Several generations ago it was a farm, then
came the agricultural depression of the early 1920s, followed not long after by
the great depression of the 1930s. As happened so frequently, the small family
farm was no longer economically viable and the fields were abandoned to slowly
revert to woodland.
Now in the 21st Century the only
obvious sign that part of this forest had once been a cleared field is an old
stonerow among the trees. On one side of the stonerow is a mature forest
with a great variety of tree species and large fallen trees, on the other side the
trees are smaller and primarily species that colonize old abandoned fields.
It’s a stonerow because it’s just a jumbled
line of stones, stones that were never in a stone wall. It was just a place to
dispose of rocks that had been laboriously picked from the field. A few pieces
of old barbed wire protruding from some large trees speak of a need to confine
livestock. The fairly small stones included in the stonerow are a sign that the
field had not just been a pasture or hayfield but had been cultivated at some time in the
past.
Agricultural history is not why we’re here
today, but it is why the stonerow is in this part of the Big Woods.
Stonerows provide a focus for wildlife
activity; they collect tree seeds and nuts in crevices between the rocks and
harbor insects, salamanders and small mammals which, in turn, attract predators
both large and small. All that wildlife persuaded this camera trapper to put a
camera trap at the edge of the stonerow. The camera had been in place for several
weeks, here in alphabetical order are some of the results –
The arrival of fall hunting seasons has
prompted me to remove the camera since, unfortunately, not everyone is honest.
Lovely and cute capture . Please tell something about my capture on my blog.
ReplyDeleteLots of similar stonerows in the landscape around here, some of them actually built as old stone walls. Great trailcam shots!
ReplyDeleteHello, wonderful variety! I love the bear. I have never seen the Fisher, it is a cute critter. Great collection of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend.
ReplyDeleteAwesome shots of the visitors to the old stonerow! So many different critters!
ReplyDeleteYou've got Wildlife Central there on that stone wall! I don't have a trail camera, so I have to wait until winter to discover how many critters pass through the woods I explore on snowshoes. I remember being astounded on my first time out by the incredible variety of critters that obviously inhabited "my" woods but most of which I had never laid eyes on: bobcat, fisher, mink, otter, coyote, fox, rabbit, mouse, vole, red squirrel, turkeys, etc, And lots of deer, of course. I'm sure there were bears in the neighborhood, too, but this was deep winter and they were not wandering about leaving tracks for me to discover.
ReplyDelete