It’s fall in New England and we’ve been busy fitting in some warm weather activities. Today I took my younger daughter out on a dock on our lake to teach her how to hand feed the lake fish. The small 6′ lake fish have really small teeth (if any) so there is no risk of any harm.
Once we place our special lake fish food (bread) in the water it is a matter of seconds before 50-100 of the fish begin feeding. Once they are use to our special food we can lower our hands to the water and they will eat out of them. Since it was my 2 year old’s first time, I was happy that she actually held her hand until a second before they took the food. With my older daughter I will generally let the fish swim into my hands and lift them out of the water, they are like pets.
If you live on a lake and want to feed the fish it is important to do it from other peoples docks. Once the fish get to know you they tend to nibble on you when you go swimming. I do not find it fun having 50-100 fish nibbling on me while I am swimming.
How many 2 year old’s are able to claim that they feed over 50 fish lunch and dinner? This made Emilia’s day while using up most of my whole grain bread.
Trying to hold a camera in one hand while balancing at the end of a dock was a challenge! At least this “fall Eco Tour” was only a 20 second walk from our home.
After a nice 40 minute drive enjoying the fall foliage we arrived at Battleship Cove in Fall River MA. We have been members here on and off since my oldest daughter turned 2, about 5 years now. Kids of all ages (myself included) love to explore the battleships while learning a little about naval history. The larger boat on the right (top picture) is available for group tours and camp overs.
Hundreds of the original berths are still in place for visitors to see how the crews slept while at sea. The bunks above were rather generous in size compared to some of the ones that we found on the submarine. The berths on the Russian Missile Carrier were almost twice the size of any other ship in the collection at Battleship Cove.
While touring at Battleship Cove you will always find volunteers working on one of the ships. The last time we were on the Lion Fish Sub (in above picture) they had part of it closed so they could work on it. Today my daughters enjoyed their labors playing with this large gun. By using the wheel crank on the left they were able to pivot the gun around in a circle. Who would think that someone would spend the time to keep this gun in working order?
Most of the ships provide a view of most areas while protecting the public from getting in an area that could cause them harm. Low headroom is always an concern to me since I am a little over 6′ tall, oddly enough my 2 year old was the only one to bump her head today while crawling under a display.
I’ll post a link here for all of the other pictures that we took of the water and the birds, Battleship Cove is truly a great place for an Eco Tour!
2008 marks the 25 annual Mitchell Columbus Day Regatta that races from Newport RI to Block Island RI. This season was my 3rd year crewing on one of the race boats and by far it was one of the best weekends that I have ever spent on the water. From our departure from Cranston RI Friday evening until our return on Monday evening, we were blessed with clear sky’s and warm weather!
Since the race had a “staggered start”, meaning the slow boats had a head start, the end of the race became rather active when the faster boats began to catch up.
Over the race weekend I ended up taking about 1200 photos of the racing fleet, Newport, Block Island, the Bay, Birds and all sorts of interesting people. I’ll post some of the pictures on this website and maintain the other pictures in case they are needed for other projects. If you raced in the Columbus Day Regatta and you would like a copy of my photos, please send me an e-mail.
Photos of birds on Block Island <—click to view
I decided to capture some images of a few of the flowers in my yard since it’s fall in New England and our summer flowers have retired for the season. My front yard was the shortest I’ve ever travel for an Eco Tour!
This picture is a reminder that I need to buy a Macro lens for my camera while I wanted to blur the background I was trying to keep both stems in focus.
I just love sunsets! It’s been weeks since I’ve been able to capture the sun so I decided to get our sky at sunset with all of the blue shades.
If you are looking for an Eco Tour in Rhode Island try sailing on the bay for a few hours or even a few days. Once under sail, sailboats do not burn any fuel and they provide a great way to enjoy nature while being “green” at the same time.
