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i've done very little naturing this season. the few times i've gone out were either with my sister to walk the dog or with bruce when he was in town during the summer. it's primarily because i've grown jaded with naturing. i've visited most nearby reservations and sanctuaries, and i've seen a lot of what the local flora and fauna has to offer. but naturing is like my version of a little vacation: out in the middle of nowhere, not a single person in sight, taking photographs, it's what i like to do, and i'd like to think i'm pretty good at it.

so with the nice weather1 plus the fact that i don't have any work, it was the perfect day to get back to nature. i picked noanet woods, which seems to be the default nature spot this time of the year primarily because of noanet peak which offers a nice vista of the changing foliage. the last time i went back was last november when i took my italian roommate marco. that was actually a great trip because we crossed over into nearby hale reservation to discover powisset peak, and equally impressive (and hidden) foliage vista.

the hardest part of a noanet woods visit is just getting there. at about 17 miles it's not that far, but having to ride down route 16 and traverse newton and wellesley can take as much as an hour depending on traffic, and that's if i don't get lost, since riding a motorcycle requires me to memorize my entire route beforehand since there's no easy way to check the directions once i'm riding.

i was hoping to leave by 11:00 and arrive at noanet by noontime, but i didn't leave until 11:30, after showering and eating some breakfast (oatmeal). i didn't arrive at noanet until 12:45 (including time spent getting lost because i went the wrong direction on charles river street).

first thing i did was to use one of the conveniently-located portapotties next to the parking lot. i must've drank too much tea (brought a thermos of good earth cinnamon tea). i saw a sign warning hikers about bow hunting season. i spent the rest of the time in the woods afraid i'd get shot with an arrow at anytime.

i didn't leave powisset peak until 3:00, and didn't make it back out to the parking lot until 4:00.

i didn't bring any food with me on my naturing expedition (normally i like to take some beef jerky) so when i got back home i was starving. i heated some leftover frozen stuffed shells in the microwave, and then baked a lasagna in the oven while i took a shower (checking myself for ticks, although i figured they'd all be dead given the cold fall weather we've been experiencing at nights).


1 it was actually cold enough this morning that the thermostat kicked in some forced air heating. that's actually a relief because the past few days have been relatively warm and i was afraid the furnace pilot light might go out from underuse. i dressed appropriately, but by the time i left the house, it was already warming up. it helped that there wasn't a cloud in the sky so out in the full sun it was very warm. riding in the shade however, it could get a little cold.