Today's Area Post-Whacking

 

The mature tree has been freed from English Ivy and Wisteria. The gully behind has largely been a natural barrier slowing the spread of the invasives into the area further back -- although advance vines of both English Ivy and Wisteria have begun to cross. They will be whacked very soon.

Sneaky Wisteria Vine 3 -- Just Desserts

 

Here the Wisteria vine, fully whacked, has joined more miscreant invasives in the latest incarnation of a Mount Ivy-No-More. Note the coil seen in previous post. Also, a whacked Wisteria flag waves from the top of the pile, like the pirates' skull and crossbones.

Sneaky Wisteria Vine 2

 

More whacking revealed the Wisteria coiled upon itself under the ivy.

Sneaky Wisteria 1

 

Sneaky Wisteria vine in with English Ivy.

Today's Area Pre-Whacking

 

Good Viewshed

 

Ah, the viewshed beginning to look as it should. Not too much English Ivy left in view, other than dead in piles...

Cranefly Orchids are Back

 

Yes, it's Fall, and the singlet leaves of the Cranefly Orchids are back once more.

Happy Birthday, Long Branch Nature Center!

 

Today Long Branch Nature celebrated its 37th anniversary with a birthday party. Yes, the center was "born" all the way back in 1972 as part of a far-sighted plan by Arlingtonians to conserve and promote nature. We need to see the same enthusiasm and support for our natural resources today in our supposedly so "green" Arlington.

Late Fall Foliage

 

Note the Long Branch Nature Center access road running left to right (west to east) across the bottom.

Harvest of Trash and Recyclables

 

Today I hauled all this away.

Aftermath

 

This shot is from a similar position and angle as some of my November 1, 2009 posts and shows progress since then.

Another Overview

 

A lot of whacking of late. This shot shows both a lot of recently cleared ground and a lot of remaining work. There is a dense English Ivy carpet still, and also a fair amount of Wisteria, although probably well over 90% of the Wisteria has already been whacked.

Remaining Problems in the Foreground, Clean Territory in the Background

 

More Whacking Progress

 

After More Whacking

 

English Ivy and Wisteria have been cleared further away from these trees. Note ivy pile in background. The Winter Wren perched on the top of that pile and displayed and scolded for some time while I worked.

The Bark of an Invasives-Murdered Mountain Laurel

 

This Mountain Laurel was killed by invasive English Ivy and Wisteria. It is a standing skeleton, a monument to the destructive impacts of invasive plants on our native plants.

Back to Whack

 

Returning to the whacking zone today.

Winter Wren Cat-and-Mouse

 

This afternoon, while I was out whacking plants, at one point I saw a ghostly movement of a small, dark flying object into one of my whacked-plant piles very close by. I thought "Winter Wren?" and sure enough out it popped and began to chatter and display. It proceeded to lead me around from one pile to another, scolding and displaying and popping in and out of sight. The effect was that it was playing a little game with me. I had noted very similar behavior by a similar pale-looking Winter Wren in a nearby spot last spring, and it is easy to believe that this is my little buddy from last season, hanging out and teasing me. And, I can speculate and hope, it appreciates the clearing that I am doing, providing more foraging area and sheltering piles also. As previously posted also, I love the scientific name of Winter Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes. The wren is in the exact center of this shot.

Dimming Fall Foliage, 1 November, 2009

 

Whack In Progress

 

By this point a fair amount of English Ivy has been whacked, hauled away, and piled up. I widened the clear area around the mature trees, opened up connecting paths by cutting vines, and spared a few native plants I found among the ivy and Wisteria.

Sneaky Wisteria!

 

A sneaky Wisteria vine I had missed, climbing up a Mountain Laurel. Now is a time when much of the Wisteria still has bright green foliage that stands out more when so many of the native plants have colored or lost their leaves. THe Wisteria vine was duly whacked after this photo.

The Sun Sets for These Invasives

 

I whacked a bunch of this ivy. Today at 3 AM was the time change, "falling back" one hour, so it got dark much earlier according to the clock.

Moss 2

 

Moss and Tree Leaves

 

Fall Scene, Long Branch Nature Center Building

 

Foxtail Grass Seed Heads at Willow Pond

 

I pulled these off the invasive plants and then bagged and trashed them. Last year we didn't get them in time and the seeds dispersed. Ideally the grass itself will get pulled or dug up, or sprayed.

More of the Work Ahead

 

More of the English Ivy carpet yet to be whacked. Note the tree to the far left that has been horribly scarred by Wisteria -- black damage areas and spiral strangling scars. The ivy and wisteria have been removed from the larger trees in the background.

Whacked!

 

Looking upslope to a lot of cleared area.

Closing In -- This Ivy Should Be Afraid, Very Afraid

 

Wisteria Casualties

 

Wisteria dragged down and killed the smaller fallen tree to the left, and the big twin-trunked Oak to the right. Note the remaining dense growth of Wisteria and English Ivy, although there is a lot less of the Wisteria than there was early this year.

