By Andrea Robles, Land Stewardship Coordinator
The color green symbolizes rebirth, harmony, and growth. Having experienced two New England winters so far, I’ve come to associate the color green with a beautiful period of becoming. Those long, cold months of dark slumber are replaced by the emergence and vibrancy of life. As I was driving on Woodland Road in early May, I caught myself thinking, Wow, the Fells is so green! Seeing the Fells awaken in springtime has been a jeweled experience. Keep on reading to learn about spring happenings in the Fells!
If you hiked the Fells in early April, chances are you heard the ‘purrrreeeek’ songs of the spring peeper, or the ‘ca-ha-ha-ac’ calls of the wood frog. These amphibians settle in vernal pools during the spring to begin breeding. Vernal pools provide critical breeding habitat for amphibians and invertebrates due to an absence of fish predation. While at a vernal pool in Lawrence Woods, I saw tiny translucent creatures in the water. Fairy shrimp are small freshwater crustaceans that are filter feeders and have no exterior shells. Not all of their eggs hatch, resulting in a bank of dormant eggs that resist drought and can last for years.
While out on the trails, you’ve most likely seen the webbed tents of Eastern Tent Caterpillars on trees. Native to the eastern United States, they feed primarily on rosaceous trees such as cherry, crabapple and apple trees. Young caterpillars will leave their tent during the day and remain in the tent at night. By mid-summer, the mature caterpillars leave their tent behind to create cocoons. Due to their ability to defoliate trees, eastern tent caterpillars were historically considered to be a widespread pest. Healthy trees can withstand this, though unhealthy or stressed trees can be impacted by the eastern tent caterpillars. Diseases and natural predators like birds keep the population fluctuating.
Wildflowers were once again back in full swing. Bloodroot is a uniquely shaped plant that grows in moist areas or along streams in the Eastern United States. They produce a white flowers with yellow colored stamens until late summer when the plant becomes dormant. Bloodroot contains a reddish-orange sap that was used by Indigenous peoples for dying fibers, making paint, and for medicinal purposes. The sap contains alkaloids that are antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, making it a useful plant to treat fevers, skin infections and more.
Another wildflower you might’ve seen in the Fells is rock harlequin, a bright pink and yellow biennial flower found in New England. It thrives in dry or rocky habitats, and is dispersed by ants. During its first year, its foliage is rosette shaped and after its second year, the plant is covered in tubular pink and yellow flowers.
As spring progresses into summer, we look forward to seeing many more flowers beginning to speckle the landscape of the Fells!
Do you have any fun sightings, stories, or photos in the Fells that you’d like to share? Please send them to friends@fells.org!