Musings on a snowy morning

Delicate pine needles held and 
then captured the even
more delicate snow.

We haven’t had a lot of snow yet this season. There are pros and cons to that and many would argue over whether it is good or bad. I myself am not fond of a lot of snow, but I would much rather see normal snowfall, in the proper time frame, to keep plants and animals in sync with their natural seasonal responses. In recent years we have had delayed starts to winter, we have had less snow cover to protect plants during winter. We have had warm spells way too early which trigger sap flows and bud swelling, only to be followed by late snow and deep freezes that wreak havoc on every one and every thing. 

 But awakening to a beautiful January snowfall this past Wednesday was a well-timed gift. I don’t think anyone can deny the beauty of a light, fluffy snow; pristine in the morning hours, still coating every small branch. There is a pull to get out the door. Not necessarily to get the walkways and driveways clear, but maybe to be the first to set foot in the untouched snow on a favorite trail. 

I was not the first creature to 
set foot on the trails

Things just look so different in the snow, not just because of the whiteness, but because of the way some details are covered up and others stand out. Stepping into the woods, all the distracting details of leaves and browns and grays of rocks and wood, were covered. Instead the trees looked draped in lace with intricate patterns of delicate white threading through the branches. It was still early and there was no wind, no melting to disturb the snow on even the smallest twig. But when there was a motion of falling snow, it was an easy way to notice a bird or squirrel over head. 

I wasn’t the first creature on the path that morning. Several deer had walked through the woods before me, following their own trails. They seem to follow the same patterns of travel month after month, season after season, through these woods of the Woodlot Sanctuary. Then I found the tracks of a squirrel. It was fun to note where it had left the ground and jumped into a tree and also to note where it tried to uncover a hidden stash of seeds or acorns, by 

digging several holes in an area. At one point set of canine prints joined the trail. They were most certainly coyote tracks and it appeared that the animal was very comfortable using the same trail that I was now. It stopped and investigated where the squirrel had been digging. Snow allows us to see things that would be otherwise invisible. A month ago I wrote of needing to search for rabbit pellets on bare ground. They are so much easier to see with snow! 

I never would have noticed the 
stairstep patterns on this rock
if not for the snow.

But walking in the snow wasn’t just about tracking things. The snow made certain shapes and designs stand out in ways that we wouldn’t ordinarily notice. Against the snow white background, lichens on the rocks stood out more distinctly. The soft brown leaves on the beech trees took on a greater brilliance in the snow. Designs were created by ordinary objects when covered irregularly by the light snow. 

It’s fun to take photos and then look at them later to see what the camera has captured. But, always make sure you spend more time stopping, and looking with your own eyes, to fully appreciate a beautiful, fleeting, snowy morning. Be in the moment and cherish it. 

by Beth Sullivan

The soft brown beech leaves took on
a warmer, more outstanding glow.

The details of this lichen
just jumped out into
view against the 
background of pure white.

Some things are just a lot
easier to see in the snow!

Where a rock, covered in lichen and moss, retained
some heat from the ground, the snow receded
and left it in view.

Looking for Color in Winter by Beth Sullivan

 

A few deep blue berries on greenbriar are welcomed by birds.

We are at the darkest days of the year. The woods can look pretty drab and it even makes me appreciate  just a bit of snow to brighten the scenery.  But take a walk and look closely and you will find some welcome color.

We all know our pines, spruce, firs, and cedars the bigger evergreens of the woodlands.  They provide great protection for birds and other small creatures when the winter winds blow and snows fall.  Their cones hold nutritious seeds, high in fats and proteins that the wildlife need to help them through the cold season.

Mountain laurel thickets keep us green all winter.

Look a little lower, the shrub layer in many of our woodlands is dominated in places by our State Flower: Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia).  Drive along many of our roads where the scenery is rocky and rough and you will welcome the sight of gnarled branches and leathery green leaves of this lovely shrub. While it doesn’t provide a food supply, the usefulness as nesting sites for forest birds is often revealed in winter.  (Tefftweald in North Stonington, Hoffman Preserve in Stonington)

Wintergreen holly loses its leaves
and the berries are standouts! 

