Dec. 6, 2010

The Connecticut Forest & Park Association is both venerable and invaluable, an institution that for the past 115 years has quietly and tirelessly advanced the cause of conservation in Connecticut.

Salisbury, Ct., still has considerable forested land. Click to enlarge.

Too few people realize it, but those 800-plus miles of blue-blazed hiking trails in Connecticut – the I-beams of Connecticut hiking – were and are the work of this organization. The visionary early leaders of this group began work on the blue trail network in1929, and that work continues to this day.

CFPA is not confrontational. Its style is restrained, but effective. It lobbies the legislature, making its feelings on conservation issues known. Since 1897, it has presented the legislature with policy and budget recommendations every year.

The association is the Connecticut sponsor of the annual trails day, and throughout the year it hosts guided hikes and other events, including talks. I’ll be speaking to CFPA Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 6:30 at its headquarters, 16 Meriden Road, Middlefield. My topic is “Earth Day + 40: The Uphill Trail.” I’ll reflect on the changes in the Connecticut environment I’ve witnessed as a journalist over the past 40 years. There is no charge. The association website is www.ctwoodlands.org. Hope to see you.

November 26, 2010

A mix of greens is nice in a wreath. Click to enlarge.

Thanksgiving weekend in Connecticut, with rain ending today and cold but not too cold temperatures forecast through Sunday. If you’ve never gathered boughs of greens and made your own wreath or wreaths, this is a great weekend to do so.

Even the trimmings from the tree you cut at the Christmas tree farm can be fashioned into a wreath. Or, maybe you have an arbor vitae or red cedar tree in the yard? Often you can prune just enough for a wreath without disfiguring the tree.

My “Walkabout” column appears on the cover of the Living section of The Hartford Courant today, with suggestions on wreath making and photos by Richard Messina. Wreath-making is an activity that children can enjoy with parents – and, if you are gathering greens, it also gets you outdoors. Fresh air and some activity feels so good after that big Thanksgiving dinner.

By the way, if you are heading to one of the tree farms, keep in mind some of them sell bundled greens for wreath making, and some of them let you pick up boughs on the ground for free. Christmas tree farms throughout the state are listed at www.ctchristmastree.org.

October 24, 2010

At Litchfield, Ct.

Late October foliage in Litchfield. Photo by Anne Anderson. Click to enlarge.

The foliage is past peak brilliance, dominated now more by fading reds and deep gold colors, nonetheless still colorful and a pleasure to experience. Start to finish, the fall leaf color is, truly, the best show in town, each day a little different, each tree on its own schedule, even among trees of the same species. It is analogous to the birdsong of early May, when at dawn each species, each bird, sings its own song on its own schedule. Somehow, what might be cacophony is instead mellifluous, and so it is with the trees in the fall. Enjoy the expression of a single tree, or the quilt of color from the entire stand.

Today was mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles and even a few moments of sunshine; One moment the foliage was subdued, but seconds later, with a break in the clouds, it sparkled, as if awakened.

Four of us were hiking on the Mattatuck Trail within the White Memorial Foundation property in Litchfield, and we had plenty of company. Clouds and a sprinkle aside, how many more of these mild, fall days will we have? Obviously we weren’t the only ones to raise the question upon awakening this morning. People, people with dogs, people on horseback. We saw them all. The trail was abuzz with life.

Hemlock Varnish Shelf, a kind of fungus, on a dead hemlock tree along the Mattatuck Trail in Litchfield, Ct. Click to enlarge.

We hiked about 4 miles over moderate terrain, on woods roads. As hiking goes, it was easy going and the outing lent itself to conversation and observation. Accompanied by Robin Kirsche and Anne Anderson, who are certified to teach yoga, and Richard Saiman, who teaches tai chi, it was not hard to be in the moment, as they say, easy to appreciate nature as it presented itself. A single male mallard on Heron Pond – a very common bird that might otherwise be dismissed as just another familiar duck – brought the binoculars out of the daypack for a nice look. We inspected the big shelf fungi protruding from a dead hemlock tree – hemlock varnish shelf is the common name, Ganoderma tsugae the scientific name. The color of this mushroom can vary, and, interestingly, these were a dusty, fading red, not unlike so many of the maple leaves on the ground beneath them.

That the skin of the apples we ate beside Heron Pond mimicked the colors in the foliage was perfect; iconic fall fruit, iconic fall foliage, in harmony.