Finally...

[liz_marcs]

At long last, I renewed my membership for the The Trustees of Reservations.

I had a membership when I lived north of the city for several years, but had to drop it for financial reasons when I got laid off.

I've been meaning to renew my membership, mostly because it gets me into the Trustee properties at either a discount or for free, and gives me discounted prices for various events. I know that in previous years I usually "earned back" what I paid for my annual membership (it's $45 a year now) within the first four or five months. Usually in visits to Crane Beach and Halibut Point.

I'll have to work a little harder to "earn" my membership fee back, but I suspect it'll be worth it. It's been a couple of years and it looks like they've added a couple more properties that are closer to where I now live. Yay!

This is one of my fave pictures of Halibut Point in Rockport.


Halibut Point. From The Trustees of Reservations Web site.


What makes this photo really interesting is that there's a "trick of the eye" going on. The photo was taken on the "landward" side of the granite quarry at Halibut Point (that would be the pond-like body of water in the center of the picture). On the far side of the quarry is the ocean. I know it looks like it's literally just on the other side of the quarry, but the truth is that you'd have to walk another quarter of a mile from this vantage point to get to the water's edge.

Seeing this in real life is a hell of a lot more impressive, especially because the land's natural accoustics makes the ocean sound as close as it looks. Also cool: the rocks along the coast (there is no sand here) creates these tidal pools in the rocks that trap the cool little marine animals in them at low tide. And at the highest point of the park, you can see three states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine). This is why Halibut Point is my favoite Trustee Property.

Comments

[nocturnalista.livejournal.com]

It looks utterly gorgeous.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

All of their properties are gorgeous. I know most of the North Shore ones because I was a member for most of the time I was up there. I'm less familiar with their properties that are west and south of Boston. They do a rather good job of maintaining properties and facilities. In fact, entrance to a lot of their smaller properties are free. The card gets you free entrance to their premier properties (which can vary in cost from $2.50 to $15) and discounts on events (i.e, guided tours, picnics, concerts). Overall, the pass is a good deal, provided you use it.

I know they work hand-in-hand with the state Department of Environmental Management quite often, but they are an independent non-profit and a lot of their money gets ploughed into maintenance and land purchases. They just recently finished a massive land-buy on the South Shore to preserve a very large tract of woodlands that has vitally important biodiversity.

Halibut Point was my favorite place to hang out and I got free parking thanks to my membership card. It's a lot of fun to be there when the tide goes out because there are all these tidal pools around and the kids go absolutely banannas because they can touch star fish, hermit crabs, and other little animals that are actually pretty harmless.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

That looks beautiful.

A friend got an amazing break when she joined one of the British equivalents, the Countryside Trust - they ran a draw for all new memberships, and she got free use of one of their properties, equivalent to up to £1000 worth of rental. So she ended up getting the use of a large 18th century town house in Bath for a week, and invited friends to stay or visit - we had a literary club meeting on the Saturday discussing Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, apart from that people toured the town etc.

[uninvitedcat.livejournal.com]

That just looks stunning!