It was cloudy but warm last Saturday when I visited the Beaver Brook Natural Area in Keene. This is a nice walk on an old abandoned road that is only 5 minutes from the center of town by car, so quite a few people come here. I was pleased to see that there was little snow here on this day because it usually quickly turns to ice from all the foot traffic. As I said in my last post, it is very strange to drive from here where there is virtually no snow to my job a half hour away in Hancock, where there is plenty.
Beaver Brook was behaving itself despite all the rain and snow we’ve had. The last time I came here I would have been in water up to my neck if I’d been standing in this spot.
I have a lot of old friends here, like this plantain leaved sedge (Carex plantaginea.) This is the only place I’ve ever seen it so when I want to see how it changes as it grows I have to come here. There are also many other one-of-a-kinds I can visit while I’m here.
I like the crepe paper like leaves of this sedge.
The sun finally came out just a few hours later than the weather people said it would, and the golden light falling on the brook was beautiful. I dilly dallied for a while beside this pool, thinking how some might consider coming to such a place a waste of time or an attempt to escape reality, but this is not an escape from reality; it is an immersion in reality, because this is just about as real as it gets. And getting a good dose of reality is never a waste of time.
This is the only place I know of to find the beautiful rose moss (Rhodobryum roseum.) Each rosette of leaves is about the size of an aspirin and looks like a little flower, and that’s where its common name comes from. Rose moss likes limestone and it’s a good indicator of limestone in the soil or stone that it grows on, so it’s a good idea to look around for other lime loving plants if you find it. Many native orchids for instance, also like lime in the soil.
Another moss that I’ve only seen here is the stair-step moss (Hylocomium splendens,) which is also called glittering wood moss possibly due to its satiny sheen when dry. Though it looks quite fragile I’ve seen it with icicles hanging from it many times, and it grows north even into the Arctic tundra. The stair step part of the name comes from the way new growth “steps up” off the midrib of the previous year’s growth. You can’t see it in this photo but it’s a fun thing to look for if you find this moss.
Unlike the rarer mosses we’ve just seen juniper haircap moss (Polytrichum juniperinum) grows just about everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it is any less interesting than the others.
When young the female spore capsule (Sporangium) of juniper haircap moss is covered by a cap called a calyptra which protects it. You can’t see it in this photo but it is very hairy and this is what gives this moss part of its common name. Eventually as the capsule ages it moves from vertical to a more horizontal position and the calyptra falls off. The spore capsule continues to ripen after the calyptra comes off and when the time is right the beaked end cap or lid called the operculum will fall off and release the spores to the wind. As it ages the spore capsule changes from round to four cornered but not quite square, as seen here.
This is a look at the business end of the spore capsule, which is still covered by a thin lid of tissue. What looks like notches around its perimeter are slots that fit over specialized teeth called peristome teeth at the mouth of the capsule. These teeth move with changes in humidity and spread in dry conditions to release the spores, which are taken by the wind. The spore capsule’s diameter at this stage is less than the diameter of a piece of uncooked spaghetti. I’d bet that I’ve probably tried a thousand times over the years to get this shot and this is the only time I’ve succeeded. I wish I had a microscope so I could get even closer.
Here was another moss that grew all mixed in with a liverwort. It was hard to tell exactly what it was but its sporangium were covered by white calyptra that looked like a swarm of tiny insects with white wings.
Here is a shot of one of the spore capsules from the moss in the previous photo. The spore capsules have a white (when dry) 2 part calyptra that doesn’t appear to be hairy, and I haven’t been able to identify it. I have a feeling it is another moss in the Polytrichum family but I don’t know that for sure. Sporangium means “spore vessel” in Latin, and of course that’s exactly what it is. Note the long beaked lid at the end of the capsule, which is its operculum.
The liverwort that was mixed in with the moss in the previous photos was the greater whipwort liverwort (Bazzania trilobata.) It lives happily on stones right along with mosses so you have to look closely to be sure what it is you’re looking at. This pretty liverwort looks almost like it has been braided and always reminds me of a nest full of centipedes.
Each greater whipwort leaf is about an eighth of an inch wide and has three triangular notches at its base. This is where the trilobata part of its scientific name comes from. It means “having three lobes.” You might notice though, that some have more than three.
There was a good bit of ice on the roadside ledges but it was rotten and falling so I didn’t get too close.
Drill marks in the stone of the ledges tells the history of this place. This road was one of the first laid out in the town of Keene, built to reach the first sawmill. If you didn’t have a sawmill in town in those days you had a dirt floor. Or one made of logs, which was probably worse than dirt.
It turned out to be a beautiful and relatively warm day. The lack of snow on the old abandoned road made walking a pleasure. I’ve seen this natural canyon with so much snow in it I had to turn back.
The yellow lines are still here on the old road, but since nobody has driven here since about 1970 they really aren’t needed.
One of the best examples of a healed frost crack that I know of can be seen here in this golden birch. Sun warming the bark in winter can cause a tree’s wood to expand. If nighttime temperatures fall into the bitterly cold range the bark can cool and contract rapidly, but when the wood beneath the bark doesn’t cool as quickly as the bark the stress on the bark can cause it to crack. On cold winter nights you can often hear what sounds like rifle shots in the woods, but the sounds are really coming from cracking trees. They can be quite loud and will often echo through a forest.
