| Day
#2 |
Robert
Leverett |
|
Aug
14, 2006 09:46 PDT |
Day #2:
On July 22nd, Monica and I arose to
cloudy skies. We hit the road a
bit late as we completed our trip through southern New York.
Before
reaching New York's western border, we dropped down into the
northwest
corner of PA and on into Ohio, where we were greeted by
torrential
rains. The proximity of Lake Erie announced its dominance over
the local
weather patterns. What a difference a big lake makes, even the
shallowest of the Great Lakes. I told Monica that I though the
farther
south we went the better the conditions would become as we moved
beyond
the most powerful of the lake effects. Fortunately, that proved
to be
the case and conditions improved. It had been a white knuckle
experience
with some drivers having had the good sense to pull over to the
side of
the road until the torrents abated.
The remainder of our trip across Ohio
was pleasant and memorable
because we stuck to the rural roads, avoiding I80, the Turnpike,
like
the plague. In years past, the repetitive nature of the
landscape would
have caused me to lose interest, but this trip was different.
The
undulating to flat countryside of fields and narrow strips of
forest was
pacifying. The lawn ornaments of people across the rural
landscape
caught Monica's eye, as did the frequency of seeing Amish in
horse drawn
buggies. Monica had remembered the lawn ornaments from her cross
country
biking expedition done some years prior. In a way, rural Ohio
was like
stepping back in time by a few decades. At one point Minica
pointed to
an Amish buggy occuping a parking space with cars on either
side. It was
quaint. The agricultural fertility of the region reminded me of
why
farmers of the late 1800s left New England in droves for what
was the
far superior soils of the Mid-west. The fertility of the soils
of the
American Mid-west apparently equals if not surpasses that of all
other
comparably sized regions of the Earth. However, I would defer to
any
soil experts among us to shed more light on Mid-western soils,
their
glacial origin, and the reasons for the fertility.
As we drifted along, I thought to myself that this was truly a
laid
back Ohio, a part of America virtually unknown to the city-bred,
a
landscape of green fields and wide horizons, a pace and life
style far
removed from the hustle and bustle of Cleveland, Columbia, Cincinnati,
Akron, and Toledo. To be sure, for anyone crossing the country,
the
traveling is slower on these off-Interstate roads, but not much
so as
one might think, if you choose your route wisely - unless of
course,
you indulge the habit of perpetually speeding on the
Interstates. One
quickly eats up a lot of real estate at a constant 75 to 80 MPH.
However, the lack of heavy truck traffic and absence of
aggressive
drivers on the secondary Ohio roads gave us ample reason to
relish our
choice of traveling on the rural byways and Monica made it
abundantly
clear to me that this was the way she wanted to travel. No
heroic
700-mile, 12-hour days. I got the message and was happy to
comply.
Our primary destination for July
22nd was Goll Woods, located in
the northwestern corner of Ohio. Goll Woods is a 321-acre
woodland
preserve with a section of old growth/virgin forest. I had taken
to
heart what Randy Brown had told me about the woodland and I was
anxious
to get there, but our late start for the day and leisurely pace
held us
back, so that we didn't made it to Goll Woods until
mid-afternoon. But
by then, the day had cleared and cooler air had moved in. The
temperature was most comfortable and blessed us with a periodic
breeze.
I was ready to measure trees. I quickly assembled by equipment
while
Monica looked at a trail map. We I chose the bur oak trail and
off we
went. I was ready for a big tree surprise. Now, if this all
sounds
idyllic, there was a catch that rudely came in the form of a
tiny insect
with an insatiable appetite for blood - my blood. Oh My Gosh,
the
mosquitos! Yes, Goll Woods is in the Black Swamp. Duh! Silly me.
The
following is a partial description of Goll Woods from the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources, emphasis added by yours truly.
"Goll Woods exemplifies the "Black Swamp" forest
which once covered a
vast area of the flat post-glacial lake plains southwest of Lake
Erie.
An outstanding feature of this woods is the abundance of giant
bur oaks
and exceptionally large white oaks, chinquapin oaks and
cottonwoods.
Many of these magnificent old trees are four feet in diameter. A
rich
variety of native shrubs and wildflowers occur in the woods
including
spotted coral-root and three-birds-orchid. The preserve is best
visited
in the spring BEFORE MOSQUITOS EMERGE."
I should have been better prepared with heavier clothing and a
stronger
insect repellant because Monica's environmentally friendly
repellant
acted more like a choice salid dressing dabbed attractively on a
garden
fresh salid. For the mosquitos, I was the salid! The mosquitos
were
absolutely clear about that. God, they were awful! I made
numerous
attempts to measure trees, but the instant I got still, those
little
blood suckers were on me like ugly on an ape. I'd swing a branch
wildly
for a few seconds then try to sneak in a quick measurement. It
didn't
work. So, mercifully, Monica moved in and rhymically swatted the
hungry
little devils to keep them off my neck, arms, and back - but
also to no
avail. I bathed myself in the insect repellant until I decided
that it
really was an attraction. I gave up and we ran back to the car.
