Keen observers of the flowers that bloom in spring probably noticed that there weren’t any coltsfoot flowers in my last post. That’s because I hadn’t seen any yet, even though I had been to every place I knew of where they bloom. Except one, I remembered; the deep cut rail trail in Westmoreland that the ice climbers call the “Icebox” has a lot of coltsfoot plants along the trail. So, though I wasn’t sure what I’d find, last Sunday off I went. What I found was where winter has been hiding. As the above photo shows there was still plenty of ice clinging to the man-made canyon walls.
But the ice was rotten and melting quickly. Ice this big can be very dangerous when it falls, so I don’t get near it. I thought it had been warm enough to melt all the ice and snow here but obviously I was wrong.
The opaque gray color is a sure sign of rotten ice. Ice is rotten when the bonds between ice crystals begin to break down because of air and dirt coming between them.
Water was literally pouring from the walls. The groundwater always seeps and drips here but on this day it was running with more force than I’ve ever seen so I think it was meltwater.
And then I saw this fallen ice column. It looked like a boat and was as big as one that would fit 5 people. If this ever fell on a person it would crush them, so I decided to turn back and get out of here.
The view further down the trail didn’t look safe at all with all the ice columns melting in the sunshine, and there was what looked like a pile of ice down there.
That’s what it was; a pile of huge ice chunks all across the trail. I know it’s hard to judge the scale of things in a photo but these ice columns are as big as trees. Actually there is a fallen tree over on the left.
Here’s a shot of some ice climbers taken in February to give new readers an idea of the size of this ice. Some of it is huge.
I think that part of the reason the ice columns fall like they do is because the water in the drainage ditches along the side of the trail erode their bases away, as can be seen in this photo.
Ice isn’t the only thing that falls here. Stones fall from the ledges regularly and I saw at least three fallen trees on this day. I’m reminded each time I come here how dangerous the place can be, but it is also a place where I can see things that I can’t see anywhere else.
One of the things I can’t see anywhere else is the great scented liverwort (Conocephalum conicum.) They grow here by the thousands and I’ve learned to expect them to look a little tattered and worn in spring, because most are covered by ice all winter. By June though they’ll all be a beautiful pea green. Another name for the plant is snakeskin liverwort, for obvious reasons. Its pores and air chambers our outlined on its surface, and that gives it a very reptilian look. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful of its kind.
I decided to look a little closer at areas with no ice or leaning trees nearby and I’m glad I did because I saw many interesting things, like what I believe is yew leaved pocket moss (Fissidens taxifolius.) This little moss grows in very wet places on the ledges where water drips on it almost constantly. Pocket mosses get their common name from the way the lower lobe of each leaf curls around its stem to form a pocket. This example was a little beat up because it has also most likely been under ice all winter.
Grasses were just coming up in the drainage ditches that follow along each side of the trail. The beech leaf in the foreground will give you an idea of their size.
I saw a large patch of moss on part of a ledge.
It turned out to be Hedwigia ciliata, which is a very common but an uncommonly beautiful moss. It’s also called white tipped moss because its branch tips are often bright white. I usually see it on stones in full sun.
Seedlings were coming up among the mosses. I’m not sure what they are because they had no true leaves yet but I do know that Jack in the pulpit plants grow all along this section of ledge. Many different species of aster also grow on the stone. It reminds me of a radish seedling.
I found that green algae (Trentepohlia aurea) darkens when wet. This hairy alga is orange because of the pigment beta carotene hiding the green chlorophyll. It grows out of direct sunlight on the damp rock walls.
I thought I’d practice my photography skills by trying to get a shot of a stone filled with mica. It isn’t as easy as it sounds because each piece of mica is like a tiny mirror that amplifies the sunlight.
If I could have gotten closer to the ice columns I would have shown you that the ice comes in many colors here. One of the colors is a reddish orange and I believe that it comes from iron leaching from the soil and stone. The above photo is of a spot in the woods where a pool of water was. When the water evaporated it left behind the minerals it carried, in this case probably iron.
I saw this bubbly mass in one of the drainage ditches. I’m not sure but I think it’s some type of algae. It reminds me of the spyrogyra algae I saw a few years ago. That example was on a very wet stone outcrop and this one was in water. I’ve read that it is most abundant in early spring and that the bubbles come from trapped gasses. It isn’t something I see regularly.
I never did find any coltsfoot flowers to show you but there were plenty of other interesting things to see. I also never made it all the way to the old lineman’s shack because of all the fallen ice, but I did see a piece of it; this plank from it was being used as a bridge to cross the drainage ditch. I wish people wouldn’t keep pulling the old shed apart but I don’t suppose anything can be done about it.
Nature is never static. It is always changing. Everything is in a constant state of flux. Nothing endures. Everything is in the process of either coming into being or expiring.
~Kilroy J. Oldster
Thanks for stopping in.
Good idea to hightail it out of there and not wait around to get conked by a big chunk of ice. But don’t you always wonder what it must sound like when one of those enormous ice walls finally peels away and falls? When I see giant trees in the forest that have fallen, I always wish I had been nearby to listen in.
The beautiful green algae with the bubbles was very curious. You have such a good eye.
Happy to see that spring is working its way toward you, finally.
Thank you Judy. Yes I do wonder what a falling ice column would sound like. I imagine it making quite a crash. I’ve heard a lot of smaller ice falling and that just sounds like an icicle falling off your roof would sound.
