A Conversation about …Revelations

By Jean Thomas

Most of the green screen of foliage has dropped, finishing the summer. (The oaks resist the trend, keeping their leaves as long as they can into the winter weather. They're brown, not green, but they persist.) A colorful show on the trees precedes another floor show in the lawn and the forest floor,. followed by stripping almost all leaves. No longer adorned with decorative features, the naked deciduous trees reveal their structural beauty (or flaws). Dead branches of trees and shrubs dangle, vulnerable. Upstart invasive plants can't hide like they did when lurking behind the green screens. This is an excellent time to prune and eradicate many problems. Weaknesses of gates, fences and walls become evident.

Those are the basic maintenance concerns. There are  also ample harvests during the revelation season. Natural materials for Christmas and Thanksgiving decorations are freely available. Winterberry branches, evergreen cones and boughs, and birch branches are easy to find and collect. And to see and gain access once the leaves have cleared away. Try to be aware of the bad choices for decorations. Chinese Bittersweet is bad. Learn about American Bittersweet instead. The other two villainous invasives that can be dangerous are Burning Bush (when they retain their leaves) and Barberry( pretty berries.) These invasives all reseed profusely, and using them gives them many more opportunities.  Mycologists have certain favorite mushrooms to collect at this time of year, also easier to find without the green camouflage of leaves.

Not only foragers cherish this season. Bird watchers rejoice in discoveries of abandoned nests . Some hold glittery snow , others caches of nuts and clumps of fur from small animals camping out to raise their own babies in abandoned bird nurseries.

The homes of many birds endure this recycling. The hawks and eagles, as well as herons and egrets, construct massive structures that they enlarge year after year.  With the repopulation of the American Eagle, there are many places to observe these, including the Hudson River Valley and throughout the Catskills When we see these nests in the winter, we are usually amazed at how a bird could build such a thing at all, but wonder how we never saw them before now? And among the massive nests, we've also seen those big messy clumps of nests in the treetops. Sometimes they belong to crows, but more often to squirrels. If the primary building  material is leaves and not twigs, probably a squirrel's winter resident and/or seasonal residence. These are known to squirrel experts as “dreys.” Dreys are distinct from “cavity nests” or dens, usually shelters in trees.

Keep an eye out for tree trunks in general, and specifically dead or dying ones. Observe the holes drilled or dug out. Take pictures and google them to find out which of dozens animals use the habitat they provide.

Another winter surprise is often hornet or paper wasp nests. These structures made of paper created by the insects, are sturdy and can hold up beautifully through most weather. Once discovered by animals that consider the larva a tasty treat (Bears, skunks and raccoons primarily) they are dismantled over a relatively short time. Even though they are likely dead after a prolonged cold spell, don't underestimate their danger, even then.

If you have comments or suggestions for future columns, contact me at jeanthepipper@duck.com.