Discover Concord's 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

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2022 Guide

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A S K U S A B O U T P R E - L I S T I N G P R E P & B U Y B E F O R E YO U S E L L J U S T L I S T E D 1 5 WA L N U T S T R E E T, S T O W

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It’s time to throw open the windows, grab a picnic lunch, and head outdoors again — and we couldn’t be happier about it! Welcome to Discover Concord’s 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors. From untamed nature to stunning gardens, Thoreau’s influence on modern-day science, baby animals, and more, this issue is dedicated to the outdoor spaces that help make Concord special.

We are delighted to include a special insert highlighting eight of Concord’s best walking trails. Scan the QR code beside each trail description for an online walking map. We hope you’ll rediscover old favorites and find a few new paths to explore this year.

Henry David Thoreau’s love of nature and gift for observing the smallest nuances of everyday life is well known and can be seen clearly in his journals. Henry’s journals are far more than simple daily records, though. The detailed observations of nature they contain formed the basis of a new work that he sometimes called his “Kalendar.” Modern-day scientists still reference Thoreau’s “Kalendar” as a tool in their study of climate, nature, and more. ““What Evidence is There of Spring?”” Henry Thoreau’s ‘Kalendar’” (p. 22) explores this fascinating story.

Nature, untouched by man, has inspired poetry, philosophy, science, and religion for millennia. For many, though, a garden — envisioned and shaped by man — provides inspiration as we form nature to our individual ideal of beauty. This year, the annual Concord Museum Garden Tour will be presented live once again and will take us “Inside Concord’s Private Gardens” (p. 14).

If you’re looking to start, or expand, your own slice of paradise, don’t miss “Native Plants for Sustainable Landscaping” (p. 34). Creating 2

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| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

Garden

sustainable landscapes has never been more important as we try to reduce our use of chemicals and fresh water while we expand the range of native plants available for pollinators. The list of 24 native plants compiled by the Xerxes Society (p. 35) is a great place to start.

Perhaps a community garden plot is just what you’re looking for this summer. Concord is home to four community gardens, each with its own personality and approach. Learn more in “Concord’s Community Gardens” (p. 46).

Nature and children are a perfect combination. We have a brand new feature for the young people in your life — Discover Concord Kids. “Wild Babies” (p.52) will teach kids about about baby squirrels, birds, and bunnies and what to do if they find one.

“Concord Treasures: A Scavenger Hunt for Kids” (p. 54) is a great way to spend a summer afternoon discovering, and learning about, the plants and animals of Concord.

Being outside is even better with the latest toys and a bit of imagination. Find out what toys and games are hot this season with “It’s All Fun and Games” (p.48).

Whether you are headed off into untouched nature for a hike, planting milkweed for Monarch butterfly larvae, or launching spin copters into the night sky, we wish you happiness and health as you discover Concord’s great outdoors!

Cynthia L. Baudendistel Co-Founder

Jennifer C. Schünemann Co-Founder

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w w w . T h e A t t i a s G r o u p . c o m

contents 2022 Guide

to the Great Outdoors

p. 18

p. 14

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Events - and Sites - that Bring the Outdoors to Life Inside Concord’s Private Gardens: The 33rd Concord Museum Garden Tour

BY CONCORD MUSEUM’S GUILD OF VOLUNTEERS

16a

A Delightful Place for a Stroll: A Guide to Some of our Favorite Trails

BY JENNIFER C. SCHÜNEMANN

18

The Legacy and Allure of Orchard House’s Landscape

BY JAN TURNQUIST

22

“What Evidence is There of Spring”: Henry Thoreau’s Kalendar

BY RICHARD SMITH

24 26

Own a Hat from the Minute Man National Historical Park Herd!

Dining Al Fresco in Concord

BY JENNIFER C. SCHÜNEMANN

28

Encounter History that Changed the World

BY BETH WILLIAMS

4

Contents Continued on Page 6

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Guest Rooms – Restaurant and Tavern – Outdoor Patio Dining — Groups & Events

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Then come home to a cocktail on the patio and a delicious meal.

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Hotel: 978.369.9200

Restaurants: 978.369.2373

Groups & Events: 978.341.8201

contents

p. 30 p. 44

p. 34

30

Blooms at the Edge of the Battlefield

BY KATHLEEN FAHEY

34

Native Plants for Sustainable Landscaping

39

List of Shops and Restaurants

40

Walking Maps of Concord

44

A Story of Wildlife, Beauty, and Peace on the River

BY ALISON FIELD-JUMA AND JULIA KHORANA

Contents Continued on Page 8

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Discover CONCORD discoverconcordma.com CO-FOUNDER Cynthia L. Baudendistel CO-FOUNDER Jennifer C. Schünemann ART DIRECTOR Beth Pruett

contents p. 56

DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR Wilson S. Schünemann ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Olga Gersh ADVISORY BOARD

p. 58

46

Concord’s Community Gardens

BY THE CONCORD COMMUNITY GARDEN COORDINATORS

48 52 p. 46

A Family-Friendly River Trip in Concord: Egg Rock to the Carlisle-Bedford Bridge Discover Concord Kids: Wild Babies

BY ASHLEY MAKRIDAKIS

54

Discover Concord Kids: Concord Treasures - A Scavenger Hunt for Kids

BY CYNTHIA BAUDENDISTEL

56

The Great Outdoors

BY DAVE WITHERBEE

p. 52

63

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DEBRA’S NATURAL GOURMET

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LOUISA MAY ALCOTT’S ORCHARD HOUSE

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COVER PHOTO: Monarch butterfly on yellow flowers © istock.com/Ronda Brady AUTHORS/CONTRIBUTORS: Cynthia Baudendistel Pierre Chiha Concord Community Garden Coordinators Concord Museum’s Guild of Volunteers

It’s All Fun and Games

BY CYNTHIA BAUDENDISTEL

58

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Little Women Garden

Insect Safari with Professor Bugman August 1 | 2:00 - 4:00 pm Professor Bugman (a real entomologist!) leads children in an outdoor insect safari that will help them build important scientific skills through hands-on experience, all while providing scientific supervision, mentorship, and subject matter expertise. Children get to use entomology tools such as sweep nets, jars, and magnifiers and explore a green space searching for insects and other small wildlife. This fun and interactive program is generously sponsored

by The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library.

Nature Connection May 11, June 8, and July 13 | 2:00 - 2:45 pm On the second Wednesday of each month, the Concord Free Public Library teams up with The Nature Connection to invite children to explore plants and animals, geek out over nature, and connect with self and others through nature-based stories and poems! The Nature Connection offers accessible and inclusive programs, incorporates mindfulness, and facilitates social connection for kids of all backgrounds and abilities. This program is geared for children aged kindergarten and up. Masks are required for all participants over two years of age.

CONCORD VISITOR CENTER visitconcord.org There is so much to see and do in Concord that planning the perfect day, or weekend, can be overwhelming. Whether you’re passionate about Louisa May Alcott, intrigued by the Indigenous peoples that called this area home before Europeans arrived, or fascinated by Concord’s historic cemeteries, Concord’s Visitor Center has the perfect tour for you. Or let them create a one-of-a-kind custom tour based on your interests. Learn more in our article, “Encounter History That Changed the World,” on p. 28 for more information on these exciting tours.

Courtesy of Concord Free Public Library

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MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK nps.gov/mima Spring Bird Migration Walk May 12 | 8:00 am – 10:00 am May 19 | 7:00 am – 9:00 am The birds are back, and Minute Man National Historical Park’s forest, meadow, brush, and wetlands host many nesting and migrating species. Blue-winged Warbler, American Redstart, Veery, and Indigo Bunting are regular nesters. Late May also brings a variety of migrating songbirds like flycatchers and warblers. Each year brings a few surprises. This is a one-mile walk on both paved paths and wooded trails which may be muddy. This event is co-sponsored by the Brookline Bird Club.

Scarlet Tanager

© Jay Dia

CONCORD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY concordlibrary.org Seed Starting Workshop at Codman Community Farms May 7 | 1:00-2:00 pm Spring means planting! Join the Library and Codman Community Farms in Lincoln for a seed starting workshop! This workshop will be led by Jess Myles, Codman’s Outreach, Education, and Volunteer Manager. She will lead you through planting an assortment of seeds using a variety of potting materials.

Best of all, you will leave the workshop with a tray of your own seedlings, ready to grow in your home!

© Ellen Hartshorne Whitney

Events - and Sites that Bring the Outdoors to Life

ORCHARD HOUSE louisamayalcott.org Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House and grounds are more than an historic site. For many people worldwide, they are a source of inspiration, hope, and even pilgrimage.

A. Bronson Alcott spent years curating and nurturing the landscape, while the Alcott sisters each tended their own garden plots, as did their fictional counterparts in Little Women. The grounds of Orchard House continue to be lovingly maintained, offering unique insights into the world of the Alcotts and Little Women. Learn more in “The Legacy and Allure of Orchard House’s Landscape” on p. 18, and make plans to visit this extraordinary space.

VERRILL FARM verrillfarm.com Verrill Farm is a Concord institution, and generations of Concordians have celebrated summer with their families at the farm.

Each event follows the rhythms of the season, focusing on the freshest fruits and vegetables. Build your own family memories this summer with these special events: Strawberry Day June 25 Blueberry Pancake Breakfast July 16 Corn and Tomato Festival August 20 THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS thetrustees.org The Trustees Quest Prepare for adventure! The Trustees Quest is an outdoor, self-guided exploration for families with school-aged kids and the young at heart. Navigate through five Trustees properties with fun clues, discovering cool places and activities along the way. Find the special location at each of the five sites and scan a QR code to earn a digital badge. Scanning the QR code will also give you more to explore at that site.

Visit thetrustees.org/program/trusteesquest to sign up for the Quest and receive your guide with trail maps and clues.

CONCORD MUSEUM concordmuseum.org While we love being outside, Concord Museum has an exciting schedule of upcoming talks that will take us deeper into the natural world.

Definitely worth some time indoors!

The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds May 3 | 7:00 - 8:00 pm, In-person and Virtual Join Scott Weidensaul, naturalist, ornithologist and author of A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds and marvel at the wonder of bird migration and its global sweep.

In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau May 4 | 7:00 - 8:00 pm, In-person and Virtual In his new book, Six Walks, award-winning author and artist, Ben Shattuck, depicts six journeys from Cape Cod to Mount Katahdin that were once taken by Thoreau. According to one reviewer: “echoing Thoreau’s brilliant reflections with his own, Shattuck distills the healing power of nature into a narrative that’s a pure pleasure to wander through.”

Founding Women and the Dawn of the Conservation Movement May 10 | 7:00 - 8:00 pm, In-person and Virtual Joan Walsh, Gerard Bertrand Chair of Field Ornithology & Natural History at Mass Audubon, and Reed Abigail Gochberg, Harvard Lecturer and Curator, speak on the role women played in the founding of the conservation movement.

On Emerson and Parker: A Conversation with Dean Grodzins May 25 | 7:00 - 8:00 pm, In-person and Virtual Few figures had more influence in shaping Transcendentalism in America than Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker. Join Dean Grodzins, author of American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism, in a wide-ranging conversation to help mark the 219th anniversary of Emerson’s birth.

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Inside Concord’s Private Gardens

The 33rd Concord Museum Garden Tour June 3 – 4, 2022

T

BY CONCORD MUSEUM’S GUILD OF VOLUNTEERS

The annual Concord Museum Garden Tour, organized by Concord Museum’s Guild of Volunteers, has been a tradition for more than 30 years, and for the first time since 2019, the tour is once again live!

This is your chance to go behind the garden gates of some of Concord’s most beautiful – and unusual – private gardens. This year’s tour will feature six glorious gardens, each special in both its natural setting and in its layout, design, and plant material. The six provide a rich variety of garden possibilities, each lovingly maintained by their generous owners.

One of the unique and completely owner-designed gardens is wonderfully idiosyncratic, with a multitude of variegated foliage and unusual plants not seen in the typical Concord garden. It includes a wide range of plants, including cranesbill, Clematis, Hosta, and unusual grasses and ferns. The front terrace is modeled after a garden in Provence, with mounds of boxwood complementing the stone structure.

Moving from France to Italy, another garden features a somewhat formal Palladian setting with a long rectangle of lawn and plantings, including some that are rather whimsical.

Another garden was carefully designed to transition from a formal perennial garden surrounding the swimming pool to a practical vegetable garden and fruit trees. These give way via a scenic gate to a semi- “wild” area that features birch trees amongst naturalized grasses. The terrace near the house provides an expansive view over the open field below.

The river figures prominently in another owner’s garden design, with a table, benches, and hammocks for river viewing. Care has been taken to incorporate native plantings into the garden design to benefit birds, animals, and pollinating insects while also providing eye-catching blooms.

A meadow with fruit trees, grasses, and wildflowers provides a serene landscape, while the cultivation of grapes and blueberries evokes Concord’s agricultural heritage.

Still another garden, set on a deadend street abutting conservation land, is a haven for butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. Its lovely stone paths draw the visitor into beds of June beauties like Iris, Salvia, trumpet honeysuckle, Viburnum, columbine, and beautiful ground cover in addition to lilacs and Rhododendrons.

Concord’s beauty is not only found in forests and fields. The final garden in the lineup is on a busy street and features a completely lawn-free concept. Boxwoods, shrubs, and an elegant custom fence provide privacy while natural stone groupings create variety and backdrop for the beautiful plantings. Raised beds for berries and stands of dwarf apple trees add to the interest of this unique property.

Tickets to the tour are available now at concordmuseum.org/events/33rdannual-garden-tour/ and may be picked up at the Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, on the day of the tour, starting at 9:00 a.m. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the tour. For more information, visit concordmuseum.org.

Hope to see you in the garden!