Eastern Box Turtle

 

I noticed this Eastern Box Turtle up on one of the old invasives piles. What was he trying to do? My guess was that he wanted to burrow in for shelter or perhaps search for food, but it wasn't clear. Do they like these piles? Am I right that they are "happier" to have the invasives cleared? Note living Wisteria and English Ivy in background.

Aftermath

 

By now, much whacking has transpired. Note the one dead tree on the ground, pointing toward the camera, now cleared of Wisteria and ivy. Also, partial view of today's pile in lower right.

A Scene of Today's Halloween Whacking

 

Before much work on the Wisteria and English Ivy. Today was a frightfully good day for bad invasive plants to die, and so, they did.

Fall Leaves and Fungi

 

Another Fall Scene at Long Branch Nature Center

 

Salamander Run, Halloween, 2009

 

Today, this viewshed is almost empty of visible invasives.

One More View of Newly Liberated Ground

 

Liberated due to the work of the last few days.

Work in Progress

 

Some of today's work in the foreground and work areas from Spring volunteer events near the orange tape. Lots more ivy to go. Some of the area was left fallow when Matt and I found Yellow-jackets' nests in the ivy. The Y-Js should be completely gone in a month.

More Cleared Area, More Work Ahead

 

Most of this area has been cleared, but the area toward the middle left shows the characteristic dark green of remaining English Ivy carpet. The area is shrinking, but it's more work to be done yet.

Cleared!

 

This area has been almost competely cleared of a previous dense cover of invasives. The natives are coming back!

Recycleables and Whacking Zone

 

Near the End of Today's Whacking

 

Today was a gorgeous, crisp Fall day -- great weather to be out there whacking invasive plants! The mosquitoes seem to be gone, and the Yellow-jackets are much less active, although not completely gone yet. I was able to clear some stubborn patches of English Ivy and Asian Wisteria from around Mountain Laurels and some small trees. I found more trash, and debris from the bulldozing of the old house.

At the Start of Today's Whacking

 

Last Night's Fungi Survived!

 

Fall Foliage in One Leaf

 

Far Western Horizon Sunset in the Rain's Wake

 

Fungi III -- Another Angle

 

I'll bet these will be gone tomorrow. So cool.

Fungi II

 

Improving weather encouraged me to take another shot at capturing the fungi. This is better than the earlier effort, anyway. And it was another good excuse for re-clearing the water intake from Salamander Run that gravity feeds Willow Pond.

Fungi!

 

It rained and these delicate mushrooms popped out. I especially like the "squirmy" one near the cluster near the top and just left of the up-down center axis. The photo is inept due to rain and focusing trouble, but I like it anyway.

Gayle and Jennifer at ARMN's display at REI's "Get Involved" Day

 

Gayle and Jennifer are Arlington Regional Master Naturalists and staffed the display this afternoon. I helped out by giving an invasives presentation and talking to some of the folks. This was REI's first Get Involved day, and it is a great idea to support the communities. Thanks to REI and local contact Mark Nelson for doing this. Other great groups were there today, also. Watch for this event in future years.

Saving Mountain Laurels from the Clutches of Wisteria and English Ivy

 

These and other nearby Mountain Laurels had really taken a beating from the invasives, and some nice old-growth specimens had been killed. But we're very close to saving these survivors. The genus name for Mountain Laurel is "Kalmia." What an evocative name. If plants can feel, I hope they will be able to feel calmer soon when the rest of the invasives have been cleared out from this patch.

Fighting the Invasives Jungle

 

Truly, Arlington has been losing its natural areas to the non-native plants invasion. This area had been turning into a real jungle of English Ivy, Wisteria, Multiflora Rose, Winged Euonymus, and other invasives. It was almost impenetrable, had low value for wildlife, and was attractive to rats. We are beginning to show that we can turn the tide against the invasion, with a lot of focused work by staff and volunteers, in places like this. As Winston Churchill said in 1942, when World War II was still a grim time for the Allies, "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

I would like to think that we are in a similar place now, where with continued, sustained effort, we can rescue our natural places. It saddens me to see trees and Mountain Laurels that have been killed by the invasives, yet it is heartening to see the ones that we have liberated and saved, beginning to thrive once more.

Back to Whacking Work

 

My working time today was limited, but I was able to make a little more progress in this area against the English Ivy carpet and some remaining Wisteria. Also I found 2 beer bottles, 2 beer cans, an old 16-ounce glass Coke bottle, and another one that was broken. Also metal debris from the old house. Greg Zell has confirmed that there was a house here (on the flat above and past the rotting old tree) that was bulldozed back in the 1970s. Definitely debris remains, along with more recent homeless person encampment remains.