When I visit a place I like to visit it in all four seasons and get to know it a bit, and that’s why I decided to walk in Yale Forest in Swanzey last weekend. It was a cloudy, gray day that wasn’t great for photography but I saw plenty of interesting things and came home happy. It’s amazing how much the look of a place can change between winter and summer, and how many unseen things are revealed when the trees and shrubs no longer have leaves.
The road I followed was once called Dartmouth College Road because if you followed in north far enough, that’s where you would have ended up. When the State Department of Transportation built what is now route 10 this section of road was abandoned and from what I gather by talking to the county forester and others, was taken over by Yale University. I’m not sure exactly how it worked but apparently, since they owned the land on both sides of the road it became theirs when it was abandoned by the state. In any event it is now considered a private road but Yale University is very good about letting locals use the forest for hiking and biking. Since gates on both ends of the road are locked I’m assuming that the tire tracks were made by someone from Yale.
Yale founded a School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in 1900 and owns parcels of forest all over New England. Alumni donated land to the school or it was bought or sometimes even traded, and over time good sized pieces of forest were put together. The first land was bought by the school in 1913 but this particular parcel dates from the 1920s or 30s. It is 1,930 acres in size. A forestry school can’t train foresters in proper forest management without a forest, so this is one of the places where they come to train, and part of that training includes how to maintain healthy woodlands. This parcel is mostly red and white pine that was planted or seeded naturally after the hurricane of 1938 blew down many of the trees that stood here, so none of it is original old growth forest.
Many of the hardwood stumps had sprouted new growth. When I saw this one I thought “deer food.”
Sure enough the deer had eaten the tender tip of every shoot. Deer have their front cutting incisor teeth only on their bottom jaw and these teeth meet a cartilage pad on their top jaw so they tear rather than cut through cleanly, and that tearing can be clearly seen in the photo. This won’t kill the new shoots but it will make them bushier. Selectively cutting a forest and leaving the stumps to re-grow provides valuable winter food to deer.
Now that the ferns and other undergrowth have died back game trails could be seen clearly. The deer use these trails year round but they aren’t as easy to spot in summer and fall. They can be seen in any New Hampshire forest and have probably been used since the dawn of time.
Stone walls and cellar holes are all that’s left to tell of all the back breaking work that once went on here. This particular piece of land is very stony and parts of it are low and wet, so I doubt much crop farming was done here. I’m guessing that it was sheep pasture. Sheep were big business in this area in the 1800s but then railroads came through and the industrial revolution happened and many of these smaller farms were abandoned or sold. The forests grew back and now it’s close to impossible to walk into a New Hampshire forest and not see a stone wall. At one time there were an estimated 250,000 miles of stone walls in the northeast.
White-tipped moss (Hedwigia ciliata) grew on one of the stones in the wall. This moss was very green and healthy looking and part of that probably had to do with the previous night’s dusting of snow. It was warm enough so the snow had melted and the water from it rejuvenated the mosses and lichens. Many people don’t seem to realize that in spite of the snow the winter landscape can be as dry as a desert until it warms up enough for the snow to melt. I see many mosses and lichens that are as shriveled in January as they are in July.
I like seeing mosses close up, and this is about as close as I could get to the white tipped moss in the previous photo. At this scale it’s clear where it got its common name, and it’s also clear that it’s a very beautiful thing.
Crowded parchment fungi (Stereum complicatum) jostled for space on a log. There must be some way that growing so close together and in such large numbers benefits this fungus, but I haven’t been able to find out how. I probably see more of it than any other mushroom.
A small tree had fallen between 2 others and was supported so it hung out into the road at about eye level.
I was surprised to see how much growth covered the trunk of the fallen tree. It was like a garden, with several kinds of mosses, lichens and fungi growing all along its entire length.
For years I’ve seen certain dead beech leaves as a kind of peachy orangey-pinkish color but I always thought that I was simply seeing the wrong color due to color blindness. Imagine my surprise when my color finding software told me that these leaves were the color that I thought I’d been seeing all along. Color blindness is very strange in how it works differently for virtually every color. Blue can be purple and red can be brown but apparently peach is always peach.