All photos courtesy of the Concord Museum

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www.concordteacakes.com | 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

William Brewster in Concord Roger Tory Peterson

A Special Exhibition at the Concord Museum in Collaboration with

Anthony Elmer Crowell

With thanks to the Exhibition Sponsors

and generous Individual Donors

March 4

through

September 5

For hours and associated programs visit

www.concordmuseum.org

WhitePond

A Delightful Place for a Stroll:

A Guide to Some of our Favorite Trails

a stunning display of lush green meadows, brilliant flowers, and trees bursting with life. Animals, birds, fish, amphibians,

reptiles, and a plethora of bugs and insects can be seen and heard as they go about their daily lives – bringing a smile to young and old alike. Spending time in nature is both grounding and humbling – and many people find themselves feeling more calm and just plain happier after a stroll by the river or a walk through the forest. It is truly amazing how many special places there are to enjoy these experiences in and around Concord. To help you get started, we have put together a quick guide and a QR Code link to maps of some of our favorite spots.

Just hover the camera of your smartphone over the code and a link will pop up – click it and you will see a map of the area to guide your walk. From history to literature, to the wild and scenic – we hope you will find inspiration in this article to get outside and explore Concord’s stunning nature!

©Christine Gerzon

THE BATTLE ROAD The Minute Man National Historical Park includes a 4.9-mile trail that runs the length of the battle road where 700 British regulars marched into Concord in search of weapons and along which intense fighting took place as they returned to Boston on April 19, 1775. Beginning at Meriam’s Corner and ending at Fiske Hill, the trail runs directly past – or very near – all of the historical sites in the park, including several beautifully preserved ‘witness houses’ where citizens experienced that harrowing day firsthand.

Hiking or biking is the only way to see everything, although there are parking lots at all the major sites which provide inroads to the key attractions. If you begin your walk at Fiske Hill, park at the lot at Old Massachusetts Avenue and walk across the road to the Ebenezer Fiske House Site to find the trailhead. From there, markers long the trail indicate the distance remaining from one end to the other.

Battle Road While this is one of the longer hikes featured in this guide, it is a very easy stroll and a pleasant one as well. Much of the trail is a wide, gravel path. There are some minor hills, but wheelchairs can still travel along this trail with some assistance, and most hikers will find this to be an easy walk. There are shade trees along many sections (though not all) of the path as well, making this a nice choice on a warm summer day. During the busy summer season, you will often find park rangers or historic reenactors along the route – offering educational insights into our nation’s history.

Remember that this is an out-and-back trail meaning that if you walk the five miles, you will need to walk the full five back to your vehicle. If you are walking with a friend, try parking one car at one end of the trail and then starting at the other end. You can also chain up a bike at one end of the park and then drive/park to the other end to begin your tour through America’s history.

Your trusted guides on the trail to and from home

©istockphoto/sphraner

A

As the warm weather arrives, nature puts on

BY JENNIFER C. SCHÜNEMANN

EMERSON-THOREAU RAMBLE Literary fans will appreciate this unique opportunity to combine a delightful stroll outdoors with the chance to see both the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the site of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin on Walden Pond. This 1.7-mile stroll begins at the Ralph Waldo Emerson house, just across the street from the Concord Museum, and culminates at the site of Thoreau’s cabin. Other points of interest include the Heywood Meadow, a stroll through the wet, low-lying area along Mill Brook, and a view of the “Ice House,” where various companies since 1906 supplied block ice until refrigeration became commonly available. Connections to other popular trails are accessible as well. With a walking time of 40 to 60 minutes each way, hikers are wise to bring water (and bug spray) for this lovely amble through history, literature, and nature.

WHITE POND Formed by the same glacier responsible for Walden Pond, this 39.68-acre kettle pond is adjacent to the White Pond Reservation in West Concord.

The terrain here consists of glacial till with steep banks down to the water. Please stay on the marked trails to avoid erosion of these sandy soils, which are populated with pine, oak, hemlock, and birch trees. Nature lovers will Sachem’s Cove at White Pond enjoy the plethora of wildlife to be found here. Mammals include deer, coyote, fox, raccoon, red and grey squirrels, chipmunk, and skunk. Painted turtles, frogs, salamanders, tree frogs, and water snakes are among the reptiles and amphibians to be found. And birds are abundant – from herons, ducks, and kingfishers to the less commonly spotted wood ducks, osprey, and even bald eagle.

While Henry David Thoreau is almost synonymous with Walden Pond, he was very familiar with – and greatly admired - White Pond as well. He once wrote, “…perhaps the most attractive, if not the most beautiful of all our lakes, the gem of the woods, is White Pond.” He would even collect sand from the eastern side of the pond to use as sandpaper for his family’s pencil business. This area remains a true gem, with Concord Conservation Land and Town land providing more than 70 acres of well-developed hiking trails for all to enjoy.

©Christine Gerzon

©istockphoto/Kirkikis

Emerson-Thoreau Ramble

WALDEN POND One of the most iconic nature walks in the Concord area, Walden Pond provides an enchanting combination of ecology, literature, and history.

Walden ‘pond’ is actually a 102-foot-deep kettle hole – formed by a melting glacier more than 12,000 years ago. It is Massachusetts’ deepest natural body of fresh water. There are several walking trails around Walden Pond, including side trails that will bring you to the site of the cabin where Henry David Thoreau famously spent two years, two months, and two days living simply in nature and discovering what it could teach him. In addition to several trail options, visitors can enjoy a refreshing swim or a (non-motorized) boating adventure. The Walden Pond State Reservation is an extremely popular destination in the warm summer months. To protect this precious natural resource, the park closes to the public once it reaches a set capacity, so please check the website or Twitter feed for updates before heading out for your next adventure here.

BREWSTER’S WOODS Mass Audubon Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary is a 130-acre property along the banks of the Concord River. This historic site was formerly part of the country homestead of William Brewster, an early leader in American ornithology and the first President of Mass Audubon. Nearly two miles of trails lead you through the shade of mature woodlands into open fields and along the edges of the Concord River floodplain. A large riverside marsh was apparently Yellow created by William Warbler Brewster to provide habitat for ducks and other water birds.

The trails are great pathways for birding, wildlife photography, and sketching. Limited parking for four vehicles can be accessed at the end of Balls Hill Road off Monument Street. ©istock/Ken Canning

WEST CONCORD PARK For a brisk, 25-minute walk, head to this conservation area in West Concord to enjoy a 21-acre haven of woodland and marsh in this mixed commercial and high-density residential area. This pretty park was revitalized in 2014 when trails were cleared and blazed, invasive plants removed, and new access developed through Warner Woods from Laws Brook Road.

The topography of this trail varies greatly, from the high ground of Pigeon Hill to the large bogs 60 feet below. A small parking lot and an information kiosk can be found on Conant Street.

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Eastern Kingbird Eastern Kingbird

GREAT MEADOWS WILDLIFE REFUGE GREAT MEADOWS WILDLIFE REFUGE Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is roughly 85% composed of valuable freshwater oods Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is roughly 85% composed of valuable freshwater s Woods wetlands alongside the Sudbury and Concord Rivers. This important refuge provides re wetlands alongside the Sudbury and Concord Rivers. This important refuge provides 0-acre habitat for native fish and wildlife – especially migratory birds. The refuge’s wetlands, he habitat for native fish and wildlife – especially migratory birds. The refuge’s wetlands, of the fields, and woods provide a home for many species, including vast avian groups, semite was fields, and woods provide a home for many species, including vast avian groups, semiic site was aquatic mammals like beaver and muskrats, white-tailed deer, small mammals, insects, amphibians, William aquatic mammals like beaver and muskrats, white-tailed deer, small mammals, insects, amphibians, of William and reptiles. Great Meadows has the largest distinct populations of threatened Blanding’s turtle in the ology and reptiles. Great Meadows has the largest distinct populations of threatened Blanding’s turtle in the nithology northeast. The wetlands and adjacent forests and fields provide great habitat for all species, including arly two northeast. The wetlands and adjacent forests and fields provide great habitat for all species, including . Nearly twopollinating insects such as monarch butterflies, other reptiles such as the northern water snake, raptors, mature pollinating insects such as monarch butterflies, other reptiles such as the northern water snake, raptors, e of mature turkeys, coyotes, and woodchucks. ges turkeys, coyotes, and woodchucks. e edges The Sudbury unit includes tranquil trails around wetlands and through woodlands and features a side The Sudbury unit includes tranquil trails around wetlands and through woodlands and features a iverside non-motorized boat launch on the Sudbury River. The Concord unit (with a trail map at this QR code) non-motorized boat launch on the Sudbury River. The Concord unit (with a trail map at this QR code) Yellow excellent birding, and noted ornithologists consider this to be one of the best inland birding areas Yellowhas has excellent birding, and noted ornithologists consider this to be one of the best inland birding areas Warbler – with a recorded bird list of more than 220 species! The Concord unit has a wildlife Warblerin Massachusetts in Massachusetts – with a recorded bird list of more than 220 species! The Concord unit has a wildlife observational tower, observational platform, and direct access to the Concord River. Please note: there is observational tower, observational platform, and direct access to the Concord River. Please note: there is an entrance fee for the Concord Unit. Absolutely no dogs are allowed at this protected site for birds. an entrance fee for the Concord Unit. Absolutely no dogs are allowed at this protected site for birds. ©istock/Ken Canning

OCTOBER FARM OCTOBER FARM Canada Goose and Goslings With 80 acres of ample Canada Goose and Goslings With 80 acres of ample water and topographic and water and topographic and vegetative diversity, this vegetative diversity, this land is outstanding wildlife land is outstanding wildlife habitat. Four rare species habitat. Four rare species have been found in and near the area, as well have been found in and near the area, as well as three vernal pools. Wood frogs, spring as three vernal pools. Wood frogs, spring /Ken Canning ©istock/Ken Canning peepers, and blue-spotted salamanders peepers, and blue-spotted salamanders breed in the ponds and vernal pools; the breed in the ponds and vernal pools; the blue-spotted salamander is a state-listed head blue-spotted salamander is a state-listed lk, head species of special concern. A wide variety West species of special concern. A wide variety in West of waterfowl, shorebirds, birds of prey, and aven of waterfowl, shorebirds, birds of prey, and re haven songbirds abound here during the summer s songbirds abound here during the summer n this and the spring and fall migrations. ial and the spring and fall migrations. dential Important in its own right as a wildlife habitat, the property is also important as part of a much 4 Important in its own right as a wildlife habitat, the property is also important as part of a much 2014 larger whole. Along the opposite bank of the Concord River, extending for several miles upstream and e larger whole. Along the opposite bank of the Concord River, extending for several miles upstream and asive downstream, is the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The October Farm Riverfront is also a critical downstream, is the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The October Farm Riverfront is also a critical ped ecological link with the more than 1,600-acre Estabrook Woods to the west. As a keystone in the network ad. ecological link with the more than 1,600-acre Estabrook Woods to the west. As a keystone in the network k Road. of open space, the landscape provides rich and intact larger habitats in the area and allows wildlife om of open space, the landscape provides rich and intact larger habitats in the area and allows wildlife y, from movement between them for breeding, migratory, and overwintering habitats for a variety of wildlife ogs 60 movement between them for breeding, migratory, and overwintering habitats for a variety of wildlife e bogs 60 species. Trails are available on Town Conservation land. Please park only in the designated area and not on mation species. Trails are available on Town Conservation land. Please park only in the designated area and not on formation Balls Hill Road.

Balls Hill Road.

Your trusted guides on on thethe trailtrail to and from home Your trusted guides to and from home

Lots of creatures great Lots of creatures great and small enjoy the and small enjoy the beautiful warm weather beautiful warm weather this time of year. Be this time of year. Be aware of ticks and bring aware of ticks and bring along insect repellant along insect repellant and appropriate clothing and appropriate clothing to ward off mosquitos. to ward off mosquitos.

Bring water and a light Bring water and a light snack with you on longer snack with you on longer walks, and please observe walks, and please observe leash laws for your canine leash laws for your canine companions (and, of companions (and, of course, you’re going to course, you’re going to pick up after them, yes?). pick up after them, yes?).

Concord’s access to these Concord’s access to these beautiful conservation beautiful conservation lands depends on lands depends on everyone being a good everyone being a good neighbor. Please park only neighbor. Please park only in designated areas, carry in designated areas, carry out anything you bring out anything you bring into the trail areas, and into the trail areas, and please respect private please respect private property. Looking for property. Looking for more? The Concord Visitor more? The Concord Visitor Center has trail maps and Center has trail maps and also sells a collection of also sells a collection of 14 area guides/maps in 14 area guides/maps in the book Ecology Along the book Ecology Along Concord Trails by Richard Concord Trails by Richard T. T. Forman, Delia R. J. T. T. Forman, Delia R. J. Kaye, and Robert White.

Kaye, and Robert White.

©istock/Ken Canning

©istock/maiakphotography

©istock/maiakphotography

walks ture walks Pond en Pond nation mbination ory. history. ttle p kettle n than est eepest l veral g side ding side bin cabin two ent two ly in imply in im. In ch him. In enjoy can enjoy ing boating on rvation arm e warm tural s natural nce k the eading re heading

With special thanks to the With special thanks to the Town of Concord’s Natural Town of Concord’s Natural Resources Division, Mass Resources Division, Mass Audubon, the Minute Man Audubon, the Minute Man National Historical Park, National Historical Park, and Preserve White Pond and Preserve White Pond for their generous time and for their generous time and contributions. Please visit contributions. Please visit their websites and support their websites and support their important work. their important work.

Spring into Action Spring into Action Spring into Action

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The Legacy and Allure of Orchard House’s Landscape

L

BY JAN TURNQUIST

“Little Women saved my life…twice.”

The woman who uttered these amazing words as I was leaving Orchard House late one summer evening had just landed at Logan Airport from Korea and drove directly here. She continued: “Growing up in Korea, I felt I was nothing. I was hopeless. I discovered Little Women and found a true soulmate in Jo March. I vowed to be something! Later, as a single mother of three daughters, I re-read Little Women and found renewed strength through the character of Marmee. Now, I have come to America as a visiting professor, and tomorrow, I will tour the house with one of my daughters, but first, I want to walk this land as the Alcotts did. I want to imagine the life they lived here. I am so thankful that Orchard House exists.”

