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SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2005
Today's trek took us up the north side of Wachusett Mountain with ecologist Doug Williams. I'd never been up this trail before and I liked the quiet, "road-less-traveled" feel about the place. We were all prepared for today's journey: water, food, appropriate clothing and shoes, and bug spray. A curious thing--the students in the group (Dawn, Myrtha, Tom, myself and my husband David, the non-student) seemed to be the favorite victims of the over-zealous mosquitos, whereas our Professor and guides seemed less affected. Is there some secret we have yet to learn? I wonder... To the right is a slide show of various photos taken on our hike. I have slowed the speed to hopefully give ample viewing time of each photo. I'll start with the photo of Doug Williams pointing out a young American Chestnut. The odd-shaped tree that looks like a giant "U". Doug explained this tree and some of the others around it had been attacked by some insect or fungus, which caused it to split The group hiking along the Balance Rock Trail. Cracked bark on an old yellow birch tree. A black cherry tree. A stand of white pine, which I learned has five needles, as opposed to red pine, which has three. There was some discussion amongst our group as to why the name, one suggestion being that the three-needled red pine carries a name with three letters, just as white pines have five needles and letters. The "coppice" - split trunked tree pictured is a northern red oak. Doug said it was quite old as the separate trunks are rather wide, which means the original tree was large also. Was the original tree cut? Burnt? Somehow, it was disturbed, causing the main trunk to die, and the two separate trunks we now see to grow. Since I've read Tom Wessels' book, I notice split trunk trees everywhere! Doug and Tom are looking at Balance Rock, an erratic left by glacial movement. |
 Slideshow from June 18th class  Orange salamander  Red maples thriving near Bolton Brook. |
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SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2005 Father's Day, David and I took a hike into Edmund Hill Woods, the conservation land behind our house. I was amazed at all split-trunked trees we saw. The trails are well-maintained by the and there are markers identifying the different species of trees. We saw some pitch pine trees, seen at right. The description said it has been used for railroad ties, among other uses. Tom Wessels' book Reading the Forested Landscape, calls the pitch pine "the most fire-adapted tree in the region," and it is "the only conifer in central New England that can stump-sprout following fire or logging." It is the phoenix of the tree world. Below the pitch pine is an erratic found within the Edmund Hill Woods. There were quite a large number of them, many on the western side of the hill. I will definitely loook upon this piece of conservation land with "new eyes" since taking this class. |
 Pitch pines 
Glacial erratic
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