Finding Fall Fungi

 by Beth Sullivan

Glistening purple gems

As we wind down summer and gardens are going to fruit and seeds, it is also the season of the Mushroom!  I can never get through this season without renewing my sense of wonder at the variety and resiliency of these organisms. Fungi fans are seeing the amazing results of all the rains we have had through the summer and early fall. These are the perfect conditions for the explosion of mushrooms we are seeing now.

As most people know, there are mushrooms that are considered edible and very desirable delicacies. There are also a huge number that are inedible and many that are actually deadly.    Mushroom hunting for food is to be undertaken only by the knowledgeable.   The rest of us can hunt with our cameras.

Look around your yard even, there are numerous small capped mushrooms that pop up after a rain.  In the darker, damper woods, they are present on the forest floor and on dead wood stumps throughout the late summer and early fall.

Like fairy umbrellas

Fungi are in a Kingdom of their own. They are not plants at all, and surely they are not animals, but you would be surprised at some of their characteristics.  They do not have true roots, or a vascular system, or flowers and seeds. They contain no chlorophyll so are unable to make their own “food” utilizing nutrients and sunlight. Have you noticed there are no real GREEN mushrooms?   They rely on obtaining their nutrients from the decay process that they are part of on the forest floor, within all the dead plant material that is present there. They absorb their food through this process, rather than eating it or making it.  Mushrooms are actually the visible, spore producing bodies of a largely underground network of rhizome threads that comprise a fungus.  The spread of the rhizomes extends great distances but only one or two mushrooms may emerge. In other cases, many will pop up in the same area.

 Some are very specific, dependent for their survival on certain species of living trees, dead trees, or in soil with very narrow ranges of pH, soil acidity.  But here’s a fun fact:  the outer tough skin of many mushrooms is made of Chitin, which is the same material as the shells of lobsters and crabs!  Strange organisms.

They are called turkey tails for 
a good reason!

Along with a wide variation in color, they also take many forms: the familiar umbrella, ruffles, shelves, “turkey tails” and puffballs.  If you have ever come upon a solid white ball on your lawn and think “Golf ball”, experiment a little. A firm young puffball will be white all the way through and have a pleasing earthy smell. But wait a few weeks and find a puffball that has become browner with age. A touch with your toe or a flick of the finger will make it “puff”, explode with fine black dust, which is all the spores contained within. All mushrooms reproduce by releasing dusty spores and the color and patterns of those spores, when collected and inspected, are essential identification traits.

Have a child draw 
them in a sketch
book - by Emerson

These first weeks of October are perfect for hiking, and perfect for mushroom hunting.  The Great Avalonia Trail Trek will be happening soon. Saturday Oct 16 through Sunday Oct 24. Please see the web pages and consider supporting our team Stonington Stewards, or any other team. https://www.pledgereg.com/great-avalonia-trail-trek.  During the week I know I will be wandering the trails, doing routine stewardship, but also logging in miles for the Trek.  I will also be searching out more unique mushrooms to photograph.

Please keep your eyes open for some beautiful, colorful and very interesting inhabitants of the forest floor.  Avoid having children touch them and instruct them about proper caution. A good idea would be to use your camera or a sketch pad to enjoy them!  Have the kids draw them too.

Witch's Butter

Amanitas have bumps on their top
and are deadly.

What happens when a mushroom gets old?
It gets moldy!

Puffball-in-Aspic Yuck Jelly!

The Great Avalonia Trail Trek 2021

A peaceful early autumn trail.

It’s September and finally the weather has turned, to encourage outdoor activities.  We have waited patiently for these less humid, blue sky, comfortably cool days when a hike or any other minor exertion doesn’t leave you sweating and out of breath!

I would expect most of us don’t really need any other reason to head onto a trail but this is also the time when we are planning the second annual Trail Trek to benefit Avalonia’s mission to preserve, protect and manage open space here in southeastern CT.  

No two trails are the same.

At this point in time, Avalonia cares for almost 4,500 acres and the number of towns in which these preserves are located, is continually growing.  If you are anywhere between the Thames River and the RI Border, or south to Little Narragansett Bay and Fisher’s Island Sound, and north to Griswold and the Pachaug Forest area, there is an Avalonia preserve near you ( https://avalonia.org/preserves/).

All of our preserves are open but not all are trailed. The Avalonia website is linked to the CT Trail Finder app and those preserves with trails are easy to find and well described.   Last year folks hiked, ran or did a bike loop connecting as many preserves as possible. You can bring your four footed friends along on most preserves ( there are a couple of exceptions) as long as they are on a leash and run along beside you. 