Deeply moved, l left her to fulfill her pilgrimage, realizing yet again that although the great outdoors surrounding Orchard 18

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House may no longer be “great” in acreage, it is greatly evocative for so many visitors. I, too, often find myself envisioning Louisa, her family, friends, and neighbors enjoying our orchards and gardens.

In 1857, after scouting sites in Concord to settle his family after moving over 20 times, A. Bronson Alcott wrote: “I looked at the Moore place adjoining Hillside under the Elms and butternuts …

I can have five or ten acres of woodland behind the house … The house is old, but still habitable, and with some repairs might do till our means enabled us to make it what we want. All this I can have for 950 dollars. . . . it seems the fittest spot for a house, protected by the hills on all sides round from East to West and enjoying the South so pleasantly.

And the house and grounds combining many advantages of comfort and tillage and estates of content.”

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

Although John Moore’s noted orchards containing a half-dozen varieties of apples held the strongest attraction for Mr. Alcott — and led him to bestow the name “Orchard House” on his new home — the ability to produce upwards of 35 barrels of apples per year certainly made it a “thrifty acquisition” as well.

What Mr. Alcott underrepresented was that the 200-year-old house was in dreadful condition. Considered by others as “fit for nothing but firewood” and thrown into the real estate deal for free, Mr. Alcott nevertheless set to work rescuing and modifying the structure to economically create a large and beautiful home. He worked tirelessly on the property for two decades, keeping meticulous notes and making sketches that have allowed scholars and horticulturalists to understand his vision for this “fittest spot.”

© Trey Powers

Orchard House in Summer

As refined and gifted as Mr. Alcott was as an educator and philosopher, he also acknowledged that he “came as naturally to the spade, the plow, the scythe and sickle as to book and pen” (1861). Born into a farming family, he had an affinity with the land and was well-read on the subject of horticulture, being familiar with classical Latin texts as well as the works of 17th century gardeners Sir John Evelyn and Ralph Austen. He was also heavily influenced by American horticulturist and home stylist Andrew Jackson Downing.

Mr. Alcott often said he “appreciated” trees and was given many as gifts over the years, particularly by Marston Watson, owner of Old Colony Nurseries in Plymouth, MA. Watson carefully selected over 60 varieties, many of which still exist here, and consulted with Mr. Alcott on their placement. The town of Concord also sent six young maple trees to Mr. Alcott in 1861 to honor his work as School Superintendent.

Long fascinated with outdoor furnishings and rustic structures, Mr. Alcott also created many bench seats, chairs, trellises, and bowers over the course of his two-decade residence. Today, our new accessible path, reminiscent of walkways that once crisscrossed the Alcott property, allows visitors to still sense the original pastoral setting.

Along Lexington Road and beside our front door, volunteer gardener Lorraine Mastropieri lovingly maintains heirloom gardens to the delight of our visitors, while on the east side of the house is the site of the family’s kitchen garden.

Sample plantings there included parsnips, cucumbers, beans, turnips, leeks,

potatoes, spinach, melons, beets, squashes, tomatoes, currents, and strawberries, as well as medicinal and cooking herbs. Our hope is to one day re-create the kitchen garden to increase awareness of plants and groundcover typical of the 19th century by utilizing them in educational programming and special public events.

After the circa 1938 creation of Alcott Road, no trace remained of the once-prized orchard; for decades, wildflowers grew there instead. A long-standing dream to reestablish the orchard began to come true in 2002, when then-First Lady Laura Bush and young Alcott descendants planted the first heirloom apple tree provided by neighbor John Althouse. John has continued to nurture the orchard, which now thrives and once again evinces how the home got its name.

© Louisa Yamartino

Courtesy Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

Orchard House and the Alcotts, c. 1865

In 2012, when extensive repairs were needed for Mr. Alcott’s School of Philosophy on the northwest corner of our grounds, a first-ever foundation was built under it, as was done for Orchard House itself in 2002. This work allowed us to create a new accessible path to the School, which maintains a five percent grade, provides people of all abilities the chance to traverse the landscape to the hillside structure, and is a picturesque way to enjoy the property.

Creating the accessible path also allowed for enlargement of our Little Women Garden, which had for decades been a beloved but small display of flowers cultivated by the March [and Alcott] sisters and described in minute detail in Chapter X of Little Women: “The garden had to be put in order, and each sister had a quarter of the little plot to do what she liked with. . . . the girls’ tastes differed as much as their characters.

Meg’s had roses and heliotrope, myrtle, and a little orange tree in it. Jo’s bed was never alike two seasons, for she was always trying experiments. This year it was to be a plantation of sun flowers … Beth had oldfashioned fragrant flowers in her garden, sweet peas and mignonette, larkspur, pinks, pansies, and southernwood, with chickweed for the birds and catnip for the pussies. Amy had a bower in hers … with honeysuckle and morning-glories hanging their colored horns and bells in graceful wreaths all over it, tall white lilies, delicate ferns, and as many brilliant, picturesque plants as would consent to blossom there.”

First Lady Laura Bush and young Alcott descendants plant an heirloom apple tree to reestablish the orchard at Orchard House in 2002

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| discoverconcordma.com

19

© Hope Davis, scholar; Anneliese Hrones, artist

Orchard House Plot Plan depicting 1866 conditions

Orchard House atop cribbing piles during the 2001-2 preservation project © David Hart

Courtesy Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

This expanded space required an innovative design that proved to be no small endeavor. Two neighbors and volunteer gardeners, Ellen Hartshorne Whitney and Susan Ellsworth, stepped up to the task, carefully crafting a new garden that would flow harmoniously with beauty and color through the seasons while remaining faithful to Louisa’s description.

Ellen noted that, “My dear friend, neighbor, and gardening pal Susan and I have been partners in the design, installation, and now maintenance of the garden. It is always so delightful to see each other regularly on these hallowed grounds. We feel the garden echoes the same spirit imbued throughout this landscape, which has been so deeply loved and cared for over the years.”

The passage of 165 years since the Alcotts’ residence has provided no small measure of challenges. Each generation sought 20

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| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

Summer Wedding in the new Little Women Garden at Orchard House

Courtesy Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

Concord School of Philosophy atop cribbing piles during the 2012 preservation project

to preserve the inherent qualities of the property Mr. Alcott described, and sustain the inspiring landscape that informed his philosophy and prose as well as Louisa May Alcott’s writings and May Alcott’s art.

Working toward sustainability is of great importance to us today, as the concept is truly reflective of the Alcotts’ beliefs in sustainable living and their deep respect for nature. To that end, we recently installed a geothermal climate control system which allows us to end all use of biofuels; interior temperatures are now naturally regulated via use of the earth’s core temperature. We are proud and delighted that the system is both efficient and economical. At the same time, its “invisibility” is a bonus — there is no evidence aboveground of the 12 wells that plunge nearly 500 feet below, allowing the historic landscape to remain sacrosanct.

As our grounds once again awaken to springtime pleasures, I invite you to walk about our property, passing heirloom flowers, plants, and apple trees that allow us to revel in and reflect upon how the landscape affected the Alcotts and their approaches to their lives and work. Remarkably, the landscape continues to provide visceral reminders of earth’s bounty and blessings that nurtured the Alcotts and residents before them, and encourages modern-day examinations of ecology and environmental sustainability.

I keenly feel all this and more each day at Orchard House as I come and go, and I hope

that you will experience the simple yet transcendent beauty as well. You may even consider creating your own Little Women Garden by consulting the planting guide available on our website at louisamayalcott.org/little-women-garden.

——————————————————————— Jan Turnquist has been Executive Director of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House since 1999. In 2019, she won an Emmy for her documentary Orchard House - Home of Little Women, which is still streaming and broadcast on PBS. Her international living history portrayals of Louisa May Alcott have garnered acclaim from as far away as Japan as well as across the United States.

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“What Evidence is There of Spring?”

Henry Thoreau’s “Kalendar”

W “What evidence is there of spring? This light & warm sun--which compels us to throw our outside coats open wide--or take them off--even to seek the shade for coolness--This rapidly melting snow & these sparkling currents by the roadside--this softened ice--but above all the warble of a single blue-bird that came to us out of the softened air.”

From Thoreau’s Journal; February 23, 1859.

Henry David Thoreau loved springtime.

While it’s true that he had something to say about every season, he seemed to wax more poetic not only in the spring but about the spring. When the earth came alive after a long cold winter, Thoreau’s observations came to life as well.

“For the first time I perceive this spring that the year is a circle--I see distinctly the spring arc thus far…Why should I hear the chattering of blackbirds--why smell the skunk each year?

I would fain explore the mysterious relation between myself & these things.” From Thoreau’s Journal; April 18, 1852.

By 1850 Thoreau had transformed his journal into something more than a daily account of his life and thoughts. While he continued to record the people, places, and things he encountered, along with passages that would be used in his lectures and essays, he also started keeping a record of the flora and fauna he observed on his walks. In December 1856 he would explain in his journal his methodology, observing when “plants first blossomed and leafed,” and noting that he would then “follow it up early and late, far and near, several years in succession… I often visited a particular plant four or five miles distance… that I might know exactly when it opened.”

Indeed, Thoreau’s careful observations of the seasonal changes in the fields, meadows, and woods of his beloved Concord were so meticulous, and so far-reaching, that it became well known about town that he could easily tell someone what day of the year it was just by observing what flowers were blooming or what trees were budding!

BY RICHARD SMITH

Springtime at Walden Pond © Richard Smith

22

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| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

later scientific works, not only among But Thoreau’s obsession with the change later scientific works, not only among But Thoreau’s obsession with the change literary historians, but among biologists of the seasons went far beyond the leafing literary historians, but among biologists of the seasons went far beyond the leafing and phenologists who would use Thoreau’s and flowering of trees and plants. He would and phenologists who would use Thoreau’s and flowering of trees and plants. He would 19th century data for a comparison to the keep track of, among other things, the height 19th century data for a comparison to the keep track of, among other things, the height seasonal changes of the 21st century. of the Concord River (always higher in the seasonal changes of the 21st century. of the Concord River (always higher in the Dr. Richard Primack, a professor of plant spring), the daily and nightly temperatures, Dr. Richard Primack, a professor of plant spring), the daily and nightly temperatures, ecology at Boston University, and his doctoral bird migrations, seasonal rainfall, and many ecology at Boston University, and his doctoral bird migrations, seasonal rainfall, and many student, Abe Miller-Rushing, continued the other weather-related phenomena. In a student, Abe Miller-Rushing, continued the other weather-related phenomena. In a work of Dean, who passed away in 2006. By very real sense, Thoreau was one of the first work of Dean, who passed away in 2006. By very real sense, Thoreau was one of the first sifting through Thoreau’s writings, Primack naturalists to work in the field of phenology sifting through Thoreau’s writings, Primack naturalists to work in the field of phenology and Miller-Rushing were able to track the (a word that wasn’t coined until 1853), the and Miller-Rushing were able to track the (a word that wasn’t coined until 1853), the seasonal changes of Thoreau’s era and study of cyclic and seasonal phenomena, seasonal changes of Thoreau’s era and study of cyclic and seasonal phenomena, particularly in relation to climate and its particularly in relation to climate and its effect on plant and animal life. “I take effect on plant and animal life. “I take infinite pains to know all of the phenomena infinite pains to know all of the phenomena of the spring,” he would write. of the spring,” he would write.

What was Thoreau planning to do with What was Thoreau planning to do with all of this information? By the late 1850s he all of this information? By the late 1850s he was putting together a new work that he was putting together a new work that he sometimes called his “Kalendar”. After 1852 sometimes called his “Kalendar”. After 1852 he began to compile hundreds of lists and he began to compile hundreds of lists and charts of the natural phenomena and create, charts of the natural phenomena and create, to use a modern term, spreadsheets of his to use a modern term, spreadsheets of his observations. It appears that Thoreau was observations. It appears that Thoreau was hoping to compile a comprehensive, month hoping to compile a comprehensive, month by month history of the natural phenomena by month history of the natural phenomena that took place in Concord every year. that took place in Concord every year.

Sadly, the Kalendar remained unfinished Sadly, the Kalendar remained unfinished at Thoreau’s death in 1862. But the at Thoreau’s death in 1862. But the meticulous observations therein show that meticulous observations therein show that Thoreau had gone well beyond the idea Thoreau had gone well beyond the idea that he was just a transcendental poetthat he was just a transcendental poetphilosopher. Indeed, by the end of his life, philosopher. Indeed, by the end of his life, Thoreau was acting, thinking, and writing Thoreau in 1861. Photo by E.S.Dunshee Thoreau was acting, thinking, and writing Thoreau in 1861. Photo by E.S.Dunshee more and more like the naturalist that he more and more like the naturalist that he had become. Some of his later essays like had become. Some of his later essays like compare the data to the arrival of spring in “Wild Apples” and “The Succession of Forest compare the data to the arrival of spring in “Wild Apples” and “The Succession of Forest the 21st century. Not surprisingly, in a series Trees” show a marked change in Thoreau’s the 21st century. Not surprisingly, in a series Trees” show a marked change in Thoreau’s of scientific papers, they revealed that much thinking; the Transcendentalist had become of scientific papers, they revealed that much thinking; the Transcendentalist had become of what Thoreau observed in the 1850s is a scientist. Still, Thoreau never completely of what Thoreau observed in the 1850s is a scientist. Still, Thoreau never completely not happening at the same time every year; gave up his poetic ways. Even when writing not happening at the same time every year; gave up his poetic ways. Even when writing for instance, Thoreau noted the flowering about something as mundane as a cranberry for instance, Thoreau noted the flowering about something as mundane as a cranberry of blueberry bushes on May 11, 1853. In he could still be philosophical: “Let not your of blueberry bushes on May 11, 1853. In he could still be philosophical: “Let not your 2012, because of warming temperatures, life be wholly without an object, though it be 2012, because of warming temperatures, life be wholly without an object, though it be the blueberry began blooming on April 1. only to ascertain the flavor of a cranberry.” the blueberry began blooming on April 1. only to ascertain the flavor of a cranberry.”

