I awoke in Maine two time zones and a different world away. It wasn't long before I realized how really different it was from the arid west! Our first visit was to Orono Bog, where jonathan's Mom and Dad happily escorted us. They were plainly glad to see each other, and welcomed me warmly.
Registered as a Natural Landmark in 1974, a boardwalk meanders through Orono Bog. The link will take you to jonathan's insightful account of the bog.
National Natural Landmarks serve as a reference to pristine habitat with primary disturbances from natural processes, rather than human. Near the bottom of this link is a list of National Natural Landmarks by state. There may be one near you!
Entering the bog
from the edge of a mixed hardwood-evergreen woodland...
from the edge of a mixed hardwood-evergreen woodland...
... there was color everywhere!
The loosely-settled composition of the bog surface - an interface between water and soil high in organic matter - contributes to partially-fallen logs. As the sun streamed through around us, trees rubbed against each other and creaked in an almost eerie pitch. It was like entering a magical world of heightened sensory stimulus, all new to me.
Brightly-colored berries still clung to many branches, attractive to birds who were evidently enjoying the final fruits of summer. Jonathan's mom pointed out that this one is a type of holly.
Bunchberry plants, in the dogwood family, rise above the mossy, leaf-strewn surface of the bog where soils are relative firm and not permanently saturated.
Pitcher plants were green in the tall tree canopy...
... and red in the open bog.
Trees are stunted in the more saturated areas of the bog, where few species can tolerate the conditions, so shade here is provided by much shorter plants. In the wetter bog areas the soil surface is dominated by red sphagnum moss - does this contribute to the color variation of the red pitcher plants?
Bog rosemary
provides a striking variation in color and texture.
provides a striking variation in color and texture.
A mystical blue haze seemed present in some areas. Swamp Gas Blues? It could be a song - I can even imagine an elfin dance! The strange effect comes from the trunks of standing dead trees, shining grey-blue in the sun, playing optical tricks with the complementary reds and golds nearby.
From the moist areas in the bog, it was fascinating to see the dwarfed vegetation grade into taller shrubs and trees, the glowing woodland beyond, all expressions of localized soil, moisture and pH conditions.
Eriophorum, cotton grass,
is a delightfully common bog resident.
is a delightfully common bog resident.
As the boardwalk carried us back into the woodland zone, autumn leaves provided a rich contrast to the steel blue waters of the bog.
It was curious to see the distinctions between communities in the bog, and not all of them plants!
It was a perfect autumn exploration, filled with fresh smells, brilliant colors, the woodland sounds of trees and birds and insects - truly a tonic for impoverished urban senses.
There were rich colors below...
... above...
... and all around!
Thank you, Orono Bog!
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