I haven’t been to the Beaver Brook natural area in Keene for a while so last weekend I decided take a walk up the old abandoned road. This road was gated when a new highway was built in the 1970s, but my father and I used to drive over it to visit relatives when I was a boy. Back then the road went all the way to the state capital in Concord and beyond, but the new highway blocked it off and it has been a dead end ever since. At what is now the end of the road is a waterfall called Beaver Brook Falls and I thought I’d go see how much water was flowing over it. We’ve had a lot of a rain this year.
The old road follows along beside Beaver Brook and was originally built to access a sawmill which was built on the brook in 1736. In 1735 100 acres of “middling good land” and 25 pounds cash was offered to anyone who could build a sawmill capable of furnishing lumber to the settlement of Upper Ashuelot, which is now called Keene. Without a sawmill you lived in a log cabin, so they were often built before anything else in early New England settlements. The headwaters of Beaver Brook are in Gilsum, New Hampshire, north of Keene.
Tall blue lettuce (Lactuca biennis) grows prolifically here and is one of the first plants I notice at this time of year because it towers above everything else. The one growing up past the top of this photo must have been 8 feet tall. These plants usually end up with powdery mildew by the end of summer and this year they all seem to have it here. I was a bit surprised to see it though because this summer hasn’t been all that humid. It could be that the closeness of Beaver Brook makes the air slightly more humid. It is also usually very still here, with little wind.
As I’ve said many times on this blog, fall starts at the forest floor and lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) tells me that fall is in the air. This is the only fern that I know of with fronds that turn white in the fall.
If you aren’t sure that you have a lady fern by its fall color you can always look at its sporangia, which are where its spores are produced. They are found on the undersides of the leaves and look like rows of tiny black eggs. The little clusters are usually tear drop shaped.
Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides,) one of our most beautiful native shrubs, was also whispering of fall.
Hobblebush berries start out green then turn to red before finally becoming deep purple black, so they’re at their middle stage right now.
A hickory tussock moth caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae) crawled on a goldenrod leaf. This black and white caterpillar can cause quite an itchy rash, from what I’ve read. The nettle like hairs can break off and stick in the skin and they are said to bother some people enough for them to be hospitalized, so it’s probably best to look and not touch this one.
When Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora) turn their nodding flowers to the sky it means they’ve been pollinated and are ready to set seed. The plants will turn brown and become hard like wood, and finally the seed pods will split open and release the tiny seeds. They are dust like and are borne on the wind.
Orange crust fungus (Stereum complicatum) grew on the underside of a fallen branch. This small fungus has a smooth whitish underside with no pores. The complicatum part of the scientific name means “folded back on itself” and the above photo shows these examples just starting to fold. It also likes to grow on the logs of deciduous trees. It can be seen from quite a distance because of its bright color.
Ledges show how the road was blasted through the solid bedrock in the 1700s. The holes were all drilled by hand using star drills and there are still five sided holes to be seen in some of the boulders. Once the hole was drilled they filled it with black powder, lit the fuse and I would imagine ran as fast as they could run. There are interesting things to see here among these ledges, including blood red garnets, milky quartz crystals, many different lichens and mosses, and veins of feldspar.
It’s worth taking a close look at the ledges. In the right light the spore producing fruiting bodies (Apothecia) of smoky eye boulder lichens (Porpidia albocaerulescens) turn a beautiful blue. It happens because of a light reflecting, thin coating of wax that covers each one. In different light they can appear black, gray or whitish but in this light they glow different shades of blue and are as beautiful as jewels.
Another beautiful thing that grows on stone here is rose moss (Rhodobryum roseum.) Each little rosette of leaves looks like a tiny flower, and that’s how it comes by its common name. Rose moss is a good indicator of limestone in the soil so it’s wise to look for other lime loving plants in the area when it is found. This is a relatively rare moss in my experience; this is the only place I’ve ever found it.
One of the reasons I came here on this day was to get photos of purple flowering raspberry fruit (Rubus odoratus,) but I was surprised to see several plants still blooming. This plant is in the rose family and the 2 inch wide flowers might look like a rose at first glance, but one look at its large, maple like leaves will show that it isn’t. Flowering raspberry has no thorns like roses or raspberries but Japanese beetles love it just as much as roses and it’s common to see the large leaves looking like they’ve been shot full of holes. The plants are a little fussy about where they grow but they will thrive under the right conditions, as they once did here.
The fruit of purple flowering raspberry looks like a large raspberry. The plant is closely related to thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) and gets its common name from its fruit. I’ve never eaten one but some say that they’re close to tasteless and others say they taste like dried raspberries. The plant is unreliable as a source of berries though; I’ve seen many clusters with no fruit at all and others that had 5 or 6 flowers bearing only a single berry. Native Americans had over 100 uses for this plant, both as food and medicine.