Our native hollies provide winter interest. Our native evergreen     American holly, ( Ilex opaca) the familiar Christmas decoration,  has    spikes on the leaves  to deter deer but the berries are feasted upon by many birds  through the winter, as long as they last. Robins, Thrushes, Cedar Waxwings and Bluebirds in particular will find a bush and claim it!

Our other native holly, Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)is deciduous, but its berries glow red on bare branches during this season.   These berries often do not fully ripen until they have been cold for a long time, then they actually ferment and the birds love them.  This is true of many berries that remain on the bush through the winter: Viburnum and crab apple in particular. Those birds know how to wait until the vintage is perfect!

Look in the most tangled thickets to find dark blue or purple berries of viburnum, greenbrier and Virginia creeper. All of these are sought after by birds.  At Knox Preserve the field cedars/junipers have blue fruits prized by many birds through the winter.

Club moss emerges
above the snow.

Club Mosses (Lycopodium sp.), such as Princess Pine and Ground Cedar ( they have multiple common names), will populate the ground in patches. Years ago they were harvested irresponsibly for Christmas decorations and the populations were nearly decimated.  Garden Clubs have protected the species by refusing to pick it or sell decorations using the club mosses.

Many species of true mosses seem to become more intensely emerald at this time of year.  Others take on softer tones. They are all welcome sights amid the brown and grays on the ground. They are especially lovely peeking through the snow. 

Partridge berry hugs the ground.

There are a few evergreen plants, still holding leaves: Christmas Fern for one, each ‘leaflet’ on a frond
  has a “toe” creating a “stocking”.  Partridgeberry is a sweet vining plan with delicate evergreen leaves. The occasional red berry remains on the plant as an invitation to a ‘Partridge’ who may favor the berries. Sadly our native partridge or quail, the Bobwhite is considered extirpated from Connecticut.  Only to be remembered in Christmas song, being in a Pear Tree!

Many people truly look forward to the pure and dazzling white of a pristine snowfall.  But, since we haven’t had but one this season, enjoy finding bits of color on your woodland walks.

A Cedar Wax-wing knows when the berries
are at the peak of their sugar content.

The brightest emerald in the woods!

Some unusual Evergreens in the winter woods

By Beth Sullivan

This time of year can be pretty bleak, especially if there is no snowfall to brighten up the gray landscape.

The most widespread woodlands have been pretty colorless. Only a few fluttering beige beech leaves remain. The best place to find some green is to find a conifer forest with some pine trees or hemlocks to break up the scenery.

Snow can actually be essential to the survival of many organisms. With a normal snow cover, the ground remains somewhat insulated. Hard to believe, but remaining at a steady freezing 32 degrees is perfect for protecting plants, root systems, seeds, and seedlings, and even providing ‘warm’ safe passage for small mammals. Keeping the ground temperature stable also assures that the soil is not continually freezing and thawing causing upheaval and exposure all winter long. When we have sub zero temps for extended periods, and no snow cover, the ground surface freezes more deeply and solidly. But with temperature fluctuations as we have seen, a hard freeze may be followed quickly by a warm up, and changes in the soil moisture and texture create havoc for anything living or trying to live in those top inches of leaf litter or soil.

Green all year

There a number of organisms that stay evergreen through the coldest seasons, and most of us immediately think of trees and shrubs that we recognize pretty easily: pines and hemlocks, spruces and firs, laurels and hollies. These are all true vascular plants.

But lack of snow cover invites a closer inspection, and the ability to observe some gems that are often overlooked during the lush greenness of spring and summer. This is the world of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They are hardy and can survive with or without snow cover in some of the most challenging conditions.

