Our Photographic Journey around Lexington and Concord

My favorite town in Massachusetts is Concord. I love the history and the scenery The Minuteman National Battlefield is an awesome place to remember how we got here. I've been to Concord dozens of times and still enjoy it. We had tickets to go see "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Umbrella Annex for 7:30. We planned to make a day of it and spend the afternoon in Concord.

We went to Great Meadows for our first stop but the wind was cold. We didn't see too much and Laurie was miserable. After Great Meadows, we went to a pizza/sub shop that Laurie picked out named Dino's. The food was delicious and we warmed up.

From the pizza place I wanted to show Laurie a spring I had found that Henry David Thoreau used to sit at and bird watch. We walked down to the spring. It isn't much to look at, but knowing Thoreau used to sit there felt special.

 This little leave covered puddle is Brister Spring. We sat on the flat spot on the other side emulating  Thoreau looking for birds, binoculars in hand.

 It was dead. Not a sound but cars in the background. After we got up a little goldfinch flew in It is the blur in the middle of the photo. Terrible shot, but I so badly wanted to see a bird, any bird

After we left Brister Spring in Hapgood Wright Town Forest we drove to Lexington Greene. I've been to most places in the area many times. However, I had only been to Lexington Greene once with DJ and he was a little boy. I didn't remember it at all.

 Around 5 am on April 19, 1775 the British were passing through Lexington on their way to Concord. They were met by Lexington militia who stood on the green. The commander said to let them pass. Somehow, a shot, then shots rang out and eight militia men were dead. Here are some sights around the green

Read the morbid sign on the house. I'm sure when this brave man
woke, he did not know it would be the last day of his life.

Near the green, we found a very a very old cemetery. In it, we found the final resting place of a British soldier and Captain Parker leader of the Minutemen that day.

Captain John Parker

From Lexington, we went to the Old North Bridge. I've been there at least two dozen times and it wasn't part of our plan but it did have something very important, public bathrooms. I figured since I was there, I'd take some pictures. For the record, afternoon is the worst time to try to get a picture of Daniel Chester French's Minuteman. The sun is directly behind him. 

The North Bridge

We still had a couple of hours before the play. Laurie was exhausted and needed a nap. So I sugested she sleep in the car while I went back to Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. It had warmed to about 50 degrees and more importantly the wind died down. I took my time and birded instead of hiked. I had a grand ole time for about two hours. 

The highlights were seeing a beaver, eight muskrats, Eastern Phoebe, Red Bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Shoveler and Ring Necked Ducks.

 The beaver actually came out of the water to deposit a limb and mud on the bank. I didn't get a picture of it because I trying to wave some others over to see it. However, the muskrats were feeding out of the water and I got some good photos. Every muskrat had at least one reed blocking what would have been great not good photos.   Pictures below.

none of the muskrat photos are cropped. I love how the eye came
out focused

Goose on a nest

To Kill a Mockingbird Review

As said above we went to see Mockingbird at the Umbrella Annex in Concord. We had never been there. It turns out the theater is tiny. I'm pretty sure I counted 104 seats (13 seats x 8 rows). We bought our tickets through Goldstar for only a few dollars (I think $8). Normal price is thirty. The show started at 8 pm and went until 10:20

The play was unbelievable. It was super intense. Every character from the eleven year old girl to fifty year old father was perfect. The story is of a black man on trial in the deep south for raping and beating a white girl in 1935. The lawyer is a white man who knows the black man is innocent. The story was intense. The crowd was hanging on every word. If every play at the Umbrella Annex is that good, then I will be going there a lot.