Getting Down to Business for Mohican

 Dear Friends,

We only have -days- to comment to forestry about the sweeping changes they want to enact in Mohican State Forest.  If you like hiking, birding, botanizing, fishing or enjoying the sweet sounds of nature, you already know you do not want to see our "little jewel" of Mohican become an industrial timber lot.



Some places are just too special to have commercial timber operations interfering with tourism. Ohio Division of Forestry has made some very questionable calls in the past on places they thought were appropriate for timbering:

Please click on the PNG photo/form below to print and send!  We have a right to request our public forests be used primarily for recreation, conservation, and health benefits for people and the land.  

Remember, sharing is caring! 

Leaf Spotting

"Leaf Spotting," it all sounds rather English, doesn't it? And while sorting tree species by fall color, I happened onto some very good information in the Hocking Hills.

The peach-hued glow of a Sourwood tree, Oxydendrum arboreum

Travel can expand the mind, and a recent trip to Laurelville, Ohio offered an opportunity to learn from Paul Knoop- the naturalist's naturalist.  He is a legend throughout Ohio.

Serrated leaf edge on Sourwood

We soon focused on the lovely shape, form and fall color of the Sourwood trees.  Being a more Southern species,  its unique serrated edges of the leaf were unknown to me.  It is an excellent key to aid in identification of this tree.

A similar, yet "spotted" leaf, with no edge serration.

Another understory tree begged to be identified, and we were leaning towards calling it a Black-gum / Tupelo.  There were no serrated edges on the leaves.  The bark and leaf shape were right, but these spots on the leaves finally pointed us in the correct direction.

There is only one tree with those diagnostic fall leaf spots: Common Persimmon, Diaspyros virginiana.  It probably did not  get enough sun in this woodland situation to produce fruit.

Common Persimmon leaves

Look for the persimmon's distinctive fall leaves, as seen in the Sibley guide.  Those spots tell the story even when the fruit is not present!  This is another southern Ohio species seen in Hocking Hills and in Shawnee Forest, but not found on my home turf.

It is always good to enjoy the unique qualities of trees.

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Sibley's Guide to the Trees  has quickly become a favorite guide for many naturalists.

It is a mistake to try to rely strictly on leaves for tree identification, focus more on tree shape, habitat, leaf buds and bark.  The more one studies trees in the winter, the sooner you will realize there are many tip and tricks for identifying trees to species.  

Sometimes, it come down to spots.

Conkle's Hollow- Hocking

Spring has arrived at Conkle's Hollow in south-eastern Ohio.  The upper rim trail is a short course in beauty and fear.  The 2.5 mile trail winds along unprotected precipices, offering dizzying views of the Hocking Hills.

  My daughter, Michelle Goodman basks in the sunshine and spectacular views from the top.

This high-rise portion of the trip is not for everybody.  It is not for those with a fear of heights, and please, leave the children on the lower trail.   In this day of liability, it is surprisingly free of handrails or barriers.  Drink in the scenery, but sip slowly, and watch your step.  

The lower trail is an outstanding, one mile, handicapped accessible trail.  One of Ohio's most breathtaking walks, it is easily compared to the River Trail at Zion National Park in Utah.  Take a mini-trip to the caverns,  where a stream meanders beneath the  Black Hand sandstone walls festooned with hanging gardens.  Ferns and sedges carpet the edge of the trail. While March is early for the spring ephemerals, wildflowers are a key tourist attraction in the hollow.

The Plantainleaf Sedge, Carex plantaginea lines the lower trail.  This handsome sedge is distinctive enough to be propagated for the nursery trade.  I have seen it marketed under the name "Seersucker Sedge".  In fact, I have a few in my yard.





Look for these attractive purplish-red culms to help you identify this sedge. The leafless stalks will bear fruiting bodies in record time with the 70-plus degree days in March this year. 



Is there any doubt it portends that which is to come?

Standing Stone

High above the city of Lancaster, Ohio a piece of history remains nearly as fresh today as it was for the Native Americans who once inhabited this land. This rock bluff is a silent sentinel to ages past and affords a spectacular view of the bustling city below.

It may well be considered the gateway to the Hocking Hills, as it rises above Lancaster which was founded on Ohio's earliest highway- the Zane Trace. Located on the edge of unglaciated Allegheny Plateau and the intersection of a band of Illinoian till crossed by the Hocking (Hockhocking- meaning "bottleneck" or "twisted" to the Adena Indians) River.

