GRAPEVINE-2 News for Nelson and Munsonville
August 2011
School & Old Home Day Issue
OFF THE BEATEN PATH: BEYOND SILVER LAKE By Katherine Schillemat “No matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows, one can never learn all the salient facts about any one of them.” Aldo Leopold ince December, Al Stoops and I have chosen to follow our whims rather than the established trails in Nelson to discover the hidden flora and fauna and beauty of our precious hill town. O u r l a t e s t exploration began on Silver Lake at the bo at lan d in g in Harrisville. We traveled by canoe along the eastern shoreline. Our first wildlife sighting was a great blue heron perched on the stone steps of someone’s lakefront. Our next sighting was an early highlight: a bald Sucker Brook eagle! We supposed that it was either one of the pair of eagles from Nubanusit Lake or that it might be from some previous year’s brood: perhaps a new eagle trying to establish a nesting site on Silver Lake. I thought that I saw some sort of nesting material in its beak as it landed in one of the taller pine trees along the shore. The eagle was well camouflaged
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in the foliage and impossible to find again until it flew away. When we travel by canoe, we follow the inlets of wetlands and lakes as far as we can to see what we might discover in the still side waters. In this instance we were not disappointed as we found several spotted salamander egg masses in the pools. These salamander larvae are unlikely to survive to adulthood. The pools are connected to the lake so fish will take a heavy toll on the eggs and immerging larvae. Nonetheless the egg masses were there. A few may mature and return years from now to breed in this precarious spot. W e left t h e canoe in one of the pools to exp lore along the small stream that flows into the n o rtheast corner of Silver Lake. We were searching for the different kinds of salamanders that live in and around the stream. Along the way, we observed six types of ferns: cinnamon, interrupted, bracken, hay scented, Christmas and royal. Different fern species proliferate in the in the Nelson woodlands and it was exciting to find so many in a small patch of land. (continued on page 9)
Volume 28, No. 2
OLD HOME DAY SPEAKERS T a ke a Wa lk o n th e Wild Sid e By Julio Razquin o matter what the season, Nelson’s oldest residents, its wildlife, can be seen and heard. We often take for granted the presence of our furry and feathered neighbors, but they are there. From bears, to bobcats, coyotes, and birds of all kinds; these are the long-time residents whom have shared this land with humans for countless years. Today, some of the encounters between wildlife and humans can prove to be quite tragic, as I am sure we all can attest to through the almost daily sight of animals on our roads that have met undignified ends. As we continue to encroach on our neighbors’ environment, and road traffic increases, such events are becoming more frequent. Already the odds are stacked against our wild neighbors as disease, climate change, (continued on page 3)
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NELSON Old Home Days
Old Home Sunday will be on August 7 this year, starting off the week of fun events, The big all day festivities of Old Home Day are on , Saturday, August 13. See schedules on pages 6 & 7.