On my way home from running errands in the Pioneer Valley, I decided to visit Mandell Hill in Hardwick, which I had learned about from the East Quabbin Land Trust website.

The property is described as a working farm, which includes a certified organic grass-fed beef operation, so I was a bit unnerved by the thought of coming face to face with a herd of bovines, but my fears were groundless.  Perhaps today the cattle were pastured in a faraway meadow, and all I had to worry about was jolting myself on the electric fences.

Mandell Farm has a rich history, both ecological and cultural.  The 200-acre property includes spectacular views, managed grasslands, and a mixed hardwood forest with 80-120 year old trees.   The main loop trail is an easy hour’s walk, and today was a beautiful day for a spring hike.

Here is a flowering tree, but I don’t know what it is:   probably an invasive!  After all, many of the invasive plant species are ornamentals.  Parts of this property have been overrun by Asiatic bittersweet and Multiflora rose, and efforts to eradicate them are ongoing.

I managed to catch this Mourning Cloak soaking up the sun on the trail.  These butterflies overwinter as adults, and indeed, this individual looked a bit ragged.  My field guide to Northeastern butterflies says of Nymphalis antiopa, “Identification: Unmistakable”

Here is another sign of spring: the Ostrich Fern, or Matteuccia struthiopteris.  I don’t have a field guide to ferns, so I’m not sure of the identification, but these are definitely fiddleheads.

Yet another sign of spring is the Jack-in-the-Pulpit, or Arisaema atrorubens.

About half the trees have started leafing out:

As you can see from the shadows cast over the trail and stone wall, the day was partly sunny:

At the trailhead near the parking area, looking west, is a broad sweep of meadows:

In the far distance, looking north, is a view of 2000-ft Mount Wachusett.  The thin line in the lower half of the photo is one of the electrified fences:

The parking area is at the intersection of Barre Road and Ridge Road; I didn’t hike the trail parallel to Ridge Road which leads to the EQLT Office, but I couldn’t resist photographing these exceptionally lovely daffodils growing next to the stop sign, an almost stereotypical symbol of spring:

Via the back roads through Barre and New Braintree, it took me about 20 minutes to drive the 11 miles home.