| Monday January 4,2010 -2010, Looking up !
On New Year's Day we went to Notchview Reservation and enjoyed a wonderful day of cross country skiing.
What a great way to start off 2010. "Things are looking up", especially when I ski through the woods!
It has been over a year since a tragic ice storm devastated the forests of the hilltowns in Western Massachusetts.
The crew from Notchview worked many hours to open up their closed trail system, clearing downed trees and broken branches.
Other TTOR crews from across the state came to assist in cleaning up the damage, keeping Notchview open last season.
Many volunteers helped right after the storm and through out the year to get Notchview back to normal.
As I skied the far end of Whitestone Trail, I could not believe the damage that still exists in this section, adjacent to the trail system.
Looking up, it is apparent that almost 50% of the crowns are broken off on the deciduous trees, beach, maple, ash and cherry.
I would think that many full grown trees may not survive with so many limbs and branches broken off their tops.
Some trees almost look like telephone poles with just a few ragged limbs sticking out of their upper reaches.
Hardwood trees can regenerate some new growth, but unfortunately many of these probably will not survive.
What is interesting, with so much of the forest canopy gone, how sunlight will now able to reach the forest floor and bring change.
Look at some of the low understory trees and observe how many young evergreens, mostly spruce, are spread about.
These shade tolerant trees are now "released" and will slowly change this climax hardwood forest over to a stand of mostly spruce.
This process of succession will take many years and it will be interesting to see what happens.
On Whitestone, just west of where it crosses the skating trail, look up and check out several new "bear nests"!
Several years ago, Cath Whitcomb pointed out bunches of branches up in the tops of some beach trees in this same area.
She said that they were made by black bears. Who knew?
Bears sometimes climb beach trees, pulling down upper branches to get at ripe beach nuts.
They gather these branches together and build what looks like a big nest made out of broken branches.
Look for four "bear nests" on the south side and two on the north side of the trail.
Happy New Year. Things are indeed looking up!
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