Weekly Reflection

This has been a very productive week to be sure. I constructed a simple 12x16" press and scoured the woodlot for specimens to press for a herbarium. The process of collecting and identifying these specimens, some of which were very difficult to identify among numerous relatives, has not only made me much more confident using and navigating through guidebooks, but also more knowledgable of the different plants that grow in the area, most of which I did not know beforehand. Additionally, I have learned a great deal about plant anatomy and structure. 

This week, I also concentrated on some mapping with a GPS, marking important landmarks and each of the 30 or so vernal pools on the woodlot. GPS mapping is a central practice today in the conservation world, so my experience will serve as a good background as I go on to study conservation biology and wildlife ecology within my sustainable agriculture major. The information I collect will be used to create a hand-drawn map of our woodlot.

I got the chance to meet with both David and Doug a lot this week, and they have provided a wealth of knowledge for me as I learn more and more about my place. David and Doug provided two perspectives on management and how best to protect wetlands and wildlife habitat. While it is important to just let things be, logging (in an ecologically thoughtful manner) can provide food and diversity to the forest. I good balance between the two is probably the best solution to the management of a forest, and one should always take into account what lives in that forest before altering it.

David has been a huge help to me this week; explaining vernal pool ecology, identifying plants, helping me with my herbarium, and offering suggestions for my map. It has been a profound pleasure to work with him his month and while my project will be coming to a close shortly, my relationship with David will not. 

Tomatoes, Snapping Turtles

Today, I got to work on the new garden where I will be planting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and okra. I cut a bunch of poles that will be used to support the tomatoes as a train them with some twine. After installing the poles, I began forming the raised beds and turning them to prepare for planting.

Transplanting tomatoes in the new garden

I started planting the tomatoes, water them down really well, and gave them a little boost with a mixture of water and fish emulsion. I interplanted some basil verities in the beds which will help deter tomato worms towards the end of the season.

David stopped by this afternoon to check on a couple of pools with me, especially the one right across the street with a large population of wood frogs, as well a few american bullfrogs and green frogs. This pool has a great deal of vegetation around the perimeter and in it, like meadowsweet, silky dogwood, and wintergreen. This is the kind of vernal pool that could attract the grey tree frog, who often spend the day in the trees around a pool then return to the water at night. David and I could not find any in the trees, but I will keep my ears open for their distinct call. David and I found some new plants to I.D. around the pool and decided to meet up tomorrow to help begin compiling and organizing my information and notes.

This evening, David gave a talk at MainStreet BookEnds on the snapping turtle, including a live specimen for a little show and tell. Despite common belief, a snapping turtle will not attack while in water. It is when they are on land that their defensive instincts kick in and can be more aggressive (their head can reach half-way down their back to snap). When they are in the water, they would rather just be left alone and will try to hide. David pulled out a snapper of about 5 years, holding it gently in his hand. The turtle seemed to understand there was no escape in this situation and waited passively as David showed it to the audience. 

David's connection with the local turtles is quite amazing. He has been able to recognize certain individuals each year for the past forty odd years he has lived here in Warner. It has been a profound pleasure to work with David this month and observe a true master in his element. While my project will be coming to a close shortly, my relationship with David will continue as we find more opportunities to get out and explore together in the future.

As I get ready for presenting on wednesday, I will be mounting specimens for my herbarium and drawing out my map which will include all the vernal pools and the flora and fauna associated with that pool, longing trails, landmarks, etc.

Mapping

Today I lathered up in bug repellent and made my way into the dense woods to do some mapping with the GPS. Doug has already marked the logging trail and many of the important wet spots. Today I started adding new points and cleaning up the data already on the GPS. After a few hours I was able to walk the majority of the property, and physically marked 18 vernal pools (there must be around 30 in total), a few of which are large, extensive lateral pools. I also marked 7 impressively large rocky outcrops and glacial erratics. I have been downloading the data on to google earth where I will be making a digital map from which I will base my actual hand-drawn map. I really comfortable using the GPS and was able to find more specimens for my herbarium.


In the garden, I continued to plant more seedlings and sowed some more radish and beet seeds. Under my teepees, I planted a variety of dry pole beans, and I have moved the peppers from indoors into my cold frame. I am now in the process of planning out the rest of the garden, as well as the new tomato garden next to it.

Home Economics: Permaculture

After organizing some information for my map, I spent the rest of the day working in the garden and around the house. The goal is to create a rich environment around the house by beginning to use some of the principles of permaculture: every element (house, pond, garden, forest, pasture) is placed in relationship to another so that they assist each other and save energy, each element preforms many functions (food, fuel, wildlife habitat), each function is supported by many elements, waste and energy recycling on site, and the use polyculture and diversity of beneficial species for a productive, interactive system. Our homestead is currently in a period of great transition as we begin to hone in on our land and make it beneficial to us in terms of sustainability and self-reliance, as well as keep in mind what lives here and make our settlement work with the natural world rather than against it. 


Today my dad rented a tiller for the day and got to work forming some new beds around the house where we will be ultimately begin growing kitchen herbs, perennials, berries, and some squash as well. We are also maintaining a few patches of rhubarb and a bed of asparagus near the house. I got to work weeding the herb garden I created last year in the front lawn where I am maintaining some lemon balm, sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, parsley, and oregano mixed in with an array of wildflowers that are coming back again from last year.


