On this, the first day of summer, I decided to go for a walk in the woods. About 20 minutes away from me in the town of Sturbridge is a recently-deeded property with four miles of hiking trails, so I headed there, to Opacum Woods, a permanently protected conservation area owned and stewarded by the Opacum Land Trust. According to their website, the property contains 266 acres of forested land, “including woodland ponds, swamps, vernal pools, historic and prehistoric sites, and habitat for some rare and some not-so-rare species.”

I hiked the Green Trail to Opacum Pond and then walked parts of the Blue, Yellow, and Red Trails. Then because I forgot my map at home, I wasn’t sure where I was, so I retraced my steps back to the trailhead where I had parked my car. It was a perfect summer day, and I could imagine myself in an environment that the Native Americans might have recognized, but the constant hum of traffic on the Mass Pike dispelled that illusion. The sanctuary also abuts a highly developed residential area where new construction is ongoing. I hope the community understands the value of this type of open space and continues working to preserve it.

Here are some photos I took of the pond

and mossy rocks on the Yellow Trail.

Best species: Dragonflies
Worst: Mosquitoes

I joined a group of about 75 people at the UMass Sunwheel at 7:30 this evening to hear Professor Judith Young of the Astronomy Department talk about what the summer solstice means and to experience the sun setting behind the solstice standing stone. We were fortunate that the unsettled weather during the day morphed into a beautiful, calm summer evening.

A sunwheel is basically a calendar based on astronomical observations of the moon and stars, the most famous example of which is Stonehenge, a prehistoric site on the Salisbury plain in England. Dr. Young conceived of the project in order to

bring a greater awareness and understanding of astronomy to the University community, school children, and the general public, thereby enhancing science literacy, encouraging curiosity, and improving the quality and enjoyment of life.

The UMass Sunwheel consists of 16 standing stones together weighing over 50 tons, which were transported from the Chester Granite Quarry in East Otis and placed on site in November 2000. Four stones mark the sunrise and sunset directions for the summer and winter solstices, four mark the cardinal directions, and four are moonstones marking the extremes of moonrise and moonset. These standing stones are placed on the circumference of a circle that has a diameter of 65 feet. It’s located south of Alumni Stadium in an open field off Rocky Hill Road.

Dr. Young told us that there are six important points to note about the summer solstice. I’m hoping I remembered them all. At the summer solstice:

• the day is the longest
• the night is the shortest
• the sun rises at the most northerly point
• the sun sets at the most northerly point
• the sun reaches its highest point in the sky
• at latitude 23.5 degrees N, the noonday sun casts no shadow

There are photos of the Sunwheel and of the solstice gatherings on the project site. I brought my camera with me, but as soon as I turned it on, the “No battery” message flashed. What’s up with that?! I’ve only owned the camera for 2 weeks! I guess I’ve been snap-happy and also wasn’t familiar enough with the flashing icons to realize it was telling me to recharge the battery.