Last Saturday morning I was ready to go to 108 acre Willard Pond in Antrim, NH but frost coated my windshield. While the defroster did its work I took a photo of a cluster of frosty but colorful oak leaves on my lawn.
Before I turned on the defroster I also had to get a few photos of the frost on my windshield.
Finally I was on the road to Willard Pond, and what a colorful road it was. I lived in Antrim years ago but I was too busy with running a gardening business then to enjoy the great riches that surrounded me. A recent post on the Park Explorer Blog reminded me of this place and coming here was almost like going home again. If you’d like to learn more about New Hampshire, especially about its parks and an occasional old forgotten cellar hole, you’d be doing yourself a favor by reading The Park Explorer.
Willard Pond is a wildlife sanctuary under the protection of the Audubon Society and it is unusual because of the loons that nest here. There are also bears, moose and deer living here, as well as many bird species, including bald eagles.
I didn’t see any loons but the rugged, unspoiled beauty that I did see was enough for me. The flaming hillside of beeches and oaks was just amazing.
In this place the hills come right down to the water so there is little flat, level ground to be found but there is a blazed, one person wide trail that I followed. I was glad I wore my hiking boots; this isn’t the place for sneakers.
Boardwalks helped navigate streams.
Huge boulders have broken away from the hillside and tumbled down, almost to the water in some places. Some were easily as big as delivery vans.
Witch hazels blossomed in great profusion all along the trail. I love seeing their ribbon like petals so late in the year and smelling their fresh, clean scent.
Benches are placed here and there for those who’d rather not sit on a boulder or tree stump.
This is one of the views you can see from the bench in the previous photo. The morning sun was just kissing the tops of the trees. Many were already bare.
If you turn 180 degrees you can also see this view from the bench. It’s hard to decide which is more beautiful, but being under these old oaks and beeches certainly made my spirits soar. Thornton Wilder once said “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. “ I was conscious on this day, and felt extremely alive.
I always peek into hollow trees and I was glad I did this time because there was an unexpected surprise waiting.
Little brown mushrooms grew in the leaf litter that had gathered in the hollow of the tree. I take a tip from the mycologists and skip trying to identify little brown mushrooms because there are just too many of them that look alike. They lump them all together and call them LBMs, xo I will too.
There are many streams and rivulets running down the hillsides into the pond and mosses grow all along them. I saw many examples of the beautiful little bordered thyme moss (Mnium marginatum.) A translucent, sometimes reddish border encircles the tapering leaves, which have tiny teeth along their upper margins. Each small rosette of leaves seen here could have easily hidden behind a pea. I love how this moss seems to glow with its own inner light and though I passed it by several times it kept pulling at me, as if wanting to be admired. Finally it was, and very much so. It’s a beautiful little thing.
I’m fairly sure that this burnt looking area on a yellow birch was a chaga fungus (Inonotus obliquus.) It’s certainly not a burl and chaga is the only other thing I can think of that looks like burnt charcoal and grows on birch. This fungus has been used medicinally in Russia, China, Korea and Japan for centuries, and it is said to be packed with vitamins and minerals. Recently it has shown promise in cancer research, reducing the size of tumors. In Siberia it is said to be the secret to long life.
I think that these marks on the cut end of this log were caused by bluestain, which is also called sapstain because of the way it stains the sapwood of logs. If this log were sawn into planks unsightly stains could show on the surface of one or more of them, and this lowers the price of the log. Both deep and surface bluestain can be caused by fungi called Ophiostoma minus and others, which all seem to be collectively called bluestain fungi and which can eventually kill the tree. It is thought that bark beetles and mites help it spread.
I couldn’t stop taking photos of the amazing trees. They were so beautiful and several times they enticed me off the trail for a better view so I could try to show you what being here was really like. Finally I realized that I had lost all sense of time and had no idea what time of day it was. Nothing that I’ve experienced can compare with total immersion in nature but it was Halloween and I had candy to hand out to the little ghosts and hobgoblins that would soon come knocking, so I had to climb back into myself and leave this wonderful place.
I don’t usually feel a need to name photos but when I saw this one I knew it had to be called serenity because more than anything else, that’s what I found here. I hope you’ll find it too.
Go in the direction of where your peace is coming from. ~C. Joybell C.
Thanks for coming by.
Some breathtaking photos here, Allen. Hope all goes well with you. I’ve been dealing with computer issues so please forgive me for being MIA lately. Happy November to you!
Thank you Cynthia. I know how computer issues can be, so no problem. I hope you’ve sorted them out.
Happy November to you too!