At Knox Farm, you can pull up in
your kayak and go for a hike.

 This year an added attraction will be a kayak component. Many preserves in Stonington and Groton have water access or are visible from the water.  Several years ago, I posted a blog with some directions and ideas. A Blue Trail. http://avaloniaetrails.blogspot.com/2016/08/avalonia-by-kayak.html   Now we have some freshwater access in Griswold and soon may even have access from the Wood/Pawcatuck River to our new Sheets Preserve in North Stonington.

At least one preserve will allow mountain biking for part of the event.

The TriTown Ridgeline Forest trails
are more challenging.

Last year Trail Trek helped complete our funding for the Tri-Town Ridgeline  Forest.  This preserve is Avalonia’s largest, most diverse and ecologically unique property. There are majestic trees, rocky ledges, clear streams, pre-colonial stone structures and even a true mountain!  It now has literally miles of well marked trails, some easy and some challenging, and all beautiful. They are perfect for hiking and trail running. Everyone had fun last year, and we exceeded our fund raising goals with great gratitude to all who donated. 

Those of you who have come to know me, through the blog or otherwise, know that I need no extra incentive or reason to be outdoors.  It is a passion, and some might say an obsession. A healthy one.  I don’t always need to be on a trail.   Boundary work gives me a good excuse to go off trail and check out more remote corners.   This is my favorite time of year for kayaking.  The water is warm and really clear, and the colors of autumn reflect so beautifully with the September-blue sky.  I hope I can launch my little boat during the trail trek week but surely will be out hiking.  This year “my team” will be the Stonington Stewards, dedicated to all the people who help me here in town, build bridges, pull invasives, mow trails populate the work parties, and who support all the projects we are involved in.

Please support Avalonia in all aspects of the good work that is being done.  More land preserved, more trails maintained,  more outreach and education.  It is all good.

Thanks,

Beth

A bike route may take you past untrailed
properties that you didn't know about!

Some trails open up to amazing views!

A bench welcomes tired trekkers.

End of July Already!

 

Mid-summer musings.

Thanks to volunteers,
this trail is open, 
but not for long in this weather.

It is the end of July already. To me that still means that summer is half over ( even though I don’t worry about school vacations anymore)  and we all know that August goes by faster than July.  It always seems like it is a good point to stop and assess where we are, what we have, or have not done, and what we hope to accomplish in the remaining weeks of summer.

It has been hot and wet!  Steamier than I can ever remember July being and with more days of rain than in other Julys on record. I am sure there are those that have been really disappointed in the weather, but I will have to admit, I have been grateful for every drop because the plantings we have done at the Hoffman Preserve are thriving and we have not needed to constantly worry about watering them.  That would have been truly challenging. 

Tall stakes and color-coded tape
help us locate
small seedlings at Hoffman,

Everything else is growing up too, so it has been hard to relocate some of those little seedlings.  Thanks to a youth group work party from the Mystic Congregational Church, each plant was given a tall bamboo stake and a colored flag to indicate its species.  Now that they are getting their leaves, it is a lot easier to distinguish a sumac from a viburnum but those stakes are a huge help!   The wet loving plants, tupelo ( Nyssa sylvatica) and dogwood ( Cornus species)   are loving the moist soils.

One of the lovely
coral mushrooms.

The humidity and rainfall have been a boon for those of us who love to search for unique mushrooms.  Some are prized edibles, but I would never suggest anyone go sampling any mushroom in any landscape unless they were well educated!  Photography is safer, and being able to document some of the colors and forms of these unique organisms is really an interesting activity. There are apps for smart phones that can help identify species but even the best apps have a hard time with some of those little brown ones!  A friend and I used the same app, on the same mushroom, and there were a couple of times when the IDs did not match up immediately, but very close. In many cases, to get a definitive ID, you need a spore print.   I am happy with my photos and iNaturalist app.

There is a trail in here
somewhere.

On most preserves, everything else is growing like crazy too.  Vines, briars and invasives all seem to be competing for space and in doing so, reach out into the trails!  Many of the woodland trails are pretty hardened. Broad and open. They are shady pleasures during the hot summer.  But some of the more open areas, meadows and thickets require attention. Our stewards are out and about trying to keep up with things, but the conditions are daunting!  Feel free to hike with clippers and snip the encroaching vegetations. And we give our thanks in advance.  The invasive species seem to be more robust and numerous than ever. Many of our volunteers will be doing some field research and identification studies to better learn how to manage these species which outcompete our natives and are not as valuable to our wildlife.

