In the woods

Maundsley State Park, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, is a former private estate. Many of its trees, therefore, escaped the usual rounds of woodland clear-cutting that characterized most of the northeast. The towering white pines, in particular, are a marvel to look at. There were plenty of mast-worthy trees there; I mean those straight, thick-boled beasts that the English so wanted from the 17th century on for the masts of their wooden ships. The park also has the largest stand of mountain laurel in the state, but we didn’t get that far.Along one of the paths we found a plethora of pink lady slippers. This was only one of the patches we walked by.They like the pine woods. These are some (photographic) flowers for Adam and Hilary, marrying this weekend.