In 2010 Keene built a new middle school at the edge of a 500 acre wetland called Tenant Swamp. The building sits on a high terrace that overlooks the swamp. it can be seen to the left in this photo. Before the school could be built however an archaeological sensitivity assessment had to be done, and by the time the dig was completed it was found that Native Americans lived here at the end of the last ice age, approximately 11,000-12,000 years ago. The dig also found that the Ashuelot River once ran through here; about a half mile east of where it now flows. Since the site evolved into a swamp it was never farmed or built on so it was valuable enough archeologically to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since then, after much hard work and fund raising, a path and boardwalk leading into the swamp itself has been completed. As a certifiable nature nut I couldn’t wait to get into this swamp, so I went to see it right after all the fanfare had died down. It’s the kind of place that people rarely get to experience so it is meant to be a kind of outdoor classroom for anyone who wants to learn more about nature.
The first thing I noticed were all the blackberries blooming along the hillside above the swamp. The bears will eat well this year.
A sturdy bridge was built over a small seasonal stream. The paths are well packed and plenty wide enough even for wheelchairs, and in fact I saw a man in a wheelchair here on my second visit. He looked very happy.
A small stream feeds this side of the swamp, but one of the things I found most surprising about this place was the lack of very much standing water. I’m not sure if it has to do with the drought we had in May or if it’s always this way.
The 850 foot boardwalk is sturdy and well-built and about a foot or two off the ground. When it was being installed 9-12 feet of peat was discovered in some places. Two feet of peat takes about a thousand years to form so this peat has been here for a very long time. I’m tempted to call this a peat bog because of these discoveries but technically because it is forested, the correct term is swamp.
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) grows well here. I wasn’t too surprised to see it because it likes cool, moist woods and will not grow where soil temperature exceeds 65 degrees F. According to Nature Magazine the tiny flowers have hinged flexible anthers that act like tiny catapults to eject their pollen to ten times the plant’s height so it can be carried by the wind. Once pollinated the flowers, which are actually in the center of the four white bracts, will become a bunch of red berries, and that’s how this pretty little creeping dogwood comes by its common name. Some Native American tribes preserved the berries in bear fat. They’re high in pectin and make excellent jelly.
The roots of arrowhead plants (Sagittaria latifolia) look like small, purplish potatoes and were a very important food crop for Native Americans. They are said to taste like potatoes or chestnuts and can be sliced, dried and ground to make flour, or eaten in the same ways that potatoes are. This plant likes to grow in shallow water that has little or no current and can form very large colonies. Ducks love the seeds and beavers, muskrats and porcupines will eat the whole plant.
Note: Sara has pointed out that this plant is actually Halberd-leaved tearthumb (Polygonum arifolium.) I’m sorry for any confusion. That’s what comes from rushing!
Royal fern (Osmunda spectabilis) has a strong presence here, along with cinnamon and sensitive fern. There is a rumor that ostrich fern grows here as well but I didn’t see any. Royal fern is one of the most beautiful of our native ferns in my opinion, but often fools people by not really looking very fern like. Royal fern is in the family Osmundaceae, and fossils belonging to this family have been found in rocks of the Permian age, which was about 230 million years ago. There is also a European species of royal fern called Osmunda regalis.
There are viewing platforms meant for birders, painters, photographers, or anyone who just wants to sit and enjoy nature. They haven’t been installed yet but there will be many benches for people to sit on. I have a feeling that this will become a bird lover’s paradise because the amount of birdsong here is incredible. It’s really a wonderful experience that I hope all of the townspeople will enjoy at least once…
…but I hope they’ll stay on the boardwalk when they do. 500 acres of swamp boggles my mind and I know that if I hopped off the boardwalk and bush wacked my way into the swamp, I’d probably be lost in under an hour. Once you get turned around and start wandering in circles it’s all over, and in November of 1890 that’s exactly what happened to George McCurdy, who died of exposure. I’ve heard stories about another man who went into the swamp and was never found, so as much as I’d love to explore the entire area I think I’ll just stay on the boardwalk.
