By NANCY JANE KERN
HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED the style or history of a forest? In the Adirondack Mountains of NY State, there are forest areas where nature has been left to itself and hosts many forms of life not seen in places that man has disturbed. In my youth I hiked the Northville-Plattsburgh Trail to Northville Lake Placid Trail. One spring, a friend and I carried loaded backpacks and used a network of fallen trees to cross a flooded marsh covering this trail. We followed markers on standing trees and jumped from one flattened tree to another until we found someone’s faded flannel shirt and jeans lying on a log. We looked around for the owner and worried we would find someone deceased in the deep mud. Thankfully we didn’t, but questions still linger.
We found many carnivorous pitcher plants thriving on hordes of insects that nearly drove us crazy. It was a messy wood. Most of Columbia County has been worked by men with few if any primal trees remaining. With the loss of our family farms, the land often became forested again. Some of these properties are now being cleared for developments and manicured mega-mansions. I grew up roaming through large managed wood lots where we cut wood to heat homes or for lumber, always selecting individual trees and leaving most to grow for the future. My home has one of our old woodlots and nature is allowed to have her way. Rain has soaked the ground and high winds have toppled trees. Their roots are turned up and provide dens for many animals and nest sites for some birds. The tops are browsed by deer. Buds and leaves may continue to grow and be eaten, and eventually, the trees rot and become earth again.
Some people like their woods to have a clean park-like look. As I drive around, I am always observing and studying the landscape. Pruned trees with no brush piles, leaves, or fallen branches may be devoid of visible, moving life. Places left to ruin are teeming with life. I love to hear the birds sing, see deer and fawns, and find varieties of native wildflowers and shrubs living without chemicals and poisons. Watching and studying trees is a free pastime and can be done on a trip to the grocery store, as part of a Sunday drive, or a walk or hike. Take some time to enjoy our messy woods, even in winter. It revives the spirit and brings back some serenity to our lives.
See alandevoebirdclub.org .
