You win some, you loose some.

The water was ridiculously low at
Tiogue. No eagles were to be seen

I had great success the day I saw the Sandhill Crane. Seeing it was a plan B, since my intentions were to go to Sachuest. Following that success, I had a fun hike with my son around Tillinghast Pond. Spring is coming early this year, no doubt about it. I'm not sure it will be a warm spring, or cold and raw like the last two, but ice is off the ponds, and trout are being stocked. So I am trying to hustle to cross things off my winter bucket list.

When spring gets here, the stuff still on the bucket list will stay there. I'll be out trout and carp fishing as much as I can. I'll be birding for new migrants. It is doubtful I will hike to the places I wanted to go during the winter because I have a full list of places I want to fish and bird during the spring.

That is the reason I have been out like a banshee. It doesn't hurt that I no longer have a car with 327k miles. I feel more relaxed going places in a much newer car (that by the way got me 34.6 mpg when I checked).

So on  Tuesday I went to knock off a couple more items after work. First I went back to Lake Tiogue to see the bald eagles. I had no luck. I stayed about a half hour. I could see most of the pond from my vantage point but they never came into view.

Next I decided to go to Stepstone Falls. Stepstone Falls is the only real waterfall in Rhode Island. I have never been to it, and only heard about it this year. It turns out it is only a few miles away from Tillinghast Pond. I figured, seeing the waterfall in the winter was a good idea. It would probably have a lot of water thanks to snow melt. I was happy to cross this off the list without taking time away from birding/fishing.

Browning Mill Pond

 I followed the directions to a T intersection where Frosty Hollow Road and Austin Farm Road meet in Exeter RI. I should have went left, but went right and ended up at Browning Mill Pond. I took some pictures. When I realized I made a mistake I went past the T where I should have taken a left. I went a quarter mile down the road and it was blocked off with a gate.

Austin Farm Road (which is where the trailhead is) can be accessed from another road named Escoheag Hill Road. I went back to Route 165 to this road and followed it to Austin Farm Road (also known as Plain Road). To my unhappy surprise, the dirt road was blocked off from this side also. I can only assume the gate is closed for the winter.  I couldn't even consider parking at the gate and walking in. It was much too late in the day. So I did the only thing I really could, and drove home accomplishing nothing in an afternoon of over a hundred miles of driving.