Forest bathing at The Bend – April, 2020
WHITE OAK
This monstrosity is on our back acre. The giant nest probably belongs to the squirrels.
BARK
White Oak bark, with it’s page-like scales, and scabby Sycamore.
SMALL SURPRISES
Camille ran into a rare White Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus) on that sliver of Tami’s land that butts up against our back acre. A Dogwood flowers nearby.
LANDMARKS
Walk the trails a couple hundred times and things begin looking familiar. On the left is a fallen tree between the fish sculpture and the Northwest Passage. On the right, Carl’s bench sits on a promontory that looks out over the flood plain.
LIFE SHAPES US
Trees wear their scars openly, unlike humans.
LIGHT AND SHADOW
The bark of a Red Oak resembles ski trails. A young Yellow Poplar (Tulip Poplar) has distinctive leaves.
COLONIZATION AND DETRITUS
Moss and Lichen inhabit a fallen branch on the Northwest Passage. First noted by Camille on March 19th, a plastic Dollar Tree bag hangs from a tree on the south bank of Stinking Creek at the Turtle Rock Crossing. It contains a copy of Native Trees of the Southeast by Kirkman, Brown, and Leopold, a bottle of over-the-counter medication, and a box of kitchen matches.
STINKING CREEK
See the turtle? See the rock island tree?