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Neil Barker's avatar

What a beautiful place, Melanie. It's a nice accident how the housing development of World's End never turned out and it became a conservation area - definitely for the better. I really like that photo "looking out from the top of the big hill" - the sky is that infinite blue of a nice Spring day. Thank you for sharing.

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Melanie Bettinelli's avatar

Thank you for reading, Neil. The sky and the sea both had an amazing spring blue to them. I've never been quite this early in the season before and I was very struck by how the spring green makes the blues pop differently.

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Christina's avatar

I loved reading this! Thank you for sharing this beautiful place with us. I love my local park- it’s a mile long loop that spans a stream at one point with trees lining it on both sides. I go there as many mornings as I’m able to visit with the birds and squirrels. It gives me such peace and joy. I would love to find an expanse of conservation like this to visit in my area.

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Melanie Bettinelli's avatar

Thank you for reading, Christina. We really are lucky that there is so much conservation land in Massachusetts. Though we don't take advantage of the opportunities we have nearly as much as we should. Before moving to New England I thought of the east coast as so built up, I had no idea how much green space there really is.

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Abigail's avatar

What a gem! Places like this feed our souls. Thank you for sharing, Melanie.

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Melanie Bettinelli's avatar

Thank you for reading and commenting, Abigail.

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Jennifer Degani's avatar

Thank you for sharing this! It is lovely. We definitely have special places in each state we spend time in. I am amazed that they never developed that area. It has a water view! But I am so glad they preserved it for the wildlife and all the people. I enjoy finding little places like that. Now I want to go back to New England. Oh well, I guess I can wait until autumn.

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Melanie Bettinelli's avatar

Thanks for reading, Jennifer. It really is amazing that the land is undeveloped. If there were houses it would be just another rich people peninsula-- there are quite a few of those in the Boston area. Though even some of those have lovely little pocked parks. I used to visit one in Marblehead when we lived north of Boston.

There is a neighborhood right next to the conservation area that's very nice, most of the houses are probably upwards of a million dollars. Driving through the neighborhood I always get house envy and dream of what it would be like to live in such a nice house and so close to so beautiful a location.

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Dominika's avatar

I love your writing, Melanie. I don't know what I'd do without all the special places I've collected and the memories I draw on from them. And I agree--food does taste better outside :)

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Melanie Bettinelli's avatar

Thank you, Domenika.

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Rebecca D. Martin's avatar

Beauty and delight. Thank you for taking us along with you. (I collect special places, too!)

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Melanie Bettinelli's avatar

Thank you for reading!

I feel like Anne of Green Gables should be a kind of literary patron saint for collectors and namers and lovers of special places. Lucy Maud Montgomery was definitely a kindred spirit in that regard. I've loved reading about some of your special places. Someday I'm going to get around to writing a post about houses, too. That's a whole other kind of special place.

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Rebecca D. Martin's avatar

I do look forward to that post, whenever you write it! :)

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26thAvenuePoet (Elizabeth)'s avatar

Thank you so much for taking us along with you on this wonderful walk, Melanie! I think maybe everyone has a collection of special places, but not everyone *knows* that they do. It's extra-special when you can name them (there's the idea of naming again, thank you Madeleine) -- helps to affirm how much they mean to us.

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