Cupola

According to its website, the Montague Bookmill is "a former grist mill from 1834 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places." That maybe helps explain some of the building's more curious features, including this cupola. 

Photographers

Montague Bookmill in Montague, Massachusetts

 

Montague Bookmill

Montague, Massachusetts

Bookmill

Another couple of looks at the Sawmill River, this time from inside the Montague Bookmill.

Sawmill River

 

 

Sawmill River

Montague, Massachusetts

 

Flora

 

 

Tower Road

Mount Toby Recreation Area

 

My last photos of my trek to the top of Mount Toby include my favorite flora, birch trees (above) and wood ferns (below), that add so much visual interest to these northern woods. Coming up: photos of Sawmill River.

Tower Road

Tower Road

Mount Toby Recreation Area

 

Rewards

Took the Tower Road coming down from Mount Toby's summit, which had its own rewards. The first was finding this Indian Pipe (above) growing along the side of the road. Another was this Flowering Raspberry (below).

Mount Toby Summit

 

Well, it was a long, hot hike to the top of Mount Toby and not a lot to see once you got there, unless, of course, you climbed the fire tower, which, as you can see, several of my fellow hikers did. For me, though, it was enough to search for and find one of the summit's survey markers before making my trek back down the mountain.

Summit Bound

Robert Frost Trail

Mount Toby Recreation Area

Got Woodpeckers?

Robert Frost Trail

Mount Toby Recreation Area

Polypore

 

Robert Frost Trail

Mount Toby Recreation Area

Robert Frost Trail

On my way to the summit of Mount Toby via the Robert Frost Trail.

Spotted Joe-Pyeweed

Wentworth Farm Conservation Area

Amherst, Massachusetts

"Spotted joe-pyeweed thrives in marshes, rich fens and swamps. It also does well in man-made moist expanses such as ditches, seepage areas and wet fields. Above all else the plant flourishes in the non-shaded environments that are also abundant in wetlands.

It is a larval host to the Clymene moth, the eupatorium borer moth, the ruby tiger moth, and the three-lined flower moth. The plant also attracts butterflies and honeybees." -- Wikipedia

Pollinator Research

Wentworth Farm Conservation Area

Amherst, Massachusetts

"The Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst integrates research and outreach education in agriculture, food systems and the environment. The Center is the contemporary standard bearer of the university’s land-grant origins. It provides linkages from the University with vibrant business, policy and public interest sectors in the state, including agriculture, the horticultural 'green industries,' environmental decisionmakers and food system interests. The Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, UMass Cranberry Station, UMass Extension and the Water Resources Research Center are all units of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. The Center is based in the College of Natural Sciences at UMass Amherst and also works with the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Engineering." -- University of Massachusetts Amherst

Staghorn Sumac

Wentworth Farm Conservation Area

Amherst, Massachusetts

Staghorn Sumac "flowers in June to July depending on the part of the country in which it is found. Bees, wasps, and beetles are strongly attracted to the flowers. Some bird and small mammal species eat the fruits. The fruits are sometimes soaked in water to make a tart, somewhat lemony drink. It is occasionally cultivated for its bright red to maroon fall color and persistent red fruits. Numerous lacey leaf cultivars exist. Without attention, it can become weedy." -- U. S. Department of Agriculture

Queen Anne's Lace

I grew up calling this plant Queen Anne's Lace, even though I recognized somewhere in the back of my mind that others called it Wild Carrot. In any case, I've always been attracted to its "lacy" appearance, which I just learned has its origin in a story about Queen of England: 

"Anne, Queen of Great Britain is the Queen Anne for whom the plant is named. It is so called because the inflorescence resembles lace, prominent in fine clothing of the day; the red flower in the center is said to represent a droplet of blood where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace." -- Wikepedia

The idea that Anne pricked herself with a needle making the lace strikes me as pure fiction. Still, it's a great story and only serves to further convince me to keep on calling this plant Queen Anne's Lace. :-)

Pond

Wentworth Farm Conservation Area

Amherst, Massachusetts

Wentworth Farm

Helen Hills Hills Chapel

"Smith College did not originally have a chapel because its founders wanted students to be part of the Northampton community and attend local churches. Finally in 1953, an alumna from the class of 1908 named Helen Hills Hills (her maiden name was Hills and she married a husband named Hills) offered funds for a college chapel. She stipulated that the building should strictly follow the design of traditional New England meeting houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Designed by William and Geoffrey Platt (sons of Charles Adams Platt) of New York, the nondenominational Helen Hills Hills Chapel was completed in 1955." -- Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Linking again today with Skywatch Friday.

Fixer-Upper

Once a great while, not often, I think of how fun it would be to own one of these old houses and to renovate it. Then I begin thinking about what it was actually like to live in an old house that needed more care and attention, and I quickly abandon the notion. I spotted this one along the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Hadley.

Regicides

Basically, Goffe and Whalley were on the run from authorities in England for having participated in King Charles I's execution and found refuge here in--of all places--Hadley. 

Cider Garden

Locals here, apparently, really like their cider. As best as I can tell, a cider garden is "a place that somehow makes you feel at home while escaping the ordinary."

Barn

View from the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Hadley

Views from the Norwottuck Rail Trail as it passes through Hadley, Massachusetts.

 

Hadley is a town in Hampshire County with a population of 5,325 at the 2020 census.

Party Boat

Connecticut River

The Connecticut River as seen from the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge.

Linking again today to Skywatch Friday.