Gorgeous colors! After some initial fear of the leaves simply dropping green, the colors in New York City are really going strong. Lots of gorgeous yellows, reds and oranges. Your pictures have reminded me I need to get out of the city again soon and enjoy the fall colors!
I’m glad you’re seeing some good color in the city. I would think central park would be ablaze this year.
Heading north earlier in the season would extend the foliage season for you!
What a wonderful walk. Now I’ve walked some of the trails in Muskoka I think I have an idea of what it is like in New Hampshire. Your walk felt very familiar and I could almost smell the leaves. No wonder you spend so much time I. The woods.
From what I’ve seen in your posts Canada looks just like here, so if you remember Canada when you read these posts you’ll have a good idea of what I’m seeing.
If I hadn’t grown up in the woods I’d be a very different person, I think. They do something to you when you spend enough time in them.
What a gorgeous day you had – your photos and tour was most enjoyable – thank you!
You’re welcome, and thank you Eliza. I’m glad you liked it!
Such a beautiful trail! It sounds magical walking along with the perfume of witch hazel at your side. Amelia
It was great, and seeing loons would make it just about perfect.
Food for the soul, just lovely!
Thank you. That’s an excellent way to describe this place because that’s just what it was!
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
Thanks very much Agnes.
You’re very welcome, Allen. Happy Weekend. Namaste
The same to you!
Wow! This post is fantastic, the photos are great. I loved them all, from the frost photos in the beginning to that very aptly named Serenity photo at the end.
Unless this place is too far from home, I think that I would add it to the places that you revisit from time to time, like the old railroad cut. As grand as it looked in the fall, I would think that this would be a wonderful spot to mark the progression of the seasons. That is, if you didn’t lose track of time there and never return to blog about it. 😉
Once again, I’m jealous of the rocks, boulders, and rock formations that you have in New Hampshire. I can see why its nickname is the Granite State. If our nickname was based on the same criteria, Michigan would be the Gravel State.
Thanks Jerry! Willard Pond is about 45 minutes away so it isn’t too terribly far. I’d really like to see it in the winter but I don’t know how difficult it will be to get out there. It’s a great place and I’d like to visit it regularly, but just like most great places it’s very easy to lose track of time.
“The Gravel State” made me laugh out loud!
Beautiful words and gorgeous pictures. What a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and images.
You’re welcome and thank you Jane. I’m glad that you enjoyed it.
Oops – pardon typos – pressed send by accident…
No problem. It happens to all of us!
Wow, You’ve got the power, Allen! I’m currently in CO and NM doing some hiking and exploring and checked my messages to see that I’ve suddenly gotten a string of new followers to the Park Explorer. Couldn’t figure it out until finally having a chance to sign on (in Cimarron NM). Thank you very much for the kind words…and I’m very glad you liked Willard Pond, too. Gives me a new perspective on the place, too. By the way, I was also out enjoying Halloween day, although in Northern Vermont. You might like my blog on that too, although its in my second blog: https://theparkexplorervt.wordpress.com/
I’m glad that people checked your blog out! I didn’t know that you had two blogs. I can barely keep up with one, so I don’t know how you manage that! The information on the forts was excellent, though. Maybe some day I’ll get up there and see for myself.
I hope you enjoy Colorado and New Mexico. I have a friend who lives in New Mexico and she loves it there.
I love the bordered thyme moss! Fantastic photo!
Thanks Montucky! That is a pretty little moss, but it sure is small!
It’s been years since I’ve visited the pond. I can see it’s as beautiful as ever. Are there still maintained trails up the adjacent hill, which I think is called Bald Mountain? I remember looking down on the pond from there on a very hot & hazy summer day, thinking there was no better place to be.
Yes, in fact I met a couple who had just come down from Bald Mountain when I got there. I’d love to climb it and most likely will next summer. I agree about there being no place better on a hot and humid day!
I can quite understand why you lost track of time a little. Those flaming oaks are wonderful. I don’t think that ours ever put on such a show.
I don’t think that I’ve ever seen them like this here either. I can’t imagine what made them so colorful all of the sudden, especially after such a dry summer.
This article might be of interest to you – http://news.discovery.com/earth/drought-fall-foliage-120828.htm
Thanks very much. It was really interesting because it says exactly the opposite of what I heard, which was how our drought would ruin the fall foliage. Your article got it right and I’m glad that it explained why we had such a glorious autumn.
I agree with the others – this post is gorgeous and I loved every single shot! The oaks here in England are the brightest I’ve ever seen them; they are usually a dull chestnut colour but this year a bright orange!
Thank you Clare. That’s kind of odd about your oaks because ours are doing the same thing. I wish I knew what was causing it. They certainly are beautiful and I wish they’d do this every year!
