Pony Pasture Plant Walk

On Sunday morning a small group of fearless Lodgers joined together for a walk along the river to learn some of their plant neighbors. Lee led us around the familiar paths of Pony Pasture, stopping every once in a while to introduce us to one of the locals. No longer do we have to walk by the spicebush, the hackberry, the redbud, the wild grape, the sycamore or box elder without noticing them or knowing how to acknowledge them.

Now we can say, "hi river birch!" not as a way to define or control, but as a first greeting, the beginning of a relationship. Now that we have met them, I start to wonder, "why didn't I say hello sooner? What was so important that I never stopped to learn the names of my neighbors or see how they were doing or marvel at their seasonal displays of aliveness?" I realized that many of these trees were here long before I was and will be here long after. Even stinging nettle has a sweet side. Although painful to touch, a boiling bath will render the hairs painless and allow for a nutritious tea (high in iron!) or bite to eat.

And I can't forget the nutritious and delicious fruit from the paw-paw tree. This time of year, the fruit is becoming ripe. It is best when squishy to the touch and has a taste somewhere between a mango and a banana. Here is a picture of Paul savoring its sweetness.

In addition to meeting some of the local plants, we also noticed the tracks of some of the local animals. After tracking the elusive Sarah across the sand, we started looking around to see what other animal tracks we might find. Nikki spotted the prints of a raccoon in the mud while we crossed a pipeline bridge.

Towards the end of the walk, Paul noticed some more raccoon tracks, and he tracked it to the water's edge where it bent down to drink. He also helped solve the mystery of a female deer who had walked through the stream. Ask him how we knew it was a female.