Sunday, February 13, 2022

Reading the Forest Landscape

I read his book over 20 years ago and tried to put it to use, with some success, right away. I have a few stories from that, if anyone ever wanders the woods with me - though sometimes you can read the roadside landscape, even as you are driving past, once you know what to look for. 

I like the part about Jarvis smuggling 4000 Merino sheep out of Spain in the very early 19th C.  That doesn't sound easy.

I think folks will find it interesting even if this is not your area.  The basic principles behind looking at the landscape will apply in other places, even if the species and industries weren't the same. The closer you are to this area, the more sense this will make.  I think it should apply to a good deal of the Appalachias in general, at least through what the AT descriptions have for about halfway through VA heading south. Not the sheep and the walls, but the conversion of land from one use to another and how to look for that is a lot of fun.  I can attest that it is very satisfying to think you have detected something from the landscape and then find yourself proved right when you check up on the county maps and documents in the local library.



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL. I could snare rabbits when I was 10. I could see where they went, and set my snare.

Now I'm actually good at tracking, and reading the bush is just what you do out there. He's not bad at all.

Sponge-headed ScienceMan said...

This is a great series - well done. I've also found Wessels' paperback Forest Forensics especially helpful. It's sort of laid out like a lot of the bird identification books out there - helpful color photos with a clear text.

Aggie said...

I really enjoy his work. It would be fascinating to do some backcountry traipsing with him.

Grim said...

I also grew up in the woods, and can track fairly well. I sometimes try to teach others, but those who grew up in front of screens often can't see a bear trail.

Grim said...

Speaking of bears, there's a lot of scat today up by the ford. It looks like the bear got a deer, or else a hunter got a bullet in one and it escaped only to succumb later. Happy bear, either way.