As I walk along the Trail Around Middlebury, I am struck by the sight of a Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris). Woodpeckers have had their way with this tree, drilling gaping holes that weep white sap into its sides. Many of the Scotch Pine’s lower branches are broken and bare. Green needles reveal its vitality only at its highest reaches. Thin Hophorn Beams (Ostrya virginiana) surround the pecker-pillaged pine. The wind stirs the fallen leaves, creating a dry crinkly background for the creak and groan of swaying trees that accompanies particularly strong gusts. I sit down to write and my efforts are cheered on by a sudden outburst of bird calls. Cawing out to its unseen companion, a crow swoops by.
Gazing up at a tall y-shaped Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata), I perch upon one of the many downed trees in the area. Some of these trees snapped at different heights along their trunks, while others ripped their roots up with them as they fell. The trees that lie with their roots exposed were likely weakened by disease or parasites before they fell. However, the poor health of these trees has made the forest stronger. Dead trees offer food and shelter to many forest animals, and, even before they die, certain species, like the woodpeckers that attacked the Scotch Pine, feed on parasites burrowing into the tree. Even now, white fungus can be seen growing on a fallen branch, beginning the process of recycling the nutrients held there. These fallen trees facilitate the vibrancy of the forest by feeding and protecting a wide array of animals and replenishing the soil nutrients for future generations of trees. As the sun begins to set, I am afforded a spectacular view of the orange and pink hues of the sky sinking behind the blue tinged mountains thanks to the gaps left by the fallen trees.
Ryan McCrorey
