I wanted to go for a climb last weekend but we’d had a storm that dropped sleet, snow, rain and freezing rain and now the snow is covered in a coat of ice. I had to wear Yaktrax to walk on the old abandoned road through Yale Forest, even though it’s flat and level. What looks like snow here is actually a thick coating of ice on top of the snow, and it was slippery.
This tree stump tells the story.
An evergreen fern was trapped in the snow and ice. It will probably stay that way for a while because every day this week is supposed to be below freezing.
Yale forest is a forest full of young trees, cut and cut again since the 1700s. Once farm land, it is now owned by the Yale University School of Forestry. 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.
Evidence of the original use of the land after settlers moved in can be seen in the rusty barbed wire still attached to this big old tree stump. This is hilly, rocky land so it was most likely used for sheep pasture.
The stone walls here are tossed or thrown walls, which is a sign that the farmer wanted to clear the land as quickly as possible. Stones were literally thrown on top of one another without a thought or care about how the wall looked. When you had to grow what you were eating clearing the land quickly was far more important than having a nice looking wall.
Up ahead a tree had fallen across the old road but there was no reason to worry; this road hasn’t seen traffic for quite a while. It 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. It is now considered a private road but Yale University is very good about letting locals use the forest for hiking and biking.
The fallen tree had broken off about 8 feet above the ground and the break was relatively fresh. Its brother on the left had previously broken in almost the same place.
Dried fungi on the trunk spoke of why the tree had fallen. Fungi are a sign of rot in a tree and many can cause rot. Rot makes trees unable to withstand strong winds, and we’ve had a few windy days recently.
I always like to look over the branches in the crowns of fallen trees to see what was growing up so high. This tree had a lot of small, rounded mounds of crispy tuft moss (Ulota crispa) on its limbs. It’s tightly curled and contorted leaves meant that it was dry. It almost always grows on tree trunks where there is no standing water. Studies have shown that moss spores stick to the paws of chipmunks and squirrels, and that explains how they get their start so high up in trees. Chances are good that lichen and fungus spores are transported in the same way, I would think.
This is a closer look at the crispy tuft moss and its curled leaves, spent spore capsules and new growth. I love how the spore capsules look like tiny Tiffany vases. This comes from their being constricted just below the mouth of the capsule.
Fishbone beard lichen is common on trees and even wooden fences, so I wasn’t surprised to see it here. There are many different kinds of beard lichens and the differences can be subtle, but the fishbone beard lichen (Usnea filipendula) stands apart because of its resemblance to the backbone of a fish. This lichen seems to prefer growing on spruce but I’ve seen it on other trees as well. Though it isn’t rare I don’t see it frequently. Lichens in the Usnea genus contain usnic acid and have antiseptic / antibiotic properties. They have been used since ancient times throughout the world to heal wounds.
Netted crust fungi (Byssomerulius corium) are common and grow on the undersides of branches, and this fallen tree had large patches of it on its limbs. The corium part of the scientific name means skin or hide, and refers to the skin-like growth of this fungus. Quite often bracket or shelf like growths will form along its edges. This fungus has tiny net-like ridges in its surface, and that’s how the netted crust comes by its common name.
Its buds told me that the fallen tree was probably a silver maple (Acer saccharinum,) which is one of the weaker “soft” maples. These buds were smaller and more oval than the chubby, round buds on red maples, and didn’t grow in the large bud clusters that I see on red maples. Silver maples get their name from the whitish, silvery undersides of their leaves. The amount of growth that this tree supported along its trunk and limbs was phenomenal.
As I’ve said here many times lichens can be hard to identify because many change color when they dry out. Since it was a dry day I’m not at all positive but I think this one might have been a star rosette lichen (Physcia stellaris,) which is pale gray even when wet. In any case it was a beautiful example that wasn’t damaged. I often see lichens like this that look torn or one sided and I think it’s because birds have taken pieces of them to line their nests with. I was reading about a study that showed 5 different species of lichens were found in a single hummingbird’s nest.
There is a similar lichen called the slender rosette lichen (Physcia subtilis) but it has pale rhizines and these examples were very dark. Rhizines are a kind of rootlet that look like small hairs on the underside of some lichens that help them hold on to the surface they grow on, like tree bark. You can just see a blurry few of them poking out from under one of the lobes in the lower left of this photo.
A little ice won’t bother pixie cup lichens (Cladonia pyxidata.) This lichen likes to grow on moss because mosses retain a lot of water, and these examples grew on the side of a mossy boulder. Though they look like golf tees they are probably a tenth the size. Each stalk like growth (podetia) is less than 1/2 inch tall, and the cups that bear the lichen’s spores are about 1/32 of an inch across.
The scales on the pixie cup’s stalks are leafy growths called squamules. A squamule is a lobe of the body of the lichen (Thallus) and some lichens are squamulose, meaning they’re made up of small, leafy lobes. Pixie Cups and other Cladonia species like reindeer lichen contain didymic acid, and they were once used by herbalists to treat tuberculosis. They are called pixie cups because they are said to resemble the tiny cups that pixies or wood fairies sip the morning dew from.
If you walk long enough on the old abandoned road through Yale forest you’ll come to an open swampy area that was once home to beavers. Beavers will move into a place and cut all the trees and then move on. Their pond will eventually drain and new trees will start to grow, and they will move back again to repeat the cycle. I’ve read that it takes about thirty years to go once around the cycle and this area looks as if it’s in the beaver pond draining stage. This photo is of the small stream that they dammed up originally.
