The mind and the meadows

When I woke up this morning, I had the words of Prince Hamlet swimming in my head:

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Hamlet is addressing his schoolmate Horatio just after he had seen the ghost of his murdered father. Horatio appears to have a much more literal of the world, which certainly does not include spirits.

I can't say why those words popped into my head just then, but I think it had something to do with the promise of the world when the morning is bright and new. Life is fresh and overflowing with possibilities, if we can only grasp them in our limited point of view. I think of myself as a rational person, but I also cling to ideas that I am comfortable with. I am certainly no adventurer. But right now I am experiencing somewhat of a crisis of personality, trying to find my way in this world which I feel is too complex for me. And I keep wondering if there are more things in heaven and earth waiting for me. Things that I am too blind to see. Things that are beyond my philosophy. I would like to expand, but I am not sure in which direction.

Well, in the spirit of facing up to life's challenges, I decided to pay another visit to Durham Meadows. Last time I was there, I took a wrong step in the swamp and found myself up to my shoulders in mud. It was actually a disturbing experience because it took me some time to free myself from the clutches of the thick black soup. I even had a brief mental flash regarding how pitiful it would be if I never made it out alive. But finally I was able to use my free arm to grab onto a swatch of dry grass and then pulled for dear life, eventually scrambling onto dry ground. My camera died that day...mud in the essential organs. And today I felt it necessary to revisit this place and come to terms with the past.

As I got out of my car, I man approached me while his dog was galloping back and forth through muddy puddles in the flooded parking lot (it rained the night before). It was an older, friendly-looking gentleman who just wanted to have some conversation, and I obliged. He told me that he brought his dog there to get some exercise and to feel the freedom of romping in an open meadow. The dog was apparently extremely afraid of this place initially, although the man seemed puzzled about why. Apparently, after he smacked the animal with a chain leash it began to frolic about (maybe in pain). Anyway, I don't understand the logic there, but I was just glad to talk to somebody.

I walked along the side of the meadow, and headed back to the wetland. As I trounced through the muddy meadow, I saw a bird in the far distance bobbing up and down in the edge of the swamp/forest area and the open field. I looked with my binoculars and saw a reddish face (I know, not a proper bird term), a brownish body, and a white band around the neck. I was not even within 100 yards of the animal before it took off for the woods. I later found out that it was definitely a ring-necked pheasant. They are not native to the US and have been heavily hunted in the past, so its not surprising that it is keen on avoiding human presence.

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)


Green Frog (Rana clamitans)


Will finish later....or maybe not!

Extended Vacation

My blog is on sabbatical, pending the successful completion of my dissertation. I should be defending in August, after which I hope my random excursions will be back in full swing.

The rolling hills and more

After leaving New Haven in my car today I became a little bit confused. I wasn't sure where I was going or what I was looking for. We have a nice array of protected areas in Connecticut, but after looking at a map you will see that they are few in number. The vast amount of land is private, off limits, and largely unmarked. Ten minutes outside of New Haven I thought I would try to find some vernal pools so that I can track the life cycle of amphibians, from breeding in the early spring to metamorphosis in the middle and late summer. Most of these sites are probably hidden and on private land, not in a state park. So I figured I would just drive around some back roads, but aimless driving never solved anything. I know that too well, but I ignored it. Sometimes I feel that this rash compulsion to move in a direction, even when I am strikingly unprepared, is part of my cursed psychological makeup. And when I start moving there is no turning back, no retreat or recalculation. This actually happens when I am cooking as well; I start mixing things without design and end up with a horrible medley of absolutely nothing. But we should all love ourselves the way we are right? So I kept driving.

