Along the river you will find marsh and wetlands. These are the places where the birds feed and breed, where fish lay their eggs, where turtles multiply and come out to sun themselves on the rocks.
Herons, egrets, and other water fowl make their homes here. Humans generally don’t like these areas much. Too many bugs.
Mosquitoes are thick in the air, but they make wonderful food for many of the smaller creatures that live in these areas. Rich with life of all kinds, the wetlands are fed by the same river that flows down from the Worcester hills to the sea at Providence.
The wetlands are beautiful and rich … Just make sure you wear a lot of insect repellent. And bring your camera.
The wetlands and marsh that spreads out along the river are the richest ecological areas in the region and are fragile. Around the valley, because the river so dominates our environment, the wetlands are to be found anywhere and everywhere.
Homeowners get upset when they are told they aren’t allowed to build on areas of their own land because it’s protected wetlands … especially when they didn’t know they had on wetlands on the property.
I think we have some wetland way back in our woods … a small pond too, though I’ve never made it there through the brambles. It’s not a place I’d ever think to build anyway. They are an inconvenience and we have to work around them, but we protect them because we need them. And they need us.
July 17, 2012 at 11:58 am
Funny, as I was looking at your wonderful pictures, all I could think about was the “bugs”. Sometimes when we revel in Mother Nature’s beauty, we forget those pesky critters. But I know they’re part of the cast.
July 17, 2012 at 11:59 am
Funny, that seems to be a kind of universal reaction. No one wants to go hang out in the wetlands or marshes. Well, good for the birds!
July 17, 2012 at 5:18 am
Sorry, my skin is crawling just thinking about the mosquitoes. If there’s a road nearby, maybe I can shoot through my clear car window with the air conditioning running.
July 17, 2012 at 10:17 am
The bugs ARE voracious. Every time I shoot in or even near one of those areas, it’s like the word has gone out to ever biting insect in the Northeast that lunch has arrived. Or, if early enough, breakfast. Cutters and LOTS OF IT.
July 17, 2012 at 4:14 am
It depends on the humans… One has to learn how to dress in such areas, not to be eaten by the mosquitoes… and there are creams that you can put on face and hands. I spent a lot of time in such areas, though I’m sensitive to mosquitoes.
July 17, 2012 at 10:22 am
I’ve had them bite me through my jeans. The mosquitoes in Israel are are nothing in comparison to the jawed suckers around here. Tropical mosquitoes seem to have a much more casual attitude … maybe it’s that they get to live longer? Here, they’ll bit through a sweatshirt, denim, almost anything. They are hungry and (sorry about the pun) out for blood. I am a buffet on the hoof. Of course, warmer climes have there own fun populations of crawly pals. I was especially fond of the scorpions (the big yellow ones in particular) and the giant flying cockroaches. Either was enough to turn me into a quivering blob. Oh, my son’s favorite were centipedes. They still give me the creeps and they’re half a world away.