The plan was to get out early last Saturday and hike a rail trail since I skipped it last week in favor of a pond, but nature had other plans. We got about 5 inches of snow on Friday and the temperature at 7:00 am on Saturday was barely 17 degrees F. I thought I’d wait for the sun to warm it up a bit and took photos of frost crystals while I waited. They were very feathery.
Eventually I did get out there and found a beautiful warm and sunny day. Warm was 35 degrees but since last February saw below zero temperatures nearly all month long 35 degrees seemed like a gift.
I saw that a bike with balloon tires had gone through the snow. I’ve heard that the tires on them are underinflated, and that these bikes can go just about anywhere. It seems as if it has taken a good part of my lifetime for bikes to get back to where they were when I was a boy. I can remember them with fat balloon tires that always seemed to be underinflated back then, but we just rode them on the streets.
There is a pasture for horses that runs for a short way along one side of the trail and on the far side of it what I think was little bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium) glowed beautifully in the sunshine. I love the golden color that some grasses have when they’re “dead.”
Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) can grow as a shrub or a vine. In this case it grew as a vine on a tree trunk and its white berries gave away its identity, even in winter. I’m glad I saw the berries before I touched the tree trunk. You can catch a good case of poison ivy rash even when the plants have no leaves on them and as general rule I try not to touch plants with white berries. Poison ivy hasn’t ever bothered me much but there is always a first time. Some people get it so badly they have to be hospitalized. Over 60 species of birds are known to eat poison ivy berries, so the toxic part of the plant must have no effect on them.
A gall wasp made a perfectly round escape hole in its near perfectly spherical oak gall. It is said that oaks carry more galls than any other tree. This example is a marble gall.
White pines (Pinus strobus) have shown me that I can use their sap as a kind of thermometer in the winter because the colder it gets, the bluer it becomes. This example was sort of a medium blue which kind of parallels our almost cold winter. I’ll have to look at some if the temperature plunges next weekend as forecast.
Snowmobile clubs have built wooden guardrails along the sides of all of the train trestles in the area to make sure that nobody goes over the side and into the river. That wouldn’t be good, especially if there was ice on the river. Snowmobile clubs work very hard to maintain these trails and all of us who use them owe them a great debt of gratitude, because without their hard work the trails would most likely be overgrown and impassable. I know part of one trail that hasn’t seen any maintenance and it’s like a jungle, so I hope you’ll consider making a small donation to your local club as a thank you.
Years ago before air brakes came along, brakemen had to climb to the top of moving boxcars to manually set each car’s brakes. The job of brakeman was considered one of the most dangerous in the railroad industry because many died from being knocked from the train when it entered a trestle or tunnel. This led to the invention seen in the above photo, called a “tell-tale.” Soft wires about the diameter of a pencil hung from a cross brace, so when the brakeman on top of the train was hit by the wires he knew that he had only seconds to duck down to avoid running into the top of a tunnel, trestle, or other obstruction. Getting hit by the wires at even 10 miles per hour must have hurt some, but I’m sure it was better than the alternative.
I’ve spent over 50 years wondering what these wires were called and was able to find out just recently. I also discovered that though tell-tales were once seen on each side of every trestle and tunnel, today they are rarely seen. The above photo shows the only example I know of and I chose to walk this particular section of rail trail because of it.
There is a nice view of the Ashuelot River from the trestle. It’s very placid here but its banks seem wild and untamed, and it’s easy to imagine that this is what it looked like before colonists came here.
Though there is surface rust on the ironwork of the trestle they were built to last and I wouldn’t be surprised if it looks the same as it does now after standing for another 150 years. You can see in this photo that the rust is just a very thin coating on the heads of the rivets.
Stone walls marked the property line between landowner and railroad. I’ve tried to find out how wide railroad rights of way are but it seems to vary considerably. I’ve read that the average setback on each side is 25 feet from the center of the nearest rail. Add 10 feet or so for engine width and you have a 60 foot wide rail trail right of way, which seems about right in this region of the country.
