With all the snow gone, it was time for a spring inspection of the trail around the East Branch Nature Preserve this week and there were a few surprises. A stand of birch (pictured above) in the switch-back turn in the northernmost part of the trail by the outdoor classroom were almost completely prostrate, as if they were frozen in time while taking their last bow to the audience. It’s likely they were dying and buckled under the weight of snow. There is another stand of birch nearby unscathed.
The lack of foliage and snow revealed more vines: black, gnarled, and striated, they wound around trees like the crab apples and ironwoods. This is not a common sight in the Catskills, especially seeing specimens that are so ancient looking – mummified, like they belong in the last Roman Empire. Who planted them and when?
There were the furry, sage green, first year basal rosettes of mullein scattered on the trail, and some new poop: we still have our prolific hunter in the south portion of the trail that for some reason makes it really obvious that they’ve been there, always fertilizing the trail itself. It could be an owl, coyote, or fox, but we won’t find out until we put up a trail cam.
The beavers have added a satellite work station to their staging area. There is a downed tree much further north towards the outdoor classroom. This tree is all alone in a little thicket, and it will either be dragged south to be part of the dam in progress, or used for a new dam, or maybe it’s a spare tree that the beavers have hidden in the undergrowth as an emergency. Nevertheless, those beavers have been hard at work over the winter, just like the rest of us.
There is a carpet of what looks like cow parsley by the main fishing sign, but this is to be identified by a professional. Cow parsley can be eaten, but has many poisonous, look-a-like cousins like cow parsnip and poison hemlock. The CWDC is in negotiations for a foraging walk with the Catskills Forest Association and we’re hoping that if we section off part of this carpet and refrain from mowing it, we can let it grow and have it properly identified by the CFA.
For now, the landscape is a dampened dreamscape in a haze of post-storm mist under a swirling foggy sky: russets, burnt siennas, ochres, umber and copper hues, with vivid greens yet to establish their presence outside of the handful of lush evergreens and the grassy parts of the trail.
Last October 9th, the board of the Catskills Water Discovery Center hired Laura Silverman of the Outside Institute to take us on a foraging walk so we could find out what we have growing there. We now have a catalogue of 37 species of plants and trees. Here’s the list, beginning with the first plant at the start of the trail, going round the trail loop counter-clockwise and finishing where we started.
Dandelion, plantain, golden rod, garlic mustard, stag horn sumac, burdock, pokeweed, wild carrots, foxtail, mugwort, honeysuckle, black raspberry, wild clematis, sugar maple, quaking aspen, crab apple, grape vines, dock, oak, polypore, hawthorn, mullein, mustard, white vervain maple, cherry, cow parsley or Angelica (undecided as yet), hornbeam, birch, dogwood, Angelica, American elder, box elder, wild clematis, creeping Charlie, hemp nettle, butternut, willow, and dog bane.
As spring continues, we will be documenting all these plants and trees and tracking their progress.
We have a number of stands of mullein at the East Branch Nature Preserve and in the winter it looks like this (pictured above). Mullein is an extremely versatile plant to forage. All parts of it are useful in some way. In the winter, its large, furry, floppy leaves are shriveled or gone and its seed heads look scorched like they’ve been set on fire. This is ironic because In a pinch, in a survival situation, you can use the sturdy winter version of mullein as a torch by soaking the end in oil and lighting it. Otherwise, the leaves, roots and flowers are used for tinctures, oil infusions and tea. Come Spring it’s going to be fun to watch these plants grow again.
There is still much that the observer can learn about their property during the winter. The landscape is laid bare, exposing ground that was inaccessible during the summer, and the fragile, skeletal husks of once-colorful plant life show us all their seeds. One gust of wind, and new life is scattered, ready for spring.
Last October, board members Jenny Neal and Linda Reich took a nature walk around the East Branch Nature Preserve guided by local expert Laura Silverman of the Outside Institute. The board was excited to learn about all that is growing in the Preserve and we identified many plant and tree species. One plant that we have in abundance in the Preserve is Goldenrod.
Goldenrod is a main stay of summer, during which they bloom with brilliant, vivid yellow, hand-sized draping clusters of blossoms atop tall rods, about three to six feet high. Thin leaves, two to six inches long, grow all the way down the stem alternately, and are hairy. Goldenrod grows by rhizome and you’ll usually find whole fields of it. Our Preserve was no exception. This is what a large patch looked like in November last year, with the trail winding through it.
Put fresh blossoms into a mason jar of hot water (not boiling) to make a delicious fresh tea that tastes like a strong green tea. Sweeten with local maple syrup. (Tree Juice was one of our sponsors last year).
Goldenrod is said to have a number of health benefits. It soothes a sore throat, reduces pain and inflammation. It is also used for gout, joint pain (rheumatism), arthritis, as well as eczema and other skin conditions.
The flowers don’t freeze well, so if you want to save some tea for winter, make a condensed batch and freeze to dilute later with water. To make a condensed batch of tea, simply soak as much fresh goldenrod as you can fit in a mason jar of hot water. Strain through a sieve and freeze.
See you on the trail! Remember to keep dogs on a leash and pack out the poop.
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