Orange Season

It's orange season in Vermont! You know, the time of year that you have to wear orange into the woods so you don't get shot at by hunters? It's currently bear, turkey, grouse, fox, deer, and rabbit season. Guns, bows, and traps, oh my! Now, I'm not a hunter and I live in a state forest, so I don't really know the rules and regulations here, but I like to be on the safe side. And I could hear shooting in the distance. But I wasn't going to let that deter me from hanging my trail cam near a game trail I found.

However, wearing orange doesn't keep me from being on edge the whole time. I don't prefer to explore the woods alone. If AGP isn't up for the adventure, I usually try to convince Tina, but she wasn't up to getting her paws wet today. So off into the woods I go on my merry way, set to bask in the whimsy of the forest and try not to get shot.

For solo expeditions, I like to take the time to frolic and play with my cameras. In my camera bag, I packed my macro lenses and hoods, waterproof camera, trail cam, water bottle, and waterproof bag for all my non-waterproof toys because I have to cross the brook and it is relatively raging this time of year.

I also make sure to wear my calculator watch so I can keep track of the time and do on-the-fly calculating!

 
I am on a huge biodiversity kick lately. I just want to identify everything. Sure, late fall might not be the best time for this hobby, but there is still a lot out there rocking the chilly weather and ready to name. I am particularly drawn to mosses these days. It must be because they are so easy to spot in the defoliated forest! But then again, they are sooo dang hard to identify.

Umm... any ideas?

Look! Artist's conk mushrooms! At least that I can identify. Apparently people use these as natural canvases for etching and painting. I don't super understand the appeal. The white band on these mushrooms are this year's new growth.

There are a lot of balsam fir saplings in my local woods. You can tell the difference between balsam fir and hemlock from the length of the needles. Balsam fir has longer, more delicate needles.

And of course there are the always odd looking Indian pipe flowers, also known as a corpse plant. These specimens are dead and the bulb at the top of the stem holds the seeds. See a photo of a living corpse plant here! As you can see, the living plant has a bent stalk (like a pipe) and becomes erect once it has been pollinated.

After enough exploring and leaf lounging, I made my way stealthily towards the game trail running I recently discovered running alongside the Burnt Meadow Brook, just a short walk from our house. I decided to hang the trail cam here to see what kind of wildlife (or human life!) might be frequenting our neighborwoods.

Interested in knowing what kinds of goodies I have captured on the trail cam so far? Check it out!

After stumbling across some paw prints and a flurry of blue jay feathers, I tricked myself into thinking I was being stalked by a fisher and high stepped it back to our banks and the safety of my house among the trees.

 Home!

The Long Trail to Styles Peak

Hello, late fall! With the last nice days of autumn winding down into sustained rain, chilliness, and threats of snow, AGP and I have been taking full advantage of the sunshine. Not too long ago we took a short walk to Styles Peak in Peru, Vermont, which happens to be on an infamous stretch of wilderness belonging to the Long Trail.

There is an easy to access trail head that begins at Mad Tom Road and climbs a moderately steep 1.4 miles to the summit for awesome views to the south and northeast at 3,394 feet above sea level. The visibility that day was so great, we could see all the way into New Hampshire (I think)! It took us about 40 minutes to get up and twenty minutes to get down. Not bad for a mid-afternoon jaunt.

Did you know that the Long Trail was established in 1910 by the Green Mountain Club? That makes the trail the oldest long distance hiking trail in the country. In fact, it runs the entire length of Vermont, from the Massachusetts border to Canada! That's 272 miles in total and for 100 miles in southern Vermont, the Long Trail is also the Appalachian Trail.

As always, I was thoroughly impressed by the National Forest Wilderness we were hiking through. Even though the trees in the predominately beech forest we explored have (mostly) lost their leaves, it made for a perfect opportunity to focus on the vibrant greens that still abound. And you know how I love the forest floor. 

Do you know about club moss? It was everywhere! Like a shaggy, green carpet. And like their namesake mosses, they are spore-bearing plants, often considered to be allies of the fern (which were also in abundance along the trail). What I found was mostly Shining Club Moss, Huperzia lucidula, a trailing, evergreen. I was oddly thrilled to find these specimens complete with sporangia (spore cases), which are the yellow, kidney shaped pods in the top portion of the plant.

We also found Angel Wing mushrooms, Pleurocybella porrigens, in abundance as we neared the summit. While these are largely regarded as edible mushrooms and even though I have eaten them on occasion, we usually leave them alone when we are out on a casual hike without our expert identification resources. 

Despite the fact they are delicious and delicate tasting, they have been implicated in a few deaths involving people with preexisting liver ailments in Japan. And due to these concerns, although minimal, I am fine to just perk when I see these snowy beauts gracing decaying conifer logs.

The trails on this portion of the hike were well maintained, if not a bit muddy, even at the top! Neat boardwalks spare you most of the muck, but definitely not all. We weren't worried about going off trail either, because the paths were well defined and marked with a humble white blaze. Although, with all the rusty beech leaves everywhere on the ground, we did have to stop and double check our steps a few times!

Thanks for reading!

Welcome Autumn

One day we are in the yard under green trees in shorts and tank tops and on the next, there are leaves peppering the yard and a very distinct chill in the air.

Welcome autumn, that bittersweet time of the year that, while beautiful and humbling, heralds another winter in Vermont. With this many leaves on the ground it's getting harder to ignore any longer. Although, the pure autumnal delight of life beneath the vibrant, transitioning canopy is the gem in the impending cold cup of coffee!

Oh look! Blackberries, ya'll. The forest is full of them and their yummy, scratchy ilk. Aside from eating them sun kissed and straight from the bush, they are also excellent turned into custard and stuffed into glazed donuts. Then again, what isn't?

Are you as passionate about native New England orchid species as I am? I was stoked to stumble across this beautiful Case's lady's tresses specimen on a frequently trod path of mine. So far I have found three species of New England orchids, but my plan is to totally step up my game next summer.

These stunning white berries are of the White Baneberry and are not to be messed with. Be very careful, consumption of the berries can cause cardiac arrest!

And this lumpiness? An aborted entoloma, Entoloma abortivum. It is supposedly edible, but I honestly don't know enough about this 'shroom to take a chance. What's cool about this fungus is that it comes in two forms: this aborted form and a more recognizable gilled form. Jury is still out on who is parasitizing who in this special fungal case.

These odd beauties are known as Indian Pipes or Corpse Flowers. Spooky, right? Actually they do look a bit creepy pushing their waxy white heads up from the forest floor. These legit flowers are saprophytic, which means instead of using chlorophyll like most green plants, they get their energy from dead and decaying plants beneath the soil, like little plant zombies.

Pearly everlastings are one of my favorite wildflowers. And like their namesake precious mineral, finding them in a meadow or field is a lot like finding treasure.

Eastern American toad. Need I say more? *Croak*

Happy early fall!