It was a nice day for an outdoor adventure. We headed for the Governor Oliver Ames estate in Easton. The original mansion was torn down a long time ago and replaced with this house which is not in fit state to open to the public.
There are many large ornamental trees on the property. If you look closely, you can see Paul measuring the diameter of this beauty.
This is a rectangular area that I think was a game court of some sort, but now has a utility pole in it. Just behind on the left is a boccie court.
An old sugar maple.
We walked on most of the trails and found interesting trees, plants and seed pods. The estate borders Langwater Pond and Shovelshop Pond. The Ames family ran the Ames Shovel Shop. The photo below shows a building on the Langwater Estate which we think is still privately owned but portions are being renovated by an interest group - Trustees maybe?
Paul and I ate our picnic lunch near this studio on the Ames Estate. There is a fireplace and sink inside. I spent the entire lunch time explaining to Paul why we need a studio on our property and where we might put it.
After lunch we headed for Borderland State Park. What an active place! Even on a fall weekday it was full of people playing frisbee golf, horseback riding, dog walking, etc. There is a nice visitor center with maps and some specialty tour information about the gardens and the mansion which was build by Oakes Ames (son of Oliver) and Blanche Ames. He was a Harvard botanist and she was a feminist and artist. She also must have been a bit of an engineer because she designed a swimming pool for the family and after her death nobody could figure out her pump system.
I'm sure this cabin saw its share of parties.
This area is still being farmed. The farmhouse, build by Dr. Asahel Smith, a "clairvoyant" doctor in about 1839.
Near the mansion, Paul found a very uncomfortable seat.
This fountain is near some doors leading to Dr. Ames' labaoratory.
I want to show the expanse of the front lawn of the mansion.
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