We’ve had a few really cold days and a little snow but all in all our winter has seen above average temperatures and below average snowfall. I decided to take a walk along the Ashuelot River last weekend to celebrate the relative warmth.
I thought I might see some interesting ice formations since the temperature dropped below freezing the night before, but ice was hard to find. A few baubles had formed on this clump of reed growing in the water.
This one looked like a teardrop. It seems odd that it could have formed in that shape since water drops fall straight down as they freeze, but there it was.
A small but beautiful white feather was trapped in the ice just off shore. I see quite a few feathers and don’t take photos of all of them but I liked what the water had done to this one.
Ashuelot falls in Keene showed no signs of freezing. The dam that creates the falls was first built in 1775 by Elisha Briggs to power grist and sawmills. It was improved over the years and went from wood to stone, and went on to power woolen mills from 1815 to 1935. There is talk of removing it by some, but others want to use it to generate power. I’m for returning it to its natural state. Meanwhile the river rolls on, not caring one way or another.
Black knot disease grew on a black cherry. It is caused by the fungus Apiosporina morbosa which can also attack plums, peaches, and apricots. Spores from the fungus can be spread by rain or wind and typically infect trees from April through June on new growth. Infected stems swell up and produce hard black knots like those in the above photo. This disease can eventually kill the tree so infected limbs should be pruned off 2-4 inches below the knots and buried or burned before bud break the following spring.
There are many gray lichens with black fruiting bodies (Apothecia) growing on trees but I think this one might be tiny button lichen (Amandinea punctata.) An unusual fact about this lichen is how its gray body (Thallus) can sometimes be missing, leaving only the dark apothecia on the tree bark. Something else unusual about it is its tolerance of pollutants and toxins. Most lichens will refuse to grow where there is air pollution but this one doesn’t seem to mind. That’s not a very comforting thought.
I just spoke about the milk white toothed polypore (Irpex lacteus) not too long ago but I keep running into them and I find them very interesting. This is a “winter” fungus that can appear quite late in the year. It is also a resupinate fungus, which means it looks like it grows upside down, and that’s what many crust fungi seem to do. Their spore bearing surface can be wrinkled, smooth, warty, toothed, or porous and though they appear on the undersides of logs the main body of the fungus is in the wood, slowly decomposing it. This is not a good one to see on a live tree.
An extreme close-up of the milk white toothed polypore’s “teeth” shows that they are just ragged bits of spore bearing tissue. They start life as tubes or pores and break apart and turn brown as they age.
It seems like the hairy berries of staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) would be hard for a bird to swallow but apparently not, because many birds eat them. Native Americans used these berries for thousands of years to make a lemonade substitute that I’ve always wanted to try, and in some countries the berries are ground and used as a lemon flavored spice. It makes me wonder if birds have taste buds. If so they must like lemon flavoring.
I thought this yellow ornamental grass was beautiful against the white of the snow in a public garden. Unfortunately it has encroached on what looks to be a dwarf spirea and I’m glad that I’m not the one who has to weed it out. I’m not sure what the name of the grass is but after some research I’m leaning toward a Japanese forest grass called Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola.’ This grass is said to be shade tolerant and makes a good companion plant for hosta, ferns, and other shade lovers. But not spirea, apparently.
Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees surround my house and that’s a good thing because black capped chickadees love their tiny seeds and that means I get to hear their song all year long. My favorite season is spring when I can hear the male bird’s sad but beautiful Fee Bee mating call. In fact I’ve heard it for such a long time and now it doesn’t feel like spring unless I do.
A wound or a branch stub is an excellent place for a tree to become infected by fungi in the winter months when it is dormant. In spring and throughout the growing season the tree tries to heal its wound and produces callus tissue around the site of the infection. When winter returns the infection appears once again and once again in the warmer months the tree tries to heal with more callus tissue. This infection / healing cycle year after year is called perennial canker and it produced the ring like growth seen in the photo above. Though it doesn’t always kill the tree it always seems to make them look sad, and In this case it’s no wonder; to add insult to injury a woodpecker has been pecking at the wound on this tree.
Imagine; green grass in January. It’s a rare winter sight here, especially when it has survived being snowed on.
I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder. ~Ansel Adams
Thanks for stopping in.
It’s certainly a strange winter so far on both sides of the pond. Our weatherman predicted lots of snow here but so far it hasn’t come and it’s still far warmer than usual with daffodils, crocus and even hebe flowering.
We don’t have flowers blooming but it has been mild. They’re hinting that we might see a big storm on Saturday but I’m hoping they’re wrong.
Good to know about chickadees and the Canadian hemlock. Why do they want to dismantle the dame – for fish migration?
No, it’s more to do with flooding and the responsibility of the local government I thnk, but after 200 years I’m not sure why they’re suddenly worried about such things.
Never knew it was a chickadee that had the Fee Bee call. Thanks for clearing that up for me! Wonderful post.
Thank you Judy. Yes, the males do say Fee Bee in the spring when they’re looking for a mate. There are also phoebes which say fee bee, but their song has a higher pitch and sounds much more urgent and much less sad than the chickadee.
I love your sumac photo. I made sumac lemonade years ago and it has a very distinctive sourish flavor. I didn’t care for it, but I may not have sweetened it enough. I was a big Euell Gibbons fan when I was in high school and ate some crazy wild stuff.
I wonder why the chickadees’ Fee Bee call sounds so heartbreakingly plaintive to us humans. Combine it with the goldfinches and I’m in springtime heaven.