There are some fine examples of beard lichen growing on the spruce trees; I think this one is bristly beard (Usnea hirta.) That’s another thing I noticed as I entered the swamp; there are many spruce and balsam fir trees here, which is unusual because they like it cool and normally grow further north. You rarely see them growing naturally in this area so when you do you know that you’re in a special place.
Henry David Thoreau said “The most primitive places left with us are the swamps, where the spruce still grows shaggy with usnea,” and he was right.
A white admiral butterfly (Limenitis arthemis) landed on the boardwalk and said “Go ahead; take my picture,” so I did. I wish he’d landed in a somewhat shadier spot but you can’t have everything. I also saw a lot of dragonflies but of course they wouldn’t sit still. I was hoping to see some of the rare salamanders that the schoolkids have found but so far I haven’t seen a one.
I’m not sure what this red squirrel was doing but he stayed just like that for a while and seemed to want his picture taken too so I obliged, even though he was really out of comfortable camera range. As soon as I took a couple of steps toward him though he was off like a shot, running up one tree and jumping into the crown of another. Two or three red squirrels followed me all through the swamp on this day and even climbed the hill as I was leaving, making sure to stay just out of camera range the entire time. That was really odd because I rarely see red squirrels; gray squirrels are much more common here. I’m not sure the reds know what to make of this sudden increase in human activity; they seem very curious.
I wasn’t happy to see this invasive reed called Phragmities australis here but I had a feeling that it would be. Tenant swamp is bisected by a highway (Rte. 12 N.) and you can see large colonies of it from the road. This reed came from Europe and forms large monocultures that even burning can’t control unless it is done 2 or 3 times. Not only does a thick matted root system choke out other plants, but decaying reeds also release gallic acid, which ultraviolet light turns into mesoxalic acid and which means that seedlings of other plants that try to grow near the reed have very little hope of survival.
This is a glimpse of a monoculture known as a reed bed. Some have been known to reach nearly a square kilometer in size. There are no other plants to be seen among the reeds in this photo.
I met a lady who works at the middle school and who was instrumental in getting the boardwalk project up and running. Unfortunately I never got her name but she said the boardwalk was going to be open in the winter. I was hoping it would be because there are more winterberry shrubs (Ilex verticillata) here than I’ve ever seen in one place, and the red berries against the white snow are really beautiful. This photo shows what the flower buds look like. Each one will open to a tiny white flower and then become a red berry.
I always thought that peat bogs or swamps were made up almost entirely of sphagnum mosses but I found by researching this post that mosses are just one component. Many other plants contribute to the overall mass. Not only do plants fall into the mix but so does their pollen, and scientists can look back at thousands of years of plant growth and the environment they grew in by studying it.
You can’t have a swamp without a little mystery to go with it, and here it is. I think this tree is some type of sumac, but it isn’t staghorn (Rhus typhina) or smooth sumac (Rhus glabra.) Those are the two most common sumacs in these parts but their flower buds look nothing like those pictured here. It isn’t winged (or shiny) sumac (Rhus copallinum) because there are no wings on the branches and the leaves aren’t shiny. I wondered if it was Chinese sumac (Ailanthus altissima), an invasive also called tree of heaven, but another name for that tree is stinking sumac and this small tree doesn’t really stink. I found that out by crushing a leaf and holding it up to my nose, and that’s when I remembered that poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) grows in swamps in this area. But that doesn’t fit either because it’s been a week since I crushed that leaf and I haven’t gotten a rash on my hand or nose, so I’ve run out of likely choices. If you know what it is or even want to guess I’d love to hear from you.
This tree’s flowers are very small; no bigger than a BB that you’d put in an air rifle. If they turn into white berries I’ll know that this is poison sumac, and I’ll wonder why I’m not itching.
If you’d like to visit the middle school’s website and see photos of the boardwalk being built, trail maps and many other interesting things, just click on the word here. This boardwalk was built for the people of Keene as well as the school children, and I think we all owe the school and all of the donors a real big thank you. Being able to visit a place like this is a very rare opportunity.
