Gary,
Yes it is and made even more so by the scarcity of really big, well-formed black cherries in Massachusetts. The so-called state champion is a mis-measured, multi-stemmed, unattractive tree growing on a bank. Mohawk Trail State Forest has taller black cherries, but none as large as the Bryant cherry. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Smith" <[email protected]> To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, September 13, 2009 9:40:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: Bryant Homestead That is an extremely impressive black cherry. On Sep 13, 6:44 pm, [email protected] wrote: > ENTS, > > Massachusetts has approximately 3,000,000 acres of forests out of a land area > of 5,050,000 acres. Most of the wooded acres are covered by undistinguished > forest, often downright ratty - not places we would want to brag about to > folks in other states. However, despite this common woodland theme, there are > some real forest gems in the Bay State; inspiring forests that are on a par > with the best that other northeastern states have to offer. > > Most of our forest gems are on public lands. I frequently report on Mohawk > Trail and Monroe State Forests, Mount Greylock and Mount Tom State > Reservations, Robinson State Park, and less often, on a good dozen other > public properties. The State will continue to claim to the lion's share of > inspiring forests, but the State can't lay claim to all the jewels. There are > some privately held forests that rank high on the inspiration scale. Most are > owned by conservation organizations. A very few are owned by private > citizens. One forest gem not owned by the State is the Laurel Hill > Association's incomparable Ice Glen, located in Stockbridge, MA. Another is > the Trustees of Reservation's Bryant Homestead, located in Cummington, MA. > > I regularly visit the Bryant Homestead. It holds special meaning for me. The > Bryant Woods possess qualities that reflect the greatness of Bryant, himself. > In fact, Bryant was inspired by his woods and wrote poetry about them. He > always though they inspired art and poetry. > > In terms of stature, the Bryant Woods vary from somewhat impressive to > spectacular. The homestead sits at about 1,500 feet elevation, so winters are > fairly cold and snowy. The forest type is predominately hemlock and northern > hardwoods. However, early successional species can be found, courtesy of past > clearing for pastures. The Bryant Woods have a Rucker Height Index of 106.9. > This is modest compared to Mohawk, Ice Glen , Monroe, and several other > Massachusetts sites. But compared to most of the Massachusetts woodlands, the > Bryant height index is fairly impressive. Still, one cannot obtain the true > measure of the Bryant Woods by appealing to dimensional indices - not for the > Bryant Woods. The quiet woodland paths of the property are meant to put one > in a contemplative state, to inspire art, poetry, music. There is much to tie > the Bryant Woods to the woodland mythology. Hopefully, the following images > will illustrate why I say this. So, without further comment, I present six > images from the Bryant Woods. > > Image#1-BryantHomestead1.jpg: This image shows the home and barn of the > homestead from across a sloping field that is used for hay. The magic woods > lie behind me as I snapped this shot. > > Image#2-BlackCherry.jpg: This image shows the famous Bryant Black Cherry (at > least, famous to the high priesthood of big tree aficionados). The handsome > cherry has finally reached a girth of 9 feet and it is very close to 100 feet > in height. These dimensions are unusual in Massachusetts for a forest-grown > cherry. This past winter's ferocious ice storm failed to break up the > cherry's crown such as happened to many small trees. The cherry's big limbs > were apparently the reason. The crown did take a hit, but there is plenty > left to keep the cherry going for a long time. > > Image#3-ForestPrimeval2.jpg: Old growth hemlocks impart that 'enchanted > forest look' to this area of the Rivulet Trail. When I was helping the > Trustees put up interpretive markers and delineate the area of old growth, I > dated a number of hemlocks along the trail to between 200 and 250 years. A > few may reach 300, but not many. However, over 200 years is common. > > Image#4-ForestPrimeval4.jpg: The Pine Loop Trail passes through a colossal > stand of mature white pines - one of the show stands in New England. The > pines took a hit from the ice storm, but all in all, survived well compared > to younger, wispy forests. I helped layout the Loop Trail through the pines. > I count the trail as one of my most satisfying achievements. Within the > stand, the Bryant Pine stands supreme. It rises to a height of between 155 > and 156 feet. Jack Sobon and I have monitored it for nearly 20 years. I'll > measure the Bryant Pine to a higher level of accuracy when the leaves fall > and I can see its crown better. A couple of years ago, Will Blozan was going > to climb the pine and do a tape drop. That is a must for the future. The > Bryant pine stand may have the highest concentration of white pines in the > 10-foot circumference class and larger. Mohawk has more, but its area of > pines covers more territory. The operative term here is concentration. > > Image#5-SweetiePieandWhiteAsh.jpg: Monica has her hand on the trunk of a 240+ > year old white ash. I am hopeful that this splendid trail-side ash will leave > decades more. It is perhaps the oldest of its species in the Bryant Woods. > > Image#6-RedMaple.jpg: Lumbermen commonly disparage the red maple. Would they > do so of this splendid specimen? When I lead groups in the Bryant Woods for > the Trustees, I always stop at this beautiful red maple. and pay my respects > to what Rhode Island declares as its state tree. > > BryantHomestead1.jpg > 324KViewDownload > > BlackCherry.jpg > 635KViewDownload > > ForestPrimeval2.jpg > 661KViewDownload > > ForestPrimeval5.jpg > 676KViewDownload > > SweetiePiendWhiteAsh.jpg > 609KViewDownload > > RedMaple.jpg > 760KViewDownload --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
