Sunday, October 5, 2014

Fall color time

Take a walk through your preserve for autumn's peaking color. The paths are filling with the fall of colorful leaves and needles. 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The outdoor bathroom



Gahagan Preserve has begun the construction of a combined restroom and outdoor clean-up station next to the cabin. 
The small building will provide a modern toilet for school classes and the public without tracking into the cabin. 
The adjoining large outdoor sink will allow classes and educators a place to clean field equipment. 
Funding for half the project comes from a private donation matched by Gahagan funds. 
Today the small area was cleared. Soon the building should be up. 

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Top gone!


Recently The preserve witnessed the beginning of the end of one of its largest trees. The big pine with the split top which resides near the Brookside entrance lost both it's tops. Lightening might have been the cause. Each top crashed through the forest toppling smaller trees and creating a small opening for new growth. 
Each year, Tom Dale would line up 1st graders, 3 at a time, to see if they could wrap the tree's base finger tip to finger tip. That gives you an idea of its girth. The base is still there - a good fifty feet high. Now without a green needle to support it, it will become home to insects, and then woodpeckers and others as it's final end. 


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Bitter but Beautiful Winter



It's been a number of years since our Fahrenheit thermometers struggled to stay above zero. Old-timers say "it's like it use to be" and it certainly has been a number of years since we've seen anything like this. The weather gods forgot the January thaw. 
But with the proper attire and a pair of snowshoes, you can find a wonderful peaceful world in nature. Quiet, white - almost new. Take a trip through Gahagan preserve. The tracks in the snow tells you who lives there. The cedars near Tank Creek provide shelter for the residents. The spring remains open despite days of temps well below freezing. It shows the energy stored in our earth just feet below our frozen feet.