Urban Nature Pictures 4/11: Bussey Brook Urban Wilds

[urbpan]

Pilewort, an herb related to buttercup, once used to treat hemorrhoids. (Also called lesser celandine.) Found lots of it blooming in the wet areas of the Bussey Brook Urban Wilds (which seems to be called "Bussey Brook Meadow" now, and is part of the Arboretum.)




As the website indicated, there is a stone dust path across the street from the Forest Hills train station. I have driven by it dozens of times without realizing it was an entrance to this secluded section of the Aboretum.


A short ways down the path and this is the view to the right--the backs of the houses in the adjoining neighborhood.


I quickly encountered the first of several helpful interpretive signs, mostly about bird life.




Bussey Brook is unusual among brooks in Boston in that it is not culverted for much of its length.


It does enter a culvert here and joins the fully culverted Stony Brook on its way to the Charles.


While I was checking out the brook, a mounted policeman came by. The clock tower is part of the nearby rapid transit station.


Jim thought the horse was very interesting.


Part of the land is a pretty nice swamp.


This sign indicates that the person making the signs is Anne Schmalz, a volunteer with the Arboretum Park Conservancy. Nice work, Anne!
The Conservancy claims as its greatest achievement "was to incorporate a long underappreciated segment of open space into the Arboretum Indenture." Their page on Bussey Brook has good information that I wished I'd seen before visiting.


At the other end of the path, it comes close to the brook again.


Jim went into the brook!


And so did Charlie! The brook passes under South Street here.


Charlie sits among the lesser celandine.


Looking back into the park from the end of the path.

It's really nice to see some of the Urban Wilds are well-cared for and protected. Not quite the same in our next chapter: Canterbury.

Comments

[m0053.livejournal.com]

I LOVE that you always have names behind the flowers and bugs. After botany this summer I hope to catch up to you a bit XD