Sowams Woods

Our last adventure of the week was to Sowams Woods. It was a scavenger's hunt organized by the library and the Barrington Land Conservation Fund. We did another scavenger's hunt with them during winter break, and that was fun (though Joan and I had to go sit in the car for the second half, she was too cold).

You might think, as we did, that Sowams Woods would be the woods behind Sowams School, or
at the very least in close proximity to Sowams Road. You would be wrong. It's actually on the other side of the river, close to the golf course. Even Josh didn't know it was there, and he has run or biked a lot of this town!

It was a good one hour walk. There were lots of families, though, and we were stuck in the back at first, so the kids couldn't hear anything, and Evan started getting bored. So I sent them to weave their way to the front, that helped a lot.

We learned the conservation of this particular area is focused on two vernal ponds that spring peepers, and other frogs and salamanders, call home. Actually, the pools are the breeding/nursery grounds, the woods around are the home. If the woods weren't there, the spring peepers and salamanders would be no more, even if the pools remained undisturbed.

So we have discovered another secret spot in our town. I guess we need to explore more!