The best view for a perspective of the massive standing sandstone is taken from the fairground's race track. A coincidence? I think not. The Fairground is a vibrant part of the society of Lancaster and the location of one of Ohio's oldest fairs. The view from Mt. Pleasant would be an awesome "box seat" at this track.

The biggest surprise was at the apex of the mount, accessed by a well worn trail-head found at Rising Park. The weather worn black-hand sandstone created bonsai miniatures of the Virginia Pine, Pinus Virginana giving one the uncanny feeling of a western landscape and Pinyon pine.

Here we spent a good deal of time enjoying the antics of Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice foraging in the evergreens. I was expecting a Bridled Titmouse at any moment!

Your blogster and daughter, Lancaster citizen Michelle Goodman, test the safety rails at the edge of the mount. I recommend this hike to anyone traveling through the fair city of Lancaster, and was pleasantly surprised at this mostly unblemished monument to nature, unscathed and undeveloped in the heart of the city.

A view of the valley below from the edge of the Standing Stone (Adena's name) or Mt. Pleasant. Quite a view of that race track, the city below and many miles of farmland beyond.

It felt like a peep-show into history. Step back from the edge and one was surrounded by idyllic wilderness. At the edge, lies an early settler's fairground with some buildings well over 100 years. On beyond, urban sprawl and modern day Route 33 bypasses the city to eat into the country side.

I liked the view back away from the edge.

Hiking the Hills

Just a few more shots from last week's hike to Hocking Hills. If you have not been, please set aside some time to visit this jewel of Ohio. It may well stand in comparison to the most beautiful areas out west. Yes, our rock formations are on a smaller scale here in Ohio, but we still have... Rock outcroppings and slump rocks.

Box canyons with gently trickling water, ancient hemlocks keeping watch.

Mountain Spleenwort, Asplenium montanum A delicate lace of green, the
mountain spleenwort is a rarity found growing out of the fractured rock face in the Hocking Hills.

Hoo doos? Who knew Ohio had 'em? These weather aged rocks show the results of millions of years of wind and water.

Some of the formations are, *utterly* unbelievable. That was bad, I know.

Color - iron seeped into the forming rock to create interesting color patterns of orange and reds. Much of the sandstone is also inter-mixed with conglomerate.

These formations were noted as being 330 million and 37 years old, according to Paul Knoop. After all, the formations were 330 million years when Paul moved in 37 years ago, and he has been keeping meticulous track ever since then.

Hocking Hills is one of Ohio's most traveled destinations, you might be amazed what it has to offer.

Walking Among Giants

Standing adjacent to the rim of a cavern in Hocking county remains a enormous hull of a tree. Towering perhaps 60 feet above the forest floor, one feels the presence of this giant as if it were still a living being. Being dwarfed by its majesty, Jim Davidson gives scale to the remains. This American Chestnut, Castenea dentata, was undoubtedly a victim of the Chestnut blight which ravished trees from 1904-1940's forever changing the landscape of America.

Chestnut was a highly desirable species with excellent nut crop for wildlife and man alike. That Christmas song extolling the virtues of "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" was from those better days. Once the blight took hold, trees were dropped en mass for its valuable- and highly rot-resistant wood.

This hulking giant has stood a likely 40-50 years beyond its life, giving us a small insight to the majesty of these native trees. American Chestnuts, much taller than their Oriental counterparts, reached the heights of the forest canopy and bloomed in flowering creamy-white profusion -reportedly seen for miles and miles.

Its weather resistant properties remain its only recommendation today. Many public building were constructed by the C.C.C. from an effort to "harvest" all the timber before it wasted away. What if just two or three of those trees harvested might have carried a gene resistant to the blight? Would we have a living remnant of the species today?

The aging and weathering of the wood offers a beauty in its own right. Said to be "differential weathering"- that is, the softer wood wears away leaving ridges of the harder wood behind. It reminds one of the "skeltons" seen in out West, the form of past Saguaro cactus.

My guides on this forensic forestry expedition were no other than Paul Knoop and Jim Davidson, two of Ohio's deepest thinkers and natural history "giants" in their own right. No rock, leaf, bug or plant goes unexamined by these two. Their combined wealth of knowledge- and endless curiosity- make an afternoon walk feel like a priceless privilege.

Here, I can only hope to share a small portion of that information with you.

For the history of the American Chestnut click here.

For my long, past post on chestnut trees- click here