I drove through the towns of Durham and Wallingford, the latter of which has a quaint little downtown area surrounded by farmland and other rural landscapes. Much of the land was cleared in the past for agriculture. For a while I found myself coasting through a great expanse of brown fields hovering on a sea of gently rolling hills. I don't know what came over me, but I entered into a state of total euphoria. The sun reflected so brightly off of the treeless earth that it made me smile. There is something so alluring about the countryside, but I am not sure I am of keen enough mind to explain it. I just felt a flash of freedom, as if I were a wanderer on this great earth, and the waves of hills were the infinite expanse that made the world, and all that is to be discovered, endless. I don't know what it is so cozy about the idea of infinite space, but somehow it makes me feel alive. Of course I have seen a map. I do know that our planet is sphere-like, about 25,000 miles wide, and approximately two-thirds water; indeed I know this is the truth, but I don't want to think about it. In my mind, there will always be the crest of another hill crawling out from under the horizon.

So out from the clouds I fell as I parked my car on the edge of the Mackenzie reservoir. As I stepped out I felt a brief chill, but the rays of sun landing directly on my skin were neutralizing almost to the point that it felt like a full-on spring day. I could see many birds gliding on the water, and there were some ducks that dipped under the surface, popping up a few seconds later. But before getting a closer look at them I watched some people fishing a few hundred yards away on the other side of the reservoir. It was clearly a family, as I heard a child complaining to their parent that a sibling was messing with their tackle box. I watched a few minutes with admiration, thinking how nice it was to see a family spending time like this together, outside in the fresh air and in the middle of nature.

Mackenzie Reservoir Entrance


More later...Plus last week's entry

Wadsworth Falls State Park, CT

By late morning, impatient from going unnoticed, the rays of the sun stubbornly forced their way through the pair of drawn shades in my bedroom window. They called to me with the promise of a thousand brands of life, all teeming in the warmth and glow of the daylight hours, a precious commodity in the dark New England winter. Of course I heeded the call. I quickly laced up my old shoes, tossed my binoculars and assorted guides in my bag, swung my camera over my shoulder, and headed north to...well, I wasn't exactly sure.

I picked out Wadsworth Falls State Park because it was reasonably close to New Haven. I am always alone during my winter treks (its hard to get people motivated for our resident overwintering wildlife), so I tend to save my longer trips for the spring and summer. All I knew about my destination was that it was centered around a waterfall.

Wadsworth Falls State Park: Entrance


Map of Wadsworth Falls State Park
(I followed the orange trail)


The trail I took was a march through a scene of brilliant white desolation, with a bed of icy snow covering the ground, and the bare trees climbing their way to the heavens. To me, trees are always beautiful, but if you stare up at them at this time of year they really appear supreme and god-like in their dominance of the quiet wintry landscape. They stand there, solemn and imposing, and I, of little stature, feel so insignificant in their presence. From time to time, a pack of chickadees or titmice will dance past and change the mood of the forest with their squeaks and funny clamoring; but when they've passed through, the seriousness sets in again. It's as if the trees are the parents and the birds the meddlesome children, and I, well I am some strange guest from another time and place. It's as if I don't belong, or am not enough in touch with the pulse of life to be a part of the club. Nor do I intend to be, for nature is timeless and above me.

Today was very much a hemlock sort of day. Some aspect of this tree kept popping up wherever I'd go. Nathan, your friendly neighborhood hemlock expert, suggested that this is because many of the trees are either dead or dying from insect infestation (see previous entry), and all sorts of life comes to feed on their dying bodies. But, shifting our attention to the living hemlock for a moment, I wanted to note that their cones are quite small, not like those of any pine species around here.

Eastern Hemlock Cones (Tsuga canadensis)


Cone in hand
Kind of like the song "hand in glove" by The Smiths: "Cone in hand, the sun shines out of our behinds...No it's not like any other cone, this one is different because it's small"


Hemlocks are frequently found near streams and they tend to occupy moist cool valleys. I recall hearing that they are an important source of shade for animals living in or near streams (including fish), and that their decline will certainly impact the ecology of riparian forests.