Thank you. I remember Euell Gibbons but was never a huge fan of foraging for food so I missed a lot. I like lemonade but not when it’s real sour, so I’d probably end up with more sugar water than anything.
I don’t know why the chickadee’s mating call sounds so sad but it always makes me happy when I hear it!
This winter has been mild so far, but that’s changing right outside of my window as I type this. You may have a day or two of warm weather left, but the cold is coming!
Sumac seems to be a nearly universal food for almost all species of birds. I don’t recall any other food source attracting so many species. however, the birds don’t gouge themselves on sumac the way that they do other foods. They do seem to use it as a spice in addition to other foods, possibly for the high vitamin C content of sumac.
Being a trout fisherman, I vote for removing the dam.
Despite what I said about the cold weather coming, it won’t be long and we’ll being hearing the chickadee’s mating calls again, then see flowers soon after!
Thanks Jerry! Yes, we’re supposed to see 50s and 2 inches of rain today and then back to reality tomorrow. I’m just glad the 2 inches of rain won’t be 2 feet of snow!
Around here the birds hardly touch sumac until spring. The seed heads are all intact right now and would be easy to collect.
I’d like to see the dam go too. When they took out the one in Swanzey people started catching trout almost immediately.
This winter seems to be going by fast for some reason, so it won’t be long until spring!
I would fit an Archimedes Screw to the falls.
I’d bet that they haven’t thought of that!
Here’s a real example of this in the town where I live: http://i2.wp.com/tresoc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/totnesHydroInfographic_sm.jpg
Thank you Philip. That’s interesting. I didn’t know that it would have such little impact on fish. I doubt the councilmen in Keene have even thought of such a solution but I’ve heard that the Army Corp of Engineers is now involved so maybe they know all about Archimedes screws.
It’s the first thing on Mrs Tootlepedal’s mind these days when she sees any fall in a river.
It sounds like it would be a perfect solution to everyone’s problems with the dam.
What odd weather we are all having this winter! I wasn’t expecting to see melting ice in your post or green grass! There are a few shots of suffering plants in this post. The poor tree with the perennial canker, the spirea overwhelmed by the ornamental grass, the black cherry with black knot disease and the tree with the milk white toothed polypore. I do find the polypore fascinating to look at though.
Thank you Clare. Yes, today was well above freezing and tomorrow is supposed to be in the high 50s with heavy rain all day, so it sounds like what little snow we have will be washed away. I’m sure there will be other snowstorms before winter ends though.
I hadn’t thought about it but you’re right about the suffering plants. I guess they must all suffer in one way or another.I see lots of fungi and diseases among them.
I like that milk white toothed polypore too. I saw quite a lot of it today but didn’t bother taking any photos of it. There’s only so much I can say about it that isn’t old news.
I keep seeing the same things around here and haven’t bothered to take photos either!
I’m hoping I got at least a few shots of things that have never been seen on this blog today!
Oh yes you did! You always manage to provide something new and interesting to look at for your readers 🙂
Just what I needed to cheer me up and get me outside on a gloomy winter day in Iowa. Thanks!
Thank you Margaret. I hope you had a nice walk outside and saw a lot of beautiful and interesting things. I know you were cheered up if you did!
It was gloomy here today too but quite warm so I spent it in the woods. I always feel better after a day spent wandering.
On the teardrop-shaped ice formation. It looks to me this had been a bigger ice formation that got melted away from the heat of the surrounding rocks, thus accounting for the shape.
The staghorn sumac berries are amazing! I will have to look for them.
Thank you Leslie, that sounds likely and it’s something I hadn’t thought of. It looks like the stone behind the teardrop had almost the same shape, now that I give it a second look with your eyes.
You should read the comments if you’re interested in using sumac. Everyone who has tried it loves it.
SPREADER OF WONDOR
Thank you so much for
Espying minutiae
Seeing and sharing
Thank you Ben, very much for that. I like sharing what I see. I’m always hoping that it gets more people outside.
I don’t know how WONDER managed to turn into WONDOW. 😳 Perhaps if you would be so kind … Thanks.
No problem Ben. It happens to all of us.
Go for some powdered sumac on your steak – you’ll like it! Amelia
Thank you Amelia. I’m going to visit a local spice shop and see if they have any!
Staghorn sumac does make a wonderful lemon flavored drink, we made it as part of a survival course.
Thanks very much Charlie. I think you’re the first reader who has said they’ve tried the lemonade. I’m glad to hear that it’s so delicious. It’s no wonder Native Americans drank it all the time!
The milk white toothed polypore is a beautiful find.
Thanks! I see quite a lot of them, usually on the undersides of tree limbs.
My plum tree has black knot disease. I’ve tried cutting the branches, but never seem to be able to get it all. Every year I find more. Sumac is a wonderful spice and it does have a lemony flavor. I got some for the first time this year and love using it! Great post!
Thanks Laura. That’s too bad, because it doesn’t bode well for the tree. The only real “cure” is to cut it out and if you can’t get it all it will eventually finish the tree.
You’re the third reader who said they’ve used sumac. I’ll have to try some!
Lots of interesting images to look at, I particularly enjoyed the colour and the story of the staghorn plant.
Thank you Susan. I’ve heard that sumac is sold as a spice all over the world, so maybe you’ve tried it. It’s very lemony.
I haven’t tried it as yet but will look out for it, I love food that has a lemony taste.
Amelia from France says that it’s easy to get there and she recommends it on steak and Charlie from Seattle says the lemonade substitute made from the berries is delicious. I’m going to have to find some.
Thanks for the information.
You’re welcome!