A view of the North River mouth from Fourth Cliff. I once preferred solitude to company. I had plenty of friends and a close-knit family, but most of the time […]
Sharing A Summer Ritual
The South River in the summertime — a great place for a swim! My summer doesn’t really begin until I’ve gone swimming in the river. Not just any day will […]
Visiting Nelson Memorial Forest
A boardwalk at Nelson Memorial Forest in Marshfield. Toward the middle of last month’s snowstorm, around midnight, I went for a short walk in the woods behind my house. The […]
Visiting Norwell’s Norris Reservation
A view of the North River at the Norris Reservation in Norwell. It’s one of the best-known open space parcels on the South Shore, and still most have never heard […]
A Return to the Rope Swing
I am standing among the branches of a tall oak tree, fourteen feet above the North River. Below me, friends and family gather on the steep riverbank. It’s a sunny […]
Walking Alone in the Woods
A trail passes through a grove of hemlock trees at Nelson Memorial Forest in Marshfield. I used to love to walk alone in the woods. Several days a week I’d […]
Take A Walk
Already it’s November. The nights grow longer, the weather grows cooler. I am reluctant to pull out my winter coat, but I know that these crisp days will soon yield […]
The Winter Solstice: Bringing Light To The Darkness
Bare winter trees. It’s 4 p.m., and as I look into the trees outside my office window, I see nothing but darkness. The sun has not yet set, but heavy […]
A New View From The Mountaintop
Mount Norwottuck Five and a half years ago, my friend Ted led me on a hike up Norwottuck, a small mountain in Massachusetts’s Holyoke Range. I had climbed Norwottuck many […]
Good Friends Save The Day
The North River at Couch Beach. Our canoe trip on the North River began smoothly enough: it was a sunny, unseasonably warm October day, with fall foliage at its peak. […]