Sunday, October 19, 2008

FALL COLORS IN THE CAPITAL DISTRICT
2.5 Mile Walk at Ann Lee Pond Nature Preserve
Sunday, October 19, 2008


It was definitely too nice a day to be indoors, so after Ann got on the road to Rochester I headed over to the Ann Lee Pond Nature Preserve to do a little walking. While the pond isn't terribly large and the airport is less than a mile away, it seemed pretty secluded when I was there back in May. Today it turned out to be less so, with quite a few cars in the parking areas... in fact, as I was getting ready to hit the trails another one pulled up and people piled out with their dogs in tow. So much for solitude!

I started out by walking along the west side of the pond, then took the bridge across the water and headed into the woods. Initially I could hear the dog walkers not far behind me, but a little ways in I took what I thought was a marked trail (it turned out to be a herd path) along the shore of the pond and the adjacent wetlands and soon left them behind. Once I figured out that I was no longer on the official trails, I decided to keep going - after all, during my previous visit I'd seen some side paths I wanted to explore, and it seemed much more likely I wouldn't run into too many people if I was off the beaten path.

Ended up following a series of old ATV paths back into the woods, with some occasional bushwhacking to get around newly flooded areas (I saw pretty good evidence that beavers are alive and well back in the wetlands.) Wandered around for a while enjoying the quiet and the remaining fall colors and hoping to see beavers. No luck, but I did hear some wood ducks heading for cover and saw a couple of woodpeckers. Eventually I made my way back to the marked trails and the north shore of the pond, where I spent a while watching the ducks and geese in the pond.

Before heading back to the car I crossed the road to check out the outskirts of the Ann Lee Home Historic Site... in particular, I wanted to photograph some particularly colorful trees and three rather impressive bulls (at least, I assume from their horns they were bulls) in a nearby field. Along the way I also watched a few more birds zipping around among the bushes and trees.

One of these days I'll have to actually visit the Shaker Historic Site that's right next door to the nature preserve. I knew a little bit about the Shakers as a result of frequently passing the Shaker Historic Site in Hancock, MA on my way to Pittsfield (back when I used to make biweekly trips to buy comic books at a shop in Pittsfield) and because I've always found Shaker-style furniture fairly appealing (probably because of the simplicity of design... it's the type of furniture I make!) But I hadn't realized that the Shakers, a religious group which fled England in 1774 to escape persecution, were essentially established in the US in the Albany area, under the leadership of Mother Ann Lee, and subsequently spread to other parts of the country. The group was never particularly prolific (probably due in part to very strict rules including celibacy and separation of men and women, which also meant membership could only grow through recruitment, as well as strong beliefs about communal living) but played an important role as a distinctly American religious denomination. There are currently 4 living Shakers in a small community in Maine and the prospect of the group continuing is fairly unlikely, though they have been working to secure the property against future development. (For more info, the wikipedia articles on the Shakers and Mother Ann Lee are a good start...)

JMH
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