A Walk in the Woods

Auspicious weather and a nice turnout made for a lovely fall walk through Herrontown Woods this past Saturday.

We started with a brief tour of the botanical garden next to the parking lot, where storms in recent years have knocked down the grove of white pines, leaving a gap in the forest. Last year, FOHW volunteers rescued this gap from a host of invasive species, and this year's rains fed a robust wave of weeds that had to be subdued. These interventions have made room for 100 native plant species, including sun-loving wildflowers like ironweed and Joe-Pye-Weed that feed pollinators in the summer when the forest has little nectar to offer. Shrubs already growing in the preserve, like blackhaw Viburnum, serviceberry, alternate-leaved dogwood, and wild azalea, are also benefitting from the additional sunlight and protection from deer that they get in this managed forest clearing.

Some sights photographed were these edible berries of blackhaw Viburnum

and some leaves of white oak that looked like they'd had paint spilled on them.

Deeper in the preserve, the blooms of witch hazel came as a surprise. As so often happens, people are more familiar with the spring-blooming asian witch hazels that are grown as ornamentals on Princeton campus and elsewhere, while the less-encountered native blooms quietly in local woodlands in the fall.

The remnants of a bird's nest looked like a beard. We walked up onto the ridge, past the boulder field, and made a stop at the cliff. There was talk of fire's historic beneficial role in woodlands, how the boulders came from igneous upwellings rather than from glaciers, which didn't make it this far south, and the past logging that can still be seen in the multi-trunked trees that originated as stump sprouts after a tree was cut down long ago.

Afterwards we headed to the Veblen House grounds for some refreshments, more conversation, and some tree climbing. Thanks to all of those who came and added to the enjoyment of the walk.

Fall Nature Walk, Saturday, October 19

On Saturday afternoon, October 19 at 2pm, join us for a Nature Walk in Herrontown Woods. The walk will be led by botanist Stephen Hiltner. Meet in the main parking lot, down a short street across Snowden Lane from the entrance to Smoyer Park. We'll check out this year's crop of wildflower seed in the phoenix garden, do some leaf identification along the way to a scenic overlook, then gather afterwards next to Veblen House for refreshments and conversation.

Rain date if needed will be October 26, same time.

In the photos, sweetgum leaves and a boulder lifted high by the rootball of a toppled tree.

Cadette Troop 72905 Leads Earthday Event at Herrontown Woods

It was a special celebration of Earthday at Herrontown Woods, as the eight grade girls of Cadette Troop 72905 led girls from Daisy Troops 72835 and 71829 on a walk through the woods, followed by snacks and activities on the Veblen House grounds.

Lots of parents showed up as well, making it a family venture.

First stop was a vernal pool, just down the red trail, where there were lots of tadpoles to see. Anika explained how the uprooted tree had created a hole in the ground where water collects and lingers long enough in the spring for the tadpoles to grow up.

It was moving to see the older scouts helping the younger ones across the stream.

We stopped by the Veblen Cottage, on our way to the Veblen House. The black vulture, faithful to this site and also faithful to its mate, who has not shown up the past couple years, was standing near the corncrib. The last family they raised was in 2017, which is when we began appreciating them as remarkable birds, and abandoned the cliche of black vultures as a haunting presence.

Three members of the 8th grade scout troop — Anika Simons, Lucy Kreipke, and Katherine Monroe — have developed and carried out a work plan for their Girl Scout Silver Award project at Herrontown Woods. A letter in Town Topics describes all the work they have done to help us, including building and installing signs that tell the history of the Veblens and the house and cottage they donated for public use.

For a work activity, I thought the younger scouts were going to want to pick up sticks, but they got really enthusiastic about pulling garlic mustard, an invasive plant. It was easy to identify with its white flowers and garlicky smell, and they pulled every last one they could find, proudly bringing them to the wheelbarrow as if it were an Easter egg hunt.

The older scouts also provided snacks and led a stone-painting activity at the picnic table.

The event made us aware of our role as setters of the stage at Herrontown Woods. The stepping stones we laid over a muddy patch of trail, the picnic table donated by a board member, the colorful bamboo walking sticks the kids took along on their walk, fashioned by one of our botanical garden stewards--the work we do comes back many times over in the reward of seeing kids discovering the park, and contributing their positive energy to make it even better.

