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Naturally Kingston
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 Maple Moon
[Apr. 16, 2008] I wrote last month’s column long before that terrible car accident. I couldn’t know that it would appear in print at the same time as the accident. My heart goes out to all the families involved. I only mentioned driving and accidents because so many people are hurt on the roads, especially young people. I hoped my comments might make a difference to the way a driver thinks.
On the Road Again
[Mar. 4, 2008] If you take exit 13 off the north bound lane of Route 3, you see a large, dead white pine on the far side of the exit. Look to the top, and quite often, you will see a red tailed hawk sitting in that tree. Recently, I saw three of them, one in the tree, and two circling above the highway.
Oh Deer!
[Jan. 29, 2008] This was a good month for nature watching, both here and at work. First, I saw an odd animal in my field. At first glance, it looked like a coyote, but it seemed too small. It looked more like a fox, but it had the wrong coloring for a red, and was too big for a gray. I can only assume it was a small coyote. Coyotes often cross the field, looking for mice and other animals to eat. They scare me a little, but usually they stay away from the house.
Cast Offs
[Dec. 23, 2007] I found a remarkable rug recently, hanging on a stack of cement blocks behind the barn. The rug is an old, long discarded braided rug, and it has been completely overgrown by a deep emerald moss. The moss follows the braids, so the original pattern is still shows. It is still a beautiful rug, though now not very practical. Mosses are one of my favorite plants. When all the larger plants shut down for winter, mosses keep on growing. If the temperature is above freezing, even if the moss is covered by snow, photosynthesis goes on.
The Mulberry Tree Revisited
[Nov. 27, 2007] I have written about our mulberry trees before. While in fruit, they are a riot of life, and during the summer months, I collect leaves to grow silk worms at work. When fall comes, the leaves turn a sort of yellow. It is not the color that is so spectacular; it is the way they fall. Early in the morning, after some signal only the trees know, the leaves start to fall.
All’s Quiet
[Oct. 30, 2007] It’s been very quiet on the old farm lately. Summer is winding down, and fall is starting up. The young hawks haven’t been around for a while, and even the insects have stopped singing. I haven’t seen many animals going by, no foxes, skunks, or coyotes, but I know they are there. It is the same with deer; you have to be in the right place at the right time to see them. Or maybe it is not the right place. Deer are easily startled, and can be quite dangerous.
The Dry Summer...
[Sep. 28, 2007] I've been through dry summers before, but I have never seen so many mature trees in trouble. Swamp maples, sugar maples, dogwoods, and birches have all started to dry up and drop their leaves. Some of them are turning intensely red or yellow first, but this is not normal fall color; this is a tree is severe distress. It is quite possible that some of these trees will not leaf out next year.
Woodchucks...
[Aug. 27, 2007] Did you know woodchucks can climb trees? I know they can, because I saw one coming down out of my mulberry tree! There is a bumper crop of the little devils this year, and they eat everything, including my marigolds. The quantity of food available might be why the hawks raised two babies this year, a male and a female.
The Old Farm...
[Jul. 23, 2007] Well, another old Kingston farm is being chewed on. The place I live on and write about is smaller by another lot. My house and lot was carved out earlier, and now the lot next to me has been sold, and, if you have been by lately, you can see it is already being built on.
Bits and Bites...
[Jun. 25, 2007] Studying the behavior of animals, a mainstay of previous research, had taken a back seat to looking at their chemistry. It is important, essential, even, to understand the chemistry behind liver function, but it is also necessary to know where a liver cell comes from, and what it looks like. Some of the biochemists weren't quite sure.
Spring Woodlands
[May 21, 2007] Twice a year, in spring and fall, the Nature Center provides walks at Willowbrook Farm in Pembroke for local school children. It is a Wildlands Trust property, and very beautiful. The naturalists lead the children around the almost 2 mile long trail, pointing out the plants, animals, geology, and history of the property...
Build Out is Inevitable
[Apr. 23, 2007] Sometimes, when I sit down to write this column, I have trouble getting started. I might have seen too many animals or plants to choose, or I might have no ideas at all. This time, I’m thinking about Kingston and all the construction and infighting and loss of open space. I went to town meeting, and listened to the threats of 40 B and 40 R. A build out is inevitable, but it is sad. Folks moved here to because of our character, in our people and our land, but soon there will be little land left. Nature abhors a vacuum, so they say, and builders abhor open land.
Russian Students
[Mar. 16, 2007] I recently had the chance to contrast and compare the artwork of teenagers in our area with the art of children in Zhigansk, Siberia. Each year, Norwell High School students show their art work at the Nature Center. Just after this year’s show, the work of the Zhigansk students was put on display at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset. The differences are startling. Our local artists have all the art supplies they need in their art room at school. What they create is a reflection of what surrounds them. No, not nature. Their art is not of the outdoors. It is of stark faces, some tortured, and disembodied hands playing keyboards. The work is bright, sometimes harsh or grating. Natural beauty is not a common theme.
At the Beach: Sea Gulls
[Feb. 23, 2007] My mom and dad used to like to sit at the waterfront in Plymouth every afternoon, watching the fishing boats go in and out. I still sit there every once in a while myself. I sat there during a cold windy day this winter, and watched the gulls. They are beautiful birds, capable of incredible flying. They soar and dive, lift, and generally move in any direction they please. When the wind is strong, gulls will flex their wings just so, and hover over one spot. Relatively speaking, they are flying, but not going anywhere. I suppose you could say they were geosynchronous.
Weather or Not
[Jan. 20, 2007] I didn't think I would be writing about another warm winter so soon again, but this year is even worse than last. El Nino is supposed to be to blame this year, forcing warm air northward. It is hard to be upset, on the one hand, because heating costs are lower. On the other hand, what is happening to the plants and animals? One of my concerns is whether or not there will be any useable maple sap this spring.
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