Deer tongue grass (Dichanthelium clandestinum) added some color to the forest floor.
This beautiful moss grew in a rather large patch on a tree trunk, but too high up to be tree skirt moss (Anomodon attenuates.) Instead I think it might be lesser plait moss (Hypnum pallescens,) which is supposed to be a “shiny, dark ochre-green moss with light green tips that creeps like satin threads over bark and rock.” Its tiny leaves are triangular and egg shaped, and have a long curved tip like a sickle.
Its orange spore capsules were very small and hard to get a good photo of. Unfortunately my moss book doesn’t say if the spore capsules of lesser plait moss are orange.
Ironically (or maybe not) a tree with a “killer tree” tape on it had fallen. These warnings warn loggers that the tree is dead, diseased or has some other condition that might cause it to fall. In this case it was a valid warning and I was glad it wasn’t windy because there were more still standing.
The killer tree’s wood was orange. I don’t think I’ve seen that before and I’m not sure what would cause it other than a fungus.
I was fooled once into thinking that I had found a blue lichen, but I hadn’t paid attention and didn’t know that the sticky sap of white pines (Pinus strobus) turned blue in cold weather. Now whenever I find a blue lichen I look around to make sure that I’m not standing near a pine. This one had lost a limb and had dripped quite a lot of sap onto the forest litter below.
I don’t know how old the tree that was dripping sap was but it was huge; easily three feet across. White pines can reach 200 to 250 years old and some can live over 400 years. Its needles contain five times the amount of the vitamin C of lemons and were used by Native Americans to make tea. This knowledge saved many colonists who were dying of scurvy, but instead of using the tree for food and medicine as the Natives did the colonists cut them down and used the wood for paneling, floors and furniture. When square riggers roamed the seas the tallest white pines in the Thirteen Colonies were known as mast pines. They were marked with a broad arrow and were reserved for the Royal Navy, and if you had any sense you didn’t get caught cutting one down. This practice of The King taking the best trees led to the Pine Tree Riot in 1772, which was an open act of rebellion. Colonists cut down and hauled off many marked mast pines in what was just a taste of what would come later on in the American Revolution.
I found a maple dust lichen (Lecanora thysanophora) by accident a few years ago and have hoped to see one again ever since. I finally saw one on the bark of a maple in Yale Forest and this is it. It was maybe an inch across and if I understand what I’ve read correctly you can tell that it’s a maple dust lichen by the tiny fringe around its outer edge. I stood and gazed at it as I would if I were in an art gallery viewing paintings by DaVinci or Rembrandt, because it’s every bit as beautiful.
One who returns to a place sees it with new eyes. Although the place may not have changed, the viewer inevitably has. For the first time things invisible before become suddenly visible. ~Louis L’Amour
Thanks for coming by. Part 2 of this post will be along on Saturday.
I think there are a few trees around here that should have killer tree labels. The wet weather has given us a few more fallers, notably on The Common. It’s good to go back and see places in different seasons. Amazing how much they change.
I think I’d stay away from the common for awhile. The trees really should be cut down if they’re a danger to people.
I like visiting places at all times of year. It’s a great way to get to really know a place.
The problem is shallow roots and wet soil I think. I tend to avoid the common when I’m on my own anyway, although Commando runs there every week.
Looks like winter is rough on trees. “Killer Trees” could be a good horror movie.
Yes, winter helps weed out the weak trees but there always seem to be plenty left standing.
I remember the first post that you did on this area, and I’m glad that you decided to add it to your list of places to return to as the seasons change.
I thought that the tape with the Killer Tree markings was funny, even though I know the reasons why they would mark such trees. It sort of tells you how much experience some of their students have as far as spending time in the woods.
Your photos of the moss, lichens, and fungi were great, and of course the information that you provide is priceless! I vaguely remember reading about the Pine Tree Riot as one of the events leading up to our Declaration of Independence, so this part of your post was a welcome way of refreshing my memory.
