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the sky was overcasted but as long as it wasn't raining it was okay for me to log some naturing for the week. i picked sandy pond in lincoln conservation land (directly east of walden pond) because it was close by, so in case it started to rain again, i wouldn't be stranded far away out in the field. according to my sources, to get to sandy pond you can park at the decordova museum. unfortunately i recalled that starting this year you have to pay just to be on the museum grounds. sure enough, there was a ticket gate, with a man in a booth asking for a $9 admission. "sorry, man," he said, "but if you come back after 5pm, you can get in for free," he told me. i made an u-turn and left. sandy pond is large, so i figured i could just park on the side of the road, but everywhere i looked, there were signs saying no parking. i went a little further out before i found an entrance to a mountain bike trail, with a little spot big enough for a car or two to park apparently.

with the weather being so cold and dark, there wasn't very much naturing to be had. all the insects seem to be hiding, except for the mosquitoes circling around me constantly. since it rained yesterday, i was hoping to see some efts, but it still might be too early in the season, or maybe conditions weren't right (not warm enough, not wild enough), so i didn't see anything. not even any frogs or toads! although i did hear a few jumping away when i walked by a marshy area of the forest.

sandy pond (on my map it's called flints pond) is actually the reservoir for the town of lincoln, so there's no swimming or boating on the pond, and trespassing too close to the edge is actually illegal. that didn't stop me from hopping a fence just to see what all the fuss is about. i made it to a small pump house by the edge of the pond, which gave me the creeps, because it seemed like the sort of place you'd find a dead body, a little shed out in the middle of the woods. instead of a crime scene i found the only remotely interesting thing i've seen all day, some water horsetails, which resemble little bamboo stalks no thicker than the diameter of a pencil, and they're segmented, like tiny interlocking straws. there were also many exuviae, the empty shells of dragonfly nymphs. the water was surprisingly clean (i shouldn't be too surprised, it is the reservoir after all), so clear you could see the bottom of the pond easily.

i heard the screech of a predator bird and saw a large red-tail hawk flying between trees. i made it to the other side of the pond before my walk got too boring and i decided to head back, retracing my steps. i returned to belmont to gas up the bike, then back to cambridge. in the evening my parents came over for dinner, my mother made some thai green curry.