A couple weeks later, the 8th graders had a table at Sustainable Princeton's Greenfest at the Princeton Shopping Center, where they had a chance to talk about all the work they've been doing. A big THANK YOU to Troop 72905!

Orchids, Edible Flowers, Ovenbirds--a Nature Walk With John Clark

The nature walk this past Saturday at Herrontown Woods with John L. Clark began in the parking lot while we were waiting for everyone to arrive. Thankfully, the only no-show was the rain in the ever-shifting predictions leading up to the walk.

Impressed by the diversity of birdcalls he was hearing, John pulled out a bird calling contraption (looked like this one) and began playing the call of a red bellied woodpecker. A real one quickly responded, flying in to have a closer look. John then played the "Teacher! Teacher!" call of an ovenbird, and again began a dialogue with the real thing nearby. Though it was a mechanical contraption, it seemed almost like John had a bird in his hand, calling out to the woods that surrounded us.

After checking out the growing tadpoles in the two vernal pools just down from the parking lot, we passed by a broad patch of spring beauties. This is the most common spring wildflower in the preserve, and John pointed out that it is also highly edible.

We munched on a few, and I realized that I had eaten a close relative of spring beauty in a restaurant two days prior. Spring beauty is an eastern species with the scientific name Claytonia virginica. What I had been served in a restaurant was miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), a western species named for its role in keeping miners alive during the Gold Rush.







John's knowledge of tropical flora also came into play with our common wildflower, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, which he explained produces heat in the flower, something I'd been aware of only in another common native plant in the Araceae family, skunk cabbage. Apparently all flowers in that family have heat-making ways. Producing heat can help volatilize the chemicals in the flower that attract pollinators.

John's daughter had an uncanny knack for making tropical birdlike sounds, provided a delightful soundtrack for the walk.

As we approached the second stream crossing, the beeches and musclewood trees became more numerous, and John pointed out that they, unlike other trees, have smooth bark. This strategy is common in tropical trees (John has spent many years in Ecuador studying plant life there), where smooth bark makes it harder for animals to climb and for epiphytes to attach themselves.

Some internet research after the walk brought up a short BBC article giving some pros and cons for smooth bark vs. thick furrowed bark.

The star of the walk was the showy orchid, found nowhere else in Princeton, as far as I know. Volunteers with the Friends of Herrontown Woods have been working to limit the growth of nonnative shrubs that tend to shade out spring wildflowers like this orchid. Nonnative shrubs, having evolved in a different part of the world, often have different biological clocks and tend to leaf out earlier, depriving the native spring ephemerals of the sunlight they need to store up energy for the next year's flowering. We were lucky that our walk coincided with the blooming of these plants, which are quite small but can be considered showy if looked at from close up.
(photo by John Clark)

Walks in Herrontown Woods are always enlivened by the interplay of boulders and trees. Here, a tree's root ball had become so enmeshed with a boulder that the boulder was catapulted skyward when the tree fell in a windstorm.

This tree looked like it was giving the boulder a smooch.

There was a visit to the cliff (not marked on the map), and a sighting of the lonely black vulture near the cottage. It lost its mate two years ago, but still returns to the farmstead, apparently steadfast in its attachment. The species' impressive commitment to family was very much on display two years ago. When a black vulture is soaring overhead, you can see the grayish silver tips underneath its wings, distinct from turkey vultures, which have silver running along the backside of the wing.

Afterwards, we had a tailgate gathering in the parking lot for refreshments and more conversation. Just off the parking lot is a botanical garden that FOHW is developing with labeled plants as an "intro to Herrontown Woods."

For those interested in learning more about our walk leader, John Clark, and his work at Lawrenceville School, there is a new exhibit there with O' Keefe-like images of plants he has discovered in Ecuador, along with photos documenting his annual treks with students to the tropical forests there.

Thanks to John for leading a pleasurable walk and adding to our insights into life at Herrontown Woods.

May 4 Nature Walk, 9am

Update: The walk will take place as planned. Predicted rain has not materialized.

The Friends of Herrontown Woods will host a nature walk Saturday, May 4 at 9am, co-led by John L. Clark and myself. John is a botanist specializing in the flora of Ecuador. He was an associate professor of botany at the University of Alabama, but family logistics lured him to Princeton, where he joined the faculty of the Lawrenceville School in a long-titled position, the Aldo Leopold Distinguished Teaching Chair. John's also an avid birder, so feel encouraged to bring your binoculars.


