Pitcher Plant Panoply

Not a tracking post, but I just could not resist!  For those of you living near Acton, MA there is a sight to see.  In the Acton Arboretum there is a boardwalk across the only bog on the property.  Currently in the bog, there are over 65 pitcher plant flowers blossoming.  These carnivorous plants are all in one patch.  I have never seen so many at once!  You can download the trail map from actonarboretum.org and find the Highland Bog Loop.  Easy access from the road or hiking in.  Beautiful gardens on the other side, too.  An easy hike that is worth it.  Go tomorrow!

Lars

Woodcock Nest

I found a nest of woodcock chicks a few days ago in Bolton, MA. Read
about it here: http://ouroneacrefarm.com/american-woodcock-chicks/

Happy spring,

-Janet

Eastern coyote on camera trap

At my camera trap baited with a road killed deer this winter, I got some
pretty decent coyote pics, albeit in black and white. See more photos
and read a bit about the emergence of the eastern coyote in eastern
North America here:
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/appreciating-eastern-coyote-story-arrival/
Janet

Bobcat scavenging deer

Baited a camera trap with a road killed deer, and got photos of a nice
variety of animals, including this bobcat. For more bobcat photos and
info, check this out: http://ouroneacrefarm.com/bobcat-scavenging-deer/

Bear's Head Tooth Mushroom

This photo was taken last fall. It's what the bear's head tooth looks like when it's fresh - and un-nibbled. This mushroom is said to be edible and although not choice, is reportedly "very good if cooked slowly." I've got a few standards that I like (chicken mushrooms, puffballs, hen-of-the-woods, various boletes); this one just seems more decorative that plate-worthy to me.

Whitetail Deer - Bed & Breakfast?

As usual, there's a ton of deer sign out in the woods around here, and I've come across many beds.  The snow's been deep for most of the past several weeks, but a lot of the beds have been melted out all the way through to the bare ground.  This makes me wonder if deer re-use the same beds numerous times.

I'm posting a shot of a Bear's Head Tooth mushroom that's on a tree where deer have been yarding up. (You can see some beds under the hemlock on the right.)  A close-up of the mushroom shows that it's been seriously fed upon.  Deer are known to eat mushrooms, and it doesn't look like rodent nibbling, so I'm assuming this is one of the food sources getting them by until spring finally arrives.

Foraging for wintergreen

Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens, is tiny evergreen shrub commonly
found in oak/pine forests. The berries have a lovely minty flavor, and
the leaves, when crushed, have a delightful wintergreen scent. Learn
more about the plant and how to make an alcohol extract with it here:
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/wintergreen-harvest-make-alcohol-extract/
And while you're there, feel free to forage around my blog to see what
else is new. Happy Thanksgiving!

Buck Rub on Utility Pole

I found this while out walking today and thought it was pretty bizarre.  Then I looked around on the Internet and discovered that it's not an uncommon thing for deer to do.  I guess bears aren't alone in finding poles like this to be attractive scent stations.

The Natural History of New England’s Stone Walls

Next week, Robert Thorson (google him) will be speaking at the monthly meeting for the Friends of the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge in Stow, MA.  His books will tell you exactly what you are seeing in your walks through the New England woods.  I'll be there, Lars.

From their website:

Wednesday, November 20, 7:00 PM

November Monthly Meeting with Dr. Robert Thorson talking about The ‘Natural’ History of New England’s Stone Walls

Stone walls lie at the intersection of science and history, which became woven together during the transformation of wilderness into family farms. – Stone by Stone.

Stone walls mean many things to many people. They are pleasant surprises during many a New England ramble. They are the subject of poems and photo essays. To the human ecologist, stone walls associated with late colonial and Yankee farms are part of our "extended phenotype," displaying the history of our human interaction with the land. Professor Thorson will tell the story of their inevitability, of how they simply had to happen when a livestock-tillage economy was superimposed on a buried scatter of glacial stones. He will include a local focus as he discusses Thoreau's love for the iconic stone walls of the greater Concord River watershed and his prescient understanding of the creation story of the Assabet watershed: both topics of Thorson’s newly released book, “Walden’s Shore: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth Century Science.”

Dr. Thorson’s books will be available for purchase starting at 6:30PM. Proceeds of these sales benefit the Friends of the Assabet River NWR. Books available will include “Exploring Stone Walls,” “Stone By Stone,” “Stone Wall Secrets,” “Beyond Walden: The Hidden History of America’s Kettle Lakes and Ponds.”