Over the last months, Avalonia has been growing as well.  We have added acres of new land, now protected open space. Please keep checking the website for updates. Many thanks to those who donated to make the acquisition of the Sheets Preserve in North Stonington, a reality.   Other new preserves are being studied to note wildlife, habitats, sensitive areas and points of interest.  A management plan will be made for each one which will outline the goals and activities for each property.  Boundaries will be walked and posted. Trails will be created, with safety measures or improvements as needed.  The trails will be marked and then the areas will be opened to the public.  All of this takes a lot of work and maintaining all of our properties is becoming a huge challenge, considering all of us are volunteers and most of us are not professionals in any area dealing with habitat management! 

Say hi to Toby when you see
him on the trails!

So, it  is with real excitement that I can introduce our newest “acquisition,” a dedicated Stewardship Coordinator: Tobias Glaza.  Toby is a Mystic native and resident, with a background in ecology and management with lots of field experience. He brings this experience and great ideas to our growing organization. Best of all, he will help us organize our volunteers  to utilize our time and skills more efficiently, to accomplish what needs to be done to provide proper stewardship for all our beautiful places.  You can read more about him here. 

Maybe growing our stewardship team will allow us to keep up with the growing vegetation!! 

Hike safely and enjoy what summer has to offer.

Many mushrooms look alike and
it takes an expert to distinguish them.

Beautiful but deadly Amanita.

A true beauty

Nothing appetizing about Dog Vomit Slime Mold.

The Other Half of Our Mission

 

by Beth Sullivan

Our Mission: We preserve natural habitats in southeastern Connecticut by acquiring and protecting lands, and by communicating the value of these irreplaceable resources.

Communicating the value of these
irreplaceable resources.

Everyone who is aware of Avalonia as a land conservancy in southeast CT,  understands the first part of that statement,  about preserving, acquiring and protecting.  Over the last several years Avalonia has acquired, or is in the process of acquiring, almost 1000 acres.  Now, over 4,300 acres are protected for the future, for generations of wildlife and people. From our shoreline, which is imperiled by rising sea level, to coastal forests that are being lost to development;  from small vernal pools, to swamps and bogs,  ponds, streams and rivers;  from meadows and thickets to forests with rocky ledges and towering old trees;  Avalonia has a wonderful and diverse cross section of habitats to share.

An illustrated sign captures the
interest of a young hiker.

That’s where the second part of the mission comes in: sharing these resources, communicating and educating all who will listen, about the importance of habitat conservation and diversity. Many of us took refuge in nature over this past year.  Our trails saw enormous increases in traffic.   It is always my hope that people truly think about where they walk, see with different eyes, keep their ears alert, when they are on a trail in the woods and not merely walk for exercise with ear phones securely plugged in! You can learn so much, just on your own, by paying attention.

However, sometimes we are lucky to be able to truly, actively, educate people about our preserves, and sometimes they educate us!    A few preserves have informational signage to point out special elements  along the trail.  We are hoping to do a little more of that.  There is a lot of information on our website about each of the preserves, and links to articles that may offer more insight. Hike and Seek has remained popular with children, families and even older adults who have found our trails and preserves to be sources of learning, respite and  exercise.

The students become the educators

This is the time of year when we also begin to think about some special programs that offer different levels of education.   The Conn College Goodwin Niering Center for the Environment will be joining forces with Avalonia for the ninth year!  Since 2013 I have worked with some of the brightest  young minds, enthusiastic, hopeful and eager to participate in some aspect of Avalonia’s work.  Over the years we have had projects from stewardship and on the ground research, to fundraising and social media efforts. We never quite know what direction their projects will take, but in the next semester, you will be introduced to some of them as we learn together.

I am also so very lucky to be working with a great team from UConn on the Hoffman Project.  Through these connections, I myself am learning a lot about forest management, climate change and also ways to impart that knowledge to others.  We are creating more informational signs for trail side learning.  Under the leadership of a Stonington Town Committee member, a professor from GWU,  Avalonia will be offering a series of webinars about how changing climate is influencing our forests and their ability to adapt.  Entitled “Finding the Right Trees for the Right Time”,  the seminars will discuss the planning and planting we are doing to ensure a resilient coastal forest at the Hoffman Preserve.   Find out more on our website here.  We are also planning to work with the local schools and teachers to offer Hoffman as a living laboratory for learning and field work.   At a time when classrooms are often challenging to keep safe, an outdoor classroom may prove perfect!