Little hemlock in its element


On the dead and dying hemlocks I kept seeing this pretty orange fungus. I mean I wouldn't date it, but maybe I would buy it a martini (not funny ah-tall). But I did not see it on any other species of tree. After perusing my two new companion 'shroom books I discovered that this species is likely Dacrymyces palmatus (palmatus ~ like a palm [of the hand]). Supposedly this species looks similar to Tremella mesenterica (aka Witch's Butter), but palmatus favors dead conifers - Bingo!

Yellow fungus on hemlock


A collapsed medium-sized hemlock blocked the trail path. I stopped to take a look at the critters that were inhabiting it. Nathan told me that the black growth on the underside of the needles was probably a sooty mold which may be feeding on dead scale insects. You can also see a ton of the insects as well. These are usually the elongate hemlock scale (Fiorinia externa) which was introduced from...uh...the Virginia Tech website says Japan? These buggers damage the plant by using their piercing-sucking (I love this term) mouthparts to extract important nutrients from the needles. This produces a yellow banding of infected needles, and eventually causes them to fall off. Many hemlocks look bare and well, dead, because of the scale and the hemlock woolly adelgid.

Fallen hemlock


Underside of a branch from a dead hemlock


I still haven't made it to the waterfall yet...the best part! More later.

Silver Sands State Park, CT

I woke up this morning and crawled languidly out of bed. I flipped up the shade of my window to let some light in for my beloved little plant. I noticed the bright sun outside and thought "ah, what a perfect day for the beach," except it was 30 degrees outside and the ground was covered with snow. But off I went anyway.

I decided to visit Silver Sands State Park which is in Milford, CT. It is not the greatest beach in the summer months. A bit dirty. But today, with a blanket of snow, it was absolutely beautiful.

Rules of the beach


From the beach you can see Charles Island which is connected to the mainland by a sand bar that is submerged at high tide. Apparently someone named Captain Kidd buried a treasure there in 1699. He was a sailor of Scottish origin who turned pirate and was subsequently executed in 1701.

Snow-covered Beach and Charles Island


A man who passed by told me that loons nest in this area in the summer, so I will have to come back later in the year.

Today I was in a little bit of a seaweed mood. So here are a few pictures. The first is a green sponge-like species that I have seen before. It seems to prefer to cling to slipper shells. It looks like it belongs to the genus Codium but it doesn't quite fit the sketch in my seaweed guide or shore guide. The problem is that both guides show a bifurcating branching pattern, but the bulk of bifurcations seem to occur near the tips in the book but closer to the base in my picture. Another problem is that it seems to look most like Codium isthmocladum, but this species is only found in warmer waters in the southern US. Codium fragile is the only coldwater species of this genus, so I guess this is what I found. Apparently this species recently came to the North Atlantic coast and was first spotted in 1957 on Long Island. Since then it has spread widely in the Northeast. Apparently they are a big threat to the shellfish to which they attach. The algae accumulate oxygen interstitially and then become buoyant, pulling the shellfish out of the beds and causing them to be taken away by the current. This has landed them the appellation "oyster thief." Supposedly this species comes from the coasts of Japan (which makes sense since they eat this and probably transport it for food). I read that this plant is coenocytic, which means that nuclei can divide many times without cell divisions. I must remember to take a specimen next time and check it out under the microscope.

Codium fragile
Family: Codacea
Order: Bryopsidales
Division: Chlorophyta (one of the two divisions of green algae)


The next species is clearly a member of the genus Fucus. This is part of the family Fucacea, in which some of the species are commonly called "Wracks." They are brown algae which are scientifically known as the class Phaeophyceae. Sargassum is also part of this grouping. Species of Fucus, along with the genus Ascophyllum, are also known as rockweeds because they are often found in intertidal areas. Fucus are easily recognizable because their holdfast is disc-shaped, like a suction cup, and very small. They have bifurcating branches with a distinct midrib, although sometimes not visible closer to the base. They have knobby receptacles (fruiting structures) on the ends of the main branches which are sometimes swollen or sometimes flattened. Color can be light brown to dark green.

