Snow

Blue Jay Barrens got its first snow of the season on January 2.  A total of two inches accumulated before noon and the rest of the day was a mix of wind, sun, clouds and snow showers.  You would have thought we were finally settling in to winter, if it weren’t for the predictions of a rapid warm-up back into the 50’s.

The flakes were large, but they were dry enough to settle down through the Indian Grass without sticking to the stalks.  There was enough warmth left in the ground to partially melt the snow and allow it to settle into a denser layer.

Ant mounds are always easy to see after a snow. Their snow cap will melt as soon as the sun emerges.

Snow on the ground makes it easy to view the trees and shrubs in the woodland understory.  The presence of a Sycamore on a steep slope is usually an indication of a wet weather spring.  These moisture loving trees can survive on the steep slope because of the added water provided by the spring.  The spring flow is often not enough to sustain a large tree, so the Sycamore will likely not grow to extreme proportions.

A snowy background provides the best conditions for illustrating the sprawling growth habit of the Fragrant Sumac.  The trunk of this low growing shrub may reach 20 feet long, but that length sprawls along the ground and drapes over other woodland shrubs.  In some situations this plant can become aggressive enough to displace other vegetation and produce a Fragrant Sumac monoculture.

New fallen snow always enhances the esthetic qualities of the creek.  I’m anxious for the snow to melt quickly, so the creek will be in shape to be beautified by the next new fallen snow.

Robins were busy digging in the wet leaves lining the creek and its tributaries.  I haven’t yet seen them gathered in large flocks.  Most groups contained around a dozen individuals.

The tall grass does a good job of hiding the snow, but it’s easy to see in the areas of sparse vegetative cover.  The afternoon skies showed a few patches of blue that gave the appearance of a pleasant day.  The strong wind and below freezing temperatures made you feel otherwise.

The clouds looked to be coming in as waves, but they were actually moving to the south in columns.  Each band stayed intact and moved quickly from right to left across the sky.  I could imagine the bands stretching all the way to Lake Michigan, which appears to have provided the moisture for this event.

Dry Site Sycamores

Except for a six week drought that went from mid-June through most of July, Blue Jay Barrens has had an exceptionally wet year. It’s interesting to watch moisture loving plants try to claim a place on a dry site in these situations. The Sycamores that try to grow in waterways coming off of the dry, rocky hills are a good example of this.

The waterways concentrate the rain runoff and provide a wet habitat that is prolonged by seepage water that flows from the gravel for several days after a rain. The Sycamores put on a lot of rapid growth during the rainy years and die back in the dry times. In an earlier time, these Sycamores managed to grow quite tall. The dead branches illustrate what happens when we get a couple of back-to-back drought years.

The trees may appear perfectly healthy from a distance, but a closer examination shows that all is not well with the tree. The abundant water that allows for rapid growth doesn’t free the tree from all stress. Growth deformities, disease and insect damage leave their marks.

One of the larger of the insects feeding on the Sycamore was this Bagworm. This species of moth larva constructs a silk bag that it decorates with bits of plant material. The result is a protective casing in which the larva spends its entire pre-adult life.

Head and legs are all that ever leave the bag. I seldom find the larvae actively feeding. At the slightest disturbance the larva will pull the bag over its head and wait for danger to pass. I was able to get several shots of this guy before my head bumped a dead branch and spooked the larva into hiding.

Sycamore on the Prairie

Sycamores are trees of river banks and lowland fields where moisture is plentiful. So why is there a Sycamore growing on a dry south facing slope surrounded by xeric prairie plants? This is definitely a tree out of place. It’s growing well now, but whatever water supply it has tapped into cannot be plentiful enough to allow the tree to grow to any great size.

Lack of water is not the only problem this tree faces. The base of the trunk is trying to recover from an extensive deer rub. This tree was lucky it only lost half its bark. Some bucks are so aggressive that they shred the trunk and tear off the top of the tree.

Even though the tree is only ten feet tall, the bark is being shed in typical Sycamore style.

The top portion of the tree is scarred by Periodical Cicada egg laying activities. Some spots have healed over while others are oozing like a festering sore. This won’t help the tree’s chances of long term survival.

Sycamore has one of my favorite leaf shapes. The large lobed leaf has broadly scalloped edges with big teeth. Shaded leaves are often the largest of any species in the woods.

The base of the petiole is greatly enlarged where it attaches to the stem. The enlargement serves to protect the new bud, which won’t be exposed until the leaf falls for the winter.

Now that I’m not specifically looking for caterpillars, I’m once again finding them everywhere. This looper was racing around the edge of the Sycamore leaf, but I couldn’t find where it had been feeding.

While I was moving branches to get a leaf in good position for a shot, this walking stick crawled out onto my arm. This specimen is much stouter than the one I posted before. Perhaps this is a female.

Sycamore

The Sycamores, Platanus occidentalis, did extremely well this year. A disease went through this area about 15 years ago that took out a lot of big Sycamores and made me wonder if any were going to be spared. Most that survived came back as stump sprouts like this tree above. Fortunately, trees will make tremendous growth if they are sprouting from an established healthy root system. I hope that sinuous base isn’t going to be trouble later on.

Fruits were abundant on all of the trees. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Sycamores here put on fruit like this. Those fruits will hang tight through the winter and then break up in the spring to allow the seeds to disperse.

The lower bark is taking on a nice flaky appearance. Any time I see flaky bark, I think of homes for bats and insects.

The younger trees tend to show more of the clean white trunks. As they mature, odd bits of bark that don’t properly exfoliate give the trunk a more mottled appearance. Sycamores can grow to enormous size. I hope these have a chance to do just that.