I’m joining Robin at Breezes at Dawn for her annual Walktober meme. Anyone who wants to share a seasonal walk is encouraged to join posting by Oct. 28. Click the link for details and watch for the round-up post at the end of the month to see where other folks have been walking. A beautiful way to armchair travel through October.
For my fourth Walktober, I wanted to share a place that is very special to me. Hawley Bog, a 65-acre preserve in Hawley, MA, is one of the last examples of a high-altitude acid bog in New England. A fragile wetland with a floating mat of peat 30 feet thick over open water, it hosts rare plant species that thrive only in bog habitats, including many species of orchids, carnivorous bladderwort, sundew and pitcher plants.
Red maples
Even though I’ve lived here most of my life, I only just discovered this spot a few years ago and it has become a favorite. Desolate, remote and unspoiled, I am grateful that it has been preserved by a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and the Five College Consortium, who use it as a teaching and research field site.
Next to the small carpark, there is a kiosk with information about the bog and an aerial map of the short trail. While only half a mile or so round trip, I find this site sacred, a church of Nature if you will, and walk it meditatively, shinrin-roku style, immersing myself in this ancient wilderness. I can easily spend a couple of hours there.
Entering the forest, there is a hush and one can feel there is something indescribably different about this place. Red maple, birch and beech trees line the path. Pine, spruce and hemlock overhang ferny glades.
A short way in there is another info board showing plants one might encounter and a sign-in box to let researchers track visitors. Once the boardwalk begins, because of the sensitive habitat, only two people are allowed per section.
The day I visited I had the place to myself, seeing only birds (migrating White-throated Sparrows, resident Chickadees, Juncos, Blue Jays and Ravens, which flew overhead calling out their distinctive ‘cronk’), as well as insects and plants.
Bog rosemary, laurel, cranberry and winterberry thrive here. Out on the bog, the plants become stunted. Being at high altitude, the wind nearly always blows, making it quite frigid during the cool seasons and arctic conditions in winter.
While I took hundreds of photos, I had to limit myself to these few. I hope you enjoyed this walk as much as I did!
I certainly did. I will go back thru those pictures again in the morning.
Thank you, Jim. It is not hard to imagine this place has little changed over the centuries, untouched by human development.
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Thank you for reblogging!
What a magical place! I can imagine the different scents wafting through from the trees, the water and from the under storey. A Beautiful place for quiet contemplation.
Thank you, Anne. Peace and serenity can be found there, for sure.
I enjoyed wandering along with you Eliza. Beautiful place and wonderful photographs. You chose a good day!
Thank you, Sandra. It truly was a beautiful day!
A lovely place to walk Eliza, and especially if you can be alone there. We always choose walks where there won’t be many or any people. 🙂 Will try and get aome photos on our next walk!
Thank you, Cathy. Solitude, even in nature, is not easy to come by these days. A treasure when one finds it. 🙂 Looking forward to seeing your walk!
Thank you for sharing this delightful place to walk. Your images really capture the soul of the place.
Thank you very much, Christina. It really does have ‘soul,’ you’ve hit the nail on the head!
No wonder you enjoy being there…what an awesome place to spend lots of time. So much to see in such a small area.
Thank you, Alice. It is a real gem.
I love bogs! We used to kayak at a pond which had a large bog at the end of it. It was very cool to paddle in among the pitcher plants. We even got up close to a loon there which was a treat (they’re bigger than you’d think!). Nice “report” with beautiful photos as always!
Thank you very much! It is such a fascinating habitat.
thank you for the journey today, Eliza 🙂
Thanks, glad to have you along, Kim. ❤
What an amazing place – its rarity and antiquity must resonate in subtle and powerful ways. Thank you for sharing and for the evocative photos.
Thank you very much, Carol. Glad to share this unique environment.
Looks like a wonderful wild place.
It certainly is, I love it there.
What a wonderful walk Eliza 💛 Thanks for bringing us along!
Thank you, Val. 🙂
Thank you, Eliza. I loved this walk. I can see why it feels like sacred space to you. Bogs are magical places, I think. I hope you’ll share some more of your pictures with us as time goes on. 🙂
Thank you for hosting, Robin. It does have a mystical feeling to it. My last Sun. & Wed. shots were from there. Certainly loads more to share!
Beautiful photographs of your walk, Eliza.
Thank you, Robbie!
I did enjoy it! So much that I’m going to take it again. And then again with friends!
