Today, Saturday, Oct. 12, I enjoyed part two of the two day Saddler's Woods Workshop. I wrote a post about part one where we walked in the 'rain garden' identifying native trees and invaders, dissected owl pellets (I found a mole skull in mine) and saw a presentation on the kinds of birds one might see in our area.
This time, boots on, we hiked in the woods and met a 250 year old tree, our old friend the poisonous snake root, which killed Abraham Lincoln's mother who had, sadly, drunk milk from a cow that had eaten the snake root plant. WE also learned the different kinds of oaks identifiable by the shapes of their leaves, rounded or spike, and the colors they turn. We found numerous types of acorns some edible by animals and some not! We saw the spring that travels through Saddler's Woods to find its way to Newton Creek, and we found many kinds of invasive shrubs crowding out the natives. It was an hour and a half and so I can't begin to tell you all we saw and learned, the berries, the fungi, the beech groves......
And, if like me, you were the kind of teen who pored over booklets about beauty routines, you may have wondered about Witch Hazel, always mentioned in regard to cleansing your face and shrinking your pores! We found the shrub and learned that in early spring,it spits out its seeds with an actual noise of spitting!
It was exhausting and exhilarating and I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I was with the women who gave the tour and their intimate knowledge of the flora of Saddler's Woods. I wish more people could have had the benefit of this enlightening experience!
Tomorrow, it's off to Gabreil Daveis Tavern on the Timber Creek, which by the way, has a very extensive watershed range.
Jo Ann
wrightj45@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment