A couple of weekends ago Sid and Stacy called and asked me if I would like to go for a walk. Unfortunately my prescription for the anti-inflammatory Celebrex can no longer be filled unless I pay for it myself. So I declined. I'm sure that I will pay for it when my pain level reaches the $170 per month mark. When that happens only time will tell.
The walk destination was a location on the north end of Fir street known to me as 'The Paintball Field.' The name was introduced to me by my nephew Justin when he and his friends cleared some brush and dragged in some pallets and barrels as well as constructing some small huts to shoot from. I had called the area 'The Indian Ground' for reasons I can not prove but believed Wampanoags camped there.
Mackenzie, Sid and Stacy's youngest daughter, and one of her friends has been trying to resurrect some of the bunkers there and her parents wanted to see how it was progressing. I decided I could drive to the end of Fir street and walk down the short path with no problems. When I arrived Sid and Stacy led me to a small pond where frogs were croaking. This may not seem exciting to people who live near a lake or pond but I found it great, and I think Sid and Stacy did too. As w e approached the water it was pretty quiet, but once you stand still the frogs start croaking their mating songs. The sound rose to an amazing level that made me smile. I don't know why, but it was cool. I have never seen frogs on the island and I suspect that what we heard was actually toads but it's still nice to know that things are beginning to grow and thrive after the Winter.
I couldn't help being reminded of a spot that my family would stop for a picnic lunch in Connecticut named Frog Rock. Somewhere we have picture of me and my sister with my Dad dressed in Easter clothes standing in front of Frog Rock. Gotta dig that one out someday.
If you get a chance I suggest taking Sid and Stacy's walk. Head to the north end of Fir street to Cherrystone road and a few feet from there on the east side of the street you'll see a lightly worn trail. For some reson the path arcs to the left and you will probably see some uneven ground, just head toward the rocks and listen. I know of another curiosity on the Island for you. I call it the Three Sided Pen. It's down Bass Creek Path which is very wet. I brought an archaeologist down there to see what he thought. I thought it may have been a cemetery. There are carefully constructed stone walls more than 3 feet high. Small features indicate whoever built it knew there stuff. There are flat stones in many places placed on the top of the walls as cap stones. Along the bottom you can find small stones used to leave gaps in the wall, as if to add height with using less material. On the south side of the pen there is no wall. The ground is amazingly stone free. Leading me to believe it was for gardening or farming. Three large stones, about as big as watermelons are perfectly aligned in a north-south manner. I thought these were grave markers. Sticking a trowel in the ground near them revealed a very big boulder just under the surface of the soil. Apparently the rocks were markers so that anyone tilling the soil would avoid the unseen boulder. Another curiosity of the site is that it has the only old stone walls constructed on the island that run perfectly north-south and east-west.
If you wish to try to find the Three Sided Pen head down Bass Creek Path at the corner of Fir st and Mist Bay road (formerly Cove rd). After about 5 minutes of walking you will arrive at a more open area. As you reach there stop and look for 3 scrawny pines on the south side of the path. Just after them you may see a barely discernable deer run. Follow that south for about 2 minutes and the walls will appear in front of you almost magically. Now if you think that these directions are vague, my nephew Justin gave them to me and I found it. I gave them to Karl Pederson and he found it. When I went down there with the archaeologist he pointed out to me that we passed the three scrawny pines. So its not as vague as you might believe. Try and let me know how you fare.
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