After the complete and utter washout of the last attempted Adventure to Chickering Bog, it was nice to have splendid weather for our ramble in North Branch Park. Six families (18 people) assembled by the Elm St tennis courts, ready for adventure. Autumn brought along a flower guide and identified Golden Alexanders and Blueweed along the way. At the beaver pond there were several different kinds of frogs making cool froggy noises. Several kids had binoculars and tried to spy the beaver. They may have seen only a wet stump that had been craftily shaped into a beaver sculpture by some creative beaver. Back in the woods and atop the first rise we stopped to check out a nifty culvert. Some of the kids explored upstream a bit on wet rocks to find a wiggly salamander. We had a nice walk back to the parking lot and said our goodbyes.

Dave Blumenthal

Exploring up a small stream.

Checking out a salamander.