🙂 Glad to know that, Albert – it does bear repeat visits!
It’s beautiful! Looks like a good place for birds 😉
Thank you, Samuel. A perfect place for birds!
You’re lucky to have such a wonderful place close by, Eliza. We have to drive hours away to be embraced by nature in a similar way.
Thank you, Kris. It does feel like a blessing. I have to live in a rural place, else I’d go nuts!
so lovely Eliza, like a walk in the nature glade in beautiful weather ❤
Thank you, Kim!
Looks like a magic place, thanks for sharing your walk with us!
Thank you so much for coming along! 🙂
It must have been difficult to choose which photos to keep! I enjoyed our walk 🙂
Thank you, Christy. It was really difficult as I took dozens and there were so many interesting things to highlight, but I had to be realistic!
This is fascinating. It’s so nice to have places like this nearby to go walk in, even for a short time. I’d like to see this place. Making not of it for my so far unplanned trip to western Mass…
It is truly a special place. If ever you come, I’d be happy to take you. 🙂
I will take you up on that…
How lovely, Eliza. I had lived at Aldinga Beach for a few years myself before I properly discovered the Aldinga Scrub, which I post about so frequently now. I knew it was there, but not how precious it was nor how rare the flora and fauna within it were. There is a special joy to finding such a rare remnant of native land close to home, isn’t there? 🙂
Yes, it is. You know just what I was trying to convey about this special spot. Rare and precious! Thanks, Rebecca.
It just looks like the sort of place where you would feel calm and at one with nature. Just wonderful.
(And funny you should mention juncos – I was thinking on my walk this morning (with our first frost) that they have yet to return to my bird feeders. I’m not in any hurry for them to get there, as then summer really is over.)
Thank you, Sarah. It really is a calming place for me.
Fall has been lingering, but I have a feeling that may be changing very soon. A cold front is coming through.
That first frost this week wasn’t pleasant (and it was so late!). One of my co-workers said her dad had 3 inches of snow in northern Minnesota overnight. I fear that is not far in our future here!
It’s a-coming!
No! I will live in denial! 🙂
hahaha!
I seem to remember going on a field trip there (along with a an-old-growth forest) many decades ago in a botany class at UMass. I love bogs. They seem so prehistoric, with the spring, dense sphagnum and carnivorous plants. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Brenda. Yes, prehistoric is a great description…it does have a primeval feel to it. Fun that you went there once! There is an old-growth forest just down the road in Charlemont.
Wonderful choices! I know the agony of choosing from among hundreds of shots – the right ones always pop out though, don’t they? 🙂
Thank you! There are so many gems there it is difficult to limit the choices. 🙂
Wowsah! What a beautiful place. And your pictures and words made me feel as though I were walking along with you.
Thank you so much, Laurie. Glad you enjoyed our saunter. 🙂
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What a delight! I recently read (in a scary story) that in some parts of the U.S., they used to call tree skeletons in the marshes a “snag.” Thank you for showing us the beauty of the bog.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the post!
What a beautiful and special place, I enjoyed my visit Eliza.
Thank you for joining me, Andrea!
Yes, there are places on our Earth which are “indescribably different”, as you say. It’s a privilege to share the air with them.
Thanks for this lovely walk.
Thank you for joining me!
Thank you for bringing us on the walk. I enjoyed it very much!
So glad you could join me – thank you!
Thank you! Your beautiful blog is very inspiring.
A special place to be sure. Thanks for introducing us to it! I’ll be sure to join Walktober next year!
I hope you do. I expect you have some wonderful places nearby. Thanks, Peter!
Thank you for taking me along on this beautiful walk! I felt like I was back east for a moment. I especially like your looking up view of the red maples.
Thank you very much, Denise. Glad you enjoyed the tour. 🙂
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You capture fall so well! Cheers to your sunny day with the variety of colors that the season brings.
Thank you, happy autumn to you!
Eliza, I enjoyed walking with you through this beautiful place — thanks for letting me join in.You selected some gorgeous photos piquing my interest in participating in next year’s Walktober!
Thank you, Debbie. Glad to have you along. Walktober is a fun annual event – it’s become a tradition!
I love bogs too, and your photos are great! Thanks for sharing your walk. 🙂
Thank you for joining me!
Love the photos! Beautiful countryside 🙂
Thank you, H. It is a wild and very special place in all seasons for us.