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Natures's Cycles
by Cassie Horner
The toad sat on the birch stump in the early evening, its small throat pulsing. We were on our way to the lake for a swim. "A toad!" I exclaimed with pleasure. At my words, the dachshund shifted her focus to the new interest. "No toad!" I told her, and she continued down the bank.
When we returned from swimming, the toad was still on the high stump, facing south now instead of north. Fairly regularly, the toad sat on the stump until early September, making me think of the cycles of use in nature: the seed, the sapling, the growing tree, the dead tree and finally the stump all attracting a wide variety of wildlife.
We have a small piece of land with a lot of trees, mostly enormous oaks, with a few firs facing the water. Last year a hemlock began to die abruptly, the top turning yellow, sap staining the side white, the yellow working its way down until all the needles fell.
All winter a woodpecker worked the bark harvesting insects. By spring the ground at the base of the tree looked like a chipper had been emptied. A birch, located kitty corner across the path, had been dead for years, home to fungi and insects.
I hate to lose trees; the hemlock had provided shade and was once the dramatic scene of a hawk's raid on a blue jay's nest. But both trees had begun to lose branches and because of proximity to the path were a danger to people and canines, so we decided to have them taken down.
All through its life, a tree is the center of a variety of wildlife. Amazingly, trees grow from tiny seeds. Hemlocks produce cones that encase the paper-thin seeds. Birch produce catkins that develop into a long strand of seeds. Some of the seeds take root and begin the long journey to maturity. Deer and moose browse branches.
Squirrels and chipmunks feast on the fruits. This summer I watched a chipmunk inch its way out onto a skinny branch of a sapling to reach the dangling catkin. Birds and squirrels make nests.
One winter I regularly observed a tree inhabited by a raccoon. The hole, several feet above the snow, was spilling over with scat, and a well-traveled path went from the tree up the hill.
Insects and trees have a close relationship, joined regularly by birds. At VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) we often get calls from people concerned that a woodpecker is killing a tree with its pecking. In fact, the bird is there because of the insects that have invaded the tree.
What attracts insects to a tree? Bees utilize a cavity for a nest. Caterpillars arrive for a foliage feast. One of the most interesting tenants is the bark borer -- a beetle -- that carves intricate tunnels in wood. They eat the layer between bark and inner tree, then overwinter at the end of a tunnel. Other beetles leave round holes in the bark where they leave and enter the wood.
The hemlock stump in my yard is close to the ground. You can see bore holes, evidence of insects. It is also a favored place for the dogs to stand and survey the lake. The birch stump is cut high, and on two levels of the hill, so you can look into the lower level entrance and see light out the hole on the flat top.
The resident toad, an American toad with a double row of dark stripes down the back and a pretty pattern of spots, is small, about 2-1/2 inches long. It is reddish-brown with a pale throat indicating a female. The habitat at my house ideally suits this toad: water for breeding, good hiding places (like inside the stump), and an abundant food supply of insects.
For humans, the proximity of trees is a pleasure; for creatures as diverse as toads, beetle borers and squirrels, trees are closely entwined with their survival.
Cassie Horner writes from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Woodstock, Vt.
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