We went up to a park in Woburn, MA yesterday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day - cool, dry and perfect for walking around.
This place…well, we’ve been here a few times before. I have no idea what the name of it is - or even if it has a name. But it’s beautiful! There’s a stream (creek, small river?) that runs through the length of it and a narrow paved path. The center is kept mowed, but the rest of it grows wild and it’s full of birds, squirrels, rabbits and even a muskrat or two. And no matter what the time of year is or how beautiful the day might be, it’s always empty. There’s almost never anyone there but us.
Dreamtime
There is something here that’s much older than the park. I’m not trying to get all mystical on you, but there is definitely a presence there that has nothing to do with the city of Woburn and only incidentally has to do with the park. Myria and I both feel it very strongly and have felt it every time we’ve been here. Stepping into this park is like stepping out of the real world and into…something else. There is no sense of malevolence or nastiness - just that powerful feeling of “presence” and, to a certain extent, of being observed.
Nice place to visit
We wandered around for about three hours and regretted that we hadn’t thought to pack a lunch. There were Canada geese with their chicks - two families that we watched for a while. The first family had the biggest brood; there were six or seven youngsters who looked about ready to fledge. These had lost most of their down and were nearly fully feathered, though lacking adult markings as yet. The second family had four little ones and they were quite a bit younger, still covered in golden down and cute as could be.
There were at least two blue heron which I have only ever seen in Maine before this. Myria got a magnificent picture of one in flight. Its massive shadow passed over me before I knew it was there and for a split second, I felt hunted. I now know exactly how a rabbit feels when there’s a hawk in the area.
When we were finally ready to leave, Myria turned to me and said “I always thank the park when we leave.” I knew what she meant, having a similar feeling myself. I know I’m thanking someone or something, I just don’t quite know what it is.
The slippers cometh along :)
Slipper 1 getting “cuffed”
These are going to be for Myria instead of for me. The poor girl has such problems with icy toes in the winter that it can actually keep her from getting to sleep. Seems like a nice pair of wool slippers could help the situation. I’ll make another pair for myself later on.
Slipper 2 awating seaming and cuff
I was finally able to get wooden needles in US size 8 last week - both single and double points. In the past I’ve found that these don’t work particularly well with acrylic but boy are they nice with wool! Well, they’re nice with this wool, anyway :) You can see the DPNs in the first slipper picture above. I was having a bit of trouble with the cuff. I wanted the knit side of the cuff to show when it was folded over and that meant purling around after the ribbing was done. I had an awful time for a while, with the stitch at the point where you’ve finished with the stitches on one needle and are starting on the next one. I believe I’ve got it figured out now, so I’m going to frog a few rounds (back to the ribbing) and do it over again.
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
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What interesting slippers! I love the colors. And the park sounds amazing, of course.
Hiya Kat :)
Well, the slippers are brainless but fun. The park is a serious challenge, but well worth it!
We sat in two parks this weekend at outdoor concerts. Nothing like being there and listening to music. Of course, listening to birds would be better. Love your ‘line’ of cardinals!
Margene :)
Outdoor concerts are terrific, aren’t they? But I love listening to the birds and this park is great for that as it’s so quiet otherwise.
There’s a Woburn Abbey in the south of England, I wonder if the two are related? Woburn Abbey has a great zoo as wel as a manor house.
Hi Ali!
I wouldn’t be surprised if they were connected in some fashion; many place names in this part of the country (New England) are taken from older English areas and communities - Lancaster, Chelmsford and Woburn, to name just a few.
