Natural Wonder of Weymouth

Sunday was a perfect Indian summer day here in Weymouth. The weather was sunny with little breeze. The temperature was warm enough that I was comfortable outside without a coat. The weather won’t be better before spring. Jennifer decided that instead of her going to the gym the whole family would take a hike. I couldn’t have agreed more. Because I was late getting home from church because I had meetings to attend after services we decided to stay close to home. We decided to take our hike in Great Esker Park, which stretches along the Weymouth shore of the Weymouth Back River.

We had a lovely hike. The leaves left on the trees were in their fall colors of yellow and russet and the trails were carpeted with the leaves that had already fallen. We hiked over the esker, the long sinuous hill deposited by a long ago glacier that gives the park its name. Then we made our way down to the shore of the tidal Back River. Walking along the gravel beach that separates the open river from the salt marsh behind we got great views of the birds that feed there. Out in the river a flock of diving ducks were feeding, each diving one after another to feed in the depths of the river. A moment later they popped up to the surface, still in line. Behind them a great blue heron fed in the shallow water by an exposed sand bar. Overhead a marsh hawk flew.

Jennifer gave Maura the task of finding all the colors of the rainbow on our hike. She found them in order—red, orange and yellow leaves, green cedar trees, blue sky and purple berries still uneaten on the cat briar.

Great Esker Park is a jewel that the people of Weymouth should be proud of. The esker itself is a rarity. Many eskers have long since been mined away for gravel or leveled for building. The long stretch of undeveloped shoreline is equally rare in a populated area, especially so since the opposite shore in Hingham is also a park. Great Esker has many of the problems of urban parks. It is both neglected and heavily traveled. The paved trails are crumbling and graffiti covered; the unpaved trails are eroding. The busier parts of the park are strewn with trash. It is unfortunate that people don’t appreciate their park more. Perhaps then they would be inspired to keep it clean. Still enough of the natural beauty shines through to make Great Esker a natural oasis in a mostly man-made world.