Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA

The Post cover Rockwell did of JFK

Over the summer my good buddy Laurie and I went on a quick getaway to western Massachusetts. We hit a couple museums in Springfield, the Golden Corral and the Norman Rockwell Museum. The day we went to the Rockwell Museum, admission was free because they participated in the free museum Friday over the summer. As you can imagine, it was pretty crowded. Normal admission is $17.50 for an adult

The museum sits on a really nice property. There are two main buildings. One is the main museum. The other is a short walk to his studio. The studio that Rockwell worked at was in downtown Stockbridge. It was moved to this property when the museum bought it.

 The main museum has two floors. The bottom is a collection of all the covers he did for the Post, there are hundreds. The top floor is a collection of his works. This was one place that I knew I was in the presence of greatness. I really admired all the paintings. Of special note were the famous "Four Freedoms" they are the Freedom of Speech, Religion, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. They are in a central room. There are many other paintings, too many to count, some are quite funny as Rockwell really had a sense of humor.

I spent quite a few minutes taking pictures of the Post  that Rockwell did of my hero JFK. I wanted to get a perfect shot of it. This is tougher than it would seem because of glares, reflection and the dimensions. I took at least twenty pictures of it, but when my phone crapped out, I lost them all.

If you are into art, I highly suggest you take some time to visit this museum. Not only was Rockwell one of the best and most famous artists in American, he was also one of the most prolific. 

Mini Post- Little Things #1

I decided the other day, that I am going to do some mini posts on the blog. They are going to be about "little " pleasures in life. They won't be long. Most probably won't have pictures. I will write them whenever I have a cool experience not really worth writing about but cool to me. I might write about them five days in a row or not for five weeks. I am going to number them as I go, for no other reason than to go back and relive them. If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you must be interested in fishing, hiking or history so hopefully you enjoy them. Feel free to share any of your favorite "little things" in the comments section.

#1 Thursday night I ate a little too much supper. I ate enough where I couldn't go for a run about 7 pm because it wasn't digested. It didn't mind because it was really cold, windy and I was being lazy. As the night went on, feeling lazy turned into feeling like a fat ass. The later it got the guiltier I felt about overeating. So at 9:45 almost roboticly I put on my sneakers and started stretching. I went outside and started my run. The air was cold and dry. The northwest wind blowing 26 degree air into my lungs made it tough to catch my breath.

After a short time, I warmed up of course. I was sweating under my winter hat but my nose was freezing. In short at 10:30 at night, I was not having fun and could not wait for my four mile run to be over.

With about ten minutes left into my run, I jogged into one of the darker areas of my neighborhood. I looked up into the sky and for the first time this winter I saw an old friend. High up in my southeast was Orion. He was bright. His belt shined bright as did the star in his front foot Betelgeuse. I was so mesmerized by the constillation, I forgot I was simutaniously hot and cold. I forgot I was sucking wind and my knees were hurting. I forgot all that and was happy to be outside with my old friend. For the rest of the run, I just staired into the sky looking at the sword, shield and belt in the bright stars. It was that little thing, a constilation that has been in the heavens for millions of yesrs that made my night worth it.. the little things

Noanet Woodlands

Iceciles on the dam

DJ standing over Noanet Brook
This is the stream that ran the Iron Mill

After a lunch and some hot chocolate, DJ went across the street from Powisset Farm to Noanet Woodlands. This forest is also owned by the Trustees of Reservations. It is a large area covering 595 acres. There are 17 miles of trails. We knew that here, we could finally stretch our legs and get some hiking in. There are a couple of really cool things to see in these woods.

The first is Noanet Hill itself. It is not real big but there is an east facing view towards the Boston skyline. Besides looking towards Bosron, there is commanding view of the area. It is all hardwoods so the leaves are all brown now, but what it must have looked like a month ago!

A view from my perch on the summit

Even more interesting are the ruins of an old iron mill. All that is left is the water storing dam and the foundation. Apparently, there used to be a water wheel that powered the mill that was the largest in New England and maybe the country. There is signage with info about the mill. I thought it was fascinating. Behind the dam are four or five water storing ponds. I liked the area very much. We didn't see any deer, but being close to Boston the scenery made up for it.

A Cedar Tree at the Summit

Two Parks not Really worth it this time of Year

Thursday, DJ and I set off for another day of hiking. We went to three places we had never been to

One of the big white pines at Elm Bank

before.DJ worked the night before so he didn't get much sleep. He was willing to go anyway so I hoped it would be worth it to him to get up early.

 The first that we went to was the Elm Bank Reservation off Route 16 in Wellesley. Of the three, this was the one I was most looking forward too. I am a member of "Massbird" an email club that members post about bird watching. Elm Bank is mentioned a  lot. The park is 182 acres. Unfortunately some of that land is soccer fields, parking lots and the MA Horticultural Society has their headquarters there. So there is not a lot of trails to hike. We did find one nice trail that ran along the banks of the Charles River for about 1/2 mile. Along the trail were some huge oaks and white pines. I liked the trail a lot. It just wasn't very long. There is a lot of paths and paved roads making it a great place to jog or walk a dog. But for a hike, it was a little disappointing. Though in spring, with migrating birds, the fishing in the river and warm weather, I can see it being very popular. The weirdest thing we saw was a canoe going down river without anyone in it. There wasn't any sign of anyone following it or trying to capture it.