To love a swamp is to love what is muted and marginal, what exists in the shadows, what shoulders its way out of mud and scurries along the damp edges of what is most commonly praised. And sometimes its invisibility is a blessing. Swamps and bogs are places of transition and wild growth, breeding grounds, experimental labs where organisms and ideas have the luxury of being out of the spotlight, where the imagination can mutate and mate, send tendrils into and out of the water. ~Barbara Hurd
Thanks for coming by.
Nice to see a red squirrel. There are a few around where we live here in West Cumbria, although in much of England they have been replaced by greys and there are few places where they can still be found. It seems squirrels, like humans, can have problems coexisting if they their colours are different..
I’ve heard that and it’s always too bad when a native gets displaced by an invasive. I wonder who had the brilliant idea to import gray squirrels to begin with. Whoever it was it obviously wasn’t his best decision.
I’m sure the natives of North “America” would agree with you. 😛
Yes.
An enjoyable post, Allen….and very informative….I rather liked the ending quote, too. Nicely done.
Thank you Scott!
Most welcome, Allen. 🙂
What an amazing place and how wonderful that the boardwalk was built. If I lived near it I’d find it hard to keep away. Peat bogs are interesting places as the peat preserves things well. They have found perfectly preserved human remains in some that are thousands of years old. Even so I think, like you, I’d stay on the boardwalk in case I ended up becoming one of them.
That really is an amazing place of the kind that you hardly ever get to see.
The “peat people” are an endless source of fascination here and every time another one is found it makes all the papers. I’d just as soon not become one of them either!
The people of Keene have really done a wonderful job at providing such an opportunity to study nature in close-up. I can imagine it would become a special place for many people to visit. Amelia
I think it will too, especially for bird watchers.
Love your post, as always! I have heard that the skin of the palms of the hands is most resistant to urishol, though I have certainly gotten poison ivy on my fingers. Maybe it stayed on the calluses and never made it to the sensitive skin nearby.
Just a note: your “arrowhead” is actually halberd-leaved tearthumb: Polygonum arifolium (or Persicaria arifolia or Taracaulon arifolium, depending on who you consult). Check the venation.
Thanks very much Sara. I also rubbed that leaf on my nose, unintentionally! I’ll be going back many times so I’ll see if it has white berries. If it does I’ll know for sure and will probably point it out to the powers that be.
I think you’re right about the Polygonum arifolium. That’s what comes from hurrying-amateurish mistakes!
How wonderful for you to have a new place to explore; it looks a fabulous place and virtually unspoilt. I love seeing all the different things you saw on your visit – the butterfly and the squirrel especially. I’m sorry that that reed was there – I wonder if they will try to get rid of it or put up with it. Foreign plants are so invasive; a continuation of the conversation we were having after your last post.
It really is untouched because nobody could ever build anything there. It would have just sunken into the peat.
I hope to see more animals there too. I doubt that I’ll see any beavers but I wouldn’t be surprised to see just about any other of our native animals.
I wasn’t happy to see that reed either but I doubt they’ll do anything about them. They can’t really burn them. There is a weed killer that is supposed to work on them and be “safe for wetlands” but I don’t think the school district would take the chance.
I’m glad you liked seeing the inside of a swamp. I wondered if anyone would!
It’s fascinating to see because I should think large areas of the States looked like this a few hundred years ago.
Yes, in fact the entire city of Keene is built on what was one a swamp.
What a wonderful way to see a part of nature most of us would never see. I fear I would be one of those wandering in circles forever if I stepped off the boardwalk…no sense of direction. Hope it wasn’t poison sumac. We just started carrying the spice, sumac in my store. It is a lovely red color and adds a hint of lemon to cooking. Not at all the same as what is growing in my backyard!
I think it is poison sumac but for some reason I didn’t have a reaction to it. That’s fine by me!