With the publication of the book “Walden Fast forward to the 1990s when Thoreau With the publication of the book “Walden Fast forward to the 1990s when Thoreau Warming” in 2015, Primack drew on scholar Bradley Dean not only unearthed Warming” in 2015, Primack drew on scholar Bradley Dean not only unearthed Thoreau’s observations of plants and birds to the Kalendar, long forgotten in the Henry Thoreau’s observations of plants and birds to the Kalendar, long forgotten in the Henry show the very real effects of climate change W. and Albert A. Berg Collection at the New show the very real effects of climate change W. and Albert A. Berg Collection at the New and global warming.

York Public Library, but organized and edited and global warming.

York Public Library, but organized and edited Since 2007 Dr. Kristen Case, professor some of Thoreau’s unfinished manuscript Since 2007 Dr. Kristen Case, professor some of Thoreau’s unfinished manuscript of English at the University of Maine in and published it as “Wild Fruits” in early of English at the University of Maine in and published it as “Wild Fruits” in early Farmington, has been involved with the 2000. This led to new interest in Thoreau’s Farmington, has been involved with the 2000. This led to new interest in Thoreau’s

reading and transcription of Thoreau’s reading and transcription of Thoreau’s Kalendar; not always an easy task, Kalendar; not always an easy task, considering Thoreau’s notoriously bad considering Thoreau’s notoriously bad handwriting! By the time the project handwriting! By the time the project is completed in 2024, the finished is completed in 2024, the finished transcriptions will be partnered with essays transcriptions will be partnered with essays to complement each month of the Kalendar, to complement each month of the Kalendar, giving us a clearer picture of Thoreau’s giving us a clearer picture of Thoreau’s “unfinished work,” as Emerson called it at “unfinished work,” as Emerson called it at Thoreau’s death.

Thoreau’s death.

But why do this? Why transcribe But why do this? Why transcribe the jottings of a long-dead naturalist? the jottings of a long-dead naturalist?

Case explains, “These late, previously Case explains, “These late, previously unpublished manuscripts demonstrate unpublished manuscripts demonstrate that in these years Thoreau was immersed that in these years Thoreau was immersed in a large-scale work that fully engaged in a large-scale work that fully engaged and often challenged the methods of and often challenged the methods of contemporary science.” In other words, contemporary science.” In other words, we get a better idea of the kind of work we get a better idea of the kind of work Thoreau was doing in the last years of Thoreau was doing in the last years of his life and the Kalendar brings his later his life and the Kalendar brings his later writings and studies into a sharper focus. writings and studies into a sharper focus.

It’s almost as if the inner workings of It’s almost as if the inner workings of his mind are on full display. And the his mind are on full display. And the work of Dr. Case will make it easier work of Dr. Case will make it easier for future historians and scientists to for future historians and scientists to access Thoreau’s work and use it in access Thoreau’s work and use it in their own studies. The Kalendar and its their own studies. The Kalendar and its transcriptions are available online at transcriptions are available online at thoreauskalendar.org. thoreauskalendar.org.

When Thoreau died in 1862, he was When Thoreau died in 1862, he was eulogized by his friend Ralph Waldo eulogized by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. “The country knows not yet, or Emerson. “The country knows not yet, or in the least part, how great a son it has in the least part, how great a son it has lost,” Emerson said. It seems that now, lost,” Emerson said. It seems that now, 160 years later, the country has finally 160 years later, the country has finally realized what was lost when Thoreau realized what was lost when Thoreau died. The discovery and use of Thoreau’s died. The discovery and use of Thoreau’s Kalendar brings his brilliant mind and Kalendar brings his brilliant mind and writings solidly into the 21st century. As writings solidly into the 21st century. As with all of Thoreau’s writings, the study of with all of Thoreau’s writings, the study of his Kalendar teaches us a lot about nature, his Kalendar teaches us a lot about nature, about ourselves and, as Thoreau would put about ourselves and, as Thoreau would put it, our relation to the universe. it, our relation to the universe.

——————————————————————— ——————————————————————— Richard Smith has lectured on and written Richard Smith has lectured on and written about antebellum United States history about antebellum United States history and 19th-Century American literature since and 19th-Century American literature since 1995. He has worked in Concord as a public 1995. He has worked in Concord as a public historian since 1999 and has written six historian since 1999 and has written six books for Applewood Books. Richard is the books for Applewood Books. Richard is the current Scholar in Residence at Longfellow’s current Scholar in Residence at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury.

Wayside Inn in Sudbury.

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23

Own a Hat from the Minute Man National Historical Park Herd! hat to reflect the color of the sheep who generously donated its wool to make the hat. The hats even come with removable ear warmers to keep you warm and cozy next winter.

Martine sells the wool fedoras for $300 each and donates 100% of the sales to the Friends of Minute Man National Park to care for and maintain the herd, including food and veterinary care.

To learn more, please visit the Friends of Minute Man National Park website at friendsofminuteman.org/a-unique-givingopportunity. Email Martine directly at mg.sculpturepassion@gmail.com to purchase your one-of-a-kind hat today!

Martine Gorlier wearing one of her handmade hats

Photos courtesy of Friends of Minute Man National Park

T

The Friends of Minute Man National Park are sponsoring what must be one of the best fundraising programs in a very long time! You can buy a gorgeous wool fedora hat made with wool from the Minute Man sheep herd and the proceeds go to care for the sheep.

You may not know that Minute Man National Historical Park, in cooperation with Breton Meadow Farm and Codman Community Farms, hosts a herd of Ouessant sheep. These heritage sheep, originally from the island of Ouessant in Brittany, are renowned for their character, hardiness, and for being the smallest naturally occurring breed of sheep in the world.

Volunteer Martine Gorlier, a gifted sculptor and fiber artist, lovingly handcrafts each

A handmade wool fedora

“ ‘Tis the good reader that makes the goodConcord! book.”

Spring Celebrations in West

J

D

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Debra’s Natural Gourmet, Concord’s independent natural products shop, Joy Street Life + Home, the aptly named boutique filled with opened in 1989. Thirty-two years later, the store was bursting at the seams fun surprises for adults and children alike, is celebrating its with more than 10,000 carefully curated products from around the world.

5th birthday this April. This distinctive gift boutique located They needed more space! So, Debra Stark purchased the building next in the heart of West Concord features curated products from door, when the beloved West Concord 5&10 closed. Debra and her team designers and independent artists. You’ll be inspired by their have been hard at work since then to expand the gift collections from over 200 store’s much-anticipated new space. companies including locally They are putting the finishing touches on sourced, international, and fairthis beautiful and light-filled new space as we trade goods that include fashion, go to press this spring. To the delight of fans baby, kids, self-care, gourmet everywhere, the showcase of the new space is a foods, stationery, and home. greatly expanded catering kitchen and prepared Jen McGonigle founded this A unique shop with gifts you foods area. And if you want to shop sustainably charming shop to realize a childhood “While A dream. unique shop withother gifts you and help reduce the use of single-use plastic, Debra’s expansion next give…and receive! kids were playing tag, building things with Legos, or dressing lovelove to to give…and receive! door has more than 500 bulk foods like lentils, herbs, spices, coffees, and up dolls, I played retail store! I always knew I wanted to run a 49 Commonwealth Ave. Concord MA 01742 49 Commonwealth Ave. ConcordMA MA 01742 01742 49 Commonwealth Ave. Concord joystreetgifts.com @joystreetgifts 49 Commonwealth Ave.| Concord MA 01742 joystreetgifts.com joystreetgifts.com | @joystreetgifts teas. There’s even a room with bulk household and beauty items. And, as little shop,” she said. “I love everything about having this fun joystreetgifts.com RARE BOOKS always,READ each item is carefully sourced to be the best for humans and the store here in West Concord. Helping the people thatAND come GENTLY planet, and to support the hard-working people who grow or craft those through my door each day find just the perfect gift (or a little Specializing in Concord Authors and History; Transcendentalism; products. Stop in and see for yourselves. As with the original Debra’s something for themselves!) makes me smile every time.”

Revolutionary History; Children’s Natural Gourmet, the new space is all aboutLiterature; community through food.

Stop in Joy Street to wish Jen War, and her American, team a Happy and Military And laughter is always welcome!

Birthday. You’ll be glad you did!and a wide selection for the eclectic reader.

Debra’s Natural Gourmet Joy Street + Homeshop with ALife unique gifts you Literary-themed gifts, postcards, and beeswax candles.

98 Commonwealth Ave. – debrasnaturalgourmet.com 49 Commonwealth Ave. – joystreetgifts.com

Barrow Bookstore

A unique shop with gifts you love to give…and receive!

49 Commonwealth Ave. Concord MA 01742

loveMA to give…and receive!

79 Main Street, Concord, (behind Fritz and Gigi) | www.barrowbookstore.com | 978-369-6084

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joystreetgifts.com | 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

49 Commonwealth Ave. Concord MA 01742

Photo courtesy of Concord’s Colonial Inn

© Pierre Chiha Photographers

Lobster Roll at The Colonial Inn

Dining Al Fresco in Concord

S

BY JENNIFER C. SCHÜNEMANN

ADELITA - Enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine at this fun and fabulous taco and margarita bar.

Patio seating is first come, first served and is open seven nights a week. Sister restaurant to Woods Hill Table, Adelita takes a casual, family-friendly cue with fun décor and lively music. A farm to table twist features healthy ingredients in a range of delicious dishes, and is a hit with kids and adults alike. More information available at adelita.com CONCORD’S COLONIAL INN - Lunch, dinner, or cocktails on the porch at the Colonial Inn is a wonderful way to welcome spring!

Sip on rosé wine, an ice-cold beer, or enjoy

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Discover CONCORD

a tasty cocktail as you watch the world stroll by. It’s hard to choose between their spectacular lobster rolls, steaks, burgers, salads, or seafood. Chilly evenings are no problem – installed heaters keep you nice and cozy as you Adelita soak up the history of this Inn established in 1716. More at concordscolonialinn.com FIORELLA’S CUCINA - Who says you have to get on a plane to experience amazing Italian cuisine? You’ll feel like you’re at a European piazza at one of Fiorella’s charming bistro tables, tucked in between big pots of flowers and surrounded by bistro lights. Creative cocktails from the mixology bar are just the beginning. Wood oven pizzas, homemade pasta dishes, and delectable seafood dishes will have you saying ‘grazie mille’!

Patio hours, menus, and more at fiorellascucina.com

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

WOODS HILL TABLE - Owner Kristin Canty opened Concord’s first farm-to-table restaurant out of a passion for sustainably farmed produce and pasture raised meats,

© Pierre Chiha Photographers

Spring is here! Warmer days and beautiful flowers call us outside to enjoy the fresh air.

And Concord’s restaurants are responding with inviting terraces, refreshing cocktails, and delicious foods to entice us to gather around the table al fresco style! With so many restaurants to choose from, we’ve put together highlights of some of our favorite places to watch the world go by while enjoying a delicious meal. Bon appétit!

Fiorella’s

© Pierre Chiha Photographers

predominantly from the 265-acre Farm at Woods Hill, and locally sourced seafoods.

Under Chef Charlie Foster’s careful eye, these healthful, nutritionally dense ingredients are transformed into works of art – appealing to the eye, the sense of smell, and of course, taste. A rotating menu embraces the freshest harvest available, and is thoughtfully prepared to reflect the changing seasons. Pair your meal with a creative cocktail or a glass of wine for an exceptional evening out. Check the website for hours. woodshilltable.com PICNIC FAVORITES Want a more casual al fresco experience?

There are SO many wonderful places for a picnic in Concord. Stock up on tasty treats at these favorite shops, grab a picnic blanket, and head outside:

DEBRA’S NATURAL GOURMET – The amazing kitchen at Debra’s uses the freshest ingredients from their incredible store to bring you delicious foods to go. Their café and takeout menu changes daily and includes soups, salads, entrees, sandwiches, wraps, organic smoothies, raw juices, luscious desserts, and more. They are no stranger to specialized diets – vegan, vegetarian, non-gluten, dairyfree, paleo, FODMAP, you name it! Hours and menus at debrasnaturalgourmet.com CONCORD TEACAKES – If you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to go! Cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, bars, and bundts will make your mouth water! You’ll also find breakfast treats, coffee and tea drinks, and sandwiches to go. Hours and menus at concordteacakes.com

© istock.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

THE CHEESE SHOP OF CONCORD – The talented staff at the Cheese Shop can deftly guide you through the hundreds of cheeses to find the perfect match for your taste buds. Fill out that picnic basket with charcuterie, stuffed grape leaves, cornichons, dried fruits and nuts, imported chocolates, and more. Freshly made sandwiches put a gourmet spin on a picnic favorite. And delicious wines and beers will make your picnic picture perfect. For hours and menus, visit concordcheeseshop.com

VERRILL FARM – A well-stocked cooler section features delicious salads and heatat-home options. Made to order sandwiches go perfectly with the bakery delights at the next counter over (try one of their amazing homemade pies!). Grab a chilled beverage and you are ready to enjoy an outside meal – they even have picnic benches overlooking this beautiful farmland. Menus and hours at verrillfarm.com

right wine or beer to pair with your picnic.

Looking to create your own al fresco dining experience with an outdoor BBQ or party with friends and family? They even have beverage catering and delivery services – they will bring the wine, beer, and liquors to you (one less item on your party prep list).

Find out more or order online for in-store or curbside pickup at westconcordwine.com

WEST CONCORD WINE & SPIRITS – The friendly and helpful team at West Concord Wine & Spirits can help you find just the

For a comprehensive list of restaurants in Concord, please see our “Where to Shop, Where to Eat” guide on page 39.