On my way back I was passed by a lady on snowshoes who asked me what I was taking photos of. “Anything and everything,” I told her, but I really wasn’t planning on taking her photo until I realized that she might give the place a sense of scale. This photo shows how, though the right of way might be 60 feet wide the sides aren’t often flat, so this might leave an actual trail width of only 20 feet.
Railroad tracks have always been a great place to go berry picking. Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries can all be found in great abundance along most trails. In this section lowbush blueberry bushes (Vaccinium angustifolium) looked spidery against the snow.
On this trip something I had been wondering about for a few years was finally put to rest, and that was the question do maple dust lichens (Lecanora thysanophora) only grow on maple trees? The one pictured was growing on a beech tree, so the answer is no. So why are they called maple dust lichens? That question I don’t have an answer for.
I saw the biggest amber jelly (Exidia recisa) fungus I’ve ever seen out here. It was as big as a toddler’s ear and felt just like an ear lobe. As usual it reminded me of cranberry jelly, which isn’t amber colored at all.
I saw the sun lighting up the orange brown leaves of this sweet fern from quite a distance away. Sweet fern is a small shrub with incredibly aromatic leaves which release their fragrance on warm summer days. They can be smelled from quite a distance and are part of the summer experience for me. Though they aren’t ferns their leaves look similar to fern leaves. They are actually a member of the bayberry family and the leaves make a good tasting tea. Native Americans made a kind of spring tonic from them and also used them as an insect repellant. On this day I just admired their beauty, glowing there in the sun.
A fallen branch poked up out of the snow as if it had been waiting for me to come along. It showed off what looked from a distance like little orange flowers, but I knew that couldn’t be.
They weren’t flowers but they might as well have been because they were just as beautiful. I’m not sure but I think they were older examples of milk white toothed polypores, which are known to brown with age. These hadn’t reached the brown stage but they were very orange and very interesting.
Each living thing gives its life to the beauty of all life, and that gift is its prayer. ~Douglas Wood
Thanks for coming by.
New Hampshire Garden Solutions 
An interesting post as always. I’m not sure if we have tell tales on our railways, I will have to pay more attention in future. There are certainly. Ore galls on oak here than on anything else. I’ve seen som trees that have so many they look like berries.
I know what you mean about the oak galls. I know where there are some young trees that seem to have as many galls as they do leaves. It makes the tree look a little odd!
What a fun walk! I am hard pressed to pick a favorite photo but the milk white toothed polypores are hard to beat. Love the story of the tell-tails. Since sailboat sails also have tell-tails, I wonder if there is any link? Though they each serve different purposes, it is interesting they carry the same name.
Thanks Martha. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about sail boats but it is interesting that parts of it have the same name. It must be that both give you warning, or something along those lines.
Very interesting about the “tell-tail”. Thanks for taking us along. Love the glowing little bluestem.
You’re welcome, and thank you. I love the way grasses catch the light.
I loved this walk with you, Allen. Lots of really interesting facts about the things you’ve seen. I love the photo of the marble gall – it looks as though it was fashioned out of bronze.
Thank you Clare. Those galls do look like they were hammered out of metal with their uneven surface. I did some reading on them and found that you have them there too, though they’re formed by a different wasp.
Yes we do have them; I find them fascinating.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
Thank you, Allen. Wishing you a very blessed Chinese Lunar New Year 2016. Namaste
Thanks very much Agnes, and the same to you!
Fat-tired bikes have become very popular in Alaska, where we used to live. Good winter exercise, but I prefer a more lingering walk or ski myself. The smell of sweet fern means summer in New England to me–one of my favorite smells in the world. Didn’t know you could use them for tea, though. Will have to look into that.
Thank you for the information on the fat tired bikes. I’ve wondered how riding one in the snow would be. I ride in the warmer months but my mountain bike has tires the are too skinny for snow.
Yes, I’ve heard you can put a few handfuls of sweet fern leaves in a gallon jar and fill it with water and leave it in the sun to steep. With cream and sugar it’s supposed to be a real hit with the kids.
Another interesting gallery of shots but my favourites are the pics of the milk white toothed polypores. How pretty and unusual they look against the snowy surround. Thanks for sharing these lovely shots.
You’re welcome and thank you Jane. That fungus was a real surprise. I’ve never seen them look quite like that but I think it was because they had some age and might have been drying out. I thought the were pretty too!