Actually the sumac you sell at the store could very well be the same one that grows in your back yard. Staghorn sumac berries have been used as a spice for centuries, and they make a good lemonade substitute too. If you pick them, dry them and grind them this fall you’ll most likely taste the same as what you sell.
I didn’t know that arrowhead was edible. You are right about Royal Fern, it is very beautiful. I wonder how it does on drier ground. I like how this place is set up for exploration with the wooden boardwalk.
Arrowhead roots are edible but they’re quite difficult to dig up since the grow in water. I’ve heard that Natives did it with their bare feet. I think I’d have to be just about starving to go to all of that trouble for a walnut sized root that tasted like a potato.
Every time I’ve seen royal fern it has been growing real close to water and sometimes even in water. I don’t think it would stand much dryness.
That boardwalk is really something. I wish there was one on every trail I walk on!
I have found quite a bit of poison sumac in that area, especially behind the Baptist Church just across the highway. I used to work at a summer day camp there (Roots and Wings). The largest specimen is downslope from the end of the guard-rail on the south-bound entrance ramp, tho when I checked it out a few weeks ago, it appeared to be dead or dying. Perhaps the one you handled had a low amount of urushiol, or it didn’t get bruised enough for the oil to be on the surface of the leaf.
Thanks Al. With all the wandering I’ve done in this area over the years I’m really surprised that I never noticed it, but on the other hand I don’t go into swamps much. This specimen was doing well. It looks to be about 5 feet tall and suckering, with shorter plants all around it. I crushed that leaf up pretty well but it was late afternoon / evening, so maybe that had something to do with it. I hope you’ll have a chance to check this area out!
It’s good to see that such a place has been made accessible to people with so many different abilities!
I agree. I hope they’ll put it to good use!
Enjoyable hike! I wish we had white admirals here.
Thanks! I wonder why they don’t go that far west.
That’s a good question. I didn’t think about that. It might be host plant.
That could be. Lack of food would sure stop them.
Just thought I’d add my vote that it looks like a beautiful area. Thanks for the informative post!
Thanks! It is a beautiful and unusual spot.
A wonderful facility which I am sure you will put to good use (as long as you are not mowed down by cyclists).
I agree! Some people just don’t use their heads, I guess.
I’d love to have the two hours after sunrise alone along that boardwalk! Especially in the spring and fall, I’ll bet that place is full of warblers and other birds migrating. Maybe because it is so short, and probably has a few billion mosquitoes, the cyclists and joggers won’t over run the place as Mike fears. That’s what happens here, any trail like that has so many people on it all the time, you never get to see the wildlife, just the plants. That’s not bad for some one like you who knows about the plants, I just scratch my head and wonder about them. Kudos to the school and every one else involved in getting the boardwalk built.
I’ll definitely be doing more posts about this place and if I see any birders out there I’ll ask them what they’re seeing. Although, since you can’t easily get there knowing what birds are flying through might be like rubbing salt into the wound.
I hope it’s not overrun by people who have no interest in nature. The day after it officially opened it was busy but I’ve been back 4 or 5 times and haven’t really seen many people. A school gym class jogged through once and the guys on the bikes almost had me asking “are you kidding me?”
I’m no expert, but I think you might have got very lucky with your contact with what is likely Poison Sumac. After comparing the characteristics available in the two pictures above to on-line descriptions, that’s what I’m left with. I’m sure you’ve done the same. What got me to lean towards that is the flower. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has a picture of them:
Perhaps if I looked for a while longer I’d find better pictures, but … you’ve probably run across that or better yourself.
Perhaps you’re one of those people that only becomes sensitized after repeated exposure, in which case, next time you might not fare so well. (I have an acquired sensitivity to Poison Ivy.) If, however, you are a bit like me, you may be tempted to make a small “test” the next time you see it, fully prepared to accept the consequences of your actions, but rueing the choice if the test goes awry. 😉
The way I look at these things is, if it isn’t Poison Sumac, then we’ve both learned a lot about the similarities and differences between this and similar plants. If it does turn out to be Poison Sumac, then we’ll both be more careful the next time we approach a similar plant. I’ve never seen it, that I’m aware of, but then I live in an area where I’d have to look hard and long for a wetland or a bog!
