We’re changing things up this week—instead of me welcoming you back to Ethan Allen Park in Burlington, VT, I’ll be introducing you to a unique section of my father’s 200-acre property in Danielson, CT. So, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the Vance Family Cliffs.

I have only personally visited this portion of the property a couple times in the past, but even when I came in the past I never walked below the cliffs. This time around, instead of starting at the top of the cliffs, my dad parked the truck just off the Connecticut Turnpike, right next to the Exit 1 sign, and we walked down into the swamp below the cliffs. I was amazed at how much trash had been thrown from the highway—I counted at least 10 old tires, 3 car headlights, and a countless number of soda and beer cans during my walk through the property.

Unlike Ethan Allen Park, there is only one very old, slightly-defined trail in this portion of the property. However, this trail is far more interesting to me than any trail in Ethan Allen Park because it used to be a road during early settlement years.

As we walked into the woods, there was a very steep hill on our right that led up to the highway that was covered in 30-40 year old pine trees. I believe this is a man-made hill that was built up for the construction of the turnpike, as the old carriage road that is cut off by the highway sits about 30 feet below. The hill is just too steep and abrupt, in my opinion, to be a natural feature.

In terms of tree composition in the rest of the property, most of the land is now covered with old-growth/late-successional hardwoods, like white, red, and black oaks, ash, and red and swamp maples. This composition is quite different from that of Ethan Allen Park, where the forest is dominated by common buckthorn, sugar maple, red oak, and paper birch. 

We then walked a bit further into the woods and explored the edge of the swamp, which was just slightly frosted over. My dad was surprised to see any water in the swamp at all at this time of year and said that that probably means some beavers have dammed up the other side were it would normally drain into Snake Meadow Brook. My dad then showed me a spot where squatters had been living a couple years ago before my dad called the cops and had them removed. There were tons of old pots and pans, glass bottles, mattresses, and remnants of clothing and sheets strewn across the ground. It was quite an odd sight, and it gave me a slightly uneasy feeling that I would experience a few more times before the end of our adventure.

We then walked along the Eastern edge of the swamp, and I stumbled across a large rock with a perfect hole in it. Before we entered the woods, my father was almost certain that there had been no human interactions with this area besides the carriage road, but when he left the woods he was almost certain that there had been human disturbances. He said that this rock had most likely been drilled to hold a property sign/post that was made of wood and had since rotted out, leaving the perfect hole. I also found several rusted iron pieces and contraptions buried under leaves and loose soil that looked similar to many of the remnants of the Ricker Family Home and Barn we explored during lab. 

Then we arrived at the base of the cliffs, and they were simply magnificent. Varying between 100 and 150 feet tall, these cliffs were just breathtaking. Little did I know, there were two caves in the sides of the cliffs, both of which were strewn with old clothing, shoes, sheets, pots, pans, coins, and other miscellaneous modern items. These caves made me quite uneasy, and I mentioned to my dad that I wouldn’t be surprised if one day he found a body on his property, and he said that though had crossed his mind many times before.

From there, we climbed up through the cliffs and onto a ledge at the top, where we could see quite clearly for at least a mile into the rest of the property. Then we walked down along the old carriage road where we found an incredibly tall birch tree that had numerous names carved into the trunk. My dad was not very pleased with this, as it means many more people have been on his property than he thought, but I found his frustration to be quite humorous. Yeah, he owns the deed to the land, but there’s nothing you can do to stop people from exploring and enjoying nature. The Earth belongs to everyone and no-one at the same time, and I hope one day we can get past the western mindset of land ownership and just enjoy the world as it is.

My exploration of the Vance Family Cliffs has made me want to explore the cliffs at Ethan Allen Park in much more detail, which will be on my to-do list for my next visit. I hope to compare the two in more detail once I have more information on the Ethan Allen cliffs. Until then, stay curious!

Photography for this week

It’s another beautiful day in Ethan Allen Park! Again, it’s been about 2 weeks since our last visit, but not much has changed this time around. Last week we saw drastic changes in the foliage and tree cover. The only thing that has changed this week is a few more leaves have fallen. Most of the trees are completely bare now or only have two or three wrinkly leaves clinging on for dear life. The large Red Oak in my spot still has a good amount of its leaves, but it has dropped quite a few over the past couple weeks. The forest floor has become more of a monotone orangish-brown, as many of the fallen leaves are starting to decay into the soil. I can now see the soil on the trails, and that is most likely a combination of wind, rain, and natural decomposition.