Most of us recognize mosses of so many varied textures. They remain green all year and inhabit a great variety of conditions. Most seem to like it moist and shady, but there are others that we can discover on bald rock faces, in places where just enough soil has built up to allow them to get the moisture they need. Mosses are, however, non-vascular plants. This simply means that they do not have the same internal structures that most plants do, to transport food, nutrients and water. They have no true roots, leaves, flowers, or seeds. Some mosses are dense cushions of green, soft to touch, and a startling color in the brown and gray leaves. Some are fuzzy, some spikey. Many display their spore cases on longer stalks still visible and held above the main portion of the plant. Clubmosses can look like individual mini Christmas trees, and the two most well known we call princess pine or running ground cedar.

Keep looking. Get down closer to the ground in wet areas, bases of rocks, and old wet stumps. Here you may find a couple of very strange organisms. They look like tiny, flattened, fleshy leaves or even ribbons of green, with spikes or horns rising above. These are the liverworts and hornworts. Botanists continue to change classifications and naming of these odd species. They are plants, they contain chlorophyll and they make their own food. But, like mosses, they are non-vascular and have very different reproductive processes. These plants were among the very first to come out of the water and colonize the drier earth. They are ancient. They are gems. They are worth getting close to, getting out a magnifying glass or your macro lens, and really examining. These plants inhabit all the climate zones on earth, from tropics to tundra. They provide moisture in dry places, cover for small organisms, and even food sources for others. Interestingly, I often find them colonizing the surface soil on potted plants I find at nurseries that have had them growing in damp, warm greenhouses.

Our photographers

The collection of photos here were taken by Carl Tjerandsen and his team on Avalonia’s Tri Town Forest Preserve. Some plants are named, others are yet to be identified. Botanists, naturalists, and photographers have been combing this huge, beautiful preserve for the last several years. They are exploring the unique habitats and the flora and fauna associated there. Check our website Preserves section to see more photos of this beautiful acquisition: https://avalonia.org/tritown-forest/ . It may be hard to see past the dull colors of a snowless woodland, but look closely and you will find green in beautiful hues and unusual forms.

Avalonia protects unique properties with varied habitats such as this one. We can continue our mission to preserve these places and open them to you and future generations, but we can only do so with your support. If it matters to you, please support us with your membership and join us in our efforts.  

Where the bugs are

By Beth Sullivan

It’s really beginning to feel like winter. The temperatures have really taken the downward turn, and as I write this, we are anticipating a winter storm. We have had a few random warmer days when I have noticed small flies doing an air dance outside the window in the sun and the winter moths were out on warmer nights several weeks ago, but overall, the insects are not in evidence at this time of year. There are, however, birds that rely on insect protein to be part of their winter diet.

Spring or bust

Insect species have different ways of surviving the winter. In many cases, though, it is not in the adult form. With the exception of those that migrate, like some large dragonflies, or hibernate in their adult form like some bees and hornets, most are in some other stage of their life cycle. Many insects lay their eggs in the fall before they die. The eggs winter-over and hatch in the spring if they are not disturbed or eaten by birds. Most insect eggs are protected in ways to deter birds: think of praying mantis egg masses which are straw like and uninviting. Rarely have I seen a bird attack a mantis egg case. Other insects, most notably species of flies or small wasps, lay their eggs inside plant tissue which then modifies itself to create a protective casing around the egg and later, the developing larva. These are galls. The type most visible now is the goldenrod gall. The stem of the goldenrod forms a ball of tissue around the egg which stays intact all winter. They can be seen easily at field edges. They are not, however fully protected from the eyes and beaks of small birds. The downy woodpeckers and black-capped chickadees are noted for alighting on the sturdy stem and pecking into the gall to expose the egg, and then picking it out . Perfect protein.

Paper wasps, or white faced hornets, make the big gray nests that hang unnoticed overhead all summer and are only revealed when the leaves fall. Very often the colony is killed by the cold before all the eggs have hatched or larvae developed in the fall. I have watched several species of birds, including blue jays and titmice, go after such nests as they remain hanging or even rip at them once they fall. The frozen eggs and larvae are great sustenance.

The paper nest of the hornet may still contain unhatched larvae and eggs well into the winter.