I enjoy your blog, only found it last year or so, and got hooked. From time to time I too tend to get “lost” in one or another of nature’s marvels, preferring, for a time, the company of a leaf to that of my own species. :o)
I agree with your observations regarding poison sumac. Like you I too checked every possibility and ended up with poison sumac because of the flowers. I am allergic to poison ivy but it always stays at the point of contact and never spreads. That’s why I’m surprised that I didn’t get a rash from the poison sumac, but this is the first time we’ve met. I wouldn’t do a test-that’s tempting fate and I’d probably end up with a head to toe rash. I just wonder how many people are going to say “oh, look at the pretty tree” and grab ahold of it. It’s right beside the boardwalk! If I ever find out for certain what it is I’ll put it in another post.
I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying the blog and I thank you for letting me know. Getting lost in nature isn’t so bad. It’s being found that is sometimes the hard part.
What an interesting place. I’m especially glad that it has been made wheelchair accessible through those sturdy paths, bridges and boardwalks.
Me too Cynthia. The man I saw in the wheelchair had an ear to ear grin so I think he was having a ball. They didn’t spare any expense building this, by the looks. It’s very sturdy and should last for a long while.
It does look very sturdy.
It would be wonderful if a link to this blog post was available for folks wandering along the boardwalk. It would be like an scavenger hunt, identifying the plants you have called out. How else can someone with limited knowledge really appreciate all that’s going on underfoot? This was a wonderful stroll – thanks.
You’re welcome and thank you Judy. The woman from the school said she would link this post to a couple of websites, but they’re also going to put up information placards so people can understand what they’re seeing. I think most people might be confused by a swamp since being able to go in one is so rare.
I have seen red squirrels lying like this on my deck too. I wondered if it was a good way to soak up the warmth from the rails which have been warmed by the sun.
-Susan
It could be, or maybe they’re just tired from all the tree climbing. They move so fast!
This really looks like the kind of place that I would enjoying visiting. The boardwalk makes it so much more accessible to folks who want a taste of nature, but don’t want to slog through the mud as I occasionally do. It will be interesting to see how the plants, insects, birds, and animals change as the seasons change.
I thought of you and your boardwalk the first time I went there Mike, because your area is one of the few I know of that have them. I think it’s going to be a popular place, especially for birders.
I’m looking forward to seeing how it changes with the seasons. It should be real interesting.
The only danger, Allen, is that it becomes so accessible that the quiet, contemplative side of nature is overwhelmed by busloads of school children and endless streams of baby strollers and clueless walkers with earbuds blocking out the music of the swamp. (That’s one of the reasons why I hit my marsh early in the morning.)
I know what you mean Mike. I’ve already seen people riding their bikes on the boardwalk, and they were grown men!
Beautiful. I was in Walpole and Keene last week but had no idea. Your part of the state is looking green, healthy, and growing. 🙂
Thank you Judy. I hope you’ll get a chance to visit this place in the future. It’s probably quite different than anything else you’ve seen.
Yes, we finally had some rain and things are growing like mad!
What a great project. If it does turn out to be poison sumac, perhaps you aren’t very sensitive to it. It takes a skilled adventurer to not get lost in a 500 acre swamp, so I agree, I hope people will enjoy the swamp on the pathways. Are leashed pets allowed on the paths?
I’m slightly allergic to poison ivy but maybe not so much with poison sumac.
I’m not sure how skilled an adventurer I am, but I do know that I’m not leaving the boardwalk!
There are no rules posted for pets and I’ve seen a couple of people with dogs out there so I’d say it’s okay, at least for now.
What a wonderful place to visit, I wish that I lived nearby. I love boardwalks, no problems about where to put ones feet and, lifted above the vegetation, plenty of opportunity to have a good look at everything around. Thank you for taking us here, I hope you come again.
You’re welcome and thank you Susan. Yes, I plan on spending quite a lot of time here!