The new year was aptly rung in by a fresh blanket of snow. Following hours of snowfall on New Year’s Eve, we were greeted in the early morning hours of our new year with a clean slate, both literally and figuratively. I ventured out first thing, or as close as I could muster to first thing following the night before.

The metaphor was perfect. I walked through swaths of farmland and winding back roads enjoying the perfection early morning hours can bring. The snow, sky and winding post and beam fence in today’s photograph reminded me again of the beauty and peace this town and its land affords us. And while there is no certainty in the year ahead or ability to speculate with any precision on what may come, a stroll on these back roads of Carlisle has a wonderful way of preserving the “moment” and the serenity which that brings. Happy New Year. (originally published 1/2009)

Yesterday, our most recent blanket of snow provided a glimpse back for me. As I waited for my daughters to get off the bus I had the time and inclination to step into the middle of the road our house resides on in Carlisle. Of course this wouldn’t typically be remarkable except for the fact that even though Carlisle is a relatively sleepy town in comparison to its neighbors, our particular road is a main route to and from other towns making it always quite busy.

The snow brought everything to a halt. A wonderful gift because it allowed me to see what those residents, perhaps 60 or 100 years ago saw, with very little alternation. Vast tracks of untouched land, gently sloping hills, an abundance of snow covered limbs and a beautiful period farmhouse just across the street from us. With the absence of any kind of vehicle, time really does becomes more fluid. It could easily be any moment in the last century or so…at least until the snowplows arrived.

Today’s picture is of our “outdoor” Christmas tree. My daughters feel the snow dresses it beautifully. We all marvel at its height and the many holiday celebrations before us it must have silently watched over. O Tannenbaum! (originally posted December 2007)

As promised, I returned to the Cranberry Bog for Fall Harvest. Never actually having seen it in action it was quite an amazing sight. I walk these paths around the Bog rather frequently and up until last week was concerned I could only catch the faintest hint of berry or any other reddish hue amidst the sandy soil. So when I went out this Sunday I was surprised to find, not the low lying plants and sand I had become acquainted with, but a completely submerged parcel of land resembling a large pond or marsh area. Along with this newly created body of water was an unmistakable sea of red.

As I walked closer what I found were thousands of shiny ripe cranberries floating in close formation in the water. Beyond this flotilla were two men on foot (I think) and one in a machine called a water reel that uses horizontal paddles to detach the berries from their vines, herding them toward a upward sloping conveyor belt of sorts. This evidently separates the berry from the water, channeling the berries into the back of a truck.

It’s really a remarkable site to see the entire landscape transform overnight. It was hard to resist reaching down and plucking from the waters edge these brilliant red berries. But as I walked the boundary I quickly understood I was not the only one who would consider going for ultimate freshness. As I pondered my next move, my eyes were directed toward a sign requesting a little self-control. A warning to keep one’s hands out of the bog and wait until the berries found their way into jars and other offerings at The Great Brook Farm for purchase. So for anyone craving an early start on Thanksgiving, your jars, pies, sauce, etc. will be waiting for you at Great Brook! (This entry was first published in Fall 2007)

Heywood Meadow has survived over 370 years in Concord and is a link to Concord’s pre-history as an area used by Native Americans and later to the first English settlement of Concord in 1630’s. Its survival has not been without incident. It was originally part of Concord’s Mill Pond constructed in the early days of incorporation to power 17th century local industry. Later, The Concord Gun House was built on a portion of it, storing Colonists’ arms through the Revolution. This beautiful meadow also served as inspiration to the following century of renowned writers and philosophers. Finally, more recent history of the 20th century records repeated attempts to modify or suspend its existence all together.

Fortunately today, Heywood Meadow is overseen by the Heywood Meadow Stewardship Committee and is a thoroughly protected piece of natural beauty and Concord history. Its full glory is realized in the Fall when this extraordinary Maple that remained present for countless defining moments in history, reaches peak foliage. My girls and I have laid under it just to see what a 50 foot golden canopy might look like from the ground up. This tree stands alone on a relatively small meadow landscape that sits just outside of Concord Center proper and near the former Hawthorne, Alcott and Emerson residences.

Dedication to historic preservation is a wonderful hallmark of this part of New England. As today’s picture so clearly gives testament to, no amount of financial resources given to newly landscaped developments can recapture the magnificence that centuries of growth took to create. (Heywood Meadow – first published on The Concord Life 10/07)

Our front yard in Carlisle plays host to butterflies during the day and dragonflies in the evening, each put on a great show.