I met the others at 8 am at the intersection of Route 122 and Coldbrook Road in Barre, for a short hike on part of the Mid-State Trail, led by the director of the East Quabbin Land Trust.  It was a pleasant late summer morning, a bit overcast but not cold, with the sun eventually breaking through for short stretches, and no rain, not even a drop.  From where the eight of us met, we drove an additional two miles north on Coldbrook Road, where we left the cars and started on the trail.  We hiked south on the Mid-State to Pine Plains Road, then left the Mid-State where it turns east and we turned west; we then headed north on Wood Road, crossing Dike No 2 and Dike No 1, and eventually ended up where we started.

Geography.  This area is part of the Ware River watershed system; the Ware River is a tributary of the Connecticut.  According to the map we consulted as we walked, most of the land around the Barre Falls Dam is MDC property, surrounding some 557 acres of federally owned land.  There are wetlands (of course), forests, and open fields.  Wild animals living here include songbirds, moose, deer, turkey, fox, and rabbits.  For sportsmen, trout and pheasant are stocked by Mass Fisheries and Wildlife.

History.  The Barre Falls Dam was authorized in 1941, around the same time that the massive public works project, the Quabbin Reservoir, was completed.  In fact, land in this section of Barre, the Village of Coldbrook Springs, was taken by eminent domain back in the 1920s.  The first stage of the Quabbin Reservoir project, a tunnel connecting the Wachusett Reservoir with the Ware River, was completed in 1926; during the 1930s, the tunnel, now known as the Quabbin Aqueduct, was extended to the Swift River.

History can sometimes be approached through place names; for example, close by where we walked is Prison Camp Road, which I think indicates that inmates perhaps lived or worked near here.  However, no one knows why “Blood Swamp” is named that — perhaps for the blood from mosquito bites? or a destructive encounter between colonists and Native Americans? or even the color of the water if it ever looked rusty.

Best Species Sighting.  We saw a number of lovely specimens of New England Blazing Star (Liatris scariosa), a member of the aster family, and currently listed as a species of Special Concern by NHESP.

Worst Species Sighting.  One stretch of the trail is bordered by massive stands of Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica).  This is an invasive species and its removal is desirable.  You can click here to see what this plant looks like.  Birds eat the berries, and the seeds are easily dispersed by them.