The spot where this yellow jelly fungus (Tremella mesenterica) grew was heavily shaded so I had to use my camera’s onboard LED light to get a shot of it. I was surprised when I saw the photo because you could clearly see the shiny and dull, matte finish surfaces on the fungus. I’ve read that the fungus produces spores only on its shiny side, but in previous photos I’ve taken the entire thing always looked shiny. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the two surfaces in a photo so I’m quite happy to have solved another riddle, even though there are always hundreds more just around the next bend when you’re involved in nature study.
If you come upon a white spot on a tree that looks like it has been inscribed with ancient runes you are probably seeing a script lichen. This common script lichen (Graphis scripta) was bold and easy to see. The dark lines are its apothecia, where its spores are produced, and the gray color is its body, or thallus. If you happen to be a lichen there is nothing more important than continuation of the species through spore production, and script lichens produce plenty in winter.
There is a great waterfall here but unfortunately you have to just about break your neck to get to it, so since I wasn’t interested in doing so here’s a shot of it from a few years back. Height estimates vary but I’m guessing about 30-40 feet, and it was roaring on this day. Just think; history lessons, plants, ferns, lichens, mosses, fungi, liverworts, a waterfall and a brook that sings to you all along the way. Where else can a nature lover find all of these things in one walk? Nowhere else that I know of, and that’s why I come here again and again. I do hope you aren’t getting bored from seeing it so much.
To taste life, so true and real. Sweet serenity. ~Jonathan Lamas
Thanks for stopping in.
First of all, incredible images of the various spore capsules of the mosses!
I never tire of your visits to your regular haunts, as you’re always adding new finds when you return, which is a great lesson. Even when we think that we know an area like the back of our hands, we still miss things, so we should return to the same places over and over again.
Your photo and thoughts about the pool along the brook remind me of why I love fly fishing for trout. If you sit on the edge of a body of water contemplating the reality of the place as you said. If you’re just sitting on the bank, some people may accuse you of wasting time, but if you’re holding a fly rod, people think that you’re engaged in doing something, even though holding the fly rod is just an excuse to linger longer.
Thanks Jerry! I see more interesting things by returning to places I’ve already been than when I visit new places.
I had to laugh about your thoughts on holding a fishing rod. My father spent a lot of time fishing and hunting for years but he never came home with a deer and we ate very few fish. I’ve always thought he just liked being in the woods.
Lovely day for a walk. Good to go while you can.
Yes, it was almost like spring that day!
Definitely not bored. Just goes to show how much life there is here, in the so-called “dead of winter.”
Thank you. Yes, there’s a lot to see in winter and I wish more people would!
Love the mosses in this post – especially the rose moss! Great waterfall, too. I guess it’s not too frigid out there if the water is still running.
Thanks! That photo of the falls was taken a few years ago but no, most of our brooks, streams and rivers haven’t frozen over yet.
Your posts are always interesting and fun to read! The close up photos are terrific! I don’t even try to identify moss or lichens, but I sure enjoy when you do the research. Thank you for posting.
Thank you Chris. Sometimes I wish I had never decided to try to identify mosses and lichens but since I’ve invested in the books, I might as well give it a shot!
I liked the sunlight on the brook and your very true comments underneath. thanks also for your sympathy about my arm, I am doing well.
Thank you Susan. I was sorry to hear that you took a fall but I’m glad you’re doing well. It’s so easy to get hurt!
Fantastic close ups of the moss spore capsules. I will have to see if I can look as closely as you. As always you inspire me to try harder.
Thank you. I was actually surprised when I saw that it had come out so well. As you know, theyre very small.
Looks like you had a productive day.
Yes, it was!
🙂
I think your moss with the white calyptra looks like a broom moss, Dicranum. It probably is D. scoparium. It has the curved capsules with a long beak and swept back calyptra like in your photo. Very nice.
Thank you Steve. I’ve never seen broom moss with spore capsules, so it’s very interesting to hear that.
I’m with Lynne. Never, ever worry about being boring. as you well know, even though you may have seen a place a hundred times, on the hundred and first you see something that makes you wonder why you never noticed that before. Thank you so much for taking us on your trips.
You’re welcome, and thank you. That’s true, no matter how many times you visit a place you always see something you haven’t seen.
It’s always an adventure looking at your posts. So far I haven’t stumbled across any greater whipwort liverwort in Ohio but that doesn’t mean it’s not here. I’m impressed with your shot of the juniper haircap spore capsule!
Thank you. This is a small liverwort that looks like moss unless you look closely. It seems to prefer growing on stone but I’ve also found it on well rotted stumps a couple of times.
Love seeing the little blasts of green through the snow. A!ways appreciated are your thorough descriptions of what you are showing us. Your blog is a treasure.
Happy holidays.
Thanks very much Judy, I’m glad you enjoy it!
As a landscape architect and wetland scientist, I am enjoying your blog. Especially the mosses, fungi, and lichens. Great photography. Good catch on Carex plantaiginea – one of my favorite rich soil indicators, especially along drainages.
Thank you Jim. That Carex actually grows on a large stone in a stone wall, which is close enough to the brook to mean it gets plenty of humidity. I noticed four or five young plants nearby, so it must be very happy there.
Thanks for the visit to Beaver Brook. I always love to see what the seasons bring.
Not too much snow up there yet, and none in sight. It was almost like spring on that day.
Amazing shots. 🙂
Thank you Judy!
Heaven should be so boring! Thank you for providing illumination even before natural sunrise.
Thank you Lynne, I’m glad you liked it!