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27

Encounter History that Changed the World

BY BETH WILLIAMS

about how Alcott’s life influenced her book, Little Women. Combine this tour with tours of Orchard House and Sleepy Hollow and you’ll be an expert!

W Welcome to Concord! Whether you’re visiting or live here, there is so much to see and do. Best known, perhaps, for our role in the American Revolution, the area was inhabited by Native American tribes for thousands of years before Europeans incorporated the town of Concord in 1635.

African Americans, both enslaved and free, also played a vital role in our town’s history. Concord was the epicenter of the literary revolution that included Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and many more. Transcendentalism was born here and continues to influence society today. Our historic cemeteries honor many of Concord’s most famous citizens and showcase important sculptures such as Mourning Victory by Daniel Chester French.

With so much to see and do, let us help you map out the perfect day – or weekend – with our array of tours.

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Discover CONCORD

If you’re new to Concord or thinking of making Concord your home We offer a daily 75-minute walking tour of Concord Center seven days a week, April through November. This tour is the perfect introduction to Concord and its rich revolutionary and literary history. We will walk down Concord’s historic Main Street and then visit sites such as The Wright Tavern, Monument Square, The Old Hill Burial Ground, and more.

For fans of Louisa May Alcott and Little Women This 90-minute tour features Louisa May Alcott in her starring role in Concord history.

Join us at the Visitor Center as we walk through downtown Concord and then to Orchard House and Wayside House to learn about Alcott’s roles as an author, suffragette, abolitionist, and one of Concord’s transcendentalists. Along the way you’ll learn

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

Would you like to learn about the Indigenous peoples of the area?

Native people called this area Musketaquid, meaning “reedy river” and their history here dates back more than 10,000 years.

This 75-minute tour looks at the history of the various Nipmuc groups that lived here.

Starting with the mighty Mill Brook, we will meander down Main Street and up to the Calf Pasture on Lowell Road, examining how native people lived by the three rivers of Concord (Musketaquid) and what happened when cultures collided after European fur traders came, followed by English settlers in 1635.

Take a tour of West Concord—A hub for foodies, artists, and industry For almost 400 years, West Concord has supplied farm produce, grains, fabric, and other manufactured goods to the town and the world. This enterprising spirit still flourishes in our locally owned shops, restaurants, and other businesses. Walk with us to meet West Concord’s entrepreneurs, sample their wares, and visit the Concord Sign Museum, where vintage signs tell stories of generations of thriving activity.

This tour includes a visit to Debra’s Natural Gourmet, Joy Street Life + Home, and Barefoot Books, where each location has a special gift for tour participants.

Meet some of Concord’s most famous luminaries in three historic cemeteries Hear the voices of the silent stones in Concord’s cemeteries on this 90-minute tour. Scenic, wooded Sleepy Hollow is the

NEW IN 2022!

Concord’s Art Legacy: Women in Art Revealed In honor of Women’s History Month and Concord Art Association’s 100th birthday, join us for an approximately 90-minute tour featuring Concord’s amazing women artists.

Starting at Concord Art at 37 Lexington Road, this tour will include stops at Albright Art Supply, Three Stones Gallery, Lucy Lacoste Gallery, Concord Free Public Library, and Barrow Bookstore.

Between us Sisters: A Visit with Louisa May Alcott and her sister, May The year is 1876. Louisa and May are reminiscing about their lives, families, and Concord. Later, when May returns to Europe, Louisa reads the letters May sends, describing her life as an artist in France. This exciting, interactive program allows you to ask questions and converse with the women during the program. Between us Sisters is a traveling program that can be booked for senior centers, book groups, or any group that would like to host the program as an event. most famous, with highlights including the magnificent Melvin Memorial and the graves of Concord’s literary giants: Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau.

The Hill Burying Ground and the South Burying Ground are the resting places of Revolutionary War heroes and their ancestors back to the 1600s.

Explore Concord’s African American history and our role in the Underground Railroad This 90-minute walking tour (about 2 miles) visits sites around town that delve into Concord’s history around slavery, the first generation of freed African Americans, and abolitionism in Concord. This tour can be a 90-minute walking tour or a 90-minute biking tour that visits sites further away from town.

We’re happy to arrange custom tours as well, including: Non-walking tours. These are lecture-style tours, with minimal or no walking. You pick the topic, and we will supply an expert guide

at an event or location of your choosing. So, relax and let us show you Concord’s history from a comfy chair!

Bus tours. If you have a group coming to Concord, why not hire one of our licensed tour guides to show you around the area by bus. Stops can include the Old North Bridge, Lexington Green, Battle Road Sites, and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Custom tours. Whether you’re hosting a family event or want to give friends and family a day they will remember, we can develop a custom program to entertain any gathering, from wedding parties to birthday parties – we can make the day special.

For more information, pricing, and to schedule your tour, go to visitconcord.org ——————————————————————— Beth Williams is the Economic Vitality and Tourism Manager for the Town of Concord.

She is available year-round to help you get the most from your visit to Concord.

Contact her at visitconcord.org.

All photos courtesy of the Town of Concord

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29

Photo courtesy of Friends of Minute Man National Park

Restored brick pathways in the Buttrick Gardens with iris and peonies in bloom.

New educational signage at the Buttrick Gardens Plan by landscape architect Harold Hill Blossom, 1923 Photo courtesy of Minute Man NHP Archives.

Blooms at the Edge of the Battlefield

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The Buttrick Gardens welcome visitors to enjoy stunning flowers, preserved walkways, and new interpretive signage. Located at the Minute Man National Historical Park and overlooking the North Bridge, the Buttrick Gardens were first constructed in 1911 and cared for by several generations of the Buttrick family. Stewards of the land since the colonial period, the Buttrick family were proud of their gardens near the historic muster fields of April 19, 1775.

Over a half-million people visit the historic gardens each year, which feature ornamental trees and shrubs, award-winning iris and daylilies, colorful spring bulbs, and perennials that bloom from spring to fall. However, years of frost cycles, encroaching tree roots, and the occasional chipmunk burrow led to the deterioration of the pathways and stairways in the Buttrick gardens.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Town of Concord Community Preservation Act, the Friends of Minute Man National 30

Discover CONCORD

BY KATHLEEN FAHEY Park and Minute Man National Historical Park preserved the hardscape of the historic gardens in the summer and fall of 2021. Brick, bluestone, and cobblestone pathways were meticulously re-laid by a master mason, who reused most of the original materials.

Where needed, new pieces of bluestone were added to ensure the safety of the walkways and stairways; each slab was carefully chosen to match the color, quality, and finish of the original stones. An elegant wrought-iron handrail was added to the sunken garden’s repaired stairway, ensuring a safe transition from the formal perennial garden down into the lower garden. Visitors may now stroll along the restored walkways, view the historic plant collection, and enjoy picturesque views of the Concord River and the North Bridge.

The Friends of Minute Man National Park and park staff created new signage and a brochure funded by a generous grant from Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

The outdoor sign is accessible and orients visitors in the commemorative landscape.

Historic photos and architectural plans allow visitors to step back in time and provide a history of the gardens. A new brochure, available at park visitor centers and in a weather-proof box attached to the outdoor sign, provides a way for visitors on the go to learn about the gardens.

The gardens are part of Minute Man National Historical Park and are open yearround from dawn until dusk. There is no admission fee, and free parking is available in the North Bridge Visitor Center parking lot.

Your donation to the Buttrick Gardens provides seasonal maintenance, removal of invasive species, rejuvenation of historic plants, and reestablishing native pollinators.

To learn more or donate, please visit friendsofminuteman.org/buttrick-gardens.

———————————————————————— Kathleen Fahey is the Executive Director of the Friends of Minute Man National Park.

It’s Gardening Time!

Our large open air garden center is open 7 days a week and is stocked with beautiful annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, vegetable starters, and flowering plants grown right here in our greenhouses in Concord.

We invite you to visit us this spring and see the wonderful plant quality, variety and service we have offered our Concord neighbors for more than 60 years.

Happy Spring from Colonial Gardens and the Giurleo Family!

Flowers and Plants for All Seasons & Reeds Ferry Sheds DEALER

Located on Route 117 on the Concord Sudbury town line | Open 7 Days | 978-369-2554

Get Out and Play!

Learn about community gardening and explore nature with two of our favorite products for spring!

Shop now!

For more books and gifts for the children in your life, visit us at www.barefootbooks.com

Use CON code C t o sa O R D 2 2 ve 20 %!*

*Offer valid on website purchases through 6/15/22.

@barefootbooks

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Our Exclusive Listings in Concord

Under Contract

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Under Contract

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Better Together The Ridick Revis Group Your Local Real Estate Experts in Concord, Carlisle and Lincoln Driven by the same uncompromising standards and dedication to client care, Chris Ridick and Sue Revis have joined forces to form a full-service real estate team operating with a highly personalized touch.

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HOMES SOLD IN 2021

IN PRODUCTION VOLUME SALES

Collaborating with Tony Revis, Annie Liu, Kim Piculell, and Kristie Ridick, the Ridick Revis Group offers a unique set of skills and backgrounds to create a truly unsurpassed experience and amplified resources.

The Ridick Revis Group ridickrevisgroup@compass.com M: 617.593.3492 | 978.807.8219

Considering a move?

Contact the Ridick Revis Group Today ridickrevisgroup.com

Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage.

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Native Plants for Sustainable Landscaping

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Why native plants? Native, or indigenous, plants are plants that have evolved in the North American landscape prior to European colonization. Native plants are adapted to a particular region’s climate and soils. Native plants have formed complex interrelationships with our local wildlife over thousands or millions of years of evolution.

They provide food and shelter for our wildlife and insects that sustain the food One of the web of our ecosystem. reasons Because native plants are well‑adapted monarchs are to our local landscape, they require little watering once established, and declining is far less fertilizing, reducing our carbon because they footprint and preserving water, our most vulnerable natural resource. require native Manicured lawns provide space milkweeds for for recreation and their well kept their larva to appearance appeals to many people.

Today, lawns in the US cover more develop. When than 63,000 square miles—roughly monarchs lay the size of Texas. Dominated by non‑ native species of turfgrass, these lawns eggs on the require a staggering amount of water, invasive, nonfertilizers, pesticides, gasoline, and labor to keep them groomed and tidy. The native swallowenvironmental and economic costs are wort, a plant significant. which is also in If you want to do something good for the environment, consider naturescaping, the milkweed a landscaping method using natural family, larva features rather than trying to adapt non‑natives to your yard. Converting a are unable to portion of your lawn to native plants, and survive. replacing non‑natives with natives, is a cost‑effective and ecologically sound approach that offers a host of environmental, financial, and aesthetic benefits.

Bringing native plants back into the garden is critical to preserving biodiversity and protecting against climate change. It’s time to say goodbye to manicured landscapes and embrace naturescaping!

For More Information: www.xerces.org/pollinators‑northeast‑region www.audubon.org/native‑plants www.grownativemass.org/resources/nurseries Reprinted with permission from the Town of Concord, Division of Natural Resources.

All photos courtesy of Cherrie Corey. Plant list produced by the Xerces Society.

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| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

Tips for Starting a Native Landscape:

• Start small. Work an area that is manageable for a season – there is always time to expand!

• Start with healthy soil. Test your soil so you know what nutrients you need (www. ag.umass.edu/services/ soil-plant-nutrient-testinglaboratory) • Add compost and leaf mulch to build up healthy soil organisms, which will break down materials into vital nutrients for plants.

• At the end of the growing season, amend the soil with leaf mulch from leaves in your yard. This will protect the plants over the winter while continuing to provide nutrients for plants and soil organisms. You can provide habitat for overwintering beneficial insects by leaving 18 inches of stems in place.

• Plant the right plants in the right place. Grouping plants with similar needs will allow them to thrive without lots of maintenance.

• Plant with successive bloom periods for beauty and benefits all season long.

• Water wisely. All plants need water to get established, but native plants will require far less once they are established.

EARLY EARLYMID MID MID-LATE LATE EARLY EARLY-MID MID LATE

———— SHRUBS/ TREES ————— ————————————————— FORBS ————————————————

Bloom Period

Flower Color

Max Ht (ft)

Water Needs

Zizia aurea

Yellow

3

High

Host plant for black swallowtail butterfly; shallow nectaries attract small beneficial wasps, bees and flies.

Wild geranium

Geranium maculatum

Pink

3

Med

Shade‑tolerant; provides important spring food for mining, cuckoo, mason, sweat, bumble, and small carpenter bees

Spiderwort

Tradescantia virginiana

Blue

3

Med

The attractive flowers of this unique iris relative are frequented by bumble bees and other pollinators; shade‑tolerant

Blue vervain

Verbena hastata

Blue

5

High

A preferred nectar plant for bees, butterflies, hover flies, and bee flies; choose Verbena stricta for drier soils

Narrowleaf mountain mint

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium

White

3

Low‑Med

This and related species have fragrant foliage and nectar‑rich flowers, very popular with butterflies, beetles, and more

Swamp milkweed

Asclepias incarnata

Pink

5

Med‑High

Host plants for monarchs, lovely fragrance attracts insects of all kinds, at drier site use common or butterfly milkweed

Wild bergamot

Monarda fistulosa

Purple

4

Med

Hawk moths, hummingbirds, and long‑tongued bumblebees (such as Bombus pensylvanicus) are common visitors

Boneset

Eupatorium perfoliatum

White

5

High

Flat‑topped clusters of fluffy, nectar‑rich flowers attract many kinds of insects; tolerant of partial shade and wet soils

Cardinal flower

Lobelia cardinalis

Red

4

High

Striking, scarlet‑red tubular flowers attract hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies

Field thistle

Cersium discolor

Purple

6

Med

Distinct from invasive, non‑native thistles; an important plant for butterflies and bumble bees; grows as a perennial or biennial

Wild golden glow

Rudbeckia laciniata

Yellow

7

High

Long bloom period; shade‑tolerant, visited by bumble bees and other pollinators; seeds provide food for birds

Bottle gentian

Gentiana clausa

Blue

2

Med

This unique fall flower is almost exclusively pollinated by bumble bees, which pry the petals apart to climb inside

Calico aster

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum

White

3

Med

The shallow nectaries attract more insect diversity than some larger‑flowered aster species; tolerant of partial shade

Grey goldenrod

Solidago nemoralis

Yellow

2

Low

Excellent for poor soils where little else will grow; one of the latest blooming goldenrods; visited by many pollinators

New England aster

Symphyotricum novae-angliae

Purple

6

Med

One of the latest fall‑blooming plants; frequented by honey bees and pre‑hibernation bumble bee queens

Wrinkleleaf goldenrod

Solidago rugosa

Yellow

3

Med‑High

Goldenrods are frequented by beneficial solitary wasps, pollen‑ eating soldier beetles, bumble bees, and much more

Common Name

Botanical Name

Golden Alexanders

Notes

Highbush blueberry

Vaccinium corymbosum

White/Pink

12

Med‑High

Well‑loved by humans and also provides food for mining bees, mason bees, and long‑tongued bumble bees

Pussy willow

Salix discolor

Yellow

15

Med‑High

Silky grey catkins open into flowers that provide spring forage for bees; host plant for mourning cloak butterflies

Raspberry, blackberry

Rubus spp.