Thanks Jerry! Yes, this place was worth a closer look. It’s an easy walk and there is a lot to see.
I couldn’t figure out why they had “killer tree” on some trees but it quickly became obvious. I think you’re right about them wanting the less experienced people to know what they were looking at. trees fall all the time and after hearing one go last summer I know that I don’t want to be near one when it happens. The crash was LOUD.
I knew about the Royal Navy taking all the best pines but I can’t remember ever hearing about the pine tree riot. I wonder what else I missed in school!
Another excellent post. Thank you.
You’re welcome, and thank you!
It’s always interesting to see the forests at all times of year, and it was a pleasure to see what you found on your hike!
Thanks Montucky! Seeing a place at all times of year seems to be the only way to get to know it well.
I always try to make a bit of space in my day for your interesting and informative posts….nice to look at snow while we swelter in a heat wave here in Australia! Love your quote too.
Thanks very much, I’m glad you enjoy them.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having such a heat wave. That must be terrible, especially if it’s humid as well. I have trouble with that kind of weather and I hope it ends for you soon. We are freezing here but we’re cool. It’s now 15 degrees F, which is about the coldest it’s gotten all winter.
I like that quote too. I’ve always noticed how things change over the course of successive visits to a place, but never once thinking that it might have been me that changed!
I liked the quote too and the post was as interesting as always. Thank you.
You’re welcome and thank you. I’m glad you liked it.
I enjoyed the quote very much. This post is so full of really interesting information as well as some beautiful photographs. I would love to comment on all your finds but I’d be here all night! The Maple Dust Lichen is so lovely with its blue-grey fringe.
Thank you Clare. I like that quote. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it.
I’m sorry this post is so long. I saw so many interesting things and I hate to waste the shots of them.
I really like that maple dust lichen but unfortunately it’s very hard to find. I’ve only seen 2 in my lifetime.
Goodness!! Never apologise about long posts – your posts never seem at all long; in fact they could be two or three times the length and I’d be happy.
I think you’re one of just a few who would say that but I do appreciate it. Before I knew it I had 20 photos in this post and as many more again for part two, so I thought I went a bit overboard. I usually try to stop at 15 if I can.
I really appreciated the history and background information you shared. I also have several favorite spots that I try to visit in each season; it is so enjoyable to watch the land change and evolve over time.
Thank you Charlie. It takes a lot of time to find all those facts and put them together into a coherent post so I appreciate your letting me know that you enjoy them.
I agree with you about seeing how different areas change with the seasons. Sometimes it’s hard to believe you’re even in the same place.
There really is lots to like in this post. I especially liked the orange spores on that beautiful green moss. Without your macro shot, it sure wasn’t noticeable.
Pine Tree Riot – who knew?? Fascinating. You are a born teacher.
Thanks. Your closing quote was perfect for this post.
Thank you Judy. I had to take a lot of photos of those spore capsules to get one half way decent one, so I’m glad that you and others like seeing them.
I don’t know if I could be a teacher! I actually had never heard of the Pine Tree Riot either until I did this post. There are so many fascinating things out there to learn!
I thought that quote fit too. It’s very true, I think.
I love looking at tiny things up close and I especially liked the picture of the orange spore capsules-so amazing to be able to see such a beautiful tiny thing!
Thanks for all your wonderful pictures.
You’re welcome and thank you Susan. I’m glad you liked the spore capsules. They were tiny and very hard to get a decent photo of!
It’s amazing how a place can change so much seasonally. I almost always find something I didn’t see the first time through.
Yes, I often still see things I’ve missed after several visits.
the Maple dust lichen is so beautiful but at an inch across you need sharp eyes to notice it. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. Yes, that’s true but I often look at lichen covered tree trunks pretty closely in winter because that’s when many of them fruit.
I enjoyed reading all the interesting information as much as the pictures but the closeup of the White-tipped moss was a real winner, beautiful.
Thank you Susan. There’s a lot of history in this place.
The white tipped moss is one of my favorites.