On the Trails of IES

Trail Report for November 09, 2005

It was cool, gray and quiet. The Little Bluestem Meadow had been recently mowed.
In the Old Gravel Pit, a small oak was startlingly orange.
The bottom of the pit had a fair puddle, but an old log next to it allowed one to get by most of it.
I'd never noticed the tortured rocks in the stone wall near the exit to the Fern Glen.
Around the exit area was burning bush with its brilliant berries.
Although it is attractive, it is also invasive.
Japanese Barberry is much the same.
It was quiet at the Fern Glen pond.
Witch hazel possessed not only leaves, but its faintly fragrant blossoms.
A nyssa had screaming wax-like berries.
A fresh scat of a small mammal marked the parking lot as its territory.
Actually it was the log, rather than the stone wall, that caught my attention behind the Norway Spruce Glade.
The lichens were enjoying the moisture of the day.
Farther along the Wappinger Creek Trail, tiny white fungi were visible from quite a distance against the dark leaf litter.
A little beyond, an old fallen log was host to a community of fungi, and lichens, and a little moss too.
The approach to the "Appendix" had a good sized leaner over it. It didn't appear to be a recent occurance, but I'd never noticed it when the leaves were up.
Last week I thought about it; this week I decided: the Old Oak and its fungus shall retire for the season.
And with dusk approaching, I retired from the trails for the day.