I’m glad that you returned to complete this hike as this is one of your best posts ever, and that’s saying a lot! I learned a great deal from it, from the telltales above the railroad tracks to the information about the sweet fern. I loved the image of the feathery ice crystals! However, the shot of the river comes a close second, I think that I’d love to fish that stretch of river sometime. I’ve noticed that the sap from white pine turns blue, but I never knew that it was related to the temperature.
Thanks Jerry!
Many stretches of the Ashuelot would be great to fish with waders. The water level drops considerably in summer so you can often walk right across it.
I’ve only seen blue pinesap in the winter, so I’m assuming it’s the cold that does it. It’s kind of white when dry in the summer, then turns blue as it gets colder, and then goes back to white again as it warms up.
The wires were very interesting. I have never heard of them before. Do locals use cross country skis on the tracks or would they be liable to be run down by the snowmobiles?
I think I’ve seen photos of European train tracks with the wires shown near tunnels.
I used to cross country ski down the tracks all the time but there were fewer snowmobiles then. I was passed by one as I was taking these photos but you still don’t see too many snowmobiles.
I’ll have to look out for wires.
Also wanted to note a shared gratitude to snowmobile clubs. Aside from maintaining trails, when the snow is deep, their trails make access to the deep woods a breeze. But if a couple sleds come along fast, you have to jump quickly into the deep snow! The network of trails here in western MA is quite extensive. I hear they connect clear up to Canada.
I’ve heard that they go to Canada as well. I know what you mean about stepping off a snowmobile trail into soft snow. I do it all the time when I’m taking photos. It’s never pleasant!
I didn’t know that sweet fern is related to bay, good to know. I love its scent.
I didn’t know that either until I was doing research on it for this post. I’ve always liked its scent and wish I’d smell it tomorrow!
I echo your thumbs-up to snowmobile clubs. Even in areas like the Merrimack Valley which aren’t exactly prime snowmobiling territories, local clubs provide plenty of trail maintenance. I’m a fan.
Me too. I’m especially grateful when they pack snow down enough so you can walk on it, rather than trudge through it.
It seems as though there is a recurring theme of pattern throughout this sequence of photographs.
That could be, but if so it was unintentional. Nature does use the same forms over and over though and if you pay attention you can see the same patterns in many different guises. Ferns and feathers in frost crystals are one example that comes to mind.
Is there a message whether or not intentional and/or recognised? If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there …
I’m not really sure about a message unless its the one that I try to convey in all of these posts, which is to get out and enjoy nature.
I was walking in a forest last summer and a tree fell off where I couldn’t see it, but could hear it. It made a thunderous crash so I’m guessing the answer to that question is yes.
🙂
A walk in the snow is one of my most favorite things, I really enjoyed your photo series.
Thank you Charlie. We’ve just had some more snow but compared to last winter there has been very little. We seem to only get two or three inches per storm.
love your site. Thank you. Davida >
Thanks very much.
Thank you for the evocative stroll once again, Allen. It’s always a great pleasure – I can almost smell the sweet fern right now!
You’re welcome Rich, and thank you. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could smell sweet fern right now! That would mean it was a lot warmer!
Once again, a wonderful journey that takes me back to my undergrad days at KSC. This one also reminded me of walking across the train trestle to get to the laundromat. And the white pine’s sap–yes! I know the blueness of it and never thought of it as acting like a thermometer–much the way the polypody and rhododendron do. Thank you.
Thanks very much. I grew up just on the other side of the railroad tracks from Keene State very near to that trestle and spent many happy hours playing on and around it. And I remember the Laundromat too. My wife and I used to go there when we were first married.
I wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed that pinesap turned blue in the cold. I’m glad I’m not the only one!
Snowmobile clubs really do a great job maintaining trails. Poison ivy never used to bother me until a few years ago, now I make sure to stay far away from it! Great post, as always.
Thank you Laura. Yes, even though I don’t get the rash too badly I stay away from poison ivy too!
Thanks for photographing ‘Anything and everything’, with your eye it is all interesting.
You’re welcome Susan, and thank you.