Two very shocking things happened during my visit today (one is a little more concerning than the other…). I decided to explore the cliffs a little more today, and as I was walking along the edge, I found a beautiful new view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks, but the only problem was that it was mostly blocked by a large tree. However, I realized that I could get a clear shot of the view if I climbed up onto a rock that was sitting on the edge. I wasn’t really thinking everything through, as I was so excited by the prospect of a clear view of the lake, and I attempted to climb up onto the rock, with my camera occupying my right hand. I tried to grab onto a small tree that was growing out of a crack in the rock as I vaulted myself upwards, but it wasn’t as sturdy as it looked, and I slipped. Luckily, I managed to regain my footing before I toppled over the ledge, all while keeping my camera safe. I now realize that this was not the best decision, especially since I was alone. I don’t think I’m going to be too adventurous next week… The second dramatic thing that occurred this afternoon was that I almost stepped on Fred! I couldn’t see him because he has now turned a greyish-maroon color and he blended right in with the forest floor! I felt so awful and knelt down to check that he was OK, and I discovered that something has been nibbling on one of this leaves! I am now concerned for Fred’s safety, and will monitor his situation very closely over the coming weeks.

Surprisingly, I didn’t see any grey squirrels in my spot radius this week, but I did see a few run across the main trail. I did discover a brand new animal in the park, however. After I had left my spot and returned to the parking lot, I had a bit of car trouble. As I was on the phone with my car company, I noticed a beautiful male pileated woodpecker on the trunk of a tree just on the edge of the park. As soon as I figured out my car problems, I grabbed my camera and snuck over to the tree. I got as close as I could without spooking the bird, and I got a couple shots of it before it flew away. When I was up close to the tree, I also noticed two female pileated woodpeckers hopping amongst the upper branches.

All in all, this was a pretty good visit to Ethan Allen Park. I’m almost certain it was warmer today than it was two weeks ago, which made this walk through the woods even more enjoyable. The only thing I’m not happy with is Daylight Savings. It was 2:45 when I left my spot, and it felt like it should have been at least 6:00. The sun was already starting to set, and the construction workers had already left for the day. I guess I’m going to have to start visiting Ethan Allen Park in the mornings! Anyway, see you next week!

*Photography for this week*

Welcome back to Ethan Allen Park! It’s been just over two weeks since our last visit to this beautiful park, and boy have things changed since then. Almost all the leaves on every tree have fallen, except for a few large white oaks, and the forest floor is completely covered in a yellowish-orange blanket of decaying leaves. Because the trees have lost their leaves, we can now see deeper into the forest and have discovered an entire patch of common buckthorn. The presence of this invasive species is quite apparent now, as it remains a brilliant green and pops right out of the barren background. It has completely taken over both sides of a section of the trail to my spot, and there is a good amount of individuals within a 10-meter radius of my spot, but they are much younger than those on the trail. This discovery was quite shocking, as I had no idea whatsoever that this species was at all present in my spot, and now it’s everywhere.

I also discovered something amazing this week that I had no idea even existed in the park: a large section of cliffs that drop 100-150 feet to the forest floor below. Again, because the leaves have fallen, I can see deeper into the woods, and when I walked up towards the little fort, I noticed a small trail that went below the fort and wrapped around the hill. I decided to check out where exactly this trail led, and it put me right out on the edge of the cliffs. The view from this spot is breathtaking. There is only one tree in the middle of the view, but the rest is completely clear, and since it was such a beautiful, crystal-clear day, I could see all the way across Lake Champlain into the Adirondack Mountains. I was completely flabbergasted by this discovery, as I had no idea you could see even the lake from Ethan Allen Park. I was slightly disappointed, however, because there is a large clump of buildings (I believe it is the Ethan Allen Shopping Center) right in the middle of the view and you cannot see the lake or the mountains without having this eyesore in sight. It is very disheartening that such a beautiful view is ruined because of a shopping center that could have been built anywhere else, or even not at all.

Just as last week, I only saw one grey squirrel during my visit to my spot. However, just as I was leaving I saw 10-20 black crows (at least that’s what I think they were) all fly west towards the lake, squawking the whole way. I also checked out the large fallen tree at the fork in the trail and believe I found some animal’s home. There was a good-sized hole that had rotted out of the log, and it was lined with old leaves and pine needles that looked as though they had been sat on many times before. Additionally, as I was walking around my spot, I noticed more fallen trees, and many of them had holes bored into their trunks, which I believe is evidence of the presence of woodpeckers.

I eagerly anticipate my return to Ethan Allen Park next week, and I hope you have enjoyed watching the seasons change over the past few weeks as much as I have! TTFN!

*Photography for this week*