Thaw Walk

The frigid string of January days has finally been broken.  Both yesterday and today featured daytime temperatures that strongly called to us to venture outside.  There has been a down side.  Yesterday included a heating gas delivery that was only twenty-nine days after the previous delivery.  That is most unusual since two winter months usually separate them.  This week also included a trip to the ER.  A fall while descending the seemingly clear driveway saw me land on my shoulder neck area and smack the back of my head on the frozen gravel surface.  Not wanting to do a Natasha Richardson rerun, caution ruled.  I had  the recommended  C scan.  Soreness persists but once again luck ruled and no lasting damage was done.

This picture shows the three spring transplanted Cardinal Flower plants still covered by snow and protected with a wire cage.  That was the plan as the woods to the south keep these plants in shade at this time of year.  Most of the snow cover is gone but here its insulating quality persists.  Water is flowing out from the base of the ridge as can be seen in the two areas of open water.  These Cardinal Flower plants are very near but just above moisture.  All of the needs of this rare native plant may have been provided in this spot. We shall see.

This dead stick supporting fungus growth is very close to the Cardinal Flower plants.  An old long dead tree is nearby.  The cone collar of long ago rotted tree parts caught my eye.  Rumor has it that Lady Slipper plants grow in the company of rotting wood.  They sell for about seventy dollars each and I would like to nearly guarantee success with soil preparation before parting with that much money.  I will return with buckets to mine some of this black gold.  The shape of the ridge in the background suggests the appearance of Diamond Head.  That is just a bonus on this warm to us day.

This double tiered fungus growing on a dead Hemlock trunk always catches my eye.  I wonder if the red coloration is the result of exposure to direct sunlight?

This old friend is nearly gone.  Early in our ownership of this land, every walk in the woods featured me backing into close contact with this giant.  There was an indentation in the trunk that would just hold me under a huge branch.  That location made me feel connected to nature in a deeply personal way.  Now that trunk has joined five others that previously fell.  Only one trunk remains.  I wonder which of us will fall next.

This Hickory branch has been on the ground for several years.  Nature's plan has it being converted to forest soil and the pictured fungus plays a part in that process.  I find this decay supporting new growth beautiful!

Fallen Giant

Swamp Maple or Soft Maple are not names that inspire grand images of stately trees.  Red Maple may create a more favorable first impression.  Red is the color of their early spring flowers and we seek them out every year.  We discovered that one of our largest and oldest fell victim in part to the recent severe weather.

Our aged giant was structured much like the younger tree in the foreground.  Its main trunk splint into five not far above the ground.  Two of the trunks had previously fallen to the ground.  Once a large  branch broke off but became lodged in a nearby tree.  High above the forest floor this horizontal snag was a favorite perch for the great horned owls that sometimes nested here.  We know this to be true because of the large number of owl pellets scattered about under the snag.

Two trunks remain but the base of the tree looks well worn.  We shall watch and wait for the next trunk to fall.  This storm hit the tree from an unusual direction with pretty stiff winds.  The top of the fallen trunk neatly dropped between two trees at the forest edge.  Only one small branch was clipped off at the end of the fall.

John Burroughs wrote of making white sugar from the sap of Red Maples.  Maple sugar from Sugar Maples is brown much like the color of the syrup.   Late winter tree tapping has always been on our wish list but so far no action has been taken.  I boiled maple sap as a child and again early in our marriage.  Outside working in late February is more than pleasant.  The smell of wood smoke and sap steam add to the experience.  Somehow slogging through deep snow and spending the entire day tending a fire while stuck in the woods has sounded like more than I want to attempt. 

The two earlier fallen trunks are slowly being reclaimed by the forest floor.  Located in a wet valley, there was no practical way to remove the wood.  The twisted trunks would have been a nightmare to split so we left them where they fell.

Very close to the fallen tree trunk I found both Partridge Berry and Wintergreen growing.  Any attempt to remove the fallen wood would place boots on top of both of these groups of plants.  Our choice to leave the fallen tree to return naturally to woodland soil was strongly reinforced by the discovery of these two prized ground covers.