274. Agawam: Robinson State Park

(Stretch! Creak! Crack! Yawn!) Another early morning drive across the great state of Massachusetts, and this one dropped me in Agawam at dawn (on September 27).

Once again, there was wetness to be found. But out of the corners of my eyes as I began my walk down the descending road into the park, I noticed something else: the first vestiges of foliage! Fall is always such a rushed time of year for me - back in Marshfield we run our big Farm Day event at the end of the month, and a lot of prep time goes into it - that I often either miss or just forget that I'm looking at the turn of the seasons. But there, on the ground, was the proof. Yellows, mixed in with the greens, indicated change.

This, though, was not the excitement of the morning for me. There was a sign on the entry building that said to look out, that bears had been seen in the area! Whenever my co-leader Carol and I bring a group to Maine to see puffins, we stop on a specific road and talk about its history. When it was laid out, competitors said, "Aw, you don't want to use that road. There's wolves on that road." People reacted not by avoiding it, but saying, "Oh, cool, wolves!"

That was me on this day. Cool, bears!

Didn't see one.