Eric Outterson
Professor Hank Art
September 13 2009
4:35PM-5:40PM
From Itchy Hands
This afternoon at 4:35 I visited the Stetson Parking lot woods. I pulled up my bike and immediately took note of the multitude of mosquitoes that swarmed around me even before I stepped past the well-manicured lawn grass edging the wooded area. The low areas in the center likely have generally damp conditions. The wooded section is roughly rectangular and appears to be close to ¼ acre. The rectangular plot is set on a hill, with one “point” aiming slightly east of the Thompson Memorial Chapel, and the other pointing down to the Stetson Parking lot. From the chapel-facing edge (south) to the center of the wooded lot, the hill descends quickly about 25 feet to a low divot in the middle of the site. From the low depression the ground ascends slightly to the other three corners.
Complementing the irregular terrain is the arrangement of plant life. Around nearly the entire wooded area is first three to five foot patch short mowed grass, followed by two to three feet of small shrubs and finally a ring of tall cottonwood, black locust (and possibly elm) trees 45-65 feet. In the interior I saw no evergreen trees but I was able to identify very old birch and ash trees whose ages I estimated to be at least 50 years old, given the thick trunks and branches reaching 50-60 feet above the ground and several feet out over the parking lot. In this woodland ring, it’s quite clear that human care is the cause of this uniformity from the small shrubbery outwards. Interestingly, however, there’s no such obvious explanation for the dearth of old growth in the interior of the wooded section; only small trees and large shrubs fill the center.
There are explanations for this arrangement, however. One is that the interior had been culled of trees by people (possibly wishing to camp in the interior many years ago?). Three cleanly sliced interior tree stumps whose tree ring counts are about 60 tree rings lend credibility to this possibility. More plants may have started growing in a long time ago, but trees may now be slow to do so in the interior because saplings have a comparatively difficult time in interior’s soil compared to small bushes. Digging lightly in the soft soil I was unable to see any more signs of animals in the form of tracks, or holes. The only place I spotted wild animals were where birds perched on the very highest branches. Even squirrels seemed to be absent. Later, I saw two housecats, but neither led me to any mice or voles. It seems that the road and cement curb surrounding these wooded rectangles seem to isolate this greenery. These woods sure look nice, but it cannot be a lush and vibrant timberland when it is surrounded by pavement. I wish I understood what the land was like before the asphalt was laid, because this area could have been home to many thing creatures before it became this small island of greenery. I can only assume the squirrels are off searching the trash cans by Sage in the jungle that is Frosh Quad.