With the spring rains, Herrontown Woods has become one giant sponge slowly releasing water into Harry's Brook. The plant life is flourishing, but the abundant rain has presented a challenge for trail maintenance. In response, we've been installing dozens of stepping stones to traverse muddy patches of trail. Should be fine for the walk, but best to wear appropriate shoes.

Meet at the main parking lot, off of Snowden Avenue, across from Smoyer Park. This link takes you to relevant maps.

Photos are of spring beauty and jack in the pulpit.

Discovering Hidden Worlds at Herrontown Woods with Mark Manning

We had a wonderful nature walk at Herrontown Woods on April 6, led by Hopewell science teacher Mark Manning. Mark had been exploring the preserve with his son in recent years, and had reached out to the Friends of Herrontown Woods to share his findings about the amphibious life in the preserve.

The day began cool and wintry, as we gathered around one of the vernal pools just down from the parking lot. We wondered what there would be to see, since one of the main attractions, the adult frogs we'd seen a week prior, had disappeared back into the woods after laying their eggs.

As Mark explained the remarkable behavior of wood frogs--their capacity to remain frozen for long periods in the winter, the frenzied ritual of spring mating, the symbiotic relationship between their egg masses and an algae--we picked up a few eggs from the pool and found that the tadpoles were already hatching.

There was layer after layer to Mark's fascinating descriptions, as he found other amphibians under leaves and rocks.

Among the finds were 2-lined salamanders and red-backed salamanders.

They are improbably light, soft, skinny creatures to hold.

This photo was taken just before the salamander crawled up under the boy's sleeve.

We had ventured no more than a few hundred feet from the parking lot, but Herrontown Woods' charms were already beginning to draw us in. This is probably the cleanest stream in Princeton, as nearly all its headwaters are preserved as part of Herrontown Woods.

Each rock has its own pattern, decades in the making, as animate and inanimate worlds seem to merge and collaborate.

Dead wood remains a substrate for new life, in the form of moss

or mushroom. Peter Ihnat, who came on the walk, shared some of his knowledge of these "turkey tails" and other mushrooms.

Under some leaves, Mark found salamander eggs (the small white dots in the lower left, while the salamander's tail can be seen at the upper right of the photo).

Talk periodically shifted to the plant world, with Mark describing the incredible hardness of musclewood, and its applications.

(See an earlier post about musclewood and other trees encountered in winter at Herrontown Woods)

Under two towering tulip trees, Mark pulled out some rope he and his son had made from natural fibers.

He then proceeded to make rope from the bark of tulip tree, using a "reverse twist two-ply" method.

The white twine here is made from milkweed fibers. He said that dogbane is the best material to use. (Both milkweed and dogbane are in the dogbane family. Another common name for dogbane, Indian hemp, now makes sense, given that hemp is a plant whose fibers are used to make rope.)

We then headed over to Veblen House for refreshments and socializing. As we were gathered next to the house that Oswald and Elizabeth Veblen once called home, one of the kids who had been quiet all morning said to me, "I wish it was still a library. I love libraries." It melted my heart. That was the original wish of the Veblens, stated in their will, yet not acted upon. Forty five years later, our nonprofit is seeking to realize theVeblens' generous vision, and also use the house as a museum and meeting place for talks and music.

Though the walk covered just a couple of Herrontown Woods' shorter trails, we felt like we had come a long way. Mark Manning's insights had opened up new worlds for us, especially for the three kids who came along. The day, too, opened up, beginning cool and cloudy, then warming as the sun broke through. Over the course of two hours, we felt like we had walked from winter into spring.

(Some of these photos contributed by FOHW board member Inge Regan.)

Spring Nature Walk, Saturday, May 12, 2pm

Update: Nature walk is on, though may be shorter due to potential rain later in afternoon. Be ready for some mud here and there.

On Saturday, May 12 at 2pm, the Friends of Herrontown Woods (FOHW) will host a nature walk at Herrontown Woods in Princeton. The walk will include a brief intro to the native botanical garden being created at Herrontown Woods by FOHW volunteers, a walk up through the boulder fields of the Princeton Ridge, and end with refreshments.  Showy orchid and other rarely seen wildflowers of the Princeton ridge should be in full bloom.