White

4+

Med

Hollow canes/prunings make excellent nest sites for cavity‑ nesting bees; flowers are pollinated by many kinds of bees

American basswood

Tilia americana

Cream

60

Med

Also called the “bee tree” for its abundance of very fragrant, nectar‑rich flowers which are extremely attractive to bees

Ninebark

Physocarpus opulifolius

White

8

Low

Deciduous shrub with attractive foliage, peeling bark, and white flowers; loved by birds, bees, and butterflies

New Jersey tea

Ceanothus americanus

White

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A magnet for many species of flies, wasps, bees, and butterflies; slow‑growing and prone to deer browsing

Virginia rose

Rosa virginiana

Pink

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Foliage is used by leafcutter bees; flowers provide food for many pollinators; exceptional leaf coloration in the fall

Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

White

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Host plant for numerous moths and butterflies; pincushion‑like flowers are very attractive to butterflies and bees

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CONCORD& Surrounding Areas WHERE TO STAY Concord Center Concord’s Colonial Inn North Bridge Inn

West Concord 48 Monument Sq 21 Monument Sq

Best Western Residence Inn by Marriott

740 Elm St 320 Baker Ave

WHERE TO SHOP Concord Center Albright Art Supply Artinian Jewelry Artisans Way Barrow Bookstore Best of British Blue Dry Goods Brine Sporting Goods Cheese Shop of Concord Comina Concord Bookshop Concord Lamp and Shade Concord Market The Concord Toy Box Copper Penny Flowers The Dotted i Fairbank & Perry Goldsmiths FatFace Footstock Fritz & Gigi French Lessons George Vassel Jewelry Gräem Nuts and Chocolate Grasshopper Shop Irresistibles J McLaughlin JACK + TOBA Jane Deering Gallery Lucy Lacoste Gallery Nesting North Bridge Antiques Patina Green Priscilla Candy Shop Revolutionary Concord Rewind Estate Watches Sara Campbell Ltd Tess & Carlos Thistle Hill Thoreauly Antiques Three Stones Gallery Vanderhoof Hardware Walden Liquors Walden Street Antiques

West Concord 32 Main St 39 Main St 18 Walden St 79 Main St 29 Main St 16 Walden St 69 Main St 29 Walden St 9 Walden St 65 Main St 21 Walden St 77 Lowell Rd 32 Main St 9 Independence Court 1 Walden St 32 Main St 4 Walden St 46 Main St 79 Main St 8 Walden St 40 Main St 49 Main St 36 Main St 16 Walden St 14 Walden St 10 Walden St 94 Elm St 25 Main St 44 Main St 28 Walden St 59 Main St 19 Walden St 32 Main St 38 Main St 41 Main St 81 Main St 13 Walden St 25 Walden St 32 Main St 28 Main St 18 Walden St 23 Walden St

Nine Acre Corner Colonial Gardens Verrill Farm

442 Fitchburg Tpke 11 Wheeler Rd

Thoreau Depot ATA Cycles Concord Optical Concord Provisions Frame-ables Juju Period Furniture Hardware

93 Thoreau St 80 Thoreau St 75 Thoreau St 111 Thoreau St 82 Thoreau St 113 Thoreau St

A New Leaf Belle on Heels Concord Firefly Concord Flower Shop Concord Outfitters Debra’s Natural Gourmet Forever Tile J’aim Home · Lifestyle Joy Street Life + Home Loveday Rare Elements Reflections West Concord Pharmacy West Concord Wine & Spirits

74 Commonwealth Ave 23 Commonwealth Ave 33 Commonwealth Ave 135 Commonwealth Ave 113 Commonwealth Ave 98 Commonwealth Ave 45 Commonwealth Ave 84a Commonwealth Ave 49 Commonwealth Ave 115 Commonwealth Ave 33 Bradford St 101 Commonwealth Ave 1212 Main St 1215 Main St

WHERE TO EAT Concord Center Caffè Nero Comella’s Concord’s Colonial Inn 1 Fiorella’s Cucina 1 Haute Coffee Helen’s Restaurant Main Streets Market & Café 1 Sally Ann’s Bakery & Food Shop

55 Main St 33 Main St 48 Monument Square 24 Walden St 12 Walden St 17 Main St 42 Main St 73 Main St

Thoreau Depot 80 Thoreau 1 Bedford Farms Ice Cream Chang An Restaurant Dunkin’ Farfalle Italian Market Café Karma Concord Asian Fusion 1 New London Style Pizza Sorrento’s Brick Oven Pizzeria Starbucks

80 Thoreau St 68 Thoreau St 10 Concord Crossing 117 Thoreau St 26 Concord Crossing 105 Thoreau St 71 Thoreau St 58 Thoreau St 159 Sudbury Rd

West Concord Adelita 1 Club Car Café 1 Concord Teacakes Dino’s Kouzina & Pizzeria Dunkin’ Nashoba Brook Bakery Reasons to Be Cheerful Saltbox Kitchen Walden Italian Kitchen Woods Hill Table 1

1200 Main St 20 Commonwealth Ave 59 Commonwealth Ave 1135 Main St 1191 Main St 152 Commonwealth Ave 110 Commonwealth Ave 84 Commonwealth Ave 92 Commonwealth Ave 24 Commonwealth Ave

1 Call for al fresco dining options

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Landvest Nesting North Bridge Inn Three Stones Gallery The Umbrella Arts Center

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Inkstone Architects

William Raveis

Fiorella’s Cucina

Engel & Völkers

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Concord’s Colonial Inn

Compass Real Estate

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Coldwell Banker Realty

The Cheese Shop

Barrow Bookstore

Artisan’s Way

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The Concord Toy Box

Albright Art Supply

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THOREAU DEPOT

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90 Thoreau St

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Commonwealth Ave & Main St

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Appleton Design Group

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Concord Flower Shop

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West Concord Wine & Spirits

Adelita

Concord Teacakes Debra’s Natural Gourmet Dunkin’ (two locations) J’aim Home • Lifestyle Loveday Woods Hill Table Verrill Farm

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North Bridge Visitor Center 174 Liberty St Old Hill Burying Ground 2-12 Monument Sq The Old Manse 269 Monument St Ralph Waldo Emerson House 28 Cambridge Turnpike The Robbins House 320 Monument St Sleepy Hollow Cemetery & Authors Ridge 120 Bedford St South Burying Ground Main St & Keyes Rd Walden Pond State Reservation 915 Walden St The Wayside 455 Lexington Rd

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Concord Free Public Library 129 Main St Concord Museum 200 Lexington Rd Concord Visitor Center 62 58 Main St Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House 399 Lexington Rd Minute Man National Historical Park 250 N. Great Rd (Lincoln) The North Bridge

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Boat landing at North Bridge

© istock.com/bpperry

A Story of Wildlife, Beauty, and Peace on the Water As I pull into the parking area in early summer, I see people down at the dock of the quaint wooden boathouse on the Sudbury River. Family-owned South Bridge Boat House on Route 62 in Concord is the gateway to the rivers for all who would like to rent a kayak or canoe to explore. You can even walk there from the Concord commuter rail station. I say rivers because you can reach all three Wild & Scenic Rivers—the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord—from this spot! If you have your own boat, an interactive river map from the watershed organization OARS shows where you can put in. Visit oars3rivers.org/river/recreation or click on the QR code to find the map.

Today we push off downstream, paddling down the Sudbury River to where it meets the Assabet River at Egg Rock. For extra fun, you can download the OARS Summer Quest with clues to the sights along your journey!

Visit oars3rivers.org/event/summer-quest/ OARS-activities or scan the QR code on the next page for more information.

This trip is special for me because, in 2005, I took my family for a spring picnic paddle here for the first time. A few 44

Discover CONCORD

At the South Bridge Boat House, Sudbury River, Concord

weeks later, I spied a job advertisement at OARS and have worked there ever since!

I am fortunate to work on science-based advocacy, river recreation, and education every day.

We paddle northward to where the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers meet to create the Concord River, which flows north to Lowell to join the Merrimack River. The water under our boat has already traveled up to 30 miles from Westborough and will travel a further 50 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport. Our first wildlife sighting is a group of painted turtles lined up head-to-tail on a floating log in the sun.

The Assabet River gets its name from the Algonquin word referring to the reeds along the banks. The Native American name for this stretch of the Sudbury and Concord Rivers was Musketaquid, which roughly translates to “grassy knoll.” This

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

riverine great meadow stretched over 20 miles and supported early farming towns. The rivers were well known for the plentiful fish, especially river herring and shad that migrated up from the ocean. The rivers were dammed starting in the early industrial revolution, which ended the annual fish migration. The 29 miles of federally designated “Wild and Scenic Rivers” contain no dams and are protected for their outstanding values.

As we get to Egg Rock at the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet, we pull up near the left bank to read the 1885 inscription commemorating the founding of Concord in 1635: On the hill Nashawtuck at the meeting of the rivers and along the banks lived the Indian owners of Musketaquid before the white men came

© Sue Flint

ALISON FIELD-JUMA WITH JULIA KHORANA

“Rowing our boat against the current, between wide meadows, we turn aside into the Assabeth.

A more lovely stream than this, for a mile above its junction with the Concord, has never flowed on earth,— nowhere, indeed, except to lave the interior of a poet’s imagination.”

© Dave Griffin

River Solstice Celebration, North Bridge, Concord

A great blue heron takes off

En route, we surprised a great blue heron— the Transcendentalist movement.

It included local authors Amos it led us down the river, staying just ahead. If Bronson Alcott, William Ellery you’re lucky, you can see muskrat, beaver, or Channing, and Henry David even bald eagles.

Thoreau, and attracted other After Egg Rock, we take a left and paddle well-known writers such as a short way up the shallower Assabet to Margaret Fuller, the unusual “leaning What you can Henry Wadsworth hemlocks” on the left do for our Longfellow, Frederic bank. We search out rivers Henry Hedge, the stone at their roots Theodore Parker, and engraved with a fragment Enjoy and be an Walt Whitman. They of a poem by George advocate for the rivers shared a new vision Bartlett (1832-1896).

Painted turtles sunning • of society, inspired in Then we head back Leave no trace and part by nature. Many downstream to the pick up trash spent countless hours enjoying Concord River and go a • and exploring the rivers. short distance to the old Be a citizen scientist We disembark to stretch our North Bridge at Minute and collect water quality legs and tour the fascinating Old Man National Historical data Manse and Robbins House. Our Park. On April 19, 1775, • hearts and minds full of history with the local minutemen Be a weed warrior and Interactive Map Riverquest Brochure and nature, we make the journey on one side of the river learn how to pull out ———————————————————————— back upriver to return our boats and the British redcoats on invasive water chestnut Alison Field-Juma is Executive Director of and head home. the other, the “shot heard • OARS, based in West Concord, where she From South Bridge Boat ‘round the world” was Become a member leads initiatives to restore the health of House to North Bridge is a fired right here. The view of OARS the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers.

2.8-mile round trip, plus the from the river gives you a She grew up in eastern Massachusetts and short detour up the Assabet. sense of scale that is quite her love of nature drew her to a career in Concord’s rivers have something for different from what you can see on land. community-based watershed management. everyone, and it is a remarkable feeling to Later, this place was the backdrop to a Julia Khorana is Director of Finance know that you have travelled this ancient quieter revolution — one of philosophy and and Development at OARS and an avid and beautiful highway and never even seen spirituality. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay whitewater paddler. a road.

“Nature” in 1836 plowed fertile ground for

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© Dave Griffin

© Dave Griffin

— Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1854

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Concord’s Community Gardens

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BY THE CONCORD COMMUNITY GARDEN COORDINATORS

Since the town’s establishment in 1635, working the soil has been part of Concord’s identity and character. Emerson’s ‘green Musketaquid’ and ‘meadowed farms’ flourished from the beginning, thanks to the fertile agricultural land.

Community gardening in Concord had its beginnings in 1973, when Dan Monahan, the Director of Natural Resources at that time, investigated the concept being practiced in other parts of the U.S. by those who remembered the success of the WWI and WWII Victory Gardens in local communities throughout the country.

Dan’s plan was to establish gardens strategically located on town-owned conservation lands throughout Concord, where citizens would be able to grow their own food and flowers in assigned plots.

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Volunteer coordinators from each garden would work together with other gardeners to sort out any problems and handle the logistics of plot assignment, fee collection, equipment purchases, etc. This proved to be critical to the success of the Community Garden program.

The initial gardens, consisting of Hugh Cargill, Cousins Field, Peter’s Spring, Barrett’s Mill, and Harrington Park, were launched in 1975 and 1976. Today’s community gardens include the original Hugh Cargill and Cousins Field locations along with East Quarter Farm (2009) and Rogers (2016).

