Crocus blooming in the Willow Brook Farm Pastures.
A new bog walk is being installed to replace the aging boardwalk on the Mary and Harry Todd Trail at Willow Brook Preserve. The new system employs tread planks suspended above the substrate and supported by cribbing. This design provides a simplified and resource-efficient structure that is faster to install, requires minimal maintenance, and reduces site disturbance, as no posts or footings are excavated into the ground.
Harry and Mary Todd Trail bridge as it crosses Pudding Brook. Downstream, just beyond this bridge, Pudding Brook passes between two glacial kames as it flows towards Herring Brook.
Old road into Willow Brook Farm.
Two informative articles written by Skip Stuck on the history of Willow Brook Farm may be found on the WIldlands Trust web site:
wildlandstrust.org/news-blog/2025/3/10/photo-update-human-history-of-willow-brook-farm
Still visible today are remnants from Willow Brooks agricultural past. These are old milking stanchions from the barn in prior photo (from the WIldlands Trust article by Skip Stuck).
Boardwalk on the Harry and Mary Todd Trail at Willowbrook Farm.
The Path Diverges in the Misty Woods.
New boardwalk on the Harry and Mary Todd trail. This new structure was made possible by the efforts of the Wildlands Trust Stewardship team, the Sierra Club, and many Wildland Trust volunteers.
Boardwalk along the Todd Trail near Pudding Brook.
Having grown up on the south shore, I rarely if ever saw a bluebird. Now, thanks to the efforts of individuals and organizations like Wildlands Trust, bluebird populations are increasing year to year.
The open fields and thick hedgerows at Willow Brook Farm are an idea habitat for bluebirds
Bluebird
Spotted these today (4/4/23) at Willowbrook Farm. Probably just passing through as these warblers move to breeding grounds to the north.
