers Camp for incoming 2nd graders there this week. This interactive trail through the famous Red Pine Forest lets visitors explore the forest as one of the animals. You can get a hawk's-eye view of dinner, build a gnome home, and cozy up in a giant bird's nest. The trail habitat is a unique change of pace from the farmyard and a wonderful place for nature lovers of all ages to hike, explore, and learn more about the forest and the animals who inhabit it. - by Charlotte Pierce

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Art Goes Wild! at Garden In The Woods

Garden in the Woods' ART GOES WILD! exhibit runs daily through October 31, 2007. The site-specific environmental art installation features eleven "Destination Gardens" by W. Gary Smith, and celebrates 75 years of New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods. Live demonstrations and exhibit are included with admission.

• July 28: Demo "Best Native Plants for Fall Color"
• July 29: Family series "Les Julian and Color Outside the Lines"
• Aug 6, 10 am: Live Animal Show "Owls of New England"
• Aug 26: ART GOES WILD Meadow Madness festival
• Aug 11, 5:30 pm: ART GOES WILD Twilight Music Series with D'Rafael of Gitano
• Sept 15, all day: Gardener's Day Festival
• Oct 14, 12-4 pm: Fall Family Festival

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"WILD" gift purchases, native plant purchases, and memberships support the Society’s plant conservation programs. Click here for Exclusive Garden in the Woods Dispatches Coupon

Golfing for Crabs

Netting crab on a small brook that runs into Cape Cod Bay this week yielded some improvement in her golf swing as well as 20 tasty crabs, said Dispatches reader and Gather member Elizabeth Mills Evans While her friend Laurun snapped photos, Elizabeth said she "got into the swing" of it and started to "feel like an old pro." After enjoying crab salad the first day, she was inspired to write up another recipe:

Crab & Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup cooked rice; 6 to 8 oz. crab meat; 5 hard-cooked eggs; 1 C. mayonnaise; 1/2 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce; grated onion; 1 6 oz. can evaporated milk; pinch of tarragon. DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients. Put in buttered shells or casserolle dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

"While I was crabbing, Laurun took these pictures of this 'old pro' with my camera," noted Elizabeth. View more photos and read about our upcoming Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod & South Coast edition.

Greener 'Tripper Transport

Back by popular demand from the green-travel crowd are a couple of sites that Dispatches readers discovered last year for determining how to get from point A to point B via train, bus, boat, foot, bike, roller blades - or all of the above! You can plan HopStop trips in Boston - and New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago. The MBTA's "Trip Planner" is a great tool for getting around Metro Boston and the suburbs, too.

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