Chances are you don’t see anything wrong with this view of the old road but I was appalled when I saw it. Thousands of wildflowers used to grow right over the road almost to the yellow lines on each side. There was a narrow, 2 person wide path through here last time I came, but now the city workers have come in and plowed all of the plants away. Without even having to think about it I could list over a hundred different species of plants that grew here and were plowed up.
Here is the view from where they finally stopped plowing up the plants. You can see how far they grew into the road in this spot but this doesn’t accurately show how it used to be because this is pretty much the end of the road just above Beaver brook falls, and few ever walked here. The plants didn’t grow quite so far out toward the yellow lines where people regularly walked.
And here is what is left of the plants; decades of growth just rolled off to the side like so much worn out carpet. Just think; many of the growing things at the beginning of this post and hundreds more like them just kicked off to the side. You would think before doing something like this that they would call in a botanist or a naturalist, or at the very least buy a wildflower guide so they knew what they were destroying but instead they just hack away, most likely thinking all the while what a wonderful thing they’re doing, cleaning up such a mess.
They’ve peeled the road right back to the white fog line at the edge of the pavement. This is what happens when those who don’t know are put in charge of those who don’t care; nature suffers every single time. What these people don’t seem to realize is that they’ve just plowed away the whole reason that most people came here. I’ve talked to many people while I’ve been here and most came to see what happens when nature is allowed to take back something that we had abandoned. You marveled at the history before you; the charm of the place was in the grasses and wildflowers growing out of the cracks in the pavement, not a road scoured down to just built condition. New Hampshire Public Radio even did a story about the place precisely because it was untouched. The very thing that drew so many people to the place has now been destroyed, and it will be decades before it ever gets back to the way it was. I certainly won’t be here to see it.
A lot of people also come here to see Beaver Brook Falls, but to get a clear view of them you have to climb/ slide / fall down a very steep embankment and then climb over large boulders. It’s becoming more dangerous all the time and now younger people are about the only ones who dare do it. If you broke an ankle or leg down here it would take some serious work and several strong men to get you out, but Instead of cutting the brush that blocks the view of the falls from the road so people don’t have to make such a dangerous climb down to the brook to see the falls, the city would rather spend their money plowing up all the wildflowers.
This is the view as you’re leaving. Where the road is narrower is where they left a few yards of growth at the start of the road, but I wouldn’t count on it being this way the next time I come here. You might say “Big deal, who cares about a few old weeds?” But what grows in those unplowed strips of vegetation includes blue stemmed goldenrod; I’ve never seen it anywhere else. White wood sorrel; I’ve seen it in one other place. Field horsetails; I’ve seen them in one other place. Plantain leaved sedge; I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Yellow feather moss; I’ve never seen it anywhere else. Thimbleweed; I’ve never seen it anywhere else. After wandering through the destruction for as long as I could stand it I had to go into the woods for a while because, as author David Mitchell said: Trees are always a relief, after people.
Lord, what fools these mortals be! ~William Shakespeare
Thanks for stopping in.
I feel badly because the person who put the effort to ‘uncover’ the pavement might have thought he/she was doing a good deed, and might feel sad later to learn how upsetting this action was.
My father is of an earlier generation, and I have been teaching him about the lovely native plants that surround us in Maine. He is Mr weedwacker / lawn mower. He really has the ‘reclaim the land from nature’ old philosophy.
It was quite a conversation we had one day about a roadside ditch. His perspective – when he first purchased the land, he put many hours into clearing saplings and brush and the trash and broken glass that was hidden below. Now he has a nice respectable ditch that can be mowed. My perspective, its a nice wet area and the jewel weed and yellow loostrife and grasses and carex are a much higher value than short grass and attendant dandelions. Also, let the dogwood bush grow in. Its not enough to stop the water from draining the road properly.
How to invite nature into the landscaped areas (or trails in this situation) and keep the balance when often the stewards and managers of these properties are of the John Deere / husqvarna crowd! Both feel they are doing “good” and living the proper honorable life.
Thank you, I doubt that whoever did this had any malicious intent. As you say I’m sure they thought they were doing a wonderful thing. The only thing that will correct that way of thinking is education, as you have been finding out with your father. That’s why this blog is here too!
There is a feeling that we must defeat Nature to create a more orderly environment, I’m not sure where it comes from. Perhaps the larger our towns become, the more estranged and unsympathetic we become towards Nature. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. I think here in this country it probably comes from settlers wanting every living thing cut down so Native Americans couldn’t hide in the brush and sneak up on them. It’s an outdated idea but one which seems to be hard to let go.
