since this is the beginning of a new contest i thought it appropriate to start with some reflections on my own beginnings. this entry photo is titled *Autumn on Morse's Pond * in Easton, Massachusetts, USA
i grew up in a house bordering this pond. when i started primary school in 1960 i would walk from my house along the pond past all the neighbor's houses, through some swampy woods, over the dam behind the factory then crossed the street to get to Mrs Taber's class. wild crabapples grew on the banks in those woods. i wonder if they still do.
when i was in the 2nd grade i learned to row. i was alone in the light pram my father built when a not so good friend pushed the boat away from the dock. my so-called friend did not know i couldn't row- he did shout out some helpful tips and i figured it out. in the winter we would spend most of our free time skating and playing hockey and throughout the rest of the year boating or fishing for bass, perch, sunfish and catfish but only seldom swimming in the 70s there were 2 years with floods and the old wooden boards of the dam started to give way so for many years the pond was reverted back to a brook. but thankfully the dam was eventually restored so the pond was reformed, albeit smaller and shallower than before. luckily almost all of the area across the pond has remained undeveloped. the trees on the shore are predominantly red maple, gray birch, alders, willows and witch hazel while behind them red oak and white pine thrive. but my favorite was the lone red tupelo in the woods behind our house. there were mallards, the occasional great blue heron and even some wood ducks but no canada geese on the pond when i was young. these days they are common, too common for some of the bordering lawnowners
the pond was created during the industrial revolution by damming Queset brook to supply power to a couple of factories. in those days Boston was a major producer of shoes so the main factory made shoe soles while the smaller made machine parts. production at the sole factory lasted until the late 1960s. the brook continues after the dam and flows into the legendary hockomock swamp.
the sun rises near the factory sometimes giving a focused reflection on the water. on my first shadow hunters entry i posted a photo with a double shadow, one on the lawn and a separate one one the house wall. these next photos here were taken just afterwards.
my mother recently moved out of the house so this spring it will be put up for sale. anybody interested.