Snowfall in Sherborn
After all the hubbub about bomb cyclones, a good old fashioned New England snowstorm kept us hunkered down indoors Friday and Saturday. We woke to a bright sunny day Sunday with about 18 inches of powdery snow on the ground. After digging out our porch and back walk, Bill and I grabbed our snowshoes and headed over to Hidden Meadow for a tromp through the woods and into the fields here.
Hidden Meadow really is one of the hidden treasures in Sherborn. It’s town conservation land that is hidden behind a row of old farm houses on Western Avenue, but the trailhead is at the end of Bear Hill Road. It’s easy enough to park in the turnaround there and clamber over the snowbank to the trail.
Another pair of snowshoers had broken trail ahead of us through the woods. All was peaceful and lovely with the thick blanket of snow over the ground and showered onto the small pine trees along the trail.
When we got out in the field, we headed toward the slope. About halfway along, in the first, level part of the field, the tracks ended where our invisible friends had turned around. We stood for a moment, enjoying the sight of cattails and sensitive fern spore stalks outlined against the fresh snow. Then we tromped onwards, down through a little gully and back out, then uphill, getting a good workout for our thighs and lungs.
At the top of the slope, we paused and looked down at the expanse of field below us, dotted with trees. Along the eastern edge of the field, a line of tall fir trees stood, dark and beckoning. Surely there were flocks of chickadees and nuthatches in their welcoming boughs, calling softly to each other. We’ve seen them all winter at our bird feeders.
But the sunshine was irresistible in the middle of winter, so we continued in the fields. We circled back along the fence line, admiring the little Victorian style cottage on the Wirth property along our way. From there, we went back downhill, turned right at a gully by a big tree stump, then walked past the old apple trees on our way to the woodland trail. We retraced our steps through the silent tree trunks and past blueberry bushes poking up out of the snow, and back to our car.
It was a Vermont getaway right here in Sherborn and a reminder of how lucky we are to live close to such natural beauty that’s protected forever.
Check out the Sights section of the blog for photos of Hidden Meadow under its blanket of snow.
