Bob: Excellent pictures. Some of them illustrate the dymamics of different types of patches are going directly into powerpoint presentations for my new Landscape Ecology class.
Lee [email protected] wrote: > ENTS, > > Yesterday Monica and I visited a scenic icon of the Connecticut River > Valley in Massachusetts - diminutive yet distinctive Mount Sugar Loaf. > At 654 feet elevation, Sugar Loaf lies more as a big lump on the land > than a real mountain; yet its summit offers surprisingly scenic views. > One reason is that the sides of Sugar Loaf include sandstone ledges > and cliffs. A 500-foot elevation gain occurs quickly. Another reason > for the quality of Sugar Loaf's vistas is that the little peak is > situated in the middle of the Connecticut River Valley in a spot that > provides views green fields, the Connecticut River against a backdrop > of the Holyoke and Mount Tom Ranges, nearby Mt Toby, and the more > distant Pelham Hills to the east and the Berkshires to the west. > Detractions to the otherwise superb views are the housing developments > that increasingly encroach upon the green space that for so long has > defined the Valley. Then there are the unsightly profiles of the tall > buildings on the UMASS campus. > > To the State's credit, the top of Sugar Loaf is very attractively > maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). > Consequently, the little Park is a must see for visitors to the Valley > with an eye for the scenic. This point was reinforced near the end of > our visit. While at the summit, Monica and I briefly met a lady from > New York who had stumbled onto the property, and on impulse, drove to > the top of Sugar Loaf to see what it was all about. She was mightily > pleased that she had followed her impulse. She was awe struck. Veering > off a congested Interstate and adding a quick 500 feet of elevation > can change one's perspective. > > Oh yes, the forests on Sugar Loaf. Well, there isn't much to show off. > Sugar Loaf and North Sugar Loaf have suffered countless indignities > over the last 300 years, courtesy of a population that gave little > thought to conservation or balance. The soils are thin and do not > support big trees except near the base of the mountain complex. > However, between Sugar Loaf and North Sugar Loaf, there is a > scattering of large northern red oaks, black oaks, and some tall > pignut hickories and there are a few surprisingly stately sugar > maples. However, overall, it is a fragile environment and needs to be > protected from impacts that remove the over-story. Logging is out of > the question. I expect that DCR well understands this and has no plans > to pursue timber management on Sugar Loaf. Nonetheless, I know of no > statutes that would exempt Sugar Loaf from some form of active forest > management. > > This brings me to a point. I am trying to figure out how to > photographically document the forests of places like Sugar Loaf to > reflect as accurately as possible what is there and how it looks. For > the most part, when we take photographs, we attempt to extract the > best that a place has to offer. Filters, selective images, limited > focus, etc. can make a place look better than it actually is, often > far better. I want to learn how to document our forests in an ever > more accurate depiction of what the eye sees mostly as well as > capturing the dreamy scenes that may exist in only a few places. I > have a long way to go and the advice of others is welcome. > > Now to the images. > > Image#1-MtToby.jpg: This image looks to the northeast toward Mount > Toby, a high ridge in the Connecticut River Valley region exhibiting > extraordinary geological features. > > Image#2-Berkshires.jpg: This image looks westward to the Berkshire > uplands. The Berkshires are geological extensions of the Green > Mountains of Vermont. The chain is continued in the Litchfield Hills > of Connecticut. The Connecticut River sentinels of Sugar Loaf, Mount > Holyoke, and Mount Tom provide exceptional views of the eastern > Berkshire front. > > Image#3-MtTomRange.jpg: This view looks to the south and slightly west > to Mount Tom and the rest of the Mount Tom Range. The ruplift ends at > the Connecticut River which separates the Mount Tom and Holyoke Ranges. > > Image#4-ChurchAndToby.jpg: This view looks eastward toward Sunderland > and the south end of the Mount Toby formation. The church spire is > quintessential New England. > > Image#5-CtRiverAndHolyokeRange1.jpg: The view to the south is > stunning. The snaking turns of the Connecticut focus the attention on > the roll of the river. The distant, undulating form of the Holyoke > Range suggests higher mountains. The small, but scenic Holyoke and > adjacent Mt Tom Ranges have long attracted painters and photographers. > The ugly spectacle of encroaching housing developments threaten to > spoil the viewscape. Monica and I buy produce from local farmers to > support Valley agriculture. > > Image#6-CtRiverAndHolyokeRange2.jpg: There is always another view of > the river, the Holyoke Range, green fields, etc. I want to pay Sugar > Loaf a return visit on a day when there are few visitors and stay on > the summit, observing the changes in light that highlight, mute, and > dramatize this iconic Connecticut River Valley landscape that is > disappearing all too fast. > > Bob > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