Two other community-based gardens that were not part of the town’s program were also established — one in 1977, at GenRad on Baker Avenue, for use by its employees during lunch and after hours; and the other in

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

the 1950s for the residents of the Conantum area. The latter is still active.

Each of our gardens has its own personality and approach.

HUGH CARGILL GARDENS (HCCG) was created in 1975 on land donated to Concord by its namesake in 1799 for the purpose of providing for the poor in the town. In the last two centuries, the town has expanded its goals as the property was divided to enable construction of Alcott Elementary School, the Concord Police and Fire Departments, affordable housing, and infrastructure to protect the Hugh Cargill well, a source of water for the townspeople. When the land was divided by the town in 1959, local farmer Larry Kenney leased and farmed the tract along Walden Street. The community garden

Our gardens are “little patches of sanity” in the midst of stressful times.

COUSINS GARDEN, also established in 1975 on a large town-owned field between Brown and Prairie Streets in West Concord, shares the space with picnickers, dog walkers, and soccer players. The gardens have 35 plots and a no-till section at the back of the garden. In addition, they have a pollinator garden and communal perennial patches for growing raspberries, rhubarb, blueberries, and garlic. Water is available from a town source. Interestingly, the gardeners originally wanted to use hand pitcher pumps, but the 30-foot lift was too great to enable a pitcher pump to function.

The gardeners range in age from the mid-30s to the mid-80s; at least four have worked their plots for 25-plus years, one of them for 42 years!

Coordinator Sabrina Haber helps guide this stable, active group of gardeners.

EAST QUARTER FARM was created in 2009 to fill a need after Peter’s Spring garden ceased operation in the 1980s. Located off Merriam Road on the former Amendolia farmland, it shares a portion of the land with Bill Kenney, who plows the gardens every spring.

Some of the 25-30 plots are sectioned off for no-till gardening, and a separate section is used for growing community blueberry and raspberry bushes. Water is supplied by an ingenious irrigation system designed by the gardeners to pull water from a nearby creek to a holding tank which feeds a system of faucets.

Multi-generational families make up this garden community. The gardeners actively participate in donating extra produce to the Open Table program for distribution to needy families and individuals in the area.

Coordinators Dale and Sally Clutter manage the many facets of this garden’s operation.

ROGERS GARDEN, established in 2016 off Harrington Avenue, is the smallest community garden, numbering 18 plots worked by 27 individuals and families.

Establishing the garden was a town goal to return the land to its former agricultural use. The garden was a challenge in the beginning. Several ongoing improvements, including soil amendment by the town and the gardeners and removal of rocks, have significantly upgraded the garden. Water is obtained from a well that the town installed for the garden and adjacent farmland to support the farmer who leases the adjoining two acres.

Coordinators Carol Aronson and Mark Del Guidice guide the garden as it builds its history.

Our community gardens share many common characteristics, including a love of planting and caring for produce and flowers, dealing with the challenges of

All photos courtesy of the community gardens

was established in 1975 when Mr. Kenney donated a portion for use by the local 4-H club. Initially consisting of 34 plots farmed by a combination of local 4-H members, their families, and adults, it has grown to 70 plots today. Each plot has individual perennial strips where gardeners have planted strawberries, flowers, garlic, and even a peach tree! The plots are used by gardeners ranging in age from 20+ to 84. Some of them have been at HCCG for over 40 years, and others are just beginning.

The land is fertile, with full sun and a high water table. Each spring, farmer Bill Kenney plows and rototills the field, carrying on his father’s tradition of helping the garden. When watering is needed, traditional hand pitcher pumps are used to pull up the groundwater.

Diversity is the hallmark of this garden, with individuals drawing on their backgrounds and interests to create a patchwork of lush, productive gardens.

Coordinators Michelle Wiggins, Rebecca Purcell, and Kirsten Schwartz manage the logistics of Concord’s largest community garden.

our changeable weather, and the everpresent weeds and deer. Our gardens are “little patches of sanity” in the midst of stressful times. We learn from our garden neighbors by trading tips such as how and when to plant peas. We eagerly share extra seeds, plants, and tools and respect plot boundaries. Most importantly, we learn respect for our land and our gardening neighbors as we work our plots. In the process, our gardens maintain Concord’s agricultural traditions and are a visible reminder of our town’s heritage.

For more information or to request a community garden plot of your own, visit concordma.gov/747/Community-Gardens.

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A Family-Friendly River Trip in Concord:

Egg Rock to the Carlisle-Bedford Bridge

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The Concord River Boater’s Trail begins at the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers, at Egg Rock, where they join to become the Concord River. The river is slow moving and easy to paddle in this section, so you can appreciate the rich natural and cultural sites along the way. Pass by the Old Manse, home of Emerson and Hawthorne, and paddle under the famous Old North Bridge, a part of Minute Man National Historical Park. The river enters the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and you can land your boat to explore the impoundments, home to a diversity of waterfowl. From here, the river continues to slowly meander through rich greenery until you reach Route 225.

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EGG ROCK The Concord River begins at Egg Rock where the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers join to become the Concord River. If the current permits, be sure to paddle your way up to Egg Rock to read its inscription. This is also the beginning of the Wild and Scenic section of the Concord River. A wealth of history as well as noteworthy current events take place on this river.

This river junction provided perfect conditions for Native Americans to thrive off the influx of shad, eels, and alewives (also known as river herring). In the late 19th century, it provided the ideal location for large holiday breakfasts, daily picnics,

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and camping parties for European settlers.

If you carefully observe the natural beauty around this junction, you may be lucky enough to spot an osprey nest. In the words of Henry David Thoreau: “Concord River is remarkable for the gentleness of its current, which is scarcely perceptible… it appears to have been properly named Musketaquid, or Meadow River, by the Indians.”

OLD CALF PASTURE AT LOWELL ROAD BRIDGE Access point: There is a boat ramp and parking at the Old Calf Pasture Conservation Area off Lowell Road just upstream of the Lowell Road Bridge.

© Jennifer C. Schünemann. All other photos © Dave Witherbee

Kayaking on the Concord River

As your boat swiftly glides under the Lowell Road Bridge, try to imagine the cave made of thick stone slabs that once stood erect under this very bridge. As George Bartlett tells us, just inside the stone cave walls resided pigs owned by some of the oldest European settlers on the river.

THE OLD MANSE There is a dock at the boathouse of the Old Manse on the right side of the river where you can tie up your boat if you want to disembark for a short visit.

When Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grandfather, the Reverend William Emerson, built this home with his own hands in 1770, he had no idea how many historically significant events would happen here. Ralph Waldo Emerson conceived his famous 1836 work Nature at the Old Manse. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody began their marriage here in 1842, and George Bartlett initiated his “floats,” water sports, and river outings and wrote various guidebooks and articles about the Concord River at this home. Even William Brewster, the first president of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (the first Audubon Society of the United States) called a portion of the Old Manse his home when he first arrived in Concord.

If you visit the home, be sure to notice the poems that Hawthorne and Peabody inscribed on the windowpanes for each other, as well as the vegetable garden that Henry David Thoreau planted for the newlyweds. From there it is a short walk to the Old North Bridge.

THE OLD NORTH BRIDGE The Old North Bridge is where the historic “shot heard ‘round the world” was fired. Dock your boat and visit the Minute Man Historical Park Visitor’s Center to learn more.

According to legend, there once existed a stone wall barrier built below the waterline under the Old North Bridge. John Buttrick, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Edmund Hosmer were said to have constructed the wall in order to inhibit large boats from damaging the natural beauty of the river. Just as we hope today to keep our rivers clean and free of oil contaminants, unsafe speeds, and conservation destruction, so did others two hundred years ago.

Great Meadows

MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK People come from all over the world to visit this historic place. If you have time to explore the park, be sure to start at the Minute Man National Historical Park Visitor’s Center. The Center, built in 1911, is on the left of the river, past the bridge. At the Minuteman Statue, by Daniel Chester French, you will also notice Emerson’s inscription on the base of the statue: “By the rude bridge that arched the floor, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard around the world.”

GREAT MEADOWS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Just 1.2 miles from Egg Rock, your boat will enter the large conservation land known as the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

This land has been carefully protected since it was first purchased in 1928 by Samuel Hoar and later generously donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1944. Hoar worked extensively to preserve the natural habitat. He constructed dikes throughout the marshes to protect the waterfowl’s habitat, a goal that we are still working on

today. Thanks to Hoar’s and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s work, you may spot or hear several waterfowl species throughout the Great Meadows portion of the Concord River.

These native birds are especially prevalent throughout the spring and fall.

Half a mile from the boundary, you will spy a landing next to a small beach with a Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge sign.

Hidden on the other side of dense vegetation is a breathtaking view of the Great Meadows.

There are 2.5 miles of trails through the meadows and woods which can be a nice addition to paddling the river. Thoreau took advantage of the wonder of the Great Meadows, where he enjoyed picking the pickerelweed and cardinal flowers.

THE CONCORD IMPOUNDMENTS The Concord Impoundments are home to many species of wildlife, including river otters, mink, muskrats, and white-tailed deer.

The two impoundments are each enclosed with a man-made dike in order to control the water level. The impoundments are similar to lakes, except they are drained into the Concord River in the summertime to allow the growth of vegetation that will provide food in the fall for migrating waterfowl. The drawdown of the impoundments provides

Discover CONCORD

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ideal feeding grounds for shorebirds. These species make the impoundments a popular spot for bird watchers. The Northern Harrier uses the impoundments as hunting ground. Blanding’s turtles live most of the year in the impoundments and nest nearby.

Waterfowl, including mallards and wood ducks, nest here. Several species of marsh birds, including rails and bitterns, are found in the cattails within the impoundments. Many species of amphibians and reptiles are active during the warmer months.

Visitors to the impoundments in July might see the invasive purple loosestrife plant or water chestnut. These plants are detrimental to the river’s wildlife habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to decrease the growth of these plants.

Sudbury River

BALL’S HILL Ball’s Hill will soon approach on your left, half a mile downstream from the Great Meadows landing. William Brewster purchased this land in 1891 and built a cabin on the southeast slope. When Benjamin Ball left this hill to fight in the Battle of Bunker Hill, he lost his life in the battle and never returned.

Additionally, this hill held importance for the Nipmuck Native Americans. Thousands of the Nipmuck’s stone weapons were discovered here, as well as at other sites along the riverbanks. The high elevation of the hill allowed the Nipmucks to avoid much of the spring flooding.

BEAVER DAM As your boat continues to gently glide through the calm current of this river portion, be sure to look for beaver dams. If you are lucky, you may see a heron perched atop the dam or Painted turtles resting around the sides. Beavers live all along the river, but they are spotted more frequently closer to the Great Meadows Lake.

CARLISE-BEDFORD BRIDGE (END) Access Point: The Bedford Boat Ramp is just downstream of the bridge on the right bank, with ample parking and vehicle access to Rte. 225. The bridge marks the boundary between Carlisle and Bedford — the original bridge was built from the left by the Town of Carlisle and from the right by the Town of Bedford.

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Just beyond the Carlisle-Bedford Bridge, the Concord River opens out to what seems like a whole new river. This part of the river is very popular for boating and fishing. Because

the river is a bit wider, motorized boats and sometimes jet skis use the river. Speed limit for all boats is 10 miles per hour so they should not be disruptive to any wildlife or paddlers.

Many thanks to the SuAsCo River Stewardship Council. This article is adapted from their Concord River Boater’s Trail Commentary Guide, with permission.

You can download a map that includes the locations mentioned in this article — and more — at sudbury-assabet-concord.org/downloads/family-friendly-map.pdf or simply scan this QR code. You can also follow them on Facebook @SuascoRSC

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GET OUTSIDE! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO And wherever you go, bring al fresco lunch from

This and other custom-made, overstuffed sandwiches available daily, along with a wide array of out-of-the-ordinary chips, cookies, candy, cold beverages, beer and wine.

Order by phone, or come to the deli counter.

29 Walden Street | Concord Center, MA | 978-369-5778 | www.concordcheeseshop.com

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Kids

Wild Babies What would you do if you were walking along and came across a nest in the ground full of baby bunnies?

Or perhaps a little bird hiding in the grass or a baby squirrel lying on the ground? What you would probably WANT to do is pick them up, cuddle them, and maybe even take them home to try to take care of them yourself. But it is so important to know what is best for these babies! Baby wildlife belongs in nature and does best when raised by their parents. Here are some tips on how to make sure we can keep wild babies safe!

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Birds

Just like humans, birds go through stages of development. One of the most vulnerable stages of development in the bird lifecycle is the fledgling stage. This is the stage we wildlife rehabilitators get the most calls about. Babies at this stage are fully feathered and able to hop. During this stage, the baby bird is too big for the nest but not yet old enough to fly or be on its own. So, the baby bird fledges, meaning they jump out of the nest and instinctively hop to the nearest underbrush or hide in the grass. From there, they have a special chirp that their parents can hear from far away, and their parents will feed them on the ground until they are old enough to fly away. Many people assume baby birds at this stage of development are in trouble because they are not able to fly. This is not true!

If it is in a safe area, the best thing you can do if you see a fledgling is simply leave it there. Sometimes, fledglings won’t hide very well, though. If the baby bird is out in the open, move it to the nearest hiding spot, such as under a nearby bush. The parents will find their baby. Just like with bunnies, it is a myth that the mother bird will smell humans on her baby and reject it. The other stages of development for birds are hatchling (a baby that has just hatched) and nestling (a baby that is meant to be in the nest). If you see a hatchling or a nestling on the ground, they need help! The best thing you can do is call your local wildlife rehabilitator for instruction. Sometimes we can help you re-nest the baby. Other times, we can instruct you how to nail a box to the side of the tree it fell from and make sure the mother is feeding it. What you should never ever do is try to raise a baby bird yourself.

| 2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

BY ASHLEY MAKRIDAKIS

REMEMBER If you care, leave them there

Bunnies © istockphoto/MidwestWilderness. All other photos courtesy of the author.