The problem with Fucus is that it is sometimes difficult to tell species apart, particularly F. spiralis and F. vesiculosis because they have similar ranges. F. vesiculosis also has air bladders, but they can be absent sometimes. In this case, the two species are almost indistinguishable. According to photos this looks like F. vesiculosis, but I am not sure. The only way to tell is to open the receptacles. In. F. vesiculosis, individuals produce only male or female sex cells but in F. spiralis they produce both.

Fucus (Rockweed)
Family: Fucaceae


The final algae of the day was this pretty red specimen that looks somewhat bleached from light exposure. It looks clearly like black moss (aka irish moss) which is often harvested to extract the substance carrageenin which is heavily used as a commercial emulsifier and thickening agent. The color can range greatly from deep purple or almost black in deep water to yellow or pinkish-green in shallow water exposed to the sun. They branch in bifurcations, have a disc-shaped holdfast, and are often "crisped" at the tips.

Chondrus crispus
Phylum: Rhodophyta (Red Algae)


I just found out that the picture below is actually an egg-case from a Whelk or similar species of Mollusk. Apparently, each pouch of this chain houses smaller, offspring whelk which look somewhat similar to adults. Amazing!

Whelk Egg-Case


There is a long boardwalk which joins the beach to the road. From this view you can see the wetland habitat surrounding the beach. I saw my first and only bobolink here last summer. Even more important is that in these wetlands I saw my first red-winged black-bird. This was several years ago, and it was the first moment that I really became interested in nature. So I guess this beach holds a special place in my life.

Long boardwalk leading to the beach
\

As I was walking back to my car I came across this paper birch. Less peeled paper birches are usually white with thin horizontal lines. But with considerable peeling, the red underside of the outer bark becomes exposed along with the yellowy inner bark.

Very Peeled Paper Birch


-SG

Qunnipiac Meadows, CT

Next stop on my illustrious tour of Connecticut was Quinnipiac Meadows. It is only a few minutes drive from downtown New Haven. The meadows overlooks the Qunnipiac river which drains part of central Connecticut. The Quinnipiac has a length of 38 miles and ends up in New Haven harbor. This area was once all wetland but was filled in for construction purposes, although clearly some wetland is still visible. The sign says that, since then, many plant species have entered the area. The land is part of a preserve. This is not the most picturesque place because the surrounding area is very industrial and economically depressed. The Quinnipiac was once very polluted in this area due to sewage and factory waste, but the sign says that it is slowly improving.

It is a short walk from the road to the real park entrance. The park abuts the main railroad track as I saw an Amtrak train passing by. It was a cloudy but crisp winter day with a blanket of crunchy snow covering the ground.

Park entrance and description


The first part of the trail takes you through new forest. I saw lots of vines with red berries strangling the trees. Did not really get a good picture though.

Vines with red berries


The trail takes you past marsh habitat for several minutes before ending up on the Quinnipiac River.

View of the Quinnipiac River
(East Rock Park is in the distant background on the right)


Description of the Quinnipiac River


I am not a very experienced bird-watcher, so I could not really anticipate what I would find at this time of year and in this type of habitat. But I was greatly surprised to find some species of ducks that I have never seen before and consequently had trouble identifying. They were also quite far away which made it even more difficult. But here is a description of what I saw:

The first birds seem to have been a group of Bufflehead. Some birds (the males) had white bodies with black backs. The neck and head were also black except for a big white triangle running from the top of the head (the guide says a bonnet-like patch). The head was very puffy. Supposedly when males fly, they have a distinctive white wing patch. Up close (a view I unfortunately did not get), the front of the male's head should be an iridescent green above the eye. The other birds in the group (the females) were more drab. They were generally gray on the sides and the top of the back appeared black. The front of the breast was white and the head was black with a white cheek spot. I also saw a little white spot on the sides of the back near the tail. These birds are noticeably small. The males are quite beautiful because of the contrast between the black and white colors of their feathers. And when they fly they look like a circus of colors. Bufflehead are diving ducks in the sufamily Merginae. This is part of the family Anatidae which includes all ducks and duck-like waterfowl. The Anatidae, in turn, are part of the order Anseriformes, which are comprised mostly of Anatid birds. The closest related birds to Buffleheads seem to be Goldeneyes (also Bucephala)

The other birds I saw were much farther away. Some had clearly cresting heads like common or red-breasted mergansers. But others had white bodies with a distinctive black stripe running vertically down the body just before the neck. This seems more indicative of the hooded merganser. I will have to come back here with someone who can ID these birds from far away.