Two years ago I was in the woods when I big tree fell. I couldn’t see it but I heard it, and it made tremendous cracking and thrashing sounds as it broke through the smaller trees and underbrush.
That bubbly algae is very strange stuff. I see it only now and then, so conditions must have to be right.
Yes, spring is here. They say we might hit 70 degrees by Saturday. It’s been a long time since we saw that! I hope you’ll see some spring as well.
Wow, that canyon is a place to stay well away from!
Thanks Montucky! Yes, you have to be on your toes when you’re in there at this time of year. It can be dangerous.
I think that you were wise to turn around, as large and as rotted as the ice formations were.
It was nice to see a few patches of green, even if they were tiny, like the great scented liverwort and mosses, everything it is still brown here for the most part.
I hate to mention it again, but winter has been hiding in plain sight here, several days this week the ground has been completely covered in snow, and it never made it above freezing at all today.
It’s too bad that people rip the old lineman’s shack apart, but that’s the way that people are these days, no respect for much of anything except for themselves.
I see in you comments that you did find a few coltsfoot blooming, I hope that you were able to get a few photos of them when you saw them. I did finally see a few miserable looking dandelions here that had been damaged by the cold before they opened, it’s been that kind of spring here.
Thanks Jerry! Me too. That ice is big enough to kill so I didn’t get near it.
I’m seeing more green coming along each week, but no really green fields yet.
I hope you’ll see at least a taste of spring soon. Come Wednesday we’re supposed to see 50s into the foreseeable future.
I know why people tear up the lineman’s shack. They make bridges from the boards, but I wish they’d carry the boards in.
I got some shots of coltsfoot blossoms, and dandelions too. You might want to look at a few of your trees, like maples. They blossom pretty early.
Very pretty moss. I am glad that you found enough to keep you (and us) interested in spite of the regrettable lack of coltsfoot.
Thank you. Yes, there is always something interesting to see in that place. It’s really unique in this area.
Hello! I really enjoy your posts. I love going on adventures in the woods and noticing the little things. I think the seedling you found may be jewelweed. At least it looks very similar to me!
Thank you, I think you might be right. There is a lot of jewelweed there and it can fling its seeds up onto the ledges. I forgot all about it!
I mistakenly made another similar comment because I thought this one didn’t work! Thanks 🙂
Thank you. No problem, it happens to all of us.
It’s a pity you didn’t find the coltsfoot but you more than made up for that by all the wonderful things you did find. Nice to see the liverwort again and the pocket moss is very pretty.
Thank you Clare. I did see some coltsfoot blooming today and if it hadn’t been 40 degrees with a 20 mile per hour wind I might have thought it was finally true spring.
I love that liverwort and the pocket moss but that’s the only place I’ve ever found either one.
What a bitter, cold day you have had!
Yes, and again today!
Oh no!!
Yes, it was a cool weekend.
I like the bubbly mass! Here in New London/Sutton, we can’t see coltsfoot because it’s all (all that I know of, including in my own yard) still buried under inches of snow, with another 3″ yesterday. But soon!
Thank you. I don’t see it often but I do find bubbly things like that one every now and then.
Sorry to hear that you still have so much snow! We got a dusting yesterday that had pretty much melted by morning, but places like Jaffrey and Hancock got 2-3 inches.
I saw some coltsfoot blossoms today, so spring will be headed your way very soon I think.
You’re right about the reptilian look of the liverwort. Thanks for the explanation.
You’re welcome!
Glad you weren’t felled by any ice!
Thank you Susan. Me too!
That cut through Westmoreland is a perfect example of how nature can reclaim what man tries to manipulate. It did make for some dramatic and beautiful photos. The great scented liverwort is very interesting. I can’t help but wonder at its true purpose. The bubbly algae was strange.
The mica in stone reminds me of where I grew up in Culberson County Texas. There was a great scattering of mica across the ground and we used to peel off the layers in good sized sheets.
I think the coltsfoot knows winter is not over.
Thank you Penny. I agree-it doesn’t take nature long to take back what once belonged to it.
The liverworts are in the same family as mosses. What they do for me is tell me that the water in a given area is very clean, because they won’t put up with anything less.
We used to mine mica here and some of the mines are still there, and big enough to put a house in. It’s a fairly common mineral in these parts too.
The coltsfoot plants were blooming today. At least, two of them were. There will be many more to come!
Lots of interesting things. Still no coltsfoot though.
Not yet! I think it’s just waiting for a warm day and shivering like the rest of us.
Wow. Water, frozen or liquid, can be a massive force. The stream behind my house is quieter today, but it’s had a great week, torrenting through the valley.
Thank you Cynthia. You must have had the same 4 days of rain and snow that we had!
Yes. And on Wednesday, we had gale force winds too!
Us too, and a lot of trees fell.
That is some ice! The part of me that loves fantasy and myths sees that part of the trail as having some elemental spirit that people had best beware.
Thank you Laurie, at this time of year that’s very true. I usually stay away when the ice is melting and falling but I thought it would be all gone by now.
It is a very special place though, and has a magic all its own.
It shines through your pictures. That kingdom of ice.
Thank you for recommending The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I am finding it very interesting reading. – Susan
You’re welcome. I think it’s very good too.
From the pics I can really appreciate your concern about the falling ice!
Yes, it was more than I wanted to take a chance on.