November 25, 2020 - Sharon: Deborah Sampson park to Borderland State Park

Welcome to Susan's Bay Circuit Diary! This blog follows my adventures with my dog Sulu hiking the Bay Circuit Trail.  To get new posts in your inbox, please subscribe (see the little "subscribe" oval above). The rest of the past posts can be found using the little menu on the left.  If you are curious how this all started, go here.

From K to the asterisk on the border of Borderland

We’re back in Sharon two days in a row. I cut my walk a little short yesterday to give me time to bake a pie (it *is* Thanksgiving week, the pie was cherry). Today we parked at the same park as yesterday, Deborah Sampson Park, but are headed southbound. There is a parcourse trail like the one in Bedford which keeps us off the road, which I appreciate.

Good job Scout kid, but did you have no access to graphics at all?

Sharon has a big beautiful lake in town, Lake Massapaug, which is open for swimming in season and has a walking path as well.  It appears to have strict dog rules, but because it’s off-season, we can walk the lake shore path.

I’ve seen more Black Lives Matter signs in Sharon than anywhere else on my walk so far.

Also, so far, good penetration of sidewalks in Sharon.

Even though the weather is nominally the same temperature as yesterday it’s cloudy here, so chillier, but I feel well prepared in a hooded fleece this time.

There are charming, not luxurious, houses across the road from the lake. Each one seems to have some ownership or right of way to the lake shore. I see lots of appealing set ups including barbecues, canoe racks, and docks that have been put away for the season. It looks like a nice summer vibe.

Today is quite a bit of road walking, but a better class of road walking. I’m on a sidewalk, I’ve got a lake view, and some interesting houses to look at. In retrospect I could’ve brought Benny today, although he would have needed to wear his little coat.

I picture this house in Gloucester

Classic beach cottage. What you can't see is a series of tiny
houses extending back along the property line.

Victorian haunted house channeled by tract home builder

Reminds me of my father's cousin's house in
Rockaway (minus the trees)

I was also graced by a Red-tailed Hawk who flew from a yard across my path to land on a utility pole.

At some point we have transitioned onto Map 11. There’s quite an overlap between Maps 10 and 11: the whole lake is on both maps.

I’m not sure how far to go today. I have two pies to make today as well (sweet potato and apple). I decided it would be fun to get to the border of Borderland (State Park) before I turn around, so I did.

On my way back I saw but did not get a picture of a guy riding by on an actual penny farthing bicycle (I thought it was called a boneshaker, but Google says no). He was dressed in modern cycling clothes but it was a full size big wheel bike. Could it have been one of these contemporary ones, or these?

Lots of conditional masks today including myself. People walking around in the environment might not be wearing their mask covering their face, but when they get within about 20 feet of another person, up goes the mask covering your face. That seems perfectly civilized to me. It might not work in the big city but it makes sense in suburbia.

Praise be! A porta potty at the beach. And fully supplied! There aren’t many opportunities for shrubbery visits in public parks in the suburbs.

I decided to go the other way on the loop around the fitness course on my return just for fun.  That route took us right by the Sharon Dog Park.  Sulu does not always have a good time at dog parks, but he begged to go in, so I conceded.  The Sharon Dog Park is spacious and surfaced with wood chips. It’s got all kinds of amenities, like running water, benches, and shade trees.  Sulu did some running, some sniffing, and some playing.  I was done before he was and I snuck up on him when he was butt-sniffing so I could snap on the leash and take him home.

Come play with us!

I look forward to exploring Borderland State Park next time.

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