Across the street near our vegetable garden, I had a chance to use the tiller to re-establish last year's garlic bed which will now be used for growing our tomatoes. I plan on also growing it's companion, basil, among the tomatoes as well as some eggplant and okra.

In the garden, I had to water the beds as the hot sun beat down on me and the plants. I cut some saplings and constructed two teepees that will support dry pole beans, and finally got my cucumbers in that will be growing around the structures in the new "lasagna" bed. Another compost pile has been started and seedlings are starting to be moved from the cold frames to the garden. Leeks were also planted in one bed and await plantings of celery and beets along side them. A rocky circular bed at the end of the garden has been mulched heavily and now has squash seedling that were found on the compost pile growing on top of it.

Things are starting to shape up!

Teamwork

This after noon, David, Doug, myself, and my brother Matthias (fresh from Kenya and the white sands of Zanzibar) embarked on an official Lewis and Clark expedition through the woodlot. We made our way up to end of the 36 acres, visiting as many pools as we could find. The sheer number of pools astounded us, especially David and Doug, who through all their experience in the area, have never seen a place quite like it. The woodlot is incredibly varied geographically speaking with steep ridges, swales, and a number of large and impressive glacial erratics. The large number of pools must be due to the rockiness of the area. 


I began using the GPS a bit, marking points for each pool we found. Doug has already established logging trails marked on the GPS which will be included in my map and help navigate the woodlot. Tomorrow, I will start marking the remainder of the pools as well as important landmarks and interesting rocky outcrops. For each place, I will take a series of photographs and note any surrounding species to create a profile of that place.


The Warner naturalist team scoured the woodlot, discussing species of plants, vernal pool characteristics and their obligate species, as well as the difficult question of management and how best to protect these important habitats. Doug and David provided two excellent points of view on the subject. A sufficient buffer between a logging job and a pool should be provided to provide a forest canopy for the pool. However, it should not become an island in the middle of a clear cut, but a connected part of the rest of the forest. While just letting a place be is important, logging can open areas of the forest and provide sun exposure to the understory. This results in lush pockets of vegetation and allows some other species to thrive. I think a thoughtful balance between both a wildlife and forestry perspective is needed. The first step, however, is knowing what lives here.

David examining the different sedges growing in this vernal pool

The majority of the pools contain spotted salamander egg masses. Others we surveyed are being used by wood frogs, green frogs, spring peepers, red-spotted newts, with one pool containing a large mass of jefferson salamander eggs, and a few other pools that could be used by grey tree frogs. We have yet to  observe any turtles on the property, though some pools may be deep enough to support them.

Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota)

Classifications

Over the weekend, I constructed a simple 12x16" press and scoured the woodlot for species to press for my herbarium. I concentrated primarily on collecting as many of the spring wildflowers as I could find. Over the past few days I have already collected over twenty species of wildflowers and plants from the forest. Today I took advantage of yet another wet day and began work classifying each of the specimens using a number of different guidebooks. I have been creating labels for each specimen, including both the common and scientific name along with the family. This practice has made me much more confident with using and navigating guidebooks, and in the process, I have learned a great deal about plant anatomy and structure.


This afternoon, I met with both David and Doug and discussed the plan for my last week. The three of us will be meeting tomorrow afternoon to survey some more pools and look at some more elements of the woodlot. David and Doug both agree that this place is quite unique in it's richness, variations, and large number of pools for it's relatively small area.


I received Doug's GPS today and have been setting up a topographic software on my computer. I will be using the GPS to mark important landmarks and areas, particularly the vernal pools and wetlands. The information I gather will ultimately be translated into a hand-drawn map of my place.


Now back to my classifications!

Weekly Reflection

The word "economy" is derived from oikonomia, it's Greek origin literally meaning "management of a household." The word has since been turned into a monetary term. In Wendell Berry's book, Home Economics, he explains the importance of getting to know your bioregion as an essential part of sustaining our human well being. We are completely dependent on nature whether we like it or not, and what is good for the air, soil, water, and earth, is good for us in the long run. Berry explains that before we can make decisions involving the management of our "household," the place in which we live, we should first take into account wildlife and respective habitats that are a part of our place.


Last week, I learned a great deal about the vernal pools and wetland habitats that are a vital part of the ecology of my place. I observed many inhabitants and was able to, for the first time in a long time, simply reconnect and explore this incredible world behind my house. In addition I also began putting theory to practice by taking on the responsibility of managing the family garden. Agriculture is one of our closest connections with the natural world and in the garden and around our home, I have been striving to create stable, productive systems that will provide for us while also integrating the land with its inhabitants.


The number one question Berry poses in respect to a human economy in any given place is simply, what is here? This question is the basis of my project, and this week, I continued to answer this question by taking a closer look at "the woodlot." With help from local forester, Doug Newton, I have begun the process of identifying the number of different trees, shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, and mosses that characterize my place. Already I have gained a much better understanding of the different species that reside in "the woodlot" and I've become much more knowledgable of my place. Through my field work, observations, and insight from both David and Doug, I have learned, from direct experience, a number of plants and animals that I never knew lived in my own backyard (including a roughed grouse that I startled on one of my walks).


In the last stretch of my project, I will be honing in on "the woodlot" and will begin compiling information for my map, working on a herbarium, dip-netting in some of the vernal pools, and continuing my work in the garden and around the house.