Hurricane Florence and Nature Trail Restoration

Hurricane Florence was our latest "storm of the century,"

and I anticipated some major impact on the nature trail.

I am thankful that nature has great restorative powers of

its own, and I have taken steps to make the trail welcoming

for human foot traffic once again.  Here are some highlights.

Leaves and branches were the most prevalent signs of heavy rains
and high winds from Florence.

A few large branches were down and many shrubs and small trees
were leaning after being battered.

The stream had obviously overflowed its banks to a degree I
had never witnessed since my first visits to these woods in 1975.

It was fascinating to see the vast quantities of sand and pebbles
that were "relocated" from the stream bed during this storm.

The torrents of water flattened ferns and other small plants.
But they'll recover just fine.

Three days after Florence departed, there was plenty of standing
water still on the trail.  It's gone now, but there were more mosquitoes
than I've seen before.

All this sand came from somewhere upstream.  It may possibly
change the character of the wetland soil.

It would have been some sight to see the raging waters at the
height of the storm.  But I wasn't venturing out and I'm not sure
I could have gotten to the school anyway.

I believe this deposit is called alluvial soil.

Signs of deer that had been out after the rain stopped.

This now looks like a gravelly beach.

We've never had pebbles across from Big Rock before, but there
they shall remain, unless the stream moves them.  We don't stand
in the way of nature, we go with the flow.  So to speak.

One of our benches at the streamside teaching station had been
washed about twenty feet into the woods.

It was easily restored to its place and cleaned off.

These are raccoon tracks near the stream. And today I saw tiny
fish for the first time in years.  No photo-- they were speedy.

Three days after the storm the waters were still high and rushing,
but they had receded greatly.

The stains on Big Rock indicated that the waters were quite a
bit higher at the height of the storm.  That was obvious anyway.

This stretch was the only one that required a chainsaw to clear.
It only took a few minutes.  

I simply cast branches to the side of the trail, where they quickly
decompose and add to the fertility of the soil.

There, no more problems getting through.

This tree, still very much alive, is attached on the other side of
the stream.  It may be around for a very long time. Simply leaning
does not lead to death.  But if those roots pull out, that's another story.

As you know, I love to name iconic plants on the trail.  We once
had a bowed dogwood that we called Bard's Bow, after the hero
who slew the dragon Smaug.  That tree is long gone, so I propose
that this be our new Bard's Bow-- bigger than the original.

We also have a new double waterfall where there was none
previously.  It makes a nice rippling sound.  Until the stream
runs dry, as it is sure to do sometime. This is a short distance
upstream from the bridge.

And speaking of the bridge . . .

When I visited the trail soon after Florence, the bridge was nowhere
to be found.  I wasn't sure how far it could have been carried by the
flood waters.  It turns out it had gone about 50 feet -- but it was underwater!

I turned it over to check for damage and it seems okay.

With gloves and a rope I was able to manhandle it back near
its normal position. It liked to sink into the wet sand.

There we go, back in place.  Watch your step, and please remember
that the far side of the stream is not on school property.

Nothing to do with the storm, but I was not pleased to find this
kudzu on the other side of the stream.  It will be difficult to keep
it off the trail long-term, as it is encroaching from three sides.

I was delighted to find a flowering plant I had never before seen.
If you can identify it please do so.  I'll begin investigating.

At the top are my "land" work shoes.  At the bottom are my
"water" work shoes.  The soles totally separated from the rest of
the shoe, but they still made great water waders.

Here's a teaser to close with.  

Before there was "fake news" there were . . .

FAKE SNAKES!

This is the most common of all, the "Stick Snake."

Perhaps soon I'll do a blog of my many "Fake Snakes."

I'll let you know.

In the meantime, the nature trail is perfectly safe for

hiking and as interesting as ever.  However, you might 

want to wait until cooler or drier weather drive some of

the mosquitoes away, maybe mid-October.  But the

trail belongs to ALL of us, and I invite you to enjoy it.

A Retirement Nature Hike for Mrs. Haulsee's Kindergarten

Three weeks ago I got a request for a most unusual

retirement gift from Ellen Haulsee, kindergarten

teacher at Sandhills Farm Life.  She asked if I would

take her class on the Nature Trail.  Of course, I agreed,

and last week we made it happen. Her assistant, Pam

Cameron was my faithful assistant the last two years

of my career.  Pam snapped this photo for me.

Not surprisingly, we had hardly begun our walk when

I saw a shrub I had never before seen in bloom. I 

haven't yet identified it.

Just a couple of weeks earlier on SFL Heritage Day,

these Royal Ferns had not yet emerged. In that brief a

 time, they have now grown to more than two feet tall!

Students noticed this butterfly chrysalis underneath the leaf of
a Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant.  If I'm not mistaken, it may be a
Zebra Swallowtail, like Judy and I saw at the Eno River.

Students eye this cinnamon fern spore stalk.

These boys consider it quite a find!

Here's another shrub that wasn't blooming two weeks earlier.

These students are examining Horse Sugar, after crossing the
bridge over the stream.

We also discovered these pignuts, the flowers of Wild Ginger.
The flowers are usually hidden under decaying leaves, and are
pollinated by ants and other insects.

Even a Magnolia leaf is looked on as a treasure when you're
on a nature hike.

Many of these children are seeing Big Rock for the very first
time, and they like what they see.

This young man is amazed at the size of this well-watered
Cinnamon Fern at streamside.

While some are looking at Big Rock, others take a brief rest.

While resting, students look up, down, and all around.

There's always something new and unexpected, and sometimes
you have to STOP to pay attention and notice it.

This tree is known at "The Wishing Well." Students were
invited to toss in stickerballs from sweetgum trees and make a wish.

Some tossed in a whole handful!  Hope their wishes all come true.

After our traditional attempt to help straighten Old Man Poplar,
we head back toward the trail entrance.

 Here's a final look at Mrs. Haulsee, Mrs. Cameron,

and a very fine kindergarten class.

Note: I was Ellen Haulsee's mentor when she began

her career teaching at Farm Life 30 years ago.  Both

of us taught our entire careers at the best school in

Moore County.  I'm glad I could give her the gift she

wanted for her retirement!