Agree that the tussock moth caterpillars make quite an itchy rash! They were rampant in Orange this weekend. Sad to see the cleared road.
Thank you Cathy, they are here too. I’m seeing them everywhere I go in large numbers.
I am so sorry. Makes me feel heartsick, so I can only imagine how you must feel. And I confess I’m not going to read the comments this time, because I’m afraid so many other folks are going to have similar stories to tell, and I just can’t take that much sad tonight.
Thank you Quinn, I know how you feel.
Actually I’m happy to say that most other readers didn’t have similar stories. I think just one or two.
I am so sorry about this, Allen. What a shock you must have had when you found this devastation! No wonder you had to walk away into the forest for a while. Ugh! This makes me so sad.
Thank you Clare. Yes, it was a shock but it’s done and nothing can put it back the way it was. I can only hope that doing posts about this kind of thing will help keep it from happening in other places in the future.
I hope so too.
These are all very beautiful photos, Allen. Many old plant friends from back east here, including the Indian Pipes. Do you see Pine Sap in your area?
Thank you Lavinia. Yes, I see pinesap plants occasionally but not as often as Indian pipes. They’re everywhere this year, so they must like a lot of rain.
The problem is the same here. People who don’t know anything about nature are put in charge of caring for our overgrown quiet places. They see all the wildflowers as weeds and destroy them. It breaks my heart.
It seems to be happening just about everywhere. It makes me wonder what is wrong with someone who thinks nature has to be beaten back and controlled, as if it ever could be.
Very sad about the abandoned road. Hard to understand what they were thinking or what they hoped to achieve.
Thank you, I agree. I doubt they put much thought into it.
Makes no sense to clear the road on a walking trail. I’ll ask my friend, Carl Jacobs, who is a city councilor, to get to the bottom of it. Also, purple flowering raspberries are best enjoyed by putting the berry on the tip of your tongue. Delicious!
Thank you Kathy, I’d be interested in hearing what Mr. Jacobs finds out. I appreciate your trying to help.
I’ve never heard that about the flowering raspberry fruit. I’ll have to try it!
I can understand the combination of sadness, frustration, and anger that you felt when you saw that the road had been cleared. Some of my favorite places to go have been destroyed recently also.
I’ll bet that some one had the road cleared to make it more appealing to cyclists, or that it was done because some one was convinced that it was a liability issue, some one would hurt themselves in some way, and sue the government body that controls the road.
You still found a treasure trove of flowers, plants, fungi and lichen though, and the falls are always nice to see when there’s more water flowing over them than last year.
Thanks Jerry, I’m sorry to hear that they’re doing the same thing in Michigan. It makes you wonder what people could possibly be thinking.
It might have been done because of some imagined liability issues but I doubt it was done for cyclists because it’s a dead end and there’s nowhere to cycle to. It’s only about a mile long and I’ve never seen a bike on it.
Yes, there is still plenty to see up there but most of the flowers are gone from a good three quarters of the road length. They’ll grow back eventually but not in my time.
That’s really a shame. I have a couple of purple flowering raspberry. They flower but I don’t see the fruit.
They seem very unreliable in the way they fruit but I’m not sure why. The plants are almost always covered in insects when they bloom.
Thank you for your post It is a sad day when you go to a favorite spot and see that some moron has come in and destroyed it…I enjoy your blog..
Thank you Roberta, I agree. Unfortunately I seem to run into things similar to this every summer. You really have to wonder what motivates the people who do this.
It’s very sad to see the plant life that was lost in what was presumably an attempt to clean up an area. It’s bad enough that people act without knowledge or understanding and disregard the idea that other people might not agree that they are doing something good. Even worse is that they are able to act without rational supervision.
Thanks Montucky, I agree. I and many other people would happily walk these areas with the people in charge at no cost to point out what plants are growing there, but nobody ever asks.
How awful!!Yes a letter to an editor or city is in order, polite but listing the reasons & plants you mentioned. I can’t understand it!! The road is not being used, sounds like it was basically a trail, why spend the $$ to clear an unused road! There seems to be less & less common sense in the world today,it’s frustrating.. I’ve never been to this place but feel your pain…
Thank you Erika. It was a painful thing to see. As I just said to another reader, I know that members of the city council and the planning board read this blog, so I’m in a wait and see mode at the moment. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more about this.
I agree that tax dollars shouldn’t be used to do something like this, not just here but in any town. Clearly the people don’t like it and don’t want it to happen, so why bother?