Since sailboats hardly make any sound you will be able to enjoy the birds singing, the fish jumping out of the water and the gentle sound of waves crashing against the hull. The bay in Rhode Island contains a bunch of lighthouses and the best pictures of them are from the water!
Every Tuesday night from the spring until the fall the upper bay is active with sailboat races. In the background a college racing team is conducting races while two local Yacht clubs are racing in the foreground. On a good evening you can watch 30-50 boats racing! If you want to get on one of the race boats check with some of the local yacht clubs boats are always looking for crew members.
On the weekends the bay is full of longer races that last for several hours or even all day. This Columbus day weekend we are racing from Newport RI to Block Island RI, check back in a few days I will post some pictures.
As the sun sets over the bay the water becomes calm and the most of the boats retire to their docks or moorings. If you travel to Rhode Island be sure to keep your eyes out for some nice sunsets!
Jamaican beaches are a perfect place to enjoy your own eco tour if you find a secluded beach that is not full of tourist. While on the north shore of Jamaica I found several beaches that were mostly empty of people but full of interesting birds. The sand on the beaches is a very light color, almost pure white which highlights the different colors of the water in the ocean.
If you look at the category list on the right, click on the Jamaican Birds category for some cool pictures of large birds that hover a few feet above your head. The beaches in Jamaica are a perfect place to spend some quiet time enjoying nature!
King Richard
After a 30 minute drive enjoying the fall foliage we arrived at King Richard’s Faire in Carver MA. The fair is set in the woods over an 80 acre lot. The fair grounds have plenty of shops and food stands so you will not need to venture off once you arrive.
The pricing was a little high in my opinion, we paid $64.00 for two adult tickets and one kids ticket our 2 year old got in for free. All of the rides in the park charge money and all of the shows have the actors begging for tips once they are done. In total we spent about $130 for the day and we plan to do it again next year.
Green Carnival Rides
The rides are all manual, not one attraction in the park requires any electricity! A few of the rides that go round and around are hand cranked and they work as well as any modern day ride. Our kids had a blast riding on the rides and our oldest daughter enjoyed a ride on a horse.
Knife Throwing
The fair offered knife throwing, shooting a bow, shooting a cannon, and a few other tests of skills. We did not see one tacky amusement park type of booth.
Fire Eating
Spread over the fair grounds where several stages where actors sang, danced, showed off tigers, and all sorts of stuff that provided everyone with none stop entertainment. We watched a fire eating show for about 30 minutes. The talented fire eaters were showing off how they put a flammable liquid in their mouth and set in on fire with their torch(see picture-look at her mouth).
Jousting at King Richard
The fair had a large arena where the knights put on a great jousting show. The crowds where encouraged to cheer for “their knight” and everyone really got into the show. I was amazed that the knights actually fell off of their horses when they were struck by another knight.
Knight on Horseback
One of our favorite places In MA to entertain our kids is at the Winslow Farms and Animal Sanctuary in Norton MA. Since few people know what an Animal Sanctuary is I’ll just call it a petting farm….everyone can relate to a petting farm. The owner Debra White takes in used and abused farm animals and provides them with a home on her farm. A while back Debra opened the farm to the public, check her website for her hours of operation and her calender for special events.
Unlike most other petting farms, Winslow Farms lets most of the animal roam where they choose and most of them mingle with the other farm animals. If you are use to petting farms that separate their animals this concept will blow your mind, the animals get along and there is no need to separate them.
The chicken in the lower left is actually a mini chicken, about 1/3 of the size of a regular chicken. Her chicks are a little larger than an egg at this point. The farm has all sorts of birds including turkeys, peacocks, pigeons, doves and probably 20 other types that are skipping my mind.
When my daughters tire from walking around the nature trails and playing with the animals they are ready to play on the teeter totter. Their idea of riding the teeter totter is having me step on one end so they don’t have any work to do!
This was a great find at the end of our nature walk!
For pictures of Winslow farms at Halloween time follow this link.
