Saturday, June 11, 2011
This is my third post about our trip to Wayne County. Hopefully you're scrolling down and reading the posts in chronological order, I think they'll make the most sense that way. :-)
So, on the other side of the creek was the second half of the property. Our first stop in this forest was to a huge old sugar maple that Dad and Uncle Ronnie remembered from their childhood. There used to be a whole grove of maples here, apparently they were planted over 100 years ago to start a maple syrup company before the property was in our family, but the company was only in business a few years (dad can tell you the whole story). This old tree is the last one standing...it measures 12.5 feet around! A natural spring runs out of the ground at the base of the tree and runs down the hill to the creek. She's old and hollow now but felt like the mother tree of the forest, definitely the type of tree that would talk to Pocahantas in a Disney movie... :-)
Remember the thick underbrush that covered the first forest? See the difference here?...
So according to Craig, the diversity of this forest was much better. There are a lot of hemlock, but also a good variety of hard woods scattered throughout. The problem here is the density. The canopy here is so thick that it's harder for sunlight to get through and support new growth (hence the lack of underbrush). In areas where there are some openings for the sun to peak through the ground is mostly covered with ferns (underbrush that survives because the deer don't like to eat it!)...
The little orange salamanders liked this side of the creek too!
And one last photo...down by the creek was this chicken coop...it's all that remains of the old homestead where our Great-Great-Aunt Sophie used to live. The stone wall in the front right corner of this photo is the foundation of the old barn.
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