So do I! Usually the oaks don’t change colour until November but this year they started much earlier as well as being much more colourful. Strange.
The only thing I can think of that was different this year is the very dry summer. We’re still in a drought in fact, but I would think that would make the foliage colors worse, not better.
We didn’t have a drought here and the summer wasn’t particularly sunny or warm. The only reason I can think of here is we had a couple of weeks of really warm and sunny weather in September.
I wish I knew!
Me too!
This post brought back memories for me. When I was a teenager, I visited a friend who was staying in a cabin on Gregg Lake in Antrim. It looked so much like your photos of Willard Pond. We used to hike along the shore and climb huge boulders overlooking the lake to sit and read our books! Beautiful photos.
Thank you. The map I have shows that Gregg Lake is within walking distance of Willard Pond so it’s no wonder that it looks familiar. It’s a beautiful spot and I’m glad it brought back some pleasant memories.
I’m speechless over the beauty of your hike!
Thank you. It’s quite a place, and I was speechless when I saw those hills with all that color.
We have only a few areas with long views and they aren’t long like yours.
I feel lucky to live where I do!
You have so much to look forward to and such a variety.
I agree, and it’s always changing. No two days ever really seem the same.
Bet even your morning coffee even
tastes better.
That I make myself, so I kind of doubt it! If I had to name one thing about this place that I didn’t like it would be the winters. They can be very severe and I really don’t look forward to them.
I’d forgotten about some of your winter blogs. It looks like they could be quite scary.
I’ve been through enough of them to not be scared. Wary is more like it. Almost like being near a wild animal would feel. You never know what it will do!
What a beautiful spot. Audubon is a good organization, I think. I like their magazine, too. I’ve never had a chance to get close to a loon, they are always a great distance away when I see one. Guess it’s just as well.
I’ve never seen their magazine but their trails are usually well maintained.
I’ve heard that loons are skittish and scare easily so it’s probably good that I didn’t see one. My wanting to get close enough for a photo might have scared it away.
I adore Willard Pond. Did you make it all the way to the other end where you can go swimming? (Not that you would this time of year!) There is a gorgeous area with pine trees. Love the photo of thyme moss, and that you look in tree stumps because I do, too! Here is a quote for you: “To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.”
– Helen Keller
Thank you Paula. I didn’t make it quite that far because time was running short and for some reason the blazes on the trees stopped in the middle of a beech grove and with all the fallen leaves I couldn’t tell where the trail was.
I keep thinking a squirrel or chipmunk is going to teach me a lesson about peeking into hollow trees but it hasn’t happened so far!
I agree with Helen Keller!
Plenty of fine pics. I think nos 2 & 3 are my favourites.
Thank you Ben I like those too, especially that hillside.
Oops, I see that the color was in the oaks, not maples. Even more amazing!
Yes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen oaks as colorful as they are this year.
What spectacular color you captured. That’s the kind of place (or time) you definitely want to linger. Those maples are glorious!
Thanks Sue, I wish I could have stayed longer.
Oh Yeah, Thoroughly enjoyed the walk about Willard pond beginning in your yard.
Thanks Grampy, I’m glad you did!
I haven’t been to Willard Pond in ages. Peace and relaxation at its best!
That’s what I found there!
Wow. Somehow I thought the fall colors were all gone by now in New England, but your spectacular photos show how wrong I was. The pond looks like a great place to explore (and I’d love to have a chance to see Loons). Thanks, Allen, for sharing yet another special place.
You’re welcome, and thank you Mike. Our early turning trees like birch and maple have already dropped their leaves but beeches hang on and so do the oaks. I’ve never seen oaks turn colors like they are this year though. They’re really spectacular.
I’d love to see loons too, so I’ll be revisiting Willard Pond next summer!
That was a post to end all posts, you couldn’t produce something that moved me more, that last photograph was perfection itself. Next to being there myself, your pictures convey the beauty admirably.
Thank you Susan. I hope it inspires more people to get out there and see it for themselves!
Alan, what a beautiful, beautiful place to visit, your photographs are gorgeous. I really enjoyed your line about being extremely alive and the Thornton Wilder quote. Perfect name for your last photo and yes your post was both calming and uplifting.
Thank you Julie. It is a beautiful spot and I’m so lucky to live in a state that’s filled with such places. I don’t think there is anything that could make a person feel more alive than visiting places like this and I hope everyone will find that out for themselves one day.
Yes, serenity, tranquility, peace, and beauty! Many thanks for taking and posting such fantastic pics and sending such an amount of peace into my direction, too! 🙂
You’re welcome and thank you. I’d love to see everyone find their full measure of peace and tranquility.