After a week of searing temperatures and stifling humidity, it’s nice to sit back and relax.
And there’s no better way than by looking at Jeff Northrup’s photos of the Sherwood Mill Pond.
He and his family own the house on Hummock Island, and the oyster seed boat that travels back and forth between it and shore.
Enjoy these 2 special shots of a view beloved by generations of local walkers, artists and photographers.
I grew up spending summers at Old Mill Beach. The Mill Pond was one or my favorite playgrounds. I have fond memories of swimming under the second set of gates and holding a rope on a flood tide at the first bridge. The Atkins, McGraws and Frankles lived on the pathway to the Cove. Peter Atkins used to run his motorboat in the pond. It is too shallow now due to sand coming from Sherwood Island. On an outgoing tide, we could tube from the gates to Schlate’s point with ease. Kayaking around the Mill Pond was always fun as was going through the I95 tunnel and getting in to the marsh that connected the Mill Pond to Burying Hill Beach. Hundreds of model rockets were launched in to the Mill Pond with the Morrison family who lived in the first house after the bridges. In August, the Mill Pond was a favorite fishing place when the snappers would start their yearly run. You can tell by the fishing tackle in the phone lines. All you needed was a simple shiner lure and you could catch a bushel basket on the flood tide. In August, the jellyfish would fluoresce lighting the water at night as if by magic. I still visit occasionally now that our house is gone but usually in the fall or winter when the crowds are gone.