I also agree that there is little common sense being displayed by people these days. Very little!
I live in a beautiful remote area; my c 1790 home sits on a hill where an extensive trail network begins. Until recent history, these forest trails were “bait” for the four wheel drive enthusiasts, most of whom were unmindful and uncaring of the botanical destruction always left in their wake. The town was not helpful about restricting access then, and cavalcades passed my dooryard on a regular basis. I confronted one group of ten vehicles, told them to park and walk. This apparently was a bizarre concept and the “leader” said i had no right to deny the enjoyment of several handicapped participants. I instructed this person abut the many, many now accessible trails, bogs, swamps, etc., across the state, news that left him unimpressed. I did manage to conjure a legal threat that sent the group in reverse, departing with the gift of some colorful language. The absolute disregard for nature is a crime and a heartache, and I’m so sorry your treasured span was violated. PS: The trailhead by my place is finally gated, as per order of the town.
Thank you Lynne. This road is also gated so no vehicles can get in there unless they have a key. It’s also a dead end so I doubt this was done for trail riders because there is nowhere to go. I really think they did it simply because they thought it was “messy.”
I’m glad you were finally able to solve your problem. There was talk of letting 4 wheelers on our rail trails not too long ago, but that idea was shot down quickly. Even the mayor was against it.
My guess would be that they were trying to “preserve it as a walking trail by reclaiming the paved area.” Cutting the brush would have made a whole lot more sense. Make you wonder just who did make this decision. It took time and money from someone’s budget. And this is what we got? Perhaps if someone explained nicely what has been lost to whomever made the decision, they might be able to give more consideration to the next similar project. I’ve found that the town highway guys are usually more than willing to lend a hand and an ear to groups trying to make or keep things beautiful. I helps if you don’t get their backs up first.
Thank you Carol. You could be right but that would be a poor excuse because people have walked there since the road was closed in the 1970s without any intervention from the city.
I have a good idea who made the decision but I’ll probably never know for sure. I do know that the area falls under the jurisdiction of the parks and recreation department.
What is beautiful is, as the old saying goes, in the eye of the beholder and I’d be willing to bet that there are people who think that a road scraped down to bare asphalt is a beautiful thing.
Allen, I am so sorry to hear about and see the devastation of these beautiful plants, and am glad you posted about it to raise awareness. I feel your heartbreak, and I think a letter to the city is a good idea.
Thank you Paula, it was a hard thing to see.
I know that members of the city council and the Keene planning board read these blog posts because I’ve gotten emails from them in the past, so I’m just going to wait a few days and see what happens.
There’s really nothing anybody can do at this point other than make more people aware of what happened. You certainly can’t put it back the way it was.
Let me guess: Some idiot who has the ear of the DPW was afraid of ticks/Lyme. Fools indeed!
I really don’t know why they would have done this but you could be right.
So very, very sorry about the road and the wildflowers. Yes, heartbreaking!
Thank you Laurie. It’s one of my favorite places so it was a hard thing to see.
Yes, so sad!
I just read a story about someone who had a brush with the caterpillar, nasty stuff. What a shame about all the flora they destroyed. It’s hard to fathom they didn’t do any research before the clearing. Perhaps a letter to the editor is in order!
I’ve thought about that!
The hobblebush leaves are beautifully striking and the caterpillar shot is another really good one. I just noticed you added by site to your Favo(u)rite LInks. May have been there for ages but I’m generally too focussed on the pictures and text. Thank you for the inclusion and the précis.
You’re welcome Ben and thank you. Yes, you’ve Ben in the favorite links section for quite a while. Well over a year I think.
It is very hard to see a place that you know well being treated in this way, such ignorance… but you do a good job of educating many of us about the need to look careful at the world..
Thanks very much, I’m glad you think so. Many people won’t see this post that way, I’m sure.
Well, I guess you can’t win them all…
No, but I’ll keep trying!
Argh, this post hurt my heart. Thank you for bearing witness – maybe if enough people read and learn, things will change for the better.
I’m sorry that it did hurt, Karen. I struggled with whether or not to do this post but as you say, maybe if enough people learn about things like this they’ll stop happening. It’s hard for me to just ignore it and not speak out against it.
Reblogged this on Poltrack Pix and commented:
Thanks for making a case for nature, I remember as a kid trying to save mountain laurel from an impending housing development.
Thank you John for doing that. I hope it had some kind of impact, however small.
Heartbreaking for you and other lovers of nature, what a scandalous thing to do. Shakespeare had the right idea! Thanks for the photograph of the falls, I love moving water.
Thank you Susan. I’m sure they’ll come up with what they believe is a good reason but I’ll have a hard time believing it.