Over Thanksgiving break, I returned to my hometown of Marshfield, MA on the South Shore of Massachusetts right between Boston and Cape Cod. Here, there is primarily Northern Red Oak and Eastern White Pine in the overstory, with White Oaks present in much lesser quantity. Unlike Burlington, there aren’t any Maples, Hemlocks, or Ash trees anywhere. My spot overlooks a large sandy pit about 100×550 yards with islands of 3-needled pitch pines. The soil here is quite sandy and likely slightly acidic due to the large concentration of pine detritus on the forest floor. I love this particular ecosystem because it is very nostalgic and familiar to me. Some of my favorite parts are the Eastern Red Cedar trees that grow abundantly off-trail and the unique mosses native to here (both pictured below). In lieu of leaving something here, I cleaned up trash that I found on the trail on the way out.
