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Turkey Trot LbNA #1959 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Nov 28, 2002
Location:
City:Harvard
County:Worcester
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Found by: Arf!
Last found:May 25, 2009
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFa
Last edited:Nov 28, 2002
Approximate time: 30 min round-trip (plus stamping time)
Clue Difficulty: easy
Hike Difficulty: easy (short hill)
Date Placed:11/28/02
Placed by: Blaze and Mobius (lb_seekyr@y...)

Last visited: Nov. 25, 2003
Condition: Great shape


Each year our families gather at our home to celebrate the blessings we have received and feast on a cornucopia of assembled offerings. In a post-prandial haze, the gang ventures out into the cold and typically rainy(although we did get snow yesterday) weather to walk off the turkey-bloat and make room for the pumpkin pie. This letterbox, in honor of Thanksgiving 2002,has been planted as a surprise for my family at a local conservation area where we make our annual trek. Perhaps we shall meet you along the route after your own holiday indulgence.

Directions:
Route 495 Exit 28 (Rt. 111 heading west). Take first left onto Codman Hill Rd and follow it to the end. At the stop sign turn right onto Stow Rd. Take first left (approx .4mi) onto Westcott Rd and follow to the end. (Note: Westcott Rd. appears to fork at the top of the hill; veer to the left to stay on Westcott.) At the stop sign turn left onto East Bare Hill Rd. Powell-Reed-Abbot Conservation Area (approx .6mi) is on the right side. The trailhead is immediately after mailbox number 117. A wooden fence blocks an opening in the stone wall on the side of the road. There is no sign or parking area at this trailhead; pull off to the side of the road in front of the fence as best you can. There are no facilities at this area. Dogs and horses are allowed.

Clues:
The old tom knew he was lucky to have escaped with his wattle intact. The dog, with his two-legged companion had flushed out some of the other turkeys nearby and the explosion of gunfire had almost startled him from his lair. He held his ground patiently waiting to see if the pair was satisfied with their bag. The big black dog lifted her nose to the air, took several quick sniffs and with a ferocious bark, lunged straight at the tom's hiding spot.

In a flurry of feathers the old bird leapt over the wooden fence and took to the air for as long as he could. He fluttered straight back through the field, passing on his right stands of trees that the man would cut and sell for decoration in the dead of winter. As he followed the curve of the path and through a screen of trees and undergrowth he could barely see the tiny pond where he had drank earlier that day. The furious bark in pursuit pushed him to amazing speed. Darting into the wood he agilely scrambled through the stone wall keeping it to his right as he followed the low road through some large pines. The turkey wished that the three-leafed plant that the men avoided would deter his four-legged pursuer, but knew that it wouldn't. He ignored two trails coming in from the right knowing they led to other dangerous man dwellings. Breathing heavily as the trail had become steeper, he chose to stay on the main trail when another entered on the left.. In his haste to find a new hideout he did not notice the small white-striped shape meandering down that side path. At the fork near the top of the hill he veered right and straight ahead saw the ancient double maple tree nestled in the corner of a stone wall. He dashed right, around the pine tree with the man-markings on it, through the stone wall and crept slowly 10 steps back along the wall before settling in behind the stones.

He heard a mournful yelp and soon a familiar and very potent scent wafted through his hidden spot. It wasn't so bad really; the whimpering retreat more than compensated for the smell. The old tom was safe for now.