There were also a lot of sparrows hanging around. The ones I saw had alternate chestnut and gray stripes running front-to-back on the crown, but I can't ID them.

On my way back I hear the shrieking of a large group of red-winged blackbirds. Although I guess at this time of year they don't look like much at all.

Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus)


Random Nest


-SG

West Rock Park, CT

For the second weekend in a row I went to West Rock Park, but this time I brought along Anne, my housemate. I didn't do much nature observing, but we just took a nice leisurely hike instead.

Anne at the Lake Wintergreen entrance to the park


Near the park entrance I saw that damn spruce that's haunting me. I think it's a Norway spruce because of the reddish branches, but I am not sure.

Branch


Old Cone (right?)


Bark


Random Polypore


I took some pictures of an eastern hemlock branch and trunk just to remind myself what the bark looks like.

Eastern Hemlock Branch (Tsuga canadensis)


Eastern Hemlock Bark


To continue my observation of different birch species...I noticed this silvery, peeling birch tree shining in the sun. I had a lot of trouble identifying this species at first. Part of the reason is because the Audubon guide has a single picture of the yellow birch (Betula allagheniensis) where the bark is clearly yellowish, not silvery as in my photo. The solution came from a fun little book called "Discover Nature in Winter." This book says that yellow birch peels in small horizontal scrolls which makes trees look "messy." As the tree ages, the bark turns from bright silvery gray (as seen here) to a reddish or yellowish brown.

Yellow Birch (Betula allagheniensis)
Family: Betulaceae (Birches)


Have no idea what this is. Anyone?


It was definitely an interesting walk. A few days ago we had some of the most intense rains I have seen in a long time, and this was evident in the temporary streams that had formed throughout the woods.

-SG

West Rock Park, CT

Today I spent a few hours looking at winter trees in nearby West Rock Park. The weather was quite strange today, quickly turning from sun to rain to snow and then back again.

My original reason for going out was to take a look at the local birch species. Immediately after entering the park I spotted a gray birch. The species has whitish bark like the paper birch but it does not peel as readily. This species is able to grow quickly in poor soils, including abandoned farmland. Apparently, from the picture, the inner bark is brown.

Gray Birch (Betula populifolia)
Family: Betulaceae (Birches)


Gray birches often have multiple, relatively thin stems.



One of the mainstays of the northeast forest is the white pine. This evergreen species can be easily identified by its long, thin needles which are in bundles of five.

Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
Family: Pinaceae (Pines)


If you look in any field guide you will see that the bark of the white pine is rough and furrowed. But on my trek I looked over many young trees, and noticed that most have predominately smooth bark at this stage.

Young White Pine Bark


A little older - starting to get rough patches


A Majestic Stand Of Eastern White Pines


My best guess is that the next tree is the Norway Spruce (Picea abies) but I am not sure. The remnants of the cones look too small to be this species.

Bark of young tree


Branch


Cones ?


Another winter tree that I couldn't identify. I think it is a larch because it has no needles, but there were tons of short needles lying below the tree. This would make sense since larches are deciduous. Also there are lots of bumps (spurs) running along the branches which may give rise to the needles. I feel like this might be the introduced European larch (Larix decidua) because the cone is facing upright and is too big to be a tamarack (Larix laricina)

Fallen European Larch ?


Larch Cone ?


