Monson Village - Hollis/Milford line

I occasionally drive the back roads of Hollis with my kids looking for deer, etc.  While driving on Federal Hill Road (near the Hollis/Milford town line) I passed a gate across a dirt road leading into the woods and would occasionally see cars parked at the entrance.  One afternoon I decided to take a walk to check it out.   I grabbed water, GPS, knife and a multi-tool and headed down the trail.

A few hundred yards from the road there was a sign for Monson Village (about 300 acres).  Turns out it is a old settlement from the 1700's.  Some large fields, trails, nice rock walls and bench's throughout the area.  A great place for a picnic.
There are old homestead foundations from settlers in the 1700's.  They have made small signs by many of the foundations that talk about each family that settled there.  One person’s son was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston.  My guess is in those days most men able to carry a gun were in the militia.  I enjoy the history of the New England area.

I took one trail and ended up at a beaver pond with a couple beaver mounds.  I saw 5 blue heron nesting in the trees.  The first time it took me a while to see the birds.  It was very windy and all I could see was a yellow beak protruding from the nest. The second time I visited I saw this heron perched near a nest.
My old friend Bill H. is an avid birder and WWII vet. He always tells me about the different birds he sees. He knows so many by sight and has his bird books all marked up.

It's 2 miles round trip to the heron nests.  Bill is in good shape for a 93-year-old but said he can't walk that distance. I will figure out another way to get him in there as I think he would enjoy seeing them.  I wish I had a Rokon Trailbreaker.

I will take more pictures as the flowers come out. This is a pretty place to check out and have a picnic.




UPDATE: I was able to take Bill through the woods to the beaver pond.  I picked him up in my Silverado and drove down the path, across a field, over a rock wall, and into the woods.  There were some tree roots and rocks which made things a bit bumpy but the path wasn't particularly steep.  The real challenge was the narrow trail with trees on both sides.  I had to fold in my side mirrors.  At one point I had about 4 inches to spare on each side of my truck trying to maneuver through the trees.  Kevin was in the back bed helping to guide me as I had no side mirrors.  It's not often I wish I still had my narrow Ford Ranger.

I parked about 75 yards from the pond and we walked the rest of the way.  At the beaver pond, Bill saw the Heron in their nests.  He brought his binoculars and a spotting scope.  Bill and Kevin spotted several other birds which Bill identified and told us all about.  He also pointed out the different plants around the pond.  He seemed to really enjoy himself.  We saw more birds in the trees next to the rock walls by the fields on our way out.  Bill said, "this place is a gem!"     Thanks Russ!

The last time I went to the beaver pond the flowers were blooming from the lily pads.  There was no wind and very quiet. Every 5 minutes or so I would hear a frog go jumping across the top of the lily pads.  When I took the picture I was focused on the 3 flowers and neglected to see the snake at the bottom.  If I saw it I would have followed it around to see if it would catch something.  That may explain the frogs moving around.