Robert Thorson is a professor at the University of Connecticut where he holds appointments in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, the Department of Anthropology, and the Center For Integrated Geosciences. Dr. Thorson has brought his enthusiasm for geology to fields as varied as History and Civil Engineering while teaching at universities from Alaska to Chile, where he was a senior Fulbright scholar. He is currently a visiting scholar in the American Studies program at Harvard University. His field work has included the U.S. Geological Survey and agencies ranging from the Japanese Ministry of Culture to the National Geographic Society. In 2002, he published “Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England's Stone Walls,” which became a regional bestseller and won the Connecticut Book Award for nonfiction. This began a decade of advocacy for the preservation of historic landscapes. More recently, Dr. Thorson has expanded his writings to another signature New England landform, kettleponds. Dr. Thorson is also an environmental columnist for the Hartford Courant.

Quabbin Black Bear

My wildlife camera captured this black bear walking across a rocky outcropping near Quabbin.

Do you think it's the same bear as this one, captured a few hundred yards away, earlier this year?

Bobcat kittens playing

These two bobcat kittens were filmed play-fighting on a rocky outcrop near Quabbin Reservoir earlier this summer.

Witch hazel

Yesterday morning the fall blossoms of common witch hazel captured the light and my eyes. Fall blooming is quite rare among temperate forest plants, and Hamamelis virginiana probably evolved this unusual strategy to avoid competition for pollinators with its close relative, Ozark witch hazel, H. vernalis. Nonetheless, reproductive success of H. virginiana is quite low. Check out my blog to read more about this, and see more photos of flowers and fruit capsules.
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/witch-hazel-flowers-fruit-capsules/

Janet

Predators and Prey at Quabbin

A recent check of a wildlife camera near Quabbin Reservoir revealed
these video clips of a showshoe hare and several bobcats sharing the
same game trail.

Another Beat-Up Autumn Olive

I found my own mangled autumn olive bush while hiking today.  Though it was exciting to consider - for a brief moment - that it was the work of a bear, the damage was far less severe.  Even more telling, there wasn't a single berry anywhere around.  Once I noticed two huge scrapes nearby (both beneath overhanging branches) and the dogs sniffed out the easily-identifiable scat, I figured that the white-tailed deer rut must be starting.

Bear vs. Autumn Olive

These photos were taken in western Massachusetts by my sister.  Bear are an established presence in her area, and it looks like one of them decided to feast on the juicy autumn olive berries that are everywhere for the picking right now.  The scat found at the site was chock full of berry seeds.

Human sign on hickory nuts

I left my mark and secured my stash, like all the other animals.
Shagbark and pignut hickory nuts are great wild edibles, and there's
still time to get a few for yourself:
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/hickory-nuts-foraging-pignut-shagbark-hickory-nuts/

-Janet

Hickory nuts: Which rodent(s)?

As I am not able to upload more than 1 or 2 photos per post on this blog, I'm posting just a portion of the story here, and directing you to my personal blog, where I've posted the entire thing with additional photos. I would love to hear your thoughts about which animal 1. created the pile of husks, 2. left the shells that have holes on both sides, and 3. left small shell fragments. Please see entire post here:
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/hickory-nuts-rodent-sign/
...and leave your thoughts in the comment section of that post.
Thanks!
Janet

Colorful Critters

Found this box turtle yesterday at the edge of some nearby woods. Not a very good picture, but it was pretty cool to come across one for the first time in years. (I didn't wait around for it to emerge from its shell; my little dog was way too interested.)  The beetle is a mystery. The colors and back pattern are striking. It's definitely in the category of small beetles (only 1/4 inch or so), but I had no luck determining its type.
.

Foraging for hazelnuts

There's still time to harvest wild hazelnuts, but not much. They should be picked when the nuts are beginning to turn brown, but the husks (or, more properly, the involucres) are still green. The cluster on the left is ripe enough for picking. The cluster on the right is riper, and some of the nuts have already fallen out. Don't wait that long - go searching now.

For details on how to identify and where to find wild hazelnuts, see my most recent wild edible post here: http://ouroneacrefarm.com/hazelnuts/

Janet

Lug worm castings on the beach

We saw these coiled piles scattered on the beach along the east coast of Scotland a few days ago. Their appearance is reminiscent of earth worm castings, and I found out that they are indeed castings of a worm: the lug worm, Arenicola marina. Usually there is a blow hole a few inches away from each pile. The hole leads down to the mouth of the worm, which continually ingests sand, and digests the bacteria in the sand.  The sand particles are excreted as castings from the rear end of the worm, which sits just below the surface of the ground. The coin is about an inch in diameter

The odd thing about the castings we found was that there were no blow holes associated with them. I am told that this might be because the sand was too fluid (fine and wet), for the holes to persist. For some great photos of blow holes and castings in abundance, and some great information on this species, see:
http://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/lug-worms-at-whiteford-sands/

Janet
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/