Some flies and wasps will inject an egg into the goldenrod stem which swells around it, creating a gall.

Inside the gall, the egg and then the developing larvae are protected over winter.

Winter treehouse

Other groups of insects spend the winter under bark flaps and in crevices on trees. They can be adults, eggs, larvae, or pupae. Some are even embedded in bundles of lichen or deeper in holes where there may be some rot. This is also where the birds know where to look. Spend some winter day observing a tree, preferably from inside at a warm window. These persistent birds, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and kinglets, among others, will hop along branches, inspecting all surfaces. What is also interesting is observing how each species of bird approaches the task. The nuthatches will always work a tree going head first, down. They inspect bark flaps and cracks from this particular angle. Another very special, very small, bird is the brown creeper. They are not nearly as common as the other birds, and their camouflage is so good they are rarely spotted, except as they move around a tree trunk. This birds start at the bottom of the tree and work their way up the tree, examining the underside of everything and finding what the nuthatches may have left behind. They each have their own niche.

Of course the larger woodpeckers have the greatest advantage of having a big enough beak to delve deep into the heart of a tree, especially dead or rotting ones, to find the ants and termites and beetles in all stages.

The insects are out there. You just need to have a bird-brain to find them.

The tiny brown creeper goes headfirst up a tree then drops down to the bottom to do it again.

The white breasted nuthatch will go down the tree headfirst.

Woodpeckers with long, strong beaks can probe deep inside a tree looking for insects. 

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.

Reds and greens in the winter woods

By Beth Sullivan

We are at the darkest days of the year. The woods can look pretty drab and it even makes me wish for just a bit of snow to change the scene. But take a walk and look closely, you will find some welcome color, red and green, to greet you for the holidays.

We all know our Pines, Spruce, Firs, and Cedars, the bigger evergreens of the woodlands. They provide great protection for birds and other small creatures when the winter winds blow and snows fall. Their cones hold nutritious seeds, high in fat and protein that the wildlife need to help them through the cold season. 

Some different evergreens

Look a little lower, the shrub layer in many of our woodlands is dominated in places by our State Flower: Mountain Laurel. Drive along many of our roads where the scenery is rocky and rough, you will welcome the sight of gnarled branches and leathery green leaves of this lovely shrub. While it doesn’t provide a food supply, the usefulness as nesting sites for forest birds is often revealed in winter.

In some of the more remote wetlands areas, our native Rhododendron (R. maximum) will stand out, green against the brown. During the severe cold, you can note that the leaves droop downward and curl into tubes. This is the plants’ adaptation to protect the leaf surface from cold and dehydration in the dry winter air. 

Rhododendron leaves droop and curl in winter.

Bright winter reds

Native hollies provide winter interest. Our American holly, (Ilex opaca) the familiar Christmas decoration, has spikes on the leaves to deter deer but the berries are feasted upon by many birds, now and through the winter, as long as they last. Robins, Thrushes, and Bluebirds in particular will find a bush and claim it.

Native winter holy

Our other native holly, Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)is deciduous, but its berries glow red on bare branches during this season. These berries often do not fully ripen until they have been cold for a long time, then they ferment, and the birds love them. This is true of many berries that remain on the bush through the winter: Viburnum and crab apple in particular. Those birds know how to wait until the vintage is perfect.

Winterberry with Mantis egg case.

Mosses for the season

Club Mosses ( Lycopodium sp.) such as Princess Pine and Ground Cedar ( They have multiple common names) will populate the ground in patches. Years ago they were harvested irresponsibly for Christmas decorations and the populations were nearly decimated. Garden Clubs have protected the species by refusing to pick it, or sell decorations using the club mosses.

Ground Cedar is a clubmoss.

Emerald green cushion moss brightens the landscape.

Many other species of moss seem to become more intensely emerald at this time of year. Sphagnum moss, which holds the water in the wetlands, is more softly colored, but look closely at the structure of each plant: miniature Christmas trees.