Bunny nests look like small depressions in the grass. When the mother bunny makes her nest, she digs a shallow hole and bites off the soft fur from her belly to line the nest and make it comfy and cozy for her babies. She then covers them up with dried grass. She will ONLY visit the nest to feed her babies twice a day, once at dawn and once at dusk. She does this because many animals like foxes, coyotes, and owls eat bunnies, and she does not want to attract any predators to the nest. Wildlife rehabilitators like me get lots and lots of calls about baby bunnies because people assume they are orphans. After all, the mom is never around. This is hardly ever true! If you find a nest of baby bunnies, the best thing you can do is simply leave them alone. If you accidentally tamper with the nest, that’s okay! Just put the bunnies back in the nest and cover them up. It is a myth that the mother will smell humans on them and reject them.

Squirrels

In the spring, wildlife rehabilitators like me get lots and lots of calls about baby squirrels. Many people choose springtime to cut down trees and do landscaping, which disrupts nesting squirrels.

Squirrels are very good mothers, and most of the time, reuniting babies with their mothers is very easy. If you find a baby squirrel, the first thing you should do is call a wildlife rehabilitator to instruct you how to reunite them with their mother. If there are any bugs around the baby or if the baby is extremely thin, that means they need help! You should put the baby in a box with some soft blankets and something to keep it warm, such as a heating pad set on low or a hot water bottle. Make sure the box is in a dark, quiet area until you can reach a wildlife rehabilitator for help. Never ever try to feed a baby squirrel! It is very easy to push the liquid down its throat the wrong way, which can kill them.

The most important thing to keep in mind during wildlife nesting season is that nature knows just what to do. There are times when these babies need some help, but most of the time …. if you care, leave them there! Please, never try to raise baby wildlife yourself, as it is unsafe for both the baby animal and you. The best thing to do is immediately call your local wildlife rehabilitator. We are always happy to help! mass.gov/service-details/find-a-wildliferehabilitator, facebook.com/freshstartwildliferehab Ashley Makridakis is a state-licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator with Fresh Start Wildlife Rehabilitation in Sudbury, Massachusetts and has been involved in the animal rights community for over 15 years. She enjoys teaching her four kids about nature and loves camping, running, and cooking vegan meals for her family.

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Kids A Scavenger Hunt for Kids CONCORD TREASURES:

and animals native to our area. To set off on your scavenger hunt, take a paper bag or small box to collect your treasures. A clipboard with paper and pencil for notes is always useful, and binoculars or a magnifying glass will bring nature to life in an entirely new way.

Commons.wikimedia.org/Msact

Commons.wikimedia.org/sterlingherron

Spring and summer beckon us outdoors — especially kids, and their natural curiosity is the perfect springboard for a scavenger hunt.

Whether you’re out and about in Walden Woods, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, or your own backyard, you can see plants

Butterfly weed

3 American elm tree (Ulmus americana)

3 Hemlock tree

The American elm tree was adopted as Massachusetts’ official tree on March 21, 1941, to commemorate the fact that General George Washington took command of the Continental Army beneath one of these stately trees on Cambridge Common in 1775.

The Eastern Hemlock is the only hemlock native to our state. It’s evergreen, so its short, thick needles don’t fall off all at once in the fall. Under the right conditions, an Eastern Hemlock can grow up to 100’ tall and live for more than 500 years!

©Samuel Brinker, inaturalist.org, photo 60841461

©Malcolm Manners, inaturalist.org, photo 8042769

(Tsuga canadensis)

3 Mayflower

(Epigaea repens)

The mayflower is the state flower of Massachusetts and likes moist, shady areas. It’s a lovely plant, but don’t disturb it — digging one up in MA is punishable with a $50 fine!

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3 Mountain Laurel

(Kalmia latifolia)

Mountain laurel is one of our most beautiful flowering shrubs. It blooms in May and June with unusual hexagonal or pentagonal-shaped flowers in shades of white and light pink.

Be careful, though. All parts of mountain laurel are poisonous.

© istock.com/Christina Radcliffe

© istock.com/YinYang

3 Butterfly weed

3 Beaver

(Asclepias tuberosa)

Out in the sunlight, you’ll find butterfly weed. This is a host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars and has bright orange or yellow flowers in summer.

(Castor canadensis)

© istock.com/impr2003

©Aleksandr Popov, inaturalist.org, photo 60493442

The Concord area has many fascinating animals, too. The beaver is common in MA and is North America’s largest native rodent. They mate for life and can live up to 20 years and more.

3 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

3 Red fox

See if you can spot the sunshine-yellow feathers of the American Goldfinch. These small (5”) birds have a distinctive “bouncy” style of flight and would love to visit your bird feeder this summer.

Look for a red fox. You can tell them by their reddish coat and black “leg-stockings.” They adapt quickly to new environments and live in family groups.

(Vulpes vulpes)

How many did you find?

Visit the sites below for more plants and animals to look for on your next scavenger hunt.

• inaturalist.org • massaudubon.org

• masswoods.org • mass.gov Discover CONCORD

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© istock.com/evgenyatamanenko

It’s All Fun and Games

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BY CYNTHIA BAUDENDISTEL

When you’re a kid, spring and summer are about long, lazy days spent playing, exploring, and having fun. We talked with Marie Foley, owner of The Concord Toy Box, to discover this year’s most popular summer toys and games. “During the pandemic we saw an increase in interest for wanting to play outside,” Marie said.

“Customers were interested in dress up, bubbles, games, and items for exploring, along with adapting many traditional games to be used outdoors. Fun is certainly the objective for summer 2022!”

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES A summer adventure can become a lifelong passion. Grab a compass, bug-catching net, magnifying glass, and Bear Grylls’ Beastly Bugs Activity Book and spend a day discovering the wonders that can be found in a simple meadow.

Summer nights are perfect for stargazing, and a telescope can reveal the mysteries of the universe. You can even borrow a microscope or telescope from the Concord Free Public Library!

SPIN COPTERS Spin copters are one of the latest crazes for summer toys. These LED copters light up against the night sky as they’re launched with a simple slingshot base. The copters float gently back to the ground, allowing kids to shoot them again and again. A great alternative to fireworks!

BUBBLES A summer day spent blowing bubbles in the sunlight is a day well spent, indeed, and the technology hasn’t changed much – until now.

Bubble Tree products come in refillable aluminum bottles designed to fit in a child’s hand, and their bubble solution is eco-friendly and

POGO JUMPERS Pogo sticks have gotten a makeover and are now so much easier — and safer — to use. Invented in 1920, pogo sticks have come and gone in popularity due to the skill needed to use them. Kidoozie pogo jumpers are perfect for active kids aged four and up. They’re made of foam with a wide base and can be used indoors or out.

TWISTER Twister is a great game to carry along on your next picnic.

Easy to pack and simple to play, just unroll the Twister mat and spinner, and off you go. Right hand red, left foot yellow!

Fun fact: the world’s largest Twister mat was put together in 2010, just 75 miles from Concord in Belchertown, MA, on the Belchertown High School football field. It consisted of 1,008 Twister mats donated by Hasbro and measured 244.7 feet X 99.10.

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© istock.com/RichVintage

© istock.com/romrodinka

© istockphoto/Wand_Prapan

non-toxic. Best of all, you can refill your Bubble Tree bottles quickly and easily at The Concord Toy Box. DRESS UP What will your kids be this summer; pirates, explorers, superheroes?

With a simple costume, kids’ imaginations can run wild, creating their own summer adventures. Why not tie in a kids’ book on a related topic to read at bedtime? The folks at Barefoot Books (specialized in children’s books!) will be happy to help you choose a tale to continue the day’s adventure.

JARTS Also called lawn darts, these hand-thrown mini darts are no longer made in steel but are just as much fun as ever. Now made in plastic (much safer), the objective is simple — toss your lawn dart into the target circle. Like horseshoes, this is a great game that can be played by two or in larger teams.

Whether your kids love a competitive game of lawn darts, an outdoor adventure that uncovers new worlds, or simply blowing bubbles after the perfect picnic lunch, this year’s outdoor toys and games will put the fun in summer 2022.

Come visit us! There’s Something for the Whole Family, Down the Stairs at 32 Main St. In Concord Center | Mon-Sat 10am-6pm | Sun Noon-5 | RevolutionaryConcord.com

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The Great Outdoors

R

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE WITHERBEE

Remember when mother said, “Want to go outside?” and we ran for the door with a big grin? Well, it is your time again; run for it!

Get out there and soak it in.

We should remind ourselves to look, listen, and smell. There is much to see, but we must look up, down, and around. Listen to the birds and try to match the sounds with the birds around us. Red-winged blackbirds and grackles are easy to match up in April. Do you smell the pines and the many blossoms? In springtime, we might take notes of newly arrived plants, birds, insects, frogs, turtles, and the many other elements of nature that spend the winters hibernating or in warmer areas, or just waiting for the warm spring sun to come alive. Perhaps we should put our phones in our pockets unless we are taking notes or pictures of nature.

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Do we look up enough? Don’t miss the Wood Duck sitting up above.

This bee balm (bergamot) smells like lemon. This one is visited by a hummingbird moth, also called a clearwing moth, that has a long tongue that it unfurls to sip nectar.

There is also much to see looking down. The flowers and plants are wonderful to view, but there is much more on the surface of our outdoors, and sometimes things are conflicting. A garter snake may have a different plan than a toad.

Barred Owl

As I am walking a trail, I often wonder if there is an owl spying upon me. Owls are well disguised but do not roost very high, so I make a point to only look about 20 or 25 feet high in a tree with horizontal branches. The hawks also tend to perch about the same height.

Red-tailed hawk

These beetles don’t like cold New England winters; hence, they migrate to southern areas.

And do not forget to listen. Along with the birds singing and calling are many others sounds, such as frogs croaking, chipmunks chipping, spring peepers, bees buzzing, muskrats chattering, and the large milkweed beetle (somewhat quietly) purring and squeaking. This beetle is interesting. Milkweed plants are shared with the monarch butterfly, and the orange color of this beetle tells birds and other insect predators that it is poisonous, so do not eat me.

Our great outdoors is wonderful and soothing, so get out there and enjoy it all.

—————————————————————————————————————————————— Dave Witherbee has been traveling the trails and rivers of Concord for 50 years and has been enchanted with the small and large aspects of its nature. Dave’s love of photography has enhanced the attraction.

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© istock.com/ozgurcankaya

Verrill Farm welcomes you to a summer of outdoor activities!

STRAWBERRY DAY - JUNE 25

Plus - Monthly Festivals, Farm to Table Dinners, and Lots of Summer Events and Fun! (Visit www.verrillfarm.com for all updates!)

11 Wheeler Rd. | 978-369-4494 | Verrillfarm.com 60

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Delightfully Unexpected Treasures

InkStoneArchitects.com Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (a_new_leaf_shop) to see specials

74 Commonwealth Ave. Concord MA 01742 | 978.341.8471

617 899.6351 Eve Isenberg

Concord MA

650 814.8542 Brigitte Steines

Curated selection of tabletop items, home decor, bedding + lifestyle!

15% off with mention of this ad!

Borjalou Kazak 19th Century

84a commonwealth ave, concord, ma 01742 @jaimshoppe • 978-610-3334

Antique and New Decorative Carpets and Rugs Sales, Carpet Cleaning, Restoration & Appraisals 624 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 617-264-2002 | www.wovenartcollection.com

Locally owned and operated Enjoy a free donut with any purchase at any of our Concord locations. Limit one per customer.

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2022 Guide to the Great Outdoors

Advertiser Index ARCHITECTURE, CUSTOM BUILDING & INTERIOR DESIGN 1 Appleton Design Group 61 Inkstone Architects 65 Platt Builders ARTS & ART SUPPLIES 57 Albright Art Supply 37 Louise Arnold Art 15 Three Stones Gallery

CATERING, RESTAURANTS, AND SPECIALTY FOOD & WINE SHOPS 37 Adelita 51 Concord Cheese Shop 16 Concord Teacakes 66 Debra’s Natural Gourmet 61 Dunkin’ 51 Fiorella’s Cucina 60 Verrill Farm 36 West Concord Wine & Spirits 37 Woods Hill Table CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES 16 Loveday EXPERIENTIAL Insert Concord Museum 15 Concord Museum Garden Tour 36 The Umbrella Stage Company FLORISTS & GREENHOUSES 31 Colonial Gardens 37 Concord Flower Shop

©istock.com/Darla Graff

BOOKS, MAGAZINES & SCHOLARLY WORKS 31 Barefoot Books 24 Barrow Bookstore 62 Discover Concord

HOME FURNISHINGS, DÉCOR & UNIQUE GIFTS 61 A New Leaf 60 Artisans Way 60 The Bee’s Knees British Imports 61 J’aim Home · Lifestyle 36 Nesting 57 Revolutionary Concord 61 Woven Art

REAL ESTATE 3, 7 The Attias Group C2, 64 Barrett Sotheby’s Int’l Realty 10, 11 Coldwell Banker Realty 25, 32, Compass 33 9, 38 Engel & Völkers Insert Landvest 43 William Raveis

LODGING 5 Concord’s Colonial Inn 37 North Bridge Inn

TOYS 57

The Concord Toy Box

VISITOR RESOURCES Insert Concord Visitor Center

JEWELERS 16 Artinian Jewelery PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 17 The Monument Group Companies 62 My Side Virtual Assistant Professionals 21 Pierre Chiha Photographers

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Great outdoors... even better indoors.

We have been building beautiful spaces for nearly thirty years and will bring our expertise to design rooms you’ll love to come home to. From custom homes and additions to mudrooms and porches, our design process begins with you.

Let’s work together.

PLATTBUILDERS.COM | 978.448.9963 KT2 Design Group | Photography by Greg Premru