The walk will be co-led by botanists John Clark and Steve Hiltner. John L. Clark teaches at the Lawrenceville School, and recently gave a talk at DR Greenway about discovering new species in Equador. Steve Hiltner is a naturalist who writes about nature at PrincetonNatureNotes.org, and is president of FOHW. 

Meet at the Herrontown Woods parking lot, off of Snowden Lane, opposite Smoyer Park.

Encountering Nature, Science and History in Herrontown Woods

The Friends of Herrontown Woods and Princeton Veterans of Science and Technology co-hosted a science history and nature walk at Herrontown Woods Sept. 10. Reversing the usual sequence of events, we fueled up on refreshments and conversation next to the Veblen House before heading up the trails.

Some of the many books related to Oswald Veblen's mathematical and environmental legacy were available for perusal. George Dyson's Turing's Cathedral devotes a chapter to Oswald Veblen's contributions to early computer development. Veblen's on the cover of local writer Linda Arntzenius' book about the Institute for Advanced Study, and Steve Batterson's book about the Institute's early years, entitled Pursuit of Genius. A new book, The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge, doesn't mention Veblen, but author and IAS director Robbert Dijkraaf was kind enough to sign a couple copies to Veblen, "The first professor of the IAS", and "who brought the IAS to Princeton!" The Veblens are part of Sylvia Nasar's description of Princeton in the "Center of the Universe" chapter of A Beautiful Mind. And Theory of the Leisure Class is the most well-known book of Veblen's uncle Thorstein, who influenced economic and social thought in the early 20th Century and coined the term "conspicuous consumption."

Another book that made the trip is Herrontown Woods: A Guide to a Natural Preserve, by Richard J. Kramer, a Rutgers grad student who wrote the book as part of his dissertation research back in 1966-7. It was published by the StonyBrook/Millstone Watershed Association, which speaks to how central was Herrontown Woods as Princeton's go-to for nature walks back then. Focus began to shift away from Herrontown Woods in the late 1970s and 1980s, as Princeton Township and Mercer County acquired additional open space. Our work represents a reawakening of interest in this long eclipsed preserve, and the generous couple that bestowed it upon us.

Stan de Riel gave an impromptu talk about pawpaws and puffballs, including some pawpaws to taste.

Along the blue trail, we first heard and then saw a pileated woodpecker, and the vertical, rectangular evidence of its past feastings.

It's been a good year for dodder, a parasitic plant that wraps its orange stems around more normal green plants, the better to feast upon them.

It was heartening to see how the dodder was preying upon the massive expanse of invasive mugwort extending along the gas pipeline right of way that divides Herrontown Woods in two. If the mugwort could be discouraged somewhat, other plants would have a chance to share the space.

The new blue trail route passes by many cavities in the ground where the diabase rock was quarried long ago.

Drill marks show how the rocks were split into manageable blocks for toting away to places as yet unknown. One approach was to drill a series of holes in a long line, then put dry wooden pegs in the holes and add water. The expansion of the wood would provide enough pressure to crack the rocks. This imitates the way tree roots extend into cracks in rocks, then slowly expand with each year's growth until the rock splits. Small amounts of pressure well applied can have great power.

This mushroom is about a foot high, and very solid.

It's growing out of the cavity left by a fallen tree, much like a similar one found during last year's mushroom walk.

One of the walkers mentioned how bats use shagbark hickories for roosting at night. Sure enough, the internet is full of testimonials, by people if not the bats themselves.

2017 is a great year for stalking wild hickory nuts, Euell Gibbons-style. All sorts of fruits and nuts are offering up bumper crops this year--pawpaws, Chinese chestnuts, hickories...

Passing by this highly photogenic beech tree along the nou-blue trail, friends Jeff and Fairfax expressed a strong interest in seeing the cardinal flowers, which appropriately are further into the woods on the red trail.

We headed over that way and, though I could not see it with the naked eye,

my camera captured the celestial light that bathed them as they encountered the cardinal flowers growing where this most pure of Harry's Brook's tributaries flows from the preserved headwater lands of Herrontown Woods. It's amazing what iPhones can detect.

Here is the cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis for long.

On the way out, hikers helped themselves to pawpaw plants, grown from local wild seed by Stan. The remaining seedlings will become another pawpaw patch in Herrontown Woods.

Thanks to all who participated and made this another pleasurable walk through lands preserved long ago by the far-sighted Veblens.