For the past two years, I’ve wanted to take a kayak or canoe along the Quinebaug River Trail between Lake Siog and the East Brimfield Reservoir. But whenever I’ve had the time, the river’s been too low, whether because of drought (last year) or just general late season low flow. But this spring has seen enough rain to keep all the nearby rivers fat and happy, which made for a great opportunity. ...
On the first Sunday of the New Year, Evie and Jess made a last-minute decision to cheer on a friend at a gymnastics event in Western MA, and I made a last-minute decision to revisit the Sibley Farm / Burncoat Pond property with the intent of walking a portion of the Midstate Trail. I’d hiked here with Jess twice before (1, 2) and both times we had mostly ignored the Midstate Trail. Looking at the map, I realized I probably had enough time to hike the trail from the parking area up to Route 9 and back. ...
This “Saturdate”, my wife and I hit up a local asparagus festival (no pictures, sorry) and power-washed the house (no pictures, you’re welcome). We hoped to get some time outdoors as a family on Sunday, however. My daughter likes to think she wants to go canoeing with us. She oohs and aahs over pictures my wife and I have taken, and says it sounds like fun, plus there can be fishing involved! ...
This past weekend, I took ownership of a genuine “beater” pick-up truck. This truck is old enough to drive, and it looks it. But it can do one thing our family SUV can’t — handle a canoe atop it. The white sections are metal trim my father-in-law and I fastened to the body to make it pass inspection. The truck used to be his, and when he took it off the road I gave it a new home. I don’t know how long it will last, but a summer of canoe trips will be worth the cost of insuring it. ...
Spring fever is in full swing, and when I found myself with a free afternoon I knew I had to spend some of it in the woods. I debated my options for a while but ended up returning to Opacum Woods, a site I’d been to a few times before (last time, with Jess, was in the fall). ...
Two Saturdays in a row, holiday activities kept Jess and I from our now-weekly outdoor explorations. When on the third Saturday, the last before Christmas, she departed for a family shopping excursion, I decided to get out into the woods, even if only for an hour or so. Trying to stay close to home and not lose the whole day, I picked the South Spencer Rail Trail (read about it briefly at the Spencer Parks and Recreation web page), also called the Depot Trail. It is a two-mile, mostly-flat trail connecting South Spencer Rd. and Chestnut St. in the center of Spencer, built along the abandoned South Spencer Railway (built in 1878 to connect two rail stations in Spencer). We’d been here once before as a family to explore some geocaches, though we only covered half the trail that day. ...
This past Saturday, Jess was out of town with her mother, so it fell to me to take Evie to gymnastics and then fill a few hours on my own. I made two important choices: I was going to pick up some beer, and get a hike in. After packing a lunch, I first dropped off some growlers at Tree House Brewing in Monson. Tree House is a world-class brewery which I’ve been following since they first opened in a barn in Brimfield in 2011 (they were brewing a test batch when the famous tornado struck; you can read about it here). They’ve gone from being the area’s best-kept secret to being listed as the brewers of the world’s best American IPA by Beer Advocate. If you’re at all a beer fan, it’s worth seeking them out. It’s worth browsing their site just to see their great beer photography. ...
With my wife and daughter out of town, I had to make a decision on how to spend my Sunday afternoon: watching the Patriots beat up on the Bills, or hiking on a beautiful sunny October day? Fortunately, I have the technology available to solve this problem — a DVR! Safe in the knowledge that I could watch the Pats any time on this Sunday, I was free to explore other options. ...