The second place we went was even more disappointing. We went to Powisset Farm in Dover. The farm is owned by the Trustees of Reservations. A private group that protects open land, sort of like the Audubon Society. The farm is a "working farm" over 100 acres. They have livestock, hayfields and vegetables gardens. I obviously did not expect to see the garden in all its glory this time of year. I did think there would be trails through meadows and hayfields. Maybe there are, but all we saw was the main area and some chickens. This would be a fun place to go in spring and summer with little baby animals and a huge garden. It is open to the public, but again, for hiking it was lacking.

Charles River

Exploring new places, I expect to find places that disappoint. I except this as part of the game. Later in the day we found Noanet Woodlands that was really nice. Last week I hit it two for two with Cutler Park and Wilson Mountain, but I want to share places with you guys that might not be worth the time also.

Lonely canoe going downstream

Chickens at Powisset Farm

Cutler Park, Needham/ Dedham/ Boston

The biggest cat tail marsh I have ever seen

My second destination last Saturday was so close to my first I didn't even get up to speed on the
highway. I went to Cutler Park. Directions are as easy as Wilson Mountain. Get off Route 128 at Exit 18 (Great Plain Ave) towards Dedham. The small parking area will be a couple hundred yards down on the left. This park is large (600 acres) and can also be accessed from other points including Kendrick Street.

As stated above, this park is large. I did the big loop trail called the Heron Trail which has to be near 8 miles. I misjudged the length of it. I started my walk just past 1 pm, I didn't get back to my car until it was almost dark at 4:30. I really didn't stop and walked at a fairly quick pace. If you decide to do this loop, give yourself ample time.

Also of note, the trail is hard to follow when you come to Millenium Park. I guessed right, but for a time, I did not know if I was going the right way. Also there was some road walking on the VFW Parkway, Route 135 and Needham Street. I knew I would have to road walk doing this loop. There are plenty of shorter trails that did not require road walking in Boston.

My highlight here was seeing three deer, however none of them wanted their picture taken and I saw the big white flag flying in the air as they bounded away. a large part of the park is cat tail marsh, so I would bet during spring and summer, it is loaded with birds.

Just doing a Google search will quickly get for Cutler Park will easily get you to the website of Cutler Park. From there you can download a trail map and read other important info, I suggest you have a charged battery on your phone if you use it to read the trail map. I started my hike at 42% battery life and reached my car just before dark with only 8%, and I needed the map to negotiate the side roads  I was walking on. It was a little hairy.

Tunnel under the commuter rail
The rail line cuts the park in half

The Charles River
I lover that dirty water!

Kendrick Pond, I bet those hardwoods in the background were
beautiful a month ago

Wilson Mountain. Dedham

A couple of posts ago I promised to hike once a week for the winter (weather permitting). Not

A little babbling brook

wanting to be a liar, I made good on my promise on Saturday. I hit up a couple of reservations near Boston. The first was named Wilson Mountain. This property is owned by the state and is a 207 acre state park. Directions are simple., Take Route 128 to Exit 17 (Route 135). Parking is a half mile down on the right.

There are a couple miles of trail. Although calling Wilson Mountain is like calling me at five foot five an NBA center, there is a hill that actually has a view towards the Boston skyline. It was a pretty park. I'd say there are a couple miles of trails. On a chilly but dry day I saw a few people. At least half of them were walking their dog.

The highlight for me was seeing a decent size buck. I had just put my camera in my bag not ten seconds before I saw it. luckily, it did not see me and I got a couple quick pictures of it. I would say it was forty yards away. there was some brush between us, so the pictures were not great, but I did get to watch it meander on a a ridge for a minute or so. Between hiking, picture taking and sitting on top looking at the view I stayed about two hours.

A pretty carpet of pine needles

Prudential on far left
John Hancock middle left

The best view is from on top of this rock
as you can see both the John Hancock and Prudential

Stealing picture ideas from the Mountain Wanderer
and one of my favorite authors Steve Smith

 

A little bit of snow was left over from the little storm the previous morning

Even as the temperature rose to around forty, the skim ice never melted off the swamp

A buck through the brush

Providence College Hockey

One thing DJ and I started doing last

winter is going to Providence College hockey games. The games are a lot of fun. The tickets are cheap, I think the most expensive tickets are seventeen dollars. PC plays in a division called Hockey East. Just about every team in the league is in the top 25.

On Saturday night we went to our second game of the year. The Friars played number 10 Vermont. PC lost the game 2-1. Of course we wanted to see the home team win, but we still had fun.

If you live near a college, consider going to one of their athletic events. PC is only 20 minutes from our house. For most Division 1 colleges, tickets for basketball and football aren't real cheap. However, tickets for baseball and hockey are super cheap The games are well played and some of the players are going to be pros someday. I'm all for going to sporting events and not spending a lot of money.