Wandering

 

The trail system in Forest Park, well, let's just say that I've seen systems that were much less confusing. 

A paper map could have helped. Although, I suppose these days a lot of people prefer apps like AllTrails. Not being one of those, I spend a lot of time these days just wondering as I wander. :-)

Meaning?

 

A house along one of the trails in Forest Park. Interesting display of flags. Meaning?

Trail Scenes

Spent the better part of a day walking the Forest Park trails in Springfield, Massachusetts. Curious about the name given to the Virginia Creeper (shown below), I looked it up. Wikipedia says, "The name Virginia creeper, referring to both the plant's 'virgin' epithet and to part of its native range in the U.S. state of Virginia, is also used for the whole genus Parthenocissus, as well as for other species within the genus."

 

Palazzo in the Park

 

Meripilus Giganteus?

I'm awful at correctly identifing various species of mushrooms. That said, my field guide strongly suggests 

that these mushrooms I found in Forest Park are indeed Meripilus Giganteus, more commonly 

known as Black-staining Polypore. It depends on which you trust more as a source, the National Audubon Society or Wikipedia. :-)

Carl

Meet Carl, who, in my opinion, is a not so miniature Sicilian donkey at the Forest Park zoo.

 

Capybara

 

Feeding the capybaras at the Forest Park Zoo.

Common Milkweed

 

Nothing "common" about it as far as I'm concerned. A pretty remarkable plant, all things considered. Especially important to Monarch butterflies, I've read.

Beavers

 

Kinda makes me wonder what end goal these beavers have in mind for this project. 

Ticks

As this trail is something of a local secret, I'm keeping the exact location to myself. If that wasn't enough to reduce traffic, I'm thinking this sign might also. In addition to the ticks, there is quite a lot of poison ivy along the trail.

Beds

 

Are you curious about housekeeping details? I am. So when I checked in to my hotel in Massachusetts, one of the first things I did was to see how the bed was made. No fitted sheets here. Just one sheet spread on top of another with a cover nicely tucked. 

One thing I'm always very careful about are feather pillows. Nope! Can't have any. Badly allergic. The hotel here likes to include two feather pillows with two synthetic. But within five minutes of my arrival, the switch to all synthetic occurred. Thankful for that. 

Breeze Airways

 

This was my first experience flying Breeze Airways. I booked it primarily because it offered a direct flight from Hartford, Connecticut to Richmond, Virginia, and most definitely not because I would have to get up at 3:30 a.m. in order to get to Bradley International Airport in time for the 7 a.m. departure. 

Would I fly Breeze again? Definitely. Even if I had to get up again at 3:30 a.m., mostly because of my prevous experiences with connecting flights. Like the flights from Richmond to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Hartford. No complimentary snacks, but there was plenty of room for my carry-on bag and briefcase. 

Leverett Trail

Leverett Trail

Blueberry Patch

 

 

Ah, this is what people are after! 

 

 

 

Milkweed

No, this isn't why people hike the Leverett Triail, at least not the principle reason. This is just -- I think -- Common Milkweed, of which there is an abundance along that part of the trail that empties out onto what remains of the Teawaddle Hill Farm. As is true of the milkweed growing at York River State Park near my home, it's a dining favorite of the Monarch butterfly, among other species.

Shhh!

Shhh! This is supposed to be a secret. Only a discerning few know the true destination of many of the folks who hike the Leverett Trail. I'll let you in on the secret only on condition that you tell no one I told you about it. :-)

Garden Wall

Just a parting shot from another one of Naumkaeg's lovely gardens.

Chinese Temple Garden

Naumkaeg

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Linden Garden

Naumkaeg

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Gardens

I've read that Naumkaeg's gardens and landscaped grounds were first designed in the late 1880s by Nathan Barrett, then transformed and expanded between 1926 and 1956 by Fletcher Steele and Mabel Choate.