On my hike Saturday I came across this witness tree, easily 200 years old and probably more, and was amazed by its massive size and longevity. I used my 4 1/2 foot hiking pole to try to capture the scale but really, you just had to be there. The circumference was 17 1/2 feet!
With the snow melting so fast Saturday, there were many sink holes in the cedar swamp and I landed in more than one. I saw this one coming and was able to get a shot of the vibrant green vegetation under all that snow that is just waiting for its turn to dominate the forest swamp again.
On my hike Saturday I came across this witness tree, easily 200 years old and probably more, and was amazed by its massive size and longevity. I used my 4 1/2 foot hiking pole to try to capture the scale but really, you just had to be there. The circumference was 17 1/2 feet!
I've never heard of a witness tree before. Apparently it isn't very common, but is it a native species to Vermont?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos I love the framed snow with greenery underneath. The large tree shot is amazing...especially considering in the early part of the settlement of Vermont all the trees were loggedg and made into potash to ship to Europe so this could be one of the older ones in the state!!
ReplyDeleteLook at this old Potash Kettle
Hear what it could tell
Of bye-gone days,
Of old folkways,
Tales that linger and cast a spell.
Farms in every valley
Cows on every farm
Maple sugar to keep us sweet
Firewood to keep us warm.
Cider stored in barrels
To harden until harvest time
Kids who walked to one room schools
Could always recite a rhyme.
Look at this old Potash Kettle
Hear what it could tell
Of bye-gone days,
Of old folkways,
Tales that linger and cast a spell
Turkeys on foot to Boston
Sheep on many a hill
To card and to spin that wool
Water wheels turned many a mill.
Dances in kitchens
Barns and house raisings
Horses towed newfangled cars
Stuck in the mud in the spring.
Look at this old Potash Kettle
Hear what it could tell
Of bye-gone days,
Of old folkways,
Tales that linger and cast a spell
Gadgets and tools of wood and iron
Their use can no more be told
We still have this old kettle
Filled now with flowers
Instead of potash it now holds
These precious memories of ours.
Look at this old Potash Kettle
Hear what it could tell
Of bye-gone days,
Of old folkways,
Tales that linger and cast a spell.
Source: The Potash Kettle, Quarterly Publication of the Green Mountain Folklore Society, Vol. 48, No. 4, Summer 2000.