Quite a large section of the beaver dam can still be seen but with no maintenance it has fallen into disrepair and no longer holds back any water. Many animals benefit from beaver ponds and swamps, such as insects, spiders, frogs, salamanders, turtles, fish, ducks, rails, bitterns, flycatchers, owls, mink and otters. Great blue herons, wood ducks, and hooded mergansers live in the dead trees that the rising water killed. Their ponds also filter out pollutants carried by runoff and serve as water storage areas, so they benefit man as well. Native Americans used beavers for food, medicine and clothing.
The most surprising thing I saw on this walk was a raspberry with fresh green leaves on it. I hope it knows what it is doing because we’re in for more cold weather. January temperatures ran about 8 degrees above average but in December there were days when we had below zero cold, so I can’t even guess why it would have grown new leaves. Maybe like me it’s hoping for an early spring.
The presence of a path doesn’t necessarily mean the existence of a destination. ~Craig D. Lounsbrough
Thanks for coming by.
What an interesting place to walk. I loved the beaver pond. We don’t have beavers here so I’ve never seen one. I hope the raspberry survives. Maybe it knows something we don’t?
Beaver ponds are often very shallow and they look like natural ponds. There’s always a dam holding them back though so it’s easy to tell that the beavers built it. I think your wildlife would be very different if you had beavers.
I doubt that raspberry leaf lived through the below zero cold we’re having but I’m hoping it was telling me that we’ll have an early spring. I’m ready for it!
The raspberry leaf is so out of synch with the season and the cold. It seems an impossibility. I have just seen a single flower on a bush in the garden that should not flower until the spring. Some little part of the plant must get the wrong signal. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. I know what you mean; plants can get fooled by the weather too, just like people do, but it doesn’t happen often.
Thanks for reminding me that there are things other than birds to be found in the woods in winter. I loved the pixie cup lichens and the crispy tuft moss in particular, excellent photos of both of them.
I’ve worn out my Yaktrax, and need to pick up another pair, they’re invaluable in conditions such as you had for this walk.
Thanks Jerry! I keep telling myself that there will come a winter when I won’t need Yaktrax but it never seems to happen!
Stunning pixie cup pics. Your hand must have been very steady.
Thank you. I was able to rest the camera on the ground, and that always helps.
That’s impressive. I mean being able to bend down that far.
I had to kneel on the ice covered snow, then crouch. Getting back up was hardest of all.
Lots to enjoy on this walk, even if it is slippery. I like the tree stump/frozen bird bath, the crispy tuft moss (great name), and the stone wall.
Thank you. There’s a lot to see out there. This post barely scratches the surface.
The macro shot of the pixie cups is fantastic! I also like the (possible) star rosette lichen and the patterns it has formed as it spreads outwards. I hadn’t realised until I started following your blog how much beavers contribute to the rejuvenation process of a forest. The amount of creatures that benefit from a beaver pond is phenomenal!
Thank you Clare. I’m glad you like that shot because it was a hard one to get!
This part of the world would be very different without beavers. I didn’t even mention all the fish that swim in their ponds but fishermen know there are few places better to fish for brook trout and bass.
Hello, Allen-
I enjoy your blog, and impressed with your deep knowledge and photography skills! There is a wildflower I can’t ID, and I’m wondering if you know it. I see drifts of it growing in shallow water in late April or early May when I go fiddleheading on the banks of the Sugar River in Claremont. The larger rosettes are approximately 8″ or so across. âAny ideas?
Thanks so much, Nettie Rynearson
On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:10 AM, New Hampshire Garden Solutions wrote:
> New Hampshire Garden Solutions posted: ” I wanted to go for a climb last > weekend but weâd had a storm that dropped sleet, snow, rain and freezing > rain and now the snow is covered in a coat of ice. I had to wear Yaktrax to > walk on the old abandoned road through Yale Forest, even though itâs fla” >
Thanks very much Nettie. The only flowers I can think of that would be blossoming in water in April are the marsh marigold or coltsfoot. You don’t say what color yours are but these are both dandelion yellow. I hope this helps.
Very enjoyable read and good info!
Thanks Montucky!
so much beauty ❤ ❤ ❤
There’s an awful lot of it out there!
I also find the pixie cups enchanting and appreciate todays quote.
-Susan
Thanks very much Susan.
For some reason I was especially taken by your shots of the pixie cup lichens–there is something fun and whimsical about them and the notion of fairies using them to sip the morning dew.
Thanks Mike! I’m glad you said that because that macro shot was very hard to get.
Though I’ve been reading about pixie cups for a long time I just heard the story about how they came by their common name, and I agree!
I also love the Pixie Cup lichens. I always chuckle when I see them as they remind me of the antennae of the Andorian aliens from the Star Trek: Enterprise TV series. Same color, too. I wonder if they got the idea from looking at Pixie Cup lichens? 🙂
Beautiful photos and thank you for the tour of Yale Woods. I know someone who went through their forestry program.
Thank you Lavinia. They might have gotten the idea from pixie cups. Coincidentally there is a Star Trek marathon on TV today. If that episode comes on I’ll have to take a closer look.
Your friend was lucky to have gone through the Yale forestry program. It’s a good one.
Thank you for identifying the lichens and your pictures are stunning as always!
You’re welcome Deb, and thank you. I hope you’ll get to see these lichens for yourself.
I enjoyed your quote, you find some really interesting ones.
Thank you Susan!