Hammond Acres Club

09/26/2022

Double rainbow over Hammond Pond this afternoon.

06/01/2022

As the storms drew near
She put on one last light show
To close out the day

I could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance. Once I launched the drone, I could see the storm to the north of Goshen in the town of Ashfield on its way south east towards Williamsburg and Northampton. Here in south Goshen, we just had a short period of big rain drops and a beautiful sunset.

05/11/2022

Did you ever get the feeling that you were being watched?

This Red-shouldered Hawk caught my attention when it flew in front of my car. I saw it land in a nearby tree, look over its shoulder, and seemingly taunt me into taking its picture.

Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I mounted my big lens and quietly got out of my car and took aim.

Gotcha!

This was captured at the intersection of South Chesterfield Road and Washington Road.

03/27/2022

There's still time - but not much. Ticket sales end on Friday, April 1st - unless the block sinks before then.

GOSHEN — There are three indisputable facts about the Meltdown: the Goshen-dedicated fundraiser is enjoying its 18th year; the concrete block remains on top of the ice on Hammond Pond; and there’s still time to buy tickets to correctly pick when it...

03/22/2022

I stopped at the dam on Hammond Pond to check the condition of the ice on my way home from my morning commute back from the fire tower.

As many of you know, the 2022 Meltdown contest is in full swing and things are warming up even though overnight temperatures were cold enough to refreeze sections of the pond that were still.

As I stood there watching the impact the wind was having on the ice floe, a shadow of a bird raced across my field of view.

Looking up, I saw the white tail of an eagle as it flew away from me. I raced to the car to grab my big lens while simultaneously keeping an eye on the bird.

The only open water on Hammond Pond at the moment is on the north end - just opposite from where I was. It scanned the waters surface for breakfast. Seeing nothing, it started flying back towards me eventually finding a resting spot high in a white pine tree about 200 yards away from me.

I texted one of my neighbors to let him know that the eagle was on a tree in his yard. His response was that he visits every day. (I guess that's one advantage of having lakefront property)

While I did capture some pictures of the eagle in flight, I felt that this one did a better job of capturing the shear beauty and strength of this magnificent bird.

I hope you agree.

P.S. The 2022 Meltdown contest is still going strong. Without giving away any secrets, might I suggest you get you picks in sooner than later. 😉

https://goshenmafire.com/meltdown/

03/20/2022

Watching icebergs on Hammond Pond get pushed by currents
Watching the clouds evaporate in the morning sky
Hearing the birds surround me with their songs
Feeling my soul get filled by its combined beauty

This all started with my thought to get a picture of the north end of Hammond Pond to show 2022 Meltdown participants the condition of the ice. I knew there was open water but didn't know how much more ice was lost because of last night's storm.

The overnight storm increased the flow of runoff from the Hammond Pond watershed into Webster Brook which feeds it.
When I got out of my car, I could hear some unusual sounds coming from the lake - something that my ears couldn't process because I hadn't heard anything like it before. I walked up to the shoreline and couldn't believe what I was seeing. An iceberg had broken off the main ice floe and was being spun in circles by the increased current from Webster Brook.

The sound I was hearing was the iceberg coming in contact with the shoreline as it bounced around in a whirlpool and breaking up.

We live in a very special place.

Tickets for the 2022 Meltdown end on Friday, April 1st at midnight unless the block sinks before then.

Click on the link below for more information, tickets, and the standard rules for this year's contest:

https://goshenmafire.com/meltdown/

03/16/2022

Great day for a morning flyover.

01/16/2022

Good day to burn the brush pile near the tennis courts.

If anyone wants to stop by with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, we'll be here until about 4 PM.

01/08/2022

With ice on the way
Remember tonight's sunset
And hope for the best



Went to the transfer station this afternoon and noticed the clouds to the west on my way home. Saw some orange in the sky and decided to fly over Hammond Pond.

While ice is covering the water, it's soft ice and barely a few inches thick. Something tells me next week's below 0º temperatures will change that.

If you look closely at the horizon about a quarter of the way in from the left, you can see Round Top Hill in Chester, MA. At 1,766’ in elevation, it’s the highest point in Hampden County and the 5th highest peak in MA.