Fall Takes on a New Meaning for Venerable Old Man Poplar

When I was teaching, I rarely introduced my students

to the Nature Trail on the hot days of September.  I waited

until the cool, crisp days of fall. It was a more pleasant

experience and a chance to see nature's transitions vividly.

I've just completed a fall spruce-up on the trail, and it awaits
your visit, whether you're a teacher with a class, a former SFL
student, a community resident, or a home school parent seeking
innovative resources.

The trail is easy to find, beginning at the bottom of the stairs
to the ballfield.  It is pretty much self-guided. A detailed guide
is on the headings of this blog.

Not far down the trail, take a left turn on "The Boardwalk."
This will lead you toward our stream.

You'll see numerous trees, shrubs, and wildflowers along the way.
This one is Sourwood.

I enjoyed chewing a sourwood leaf for a juicy, tart snack along
the way.  Don't do this without some assistance with identification.

Of the seven varieties of ferns which grow in these woods, Royal
Fern grows to the greatest height, even though it was the last to
emerge last spring. This frond was at least four feet tall.

Kudzu is a non-native invasive plant that is attempting to encroach
on our trail. Frost will slow it down, but it is hard to contain,
especially when it takes to the treetops.

Kudzu is well-established in these trees at the perimeter of the
trail, but I will battle it during the non-growing season this winter.
Climate change is NOT helping!

I'm always seeing surprises when I visit the trail.  Before you even
leave the parking lot to enter the trail you can spot these Passion
Flowers (or Maypops) growing on the bank.

This is a familiar scene, yet something has changed.
I alluded to it in this post's title.

A section of Old Man Poplar was noted to be leafless last spring.
When I visited last week, about 20 feet of the massive tree lay
on the ground to the left of the trail.

The nature trail is all about change, including unpredictable change.
Though I expected Old Man Poplar to begin shedding branches and
slowly "fade," this still caught me off guard.

I'll leave these dead limbs where they fell.  When other sections
fall, I'll decide whether they impede hiking or not.

Moving on, I'm glad to say that Jack, Will, and Tom stand
sturdily as always.  But some of us may live long enough to
see drastic change here, too.

The Slingshot Tree is in good health.  Another poplar, it could
be around a very long time.

With the stream bed dry as a bone, you don't have to use the bridge.

I took a stroll in the stream bed and noticed this mammoth tree
trunk.  My work gloves are there for comparison.

This tree, now dead, also grew up in the stream bed.

It was convenient to remove logs and limbs that sometimes
clog the waterway.

Half buried in the sand and pebbles was this ancient Mason jar.
Not a single crack on it, this jar has been underwater for ages.

Here's a fairly large piece of driftwood.

Someone had laid one of our benches across the stream to access
Big Rock.  But you don't need a bridge to get to it in this weather.

A variety of wildflowers and ferns is found across from Big Rock.

Some plants even take root between the cracks and crevices of
Big Rock.

It's hard to believe there's enough soil in these cracks to support
a root system.

This pretty wildflower sprang up in the middle of our path.
I hope it doesn't get trampled before it can spread.

This "Low Bridge" sweetgum tree is still alive, but only a sturdy
branch keeps it from falling all the way to the ground.  When it
does, it will serve as a bench, replacing the one it's going to crush.

On the return loop, this is the approach to Old Man Poplar and
"The Boardwalk."

In this view you can see where part of Old Man Poplar is missing.

The work on the trail was pretty light today. Scratches from
the catbrier (also called greenbriar and Smilax) were the main
evidence of the work I had done.  The final step in my workout
routine was pulling my push up these steps.  This is why I save
my spruce ups for cooler weather.

So now is the time for a mentally and physically

refreshing hike on your  nature trail. Expect some

surprises.  Keep your eyes and ears open and you

never know what you might see!