There are a few evergreen plants, still holding leaves: Christmas Fern for one, each ‘leaflet’ on a frond has a “toe” creating a “stocking”. Partridgeberry is a sweet vining plan with delicate evergreen leaves. The occasional red berry remains on the plant as an invitation to a ‘Partridge’ who may favor the berries. Sadly our native partridge or quail, the Bobwhite is considered extirpated from Connecticut. Only to be remembered in Christmas song, being in a Pear Tree.

On the Christmas Fern, each leaflet has a stocking toe.

Partridge Berry.

Happy Holidays to all and enjoy the winter woods. 

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.

Hard and sharp

By Beth Sullivan

Winter and the shortest days are approaching. I will admit that sometimes I need a bigger push to get out the door when the days are so cold. But there is great beauty and some unique benefits to hiking at this time of year.

First, there is the light. There is something stunning about the crisp, sharp light now. As the sun slips farther south, the shadows loom long. Trees shapes become gnarled and lanky as they creep across the ground. Contrasts are more intense. Looking with a photographer’s eye or an artist’s sense of light and dark, it is amazing to see the depth of contrast when the colors themselves are more muted. It is time to appreciate the Earth tones, the shades of grays and gorgeous textures in the woodlands. Even the waterways take on muted tones when they reflect a more subdued sky. All of this subtlety makes the sunsets all the more outstanding, even though they are so early. We all need light for our physical, and especially mental, health. Take a walk, close your eyes and put your face in the sun, catch a little warmth. Then open them and notice the sharp strong light, the cool shadows and the warm tones of our Earth now, before she is covered with snow.

With the early intense cold, came hardness. Most of the ground is frozen already. While I miss the soft springy-ness of summer earth, it certainly makes walking in wet areas easier. With so much rain in November, our wetland preserves were pretty inaccessible. It was nearly impossible to do some off-trail boundary monitoring. Boots were a necessity. In some areas, trails and bridges went under water. Now the ground is frozen, some of the wet areas are crystallized with frost. It makes for tricky walking in some places, but it also creates interesting patterns of ice in the soil, in puddles, and around plants. Ice along stream edges creates great delicate sculptures. Sometimes those hard edges are the most beautiful.

Sunset is earlier but there is a sharp clarity to the light.

Designs on the light ice of slow streams.

Ice on the Cottrell Marsh cove is hard and sharp.

A look beneath the vegetation 

It is also the best time to see the bones, the structure, of the land. During the soft summer, everything is swathed in greenery. Autumn foliage distracts us from the essentials. But now we see the hills and valleys, the gentle rise and fall of some landscapes and the abrupt, hard edges of other vistas. This part of Connecticut is just full of mementos from the glaciers. They scoured clean the ridges and rock faces, they dropped boulders in erratic places, and left stones of all sizes at various depths in our soils. Now is the time to look more closely at the way our landscape was shaped. It is also time to appreciate all the centuries of work, done by a variety of peoples and cultures, to create walls, cairns, wells, and cellar holes. Almost all of the Avalonia preserves in southeast CT offer beautiful walls, abundant rocks, and glimpses of history within. It’s easiest to see it now.

Do yourself a favor. Bundle up. Get some light. Open your eyes to the more subtle beauty of this time of year. It will surely lift your mood. The brisk air will revive you and invigorate you. Feel the crunch of the ice beneath your feet. Repeat daily as needed.

Holiday Hint: If you want to feel warm and fuzzy amidst all the hard and cold, give yourself or a loved one the gift of a membership to Avalonia. You can feel good about that kind of gift, as it is not material, will be a perfect fit, will last all year, is tax deductible, and will provide both the giver and the receiver the most valuable sense of being part of something bigger than the simple gift itself.

Happy Holidays to all!

Glacial erratics are more visible at the Teftweald now.

Hidden stone structures are revealed at this time of year

Stone walls meander through woodlands and their rounded stones show the wear of centuries. 

You can imagine the energy of the upthrusting of these rocks at Stony Brook.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.

