The first of January, a new year, a new day, a new weather system approaching, a perfect day for a walk on Spruce Hill, but then any day of the year is a perfect day for a walk there, no matter what the weather. There is always something interesting happening weather-wise on Spruce Hill, which juts 400 feet up from the valley floor below, and today was no different. The sun hangs low in the sky, but still gives light in its typical weak, wintry way here in southern Ohio. Clouds scuttle along in front of the approaching storm as the flat, broad Paint Creek Valley funnels it straight at the base of the hill.
I begin my hike at the SE corner of the isthmus, having crossed over Baum Hill Road and the orchard and two farm fields to get there. The weather is cool, high 40’s. The snow that had piled up over the last few weeks has all melted away in the last day or two, not even a snowball nestled or tucked in on the north sides of trees. The long quiet vista of the hilltop field is broken by the loping flight of a pileated woodpecker and the boundings hops of white-tails. The true winter colors of Spruce Hill are all here…browns, golds, muted yellows, more brown, greys, purples, bright greens, wait, what? Purples, greens, golds? Mardi Gras on Spruce Hill on New Years Day, you say?
Absolutely!!! Just take a minute and gaze around you and it is all there.
The gold I see is in the side meadows and field—in every shade and hue and tint. The vibrant greens are concentrated on the north sides of the trees and flaunted by the moss and lichens as well as by the lovely, slender leaves of the orchids that decorate the forest floor and the persistent rosettes of garlic mustard. Purples, where are they? ---in the raspberry canes, of course. No spring leaves or summer berries detract from this brilliant wash of color displayed by these canes wearing their dusty winter wrappings.
I hike through this winter palette of color down to the parking lot, teased and serenaded along the path by the sight and sound of golden-crowned kinglets. (Yes, there is gold here, too.) The salamanders at the farm pond still sleep--no activity yet. The water level at this farm pond is surprisingly good compared to the vernal pool at the top. That pool suffers mightily in the dry summers we’ve had recently. Perhaps the difference in level now can be explained by rainfall. I’ve seen it rain on top of the hill and not a drop fall in the valley below, and vice versa. I’ve seen snowfall 4 inches deep on top of Spruce Hill, with only a dusting in the valley.
Ascending the east side of the hill from the parking lot, I hear a heavy, strong sighing in the treetops as the wind collides with the west side of the hill, rushes up, rolls and tumbles over the hilltop, and finally breaks over the eastern edge in the treetops above me. By the time I move into the protective copse of trees at the vernal pool, a skyful of mist and wind now enshrouds Spruce Hill in a wild jumble of gray. I look back to see those mists and clouds slowly swirling across the point of that arrow-shaped field and embracing me as I walk. I am tempted. The weather woos me, bewitches me, stay it says, be with me, be part of me. My heart agrees---my head counsels otherwise. I turn back again, I hesitate then walk on to return another time.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
2010 hikes
The year of 2010 was an extra busy year for the ARC, so I only took 4 walks on Spruce Hill that year. As I review the four hikes I did get in, it gives me a sense of how the seasons change over time and how it affects the appearance of Spruce Hill. January comes with its brittle clarity and cold ice grottos. February follows with heavy, clinging wet snows. April explodes onto the preserve with its wildflower displays. Each season, month, day, hike has its treasures.
The 3rd of January was sunny, cold, highs only in the teens with a wind of 10-20mph. I crossed Baum Hill Rd, the orchard and the two farm fields to enter the preserve at the isthmus. Fifteen Canada geese passed overhead, honking gently as they winged their way southwest in search of more open waters. They are regular visitors to Paint Creek. The resident northern harrier cruises over the hilltop field. I visit the ice grotto on the southwest side, a regular feature this time of year. A small creek has sliced through the sandstone and dribbles and trickles over the edge of the hilltop; the ice sculptures along the steep streambed are awesome.
On the sixth of February, a heavy snow had fallen in the area, places up to 6 inches deep, the snow is always the deepest here on top of the hill. I hiked early just after the snow fell, and there was no wind, so the snow was piled up on the storm side of the tree trunks and on top of the branches 4-6 inches high. The winter wonderland did not last long, as the snow stacks were so fragile and delicate. They immediately started falling as soon as the breeze stirred. But pictures I took and the memories I have of that walk will stay with me forever.
In anticipation of the Wildflower Pilgrimage hike on Spruce Hill, I walked the preserve on the 14th of April. Everything looked in order; the wildflower bouquets and displays are all in place for the pilgrimage participants.
On the 18th of April, Mr. John Jaeger guided us as a group of twelve hikers on the Spruce Hill Preserve took part in the Arc of Appalachia’s Wildflower Pilgrimage hosted in April of each year in Highland County, Ohio.
The 3rd of January was sunny, cold, highs only in the teens with a wind of 10-20mph. I crossed Baum Hill Rd, the orchard and the two farm fields to enter the preserve at the isthmus. Fifteen Canada geese passed overhead, honking gently as they winged their way southwest in search of more open waters. They are regular visitors to Paint Creek. The resident northern harrier cruises over the hilltop field. I visit the ice grotto on the southwest side, a regular feature this time of year. A small creek has sliced through the sandstone and dribbles and trickles over the edge of the hilltop; the ice sculptures along the steep streambed are awesome.
On the sixth of February, a heavy snow had fallen in the area, places up to 6 inches deep, the snow is always the deepest here on top of the hill. I hiked early just after the snow fell, and there was no wind, so the snow was piled up on the storm side of the tree trunks and on top of the branches 4-6 inches high. The winter wonderland did not last long, as the snow stacks were so fragile and delicate. They immediately started falling as soon as the breeze stirred. But pictures I took and the memories I have of that walk will stay with me forever.
In anticipation of the Wildflower Pilgrimage hike on Spruce Hill, I walked the preserve on the 14th of April. Everything looked in order; the wildflower bouquets and displays are all in place for the pilgrimage participants.
On the 18th of April, Mr. John Jaeger guided us as a group of twelve hikers on the Spruce Hill Preserve took part in the Arc of Appalachia’s Wildflower Pilgrimage hosted in April of each year in Highland County, Ohio.
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