Deer Island

[urbpan]

cottonmanifesto, rockbalancer, and I (and the dogs) walked around Deer Island yesterday. It's part of the Boston Harbor Island National Recreation Area despite being attached to the town of Winthrop. These days it is mostly known for being the location of Boston's state of the art sewage treatment plant. Yesterday it was noteworthy for being brutally windy and cold. When we got to the furthest tip of the peninsula, it felt like the skin of our faces was being blown off with ice. Still, it is a unique and strangely beautiful place, and we did see quite a few winter ducks, including goldeneyes, eiders, and mergansers. The water was strangely clear and blue.




The skyline of Boston, as seen from Deer Island.



Tanks of chemicals used to process the sewage.



The plant's most amazing and distinctive feature is this set of 140 foot tall digesters, where the sewage is broken down by various bacteria species.



We encountered several dead starlings--no idea what killed them.



cottonmanifesto got much better pictures of basically the same things. You should go look at them for comparison.

Comments

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

The Mystery of the Slain Starlings might be answered by those three big rotating blades above you...

Or maybe they just got chilled in the icy blast.

I live in Winthrop and walk around Deer Island often, but only when the weather is a bit more sultry. This weekend was Too Damned Cold!