As discouraging as it can be to see our trail signs vandalized, it is a great feeling to see them back up, restored.
We restore them as quickly as we can make new ones for two reasons:
1. We know people rely on these signs: they often let us know they appreciate the them.
2. We know that putting them back up lets people know that somebody does care about this park, that it is not a place where vandalism goes unnoticed and accepted.
The repaired signs above are:
Left: the welcome sign where the trail from the Burlington Soccer Field enters Flyer’s Field
Right: the big intersection just inside Whispering Hill Woods coming from Central Field
Both of the above signs are critical to anybody navigating the park.
We also hauled out a giant contractor trash bag full of old fireworks, beer and soda bottles and cans, and other garbage: to make the park more pleasant and to let people know that somebody cares.
We have considered a visit to Woburn schools to try to talk to kids about respecting the park (most of the vandalism is done in areas that suggest the culprits live in Woburn). But for now we will try to remember that most of us as kids did some sort of vandalism though we would rather forget that phase of our lives. And we’ll keep on fixing what needs to be fixed. (There are more places where we are still catching up to mischief of the vandals.)
To repeat: Cleaning and repairing reminds people that somebody cares about this park.
While doing a pre-Labor Day check that all dispensers have flyers and trails were in walkable condition, we ran into this smart family. They had been headed to New Hampshire for Labor Day weekend, but decided to escape the stalled out highway and discovered they were right near Mary Cummings Park, so why not take a nice walk and let traffic clear?
We asked for a photo since they were enjoying the park, wished them a great Labor Day weekend. Always great to know this precious piece of open space is still a refuge for those seeking a little escape from civilization.
Perhaps you were wondering if the recent heavy rains produced a crop of mushrooms at Mary Cummings Park? Or perhaps not. But we were, and on Friday, August 24 we went out looking with camera in hand. The results were pretty spectacular, and all theses images were taken within a few feet of the trails in the deep forest of Whispering Hill Wood. (There are not so many mushrooms in the meadow or wetlands; the forest is the place for them.)
We do not know the identity of a single one of these magnificent fungi, and are a bit too harried to look them up. If you know the species let us know and we will name them properly with common and/or latin names. Meanwhile we will just enjoy their visual splendor in ignorance.
This is a porous mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
This is a thick mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
This is stubby white mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Shiny white mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkThis is shiny white mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Two mushrooms at Mary Cummings ParkHere are two mushrooms at Mary Cummings Park
Yellow mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkHere is a yellow mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Funky mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkThis is funky mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Red mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkA red mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Unidentified mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkThis is an unidentified mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Tall mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkThis is a tall mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Conical mushroom at Mary Cummings ParkThis is a conical mushroom at Mary Cummings Park
Mary Leach of the Lowell Sun did a nice photo-article on Mary Cummings Park which is viewable on their website. Mary took note of many aspects of the park, including our trails, trail signs, kiosks with maps, the flyers at Flyer’s Field, and our friendly frogs.
photo of trail at Mary Cummings Park by Mary Leach
I took time lapse movies for 3 full days, 24 hours a day, of the monarch egg. And all the roughly 35,000 photos showed the same thing: an egg sitting on a leaf. However, I finally out-waited the egg, and got the time lapse of the caterpillar emerging.
It then went about eating the remaining empty egg, but notice it stopped and “thought” about it twice before finishing. Then it went for a walk before settling down to think about eating some milkweed.
As the video says at the end, “To be continued…” as the caterpillar goes through 5 stages of growth, becomes its chrysalis, and then emerges as the majestic monarch.
We run into all sorts of visitors to the park, particularly during the summer, when Flyer’s Field and Central Field put on a spectacular show of wildfowers.
Recently we ran into these two hardy walkers, who had started in Woburn at the soccer field on Cambridge Street, hiked up the steep hill into Whispering Hill Woods, then through Central Field to Flyer’s Field, where I was just releasing two fresh born monarch butterflies. These two fellows have been around Horn Pond and Mary Cummings Park for years, and had many connections to both parks. Great guys, glad to share monarchs with them.
Recently, a park visitor was very impressed with the view of Flyer’s Field that she got when she emerged from the woodland trail. She took a photo and sent it to us to share:
Speaking of Flyer’s Field, it continues to put on a spectacular show of wildflowers this summer, as does Central Field. These two wildflower meadows are a big part of what makes Mary Cummings Park special. Open meadows are critical habitat for many species, and without beavers to dam up streams, we have few meadows within our reforested New England. Don’t miss the splendor:
Here is one of those sunsets where clouds at different altitudes flow at different speeds – in different directions. Watch for the tiny, last bit of cloud to skitter across just before it all goes dark.
The big question was whether it would rain or not: it did! But everyone stuck with it and we walked all around the edge of the playing field and found many plants to talk about. What a hardy group, and thanks to Ted for braving a constant rain.
A little bug seems to have been crawling on the front of the lens during the first 45 seconds of this video, which is sort of interesting to watch. Right after the bug leaves the clouds do some very lovely changes in lighting.
