The
Freedom Trail in Boston is one of a kind. People commonly visit a few of the more popular historical sites along the trail, but we decided to spend a day walking from the start at Boston Commons to the finish at Bunker Hill. "The Granary" (above) was near the beginning and is remarkable for both its famous residents from the 1600's and 1700's as well as the contrast with the surrounding modern building.
There was Sam Adams, three people who signed the Declaration of Independence, and some of the victims of the Boston Massacre.
The walk was very pleasant. The streets were clean, the architecture interesting. It seems that around every corner was another statue or historic building. Here was Ben Franklin.
One of my favorites was the Old South Meeting House (or Old South Church). This functioned as the city's largest auditorium during the Revolutionary War period, where people like Sam Adams inflamed the crowd.
For a fee you could go inside. It wasn't very busy, which made it easier to imagine the way things used to be. We didn't have the time or energy to explore every historic building along the way, but this one was worth it.
We came to Quincy Market, and found this escape artist putting on a show. A hot dog stand was nearby, so we stopped for lunch.
Further up the trail, the famous stops become further apart, but the neighborhood was always interesting. We went through the North End and Little Italy, which made me feel a bit like I was back in Connecticut for a spell. The Paul Revere Mall (that's him on the horse) was park-like, and then we found this:
It was a dog-tag tribute to the soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The tags chimed softy in the breeze.
The Freedom Trail is marked by a red line. Sometimes it's a double row of bricks, like the picture above.
And sometimes it's just red paint. This is the bridge going over the Charles River to Charlestown.
We stopped on the bridge to enjoy the view. You can see the Bunker Hill monument in the distance.
There was some kind of big event going on at the site of the USS Constitution, and it was so crowded we weren't able to see the ship. We did go in the museum, and we when came out they were shooting a cannon.
The dry dock was impressive. We then headed up the hill towards Bunker Hill. I don't think you could appreciate the fact that the British soldier were fighting uphill unless you walked up the hill from down below.
The monument was not crowded, so we climbed the 294 steps up to the top.
And this was the view, looking back towards where we started our walk.
Another afternoon of searching for treasure, this time in Fairfield. Here's perhaps the most unusual stone wall I've ever come across in the Grace Richardson Conservation Area. The weird wall/cairn/sculpture was a good six feet tall or so. It begs the question: Why?
Fairfield has a state-wide reputation for their conservation efforts. Their open space properties are consistently marked by decent looking signs like the one above. By the way, don't you just like the name "Binger Woods?"
Sadly, the theme of the day was deforestation from too many deer. All three parks I visited were the same. Much of the forest floor was just dead leaves. The native shrubs, saplings, and wildflowers were absent or severely suppressed by over-browsing everywhere I looked.
Some spots were covered with non-native invasive species the deer won't eat, like this carpet of Garlic Mustard at the Moorehouse Farmstead Open Space.
This native Jack-in-the-Pulpit shows the damage caused by deer. Nearby Jewelweed had been reduced to cropped stems. The plants can handle a certain amount of browsing, but are overwhelmed if the browsing becomes too frequent. 
Growing in amongst Garlic Mustard were Indian Strawberries in full berry. This is a fake strawberry that originally came from India (hence the name). It's actually a type of cinquefoil with only three leaves instead of the usual five. 
The dry berry feel light and oddly like styrofoam. Breaking it open, the flesh is white and inedible. Nothing at all like a strawberry.