While trying to survive the mosquito onslought, I did manage
hold out
and measure a huge dead bur oak. At 16.7 feet in circumference
and 112
feet tall, it was imposing, and later a white oak at 13.2 feet
around
and just at 116 feet tall. That was it. There were many other
impressive
bur oaks, whites, and cottonwoods in the area. One is quickly
struck by
the volume of wood that these trees exhibit 60 to 80 feet above
their
bases. We all see trees that start of with a fat trunk and then
whimp
out hardly 10 or 15 feet above ground level. Not so these big
brutes.
However, there was one disappointment. The tuliptrees were very
ordinary. The species does not do well in the compacted soils.
My
impression is that the tulips of Goll Woods only slightly exceed
100
feet. I suppose a few will approach 120 feet, but I didn't see
any and
many don't quite reach 100.
With ample room being wrong, my general impression is that Goll
Woods
supports a Rucker Index of between 100 and 110. If that seems
light
compared to what we commonly report, what the Goll Woods forest
lacks in
stature, I assure you that it makes up in the impressiveness of
individual trees. I definitely plan to return to Goll Woods when
the
mosquitos are dormant and hope I can meet up with the ENTS Ohio
contingent. There is just so much for ENTS to explore in Ohio.
As I
mentioned in an e-mail, even though the individual woodlands are
relatively small, the woods are of high quality and well worth
documenting via ENTS methodologies.
After donating a pint of blood to the Black Swamp mosquito
population
(we certainly want to keep them healthy), it was time to
recuperate and
what better way to do it than to sample some home made ice cream
a few
miles down a very rural road. It was a delightful experience.
With ice
cream aplenty, we settled on the outside of the small
establishment
featuring a small landscaped area and tables. The area gave way
to corn
fields and a wide horizon. It was incredibly relaxing. Sounds of
birds
that Monica identified were only occasionally interrupted by a
passing
car. It was all peace and harmony. But foolishly, I had ordered
the
super delux cone size that had so much ice cream that it melted
and ran
down the sides of the cone no matter how fast I tried to keep up
with
the intermingling melting flavors. Why can't I do things in
moderation.
My new wife looked on wondering what she had married. I finally
gave up
and ditched the remainder of the cone in the trash can and we
headed out
to pick up a little lost time. Our goal was to make it to the
vicinity
of Mishawaga, IN via rural roads. We wanted to position
ourselves for
the following day's rendezvous with a Illinois tall grass
prairie
preserve. That's next week's chapter.
Bob
Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society
|
| RE:
Day #2 |
Robert
Leverett |
| Aug
15, 2006 05:17 PDT |
Holly,
Thanks, but by far the best is yet to come, to
include relating our
discovery of two new nature authors, or at least authors new to
us. One
is John Madson, if any of you have read any of his works. His is
the
voice of the prairie - which alerts you to what is coming. There
will be
lots of stuff on prairies. I hope to get ENTS input from Lee and
any
others with knowledge of prairie plants and soils.
I've long enjoyed the American prairies,
but mostly in a catch as
catch can fashion. I was always hell bent to reach the
mountains, but
because of Monica's love of prairie grasses, on this trip, we
slowed
down and I smelled the prairie grasses. Prairies are WAY COOL.
One comment I must make. In terms of the
installments, try as I will,
the grammatical mistakes and spelling errors creep in. I feel a
little
embarrassed. Gotta break down and use the spell checker more.
Monica
brought to my attention last evening that I had spelled salad as
salid.
OMG! I know better than that. So, please forgive the stupid
mistakes. I
find that when I get into writing mode, increasingly, my aging
brain
forgets the correct spellings of even common words and I lapse
into a
kind of phonetic mode. I've caught myself substituting homonyms.
Old age
is a bummer.
BTW, maybe we can all get together sometime in
the coming couple of
months to do another Hudson River excursion. Both Monica's and
my
schedule are iffy, but I think we might be able to spring for a
weekend
somewhere in the next two to two and a half months. Monica is
assistant
chair of her department at Smith College this year. She is going
to be
weighted down with administrative responsibilities on top of her
teaching load and concert schedule. I'm going to have an
unusually busy
wife this fall.
Bob
Holly Post wrote:
| |
Hey! Thanks for taking all of us along on your trip.
I am really enjoying it.
Holly
|
|
| Re:
Day #2 |
Randy
Brown |
| Aug
15, 2006 19:08 PDT |
|