I just bought a mushroom book the other day so I don't know too much. But this is evidently a Polypore (I don't think this is a legitimate taxonomic grouping), which grow bracket-like on trees. Apparently, when a tree falls, these guys always reorient themselves so that they are on a plane parallel to the ground. this is because the spores are usually on the underside and therefore they can easily drop to the ground. This looks like turkey tail fungus (Trametes versicolor), but I am not really sure.

Turkey Tail?

Osbornedale State Park, CT

I have been busy submitting a manuscript this week so I am only getting a chance to begin this entry today.

I visited Osbornedale State Park in Connecticut last weekend with my lab mate Jon. It is a nice little space somewhere near the Housatonic River. There is a little pond there but was frozen. We took a leisurely stroll through the forest.

Titmice and black-capped chickadees were in abundance, but Jon said he saw a golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa). We both caught a glimpse of what we thought was a yellow-bellied sapsucker, but is was from very far away. All I could really see was a very marbled feather pattern and some trace of a red cap. In general adult sapsuckers have a red cap and throat, and black and white strips running through the face. The breast is yellowish-white and the back is marbled black and white. They also have a conspicuous white wing stripe.

Oh, I got my camera back. I really must remember that Canon has great repair service. They reported that my camera problem was probably due to a fall or shock (which it was), but they fixed it anyway under the warranty.

I also saw a bracket fungus. Hopefully soon I will be able to identify it. It is certainly a Polypore, but I am not sure which type. It was very hard, almost wood-like. and about the size of a tennis ball.

Fungus from above


Fungus (and me) from below

Am I alive or just breathing?

I took a short run this evening, and after I was finished I stared up at the stars. I folded the brim of my wool cap to let my eyes roam free, and I immediately received one of those sharp injections of reality that sometimes comes after months of unconsciously spinning life away with work and other earthly endeavors. "I really exist," I thought to myself. I am of this universe, of a world which is much more complex and undefined than my simple life would have me remember. A world with rules that transcend society and human convention. I realize that my senses have become so dull, so utterly narrow. Life comes in all colors, yet I feel I am color blind. Its as if my eyes are focused only on a small path, and all of the other dimensions of life are lost on me. I cannot observe the world in its completeness because I cannot seem to escape my own reality. I live life in a dream made up of invented goals and guidelines, and of things that I am supposed to want because they have been showered on my brain since my consciousness began. We are born into a dream, and so it shall remain. For how can you ever wake yourself from your own dream?

-Scott

Kettletown State Park, CT

I have decided to make a little tour of the Connecticut parks over the next few months. It would be a shame to be in this state so long and see so little of what it has to offer.

I chose Kettletown because it looked substantial in size and was not too far away. It is only 22 miles from New Haven, but actually there are no major roads in between so it was almost a 40 minute trip by car.

Kettletown State Park Entrance


There was no shortage of eastern hemlocks. Some looked rather infested with hemlock woolly adelgids (Adelges tsugae). These are insects in the family Adelgidae, a group of Hemipterans (True Bugs) that are closely related to aphids. The adelgids feed at the base of hemlock needles causing heavy dessication of the tree. Most hemlocks that you see these days are infected with these critters and it is really a sad site. The white stuff in the picture is the woolly wax that the adults use to protect themselves and their eggs. I read that the invasion of the hemlock woolly adelgid occurred back in the 1920s.

Eastern Hemlock: underside w/ adelgids


One of my favorite things to see in the forest during the winter months are beech trees, who hold on to their leaves through most of the cold season. American beeches are the trees with the nice smooth gray bark that people like to carve their names into. I suppose I like them because they really grab your attention in the winter. A sign of life in an otherwise sea of emptiness.

I did not know that oak trees are in the same family as beeches (Fagaceae). That is probably why oaks tend to hold on to their leaves in winter as well. Some members of the beech family are evergreens. I read that much of the diversity of this group is in Southeast Asia, and dispersed here via land bridges that formed in the Pleistocene.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Family: Fagaceae (Beeches)



Random Bracket Fungus