Parker River Wildlife Refuge: July 5th

I drove to the north of Boston on July 4th.  First to a campground on the shore to grab a spot for the night, and then back to my cousin's house in Concord, Mass.

My cousin took me for a walk in her woods which abut Walden Pond.  She is an accomplished hiker and has hiked all the 4,000 plus peaks in New Hampshire.  The woods by her house have wonderfully gentle trails, a small lake, and a river.  I guess I didn't expect such a nice trail system.  There were a few pine trees in this forest as well, most likely some of them white pines, that were distinctively large.  One we stopped by has a special connection to her and she conveyed her reverence towards it in a way that will stick in my visual memory for some time.  Remember the trees.

I camped overnight in a campsite that was bedecked for July 4th.  Lots of RV's and celebrations were taking place.  I first went, however, to photograph some of the marshes in the area of the Merrimack River.  There were these small black bugs (midges) that landed on me and bit.  I had been wandering away from the car and had neglected to put on any bug protection.  Thus, though I was able to take a few photos I quickly came back to the car to put a bit of protection on my skin.

My plan was to get over to Parker River Wildlife Refuge by sunrise.  Thus, I awoke at 4:30 and got myself rolling in ten minutes.  I set the speed record for breaking down a tent.  I did make sure to slam my door loudly on the way out, however.  Thanks to those who were up until 3:30 yelling and screaming.

I found myself entering the Refuge only moments before sunrise, thus I stopped at what I thought was the first "good" picture stop.  The water of the marshes pools itself into shapes that in the right light reflect the sky and surround themselves with the contours of the reed and grasses.  I loved it.  I see these small bodies of water as eyes to the heavens.

So why am I calling this a hike?  Well, in the Plum Island reserve, which is where the Parker River Wildlife Refuge is, there are these great boardwalks and they also have an observation platform that allows you to see the bay and the marshlands from above.  The boardwalk leads you through shrub thickets, vernal pools, and into the brackish marsh regions filled with biting insects (I was ready this time!).

At one point all I heard was the singing of the most glorious birds and the distant crashing of waves. Being up this early, the distant cars were not yet competing with this solitude.

Fortunately, I was able to see the mist rising from some of the pools and the harsh sunlight to come was still soft enough so as not to create the exclusive situation in which you no longer include the subtle mid tones that I love so much in nature photography.  Like Eva's musical mind and writings always suggest, it is the tonality of sound that separates the good from the great.  I think the same way about photography and love looking at images where photographers fully appreciate this. However, I have also seen a good deal of powerful images where this is not the case.

With all the natural beauty around me, I was also drawn to the boardwalk itself.  I found the way it twisted and turned itself through the woods was, in fact, beautiful and ended up taking a good number of such images.  I also found some patterns in the wood that I thought was interesting as well.

After driving out to the end of this park, I reached Sandy Point and then turned around and made a good number of stops where I took short walks to observation points.  I spoke with a volunteer who was focusing her binoculars on an osprey nest and she let me view through them in order to see an osprey feeding its children.   She also pointed out a heron that was, of course, hunting in the manner that herons are known for.  What patience they display.  No ADHD in that bird.

Well, although this was not a real "hike" I ended up walking several miles and hopefully found five worthy images.  It is not that easy to find them at times, at least for me, but in the right light, with the right contours and variety, it is impossible not to find countless artifacts that are intriguing.