Putting heads together to explore
life found in a  vernal pool.
(Photo credit:Kim Bradley) 

There are also many Citizen Science opportunities for students and families to participate in, providing opportunities to learn,and to contribute data to the knowledge base about wildlife in our area.   There is an ongoing opportunity to record bird sightings on eBird   https://ebird.org/.   We have just finished the Great Backyard Birdcount   https://www.birdcount.org/   and Project Feeder Watch  https://feederwatch.org/ continues.  Both websites offer great information about observing birds wherever you may be.   Believe it or not, next month we will be watching for the return of the Osprey to their nesting sites. Osprey Nation offers great information and opportunities to monitor these magnificent birds.  https://www.ctaudubon.org/osprey-nation-home. We will also begin to listen for and report,  those first sounds of spring, from frogs and toads in the Frog Watch Program https://www.aza.org/frogwatch,  sponsored locally by the Mystic Aquarium.

We may still be in the middle of winter, but we can think forward to spring. Avalonia provides the land and opportunities to communicate the value of these irreplaceable resources.

At Hoffman, educational signage helps
visitors understand conservation practices.

Citizen science activities can start early and last a lifetime.
Photo credit: Nick Young

Education and outreach can take many forms.

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!

Looking forward with 2020...in 2021

 by Beth Sullivan

The littlest ones will always need a 
guiding hand.

Happy New Year. A new year, a new decade, possibly a new way to think. Most of us try to start a new year with resolutions, or at least good intentions to do something different. It might be to exercise more, eat healthier, or lose weight. It also could be to take a class, start a project, or learn a skill. For others it is cleaning up, clearing out, purging papers, and reducing clutter in our lives.

I got thinking about a different path. Maybe it’s because ‘2020’ is also linked with good vision. We are able to look forward clearly but also be in the present clearly, consciously.
Our vision for the future is entirely entwined with our children, the children of the world. Think of what we can teach them. What can we show them, both beautiful and inspiring, and not so beautiful but hopefully inspiring in a different way? All parents know you cannot force a toddler or a teenager to comply with our every wish, but what we can do is gently and patiently open their eyes to their potential and guide them on a 2020 path of clear sight to improve our world and make a positive difference. It’s just one year, concentrating not on ourselves, but having a greater vision and understanding that as one person, we can truly make a difference. Maybe it will become a new habit. 

Some contacts don't need masks.
Encourage them.

That is what I wrote for the first blog of 2020.   Who could have known what we would go through and witness with our “2020 vision”?  But I read those words several times and realized there was a lot of truth to them, but maybe not exactly what we imagined.  “A new way to think”: That’s for sure.  We all had to change how we thought about almost everything.  So many things we took for granted, now became focal points. People we may have taken for granted, were now recognized as essential.   Hugging and touching, basic human contacts became actions we had to pre-think and even avoid.  We were all finally getting on the right track to avoid plastics, disposables and bringing our own bags to the grocery store. Unfortunately, I am afraid the pandemic put some of the ecological thinking on the back burner for a while. Much of the large scale, international, and certainly national efforts to clean up the environment and reduce emissions became secondary to the pandemic affecting lives all around the world.

Maybe our new exposure to such places
will increase our desire to preserve
and protect them

 But think about the rest of it: there really were ways we  grew, and many more opportunities to observe and appreciate what we have. One of the most obvious side- impacts of 2020, had to do with people being more aware of the natural world. It was truly unfortunate that many people had to give up jobs, or work from home, and kids were out of school, but it created opportunities for many of us to turn to Nature for recreation, exercise, education, companionship and respite. As an outcome, just possibly, children may have come to greater curiosity, understanding and love for Nature and with that will come a caring for the environment, habitats and ecosystems in the future.

So, my hope for 2021 is that we have learned from 2020 insights.  We have learned the importance of people and services that are truly essential. We need to trust science in matters of health, and environment.  We will never take for granted a hug, a handshake or even a smile.   We have come to know our outdoor havens and how good nature is for the soul.  Let’s please resolve to keep other important things in our vision for 2021 to remain safe and grateful for the good in the world.

Wishing a Happy, Healthy New Year to all.  Beth

There are many mysteries to be unraveled this winter

The ultimate sign of hope that the winter
ahead will end.

Maybe when the bloodroot blooms this spring,
things will be a lot better.

Natural intricacies are not changed by human concerns.