Communing with Nature

To quote the Amherst Citizen "The Lindabury Orchard Conservation Land is 46.9 acres and includes both orchard and forest. It was purchased in October, 2003. “Friends of the Orchard” is a community group formed to manage the orchard on behalf of the town and the Amherst Conservation Commission (ACC). According to the ACC, the Lindabury Orchard falls away from Christian Hill Road at a gentle grade, transitioning from orchard to heavy forest near the bottom of the hill. A large stonewall marks the end of the orchard and the beginning of the forest. There are parts of the orchard just a few hundred yards from Christian Hill Road that are as serene and scenic as any in southern New Hampshire."   The Lindabury Cider Fest is held there most years. People visit the orchard to witness  beautiful sunsets and photographers find the apple trees great backdrops for portraits.  It is located at the top of Christian Hill Road.

 

Along Beaver Brook
Beaver Brook flows from the Mont Vernon town line to the Souhegan
River. Along its short course are several places to walk or sit and rest.
Each has its own qualities.

Caesar's Brook Reservation
This land off Mont Vernon Road is reached by a short logging road opposite the intersection of Eaton Road. This is a place to see forest progression from the fields of a former chicken farm to the mature woods beside the brook. A selective forest harvest was conducted by the ACC in 1997 to improve forest health and habitat. Hiking trails are being laid out within the reservation and should be implemented soon.

The Reflecting Place
Located behind The Amherst Congregational Church on Beaver Brook features a platform with benches at the edge of the marsh where ducks, song birds and quite often a hawk, waiting for a careless morsel, can be observed. The water level is often controlled by beaver construction downstream. Many years past, a portion of the marsh was a cranberry bog. The native shrubs around the water’s edge are a prime example of a wetland buffer supporting many species.

 

The Great Meadow
A short path leaving Boston Post Road across from Wilkins School will take you through a small field to the edge of the ponded water in Great Meadow. A short boardwalk extends
past the shoreline. Beyond the end of the swamp and marsh your eye will spot the buildings of Mont Vernon village. On the water, you may see beaver, muskrat and waterfowl while
above the marsh grasses and shrubs many bird species nest and gather insects. The tall pines across the meadow stand on ACC land donated to the commission by Abby Boutelle.

 

Ross Bird Sanctuary
Beaver Brook supplies this marsh and its inhabitants. After a comfortable walk from the village to Thornton Ferry Road I, a small observation platform can be reached. Follow a short path leaving from the left (north) side of the road just past the bridge over Beaver Brook. Beaver do occupy the marsh and usually engineer the water level for the other occupants and visitors.

Currier Land
This parcel of riverine habitat lies downstream of the confluence of Beaver Brook and the River. It is located on the flood plain between Fairway Drive and the Souhegan. Access is from Fairway Drive at the ACC boundary sign. Please respect private property. An unmarked path follows the riverbank. Numerous bird and animal tracks in the moist soil show the large variety of the natural users in this corridor of the river and its shoreline buffers. Unfortunately, there are also many tracks from illegally operated motor vehicles. Someday, it may be possible to connect this path with the cemetery field, Hodgman State Forest, and the schools. Caution: The riverbanks are undercut in many areas. Use care, especially during high water.

Ponemah Bog
This true quaking bog reached from Rhodora Drive is owned and maintained by the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. A boardwalk resting on the bog surface circles the unique wetland. Plants that thrive on the acid bog soil and many neotropical birds can be found here. A substantial observation stand affords an excellent view of the bog. This is a place for a quiet walk without pets. A careless step by a child, a parent or a pet may damage the fragile flora and place the stepper in danger. New England bogs have swallowed more than one cow, horse, or ?.

Hodgman State Forest
This eight-acre drumlin* was acquired by the state in 1916 and planted with the red pine trees that still cover the top of the hill. Reached from Cemetery Field, the drumlin, which rises above the
Souhegan flood plain, gives a good panorama of the Souhegan valley west to the Temple Range. A woodroad runs the length of the forest to the south end where it ends in ACC wetlands. 

 

*Drumlins are smooth, elongated hills composed largely of unstratified drift composed of rock fragments of all sizes mixed together laid down directly by glacial ice called till. The long axis of the drumlin is oriented in the direction of the ice movement with the blunt nose pointing upstream.