You can still support Avalonia Land Conservancy through the Amazon Smile program.

Things are changing

By Beth Sullivan

No one seems to know exactly what is going on with our weather. The very scary report that came out on Black Friday ( maybe appropriately timed as it is a bleak report) continues to point to climate change that is moving at a much faster speed, and with greater consequences, than previously believed. I know I often breathe a sigh of grateful relief that we are not in a wildfire prone state, a mud slide area, or an earthquake zone. Things have changed. If you just think about certain signs, and make observations, it is becoming sadly obvious that our local climate and landscape is changing too. It may be more subtle, but it is dangerous none the less. Many of us who are observers of nature, are taking note.

A shortage of acorns will bring deer to our yards earlier in the season. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Warm to frigid in a day

It was impossible not to notice the wild temperature swing over the Thanksgiving week. The intense cold likely left many animals unprepared. Going from balmy warmth to frigid freezing may not have given them a chance to finish their food storage, nor had they had a chance to add their own layers of fat to keep them warm. When it is that cold, most of my local chipmunks are usually safe and deep in their burrows, snacking on their stash. On that brutally cold Thanksgiving morning, I stood at my kitchen window, and I watched as my little friend in the front yard sat visibly quivering, lifting one paw to her chest, then the other, in what seemed like an attempt to keep warm. I am sure I am not imagining that we locked eyes as she begged, so I went out and placed plenty of seed next to the burrow hole. In a very short time, it had disappeared, and the little one did not re-appear topside for the rest of the day.

Many of us have noticed it was a very poor acorn year. For whatever reason - spring freeze on oak flowers, heavy rain during pollination time washing away the light weight pollen and not allowing dispersal, or previous years of drought and stress from insect damage - there are almost no acorns on the woodland floors. That is bad news for the abundant wildlife born this spring. We seem to have bumper crops of turkeys and squirrels this year. We also know deer and bear populations are increasing, and all of these depend in some way on seeds, berries and nuts, especially acorns, for their fall food source. If they cannot easily find their food in the woods, they begin to venture out into our yards and find whatever resources they can in our yards. I have yet to see a bear in my neighborhood, but I have heard reports from areas not too distant. I know the deer are here every evening and morning as they are already nibbling on my shrubs and remaining perennial plants. It seems to be the turkeys I am enjoying the most as they now, too, have found the bird feeding area and run or fly from the hill across the street to forage at least twice a day. They arrived in perfect time to entertain my Thanksgiving guests. A least my numbers are manageable: usually only seven. They don’t do too much damage to my gardens, yet. But all of these creatures are becoming more used to people, seeking out food sources and exposing themselves to hazards of roads. What will happen to them when snow covers the ground and their wild food sources are not to be found? Many will starve.

Squirrels are abundant now but their numbers may plummet without adequate food resources. 

Turkeys forage in our yards but it brings them closer to roads. Dangerous for the turkeys and drivers.

When the ground is snow covered, this chipmunk will help herself to my feeder.

Puffed up in the cold

Several birds appeared looking quite miserable on the cold Thanksgiving morning, very puffed up. Normally birds are well adapted to cold, their feathers automatically fluff around them to capture warm air close to their body. But they still need layers of fat beneath the skin. In cold weather they burn it very quickly and that’s why they appear to be eating all day and they are. If they have spent a long, colder than normal, night without having adequately fueled the furnace, they will awaken depleted, colder and in danger.

Nature may find a way to balance, but the wild, weird swings make it difficult for wildlife, animals, and plants to adjust, adapt, and thrive. So far we may not have the intense drama of the events out west and in the south, but the long term changes are wearing and insidious and having severe effects as well. To be continued, for sure.

This white-throated sparrow puffs up its feathers to retain warmth.

With the sudden cold snap, this gater snake could have been caught away from a protected den.

With water surfaces frozen, this great blue heron will be unable to find food by wading close to shore. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan, unless otherwise indicated.

Don't forget to support Avalonia Land Conservancy through the Amazon Smile program.