'Life On Distant Hill’ Blog

After planting the lettuce, we covered it with a floating row cover called Agribon+ AG-19. It can be used to protect plants from insects or, in this case, from the cold. The material offers about 4 degrees of frost protection. But, even without the row cover, hardened lettuce plants should survive 20 F. We keep it on until the danger of frost has past. Then we replace it with a shade cloth to protect the lettuce from the hot summer sun.

The link above for the row cover Agribon+ takes you to a page on Johnny's Selected Seeds website. They have a much better and more informative website than Fedco Seeds, the supplier we bought the row cover from. Fedco's price of $13.00 for a 83" x 50' roll beats Johnny's price of $21.95 by quite a bit. 

The Brown-headed Cowbird is one of my least favorite birds (on a par with the European Starling), but it is a very interesting bird nonetheless. It is North America’s most common “brood parasite.” A female cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, which then raise the young cowbirds. Researchers believe that parasitism by cowbirds may be a significant factor contributing to the declining numbers of many songbirds in North America.

Cowbirds were historically open-country birds, associating with buffalo herds and later adapting to domestic cattle. The prairies and plains were the cowbirds’ homeland, but they have now expanded their ranges. Currently the Brown-headed Cowbird’s range includes all of the 48 contiguous states and southern Canada.

An average female lays about 80 eggs, 40 per year for two years. Only about 3% of those 80 eggs reach maturity—an average of 2.4 adults per female. Such numbers more than compensate for the excessive loss of eggs and young in the nests of inappropriate hosts. Each pair of cowbirds replaces itself with an average of 1.2 pairs—which will double a cowbird population in eight years.

A gardening rule of thumb in New England is to plant your potatoes when the dandelions bloom. We usually plant four varieties of organic potatoes every year at Distant Hill Gardens Rio Grande Russet, Red Sangre, Yukon Gold, and my favorite French Fingerling.

The French Fingerling is by far the most prolific variety in our garden. We have harvested as many as thirty pounds from a single pound planted. The yield for our other three varieties is about ten pounds per pound planted. Another common name for the French Fingerling is "Nosebag". Legend has it that the name "Nosebag" resulted from the way in which the tubers were smuggled into the U.S. from France- in the nosebag, or feed sack, of a horse.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have returned to Distant Hill Gardens. As part of their spring migration, some of these birds fly across the Gulf of Mexico, a 500 mile (800 km), non-stop flight over water.

These tiny birds, the only hummingbird species to breed in eastern North America, don't just consume nectar but are omnivores, also feeding on insects and spiders. An adult ruby-throated hummingbird may eat twice its body weight in food each day, which it needs to sustain its high metabolism. Its rapid wing movement of 53 beats per second must burn up the calories quickly!

Females ruby-throats provide all care for young hummingbirds, often having several broods each year. They lay one to three eggs, incubate them for about two weeks, and, after hatching, feed their young for about three weeks. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are largely solitary outside of the breeding season.

Of all hummingbirds in the United States, this species has the largest breeding range, covering all the states east of the Mississippi River.

North America has two easily distinguished races of Northern Flickers: the yellow-shafted form of the East, which occurs into Texas and the Great Plains, and the red-shafted form of the West. The key difference is the color of the flight-feather shafts, which are either a lemon yellow or a rosy red. Hybrids look intermediate and are common at the edges of these two groups’ ranges.

The Yellow-shafted Flicker is one of the most rapidly disappearing birds in North America. Breeding Bird Surveys show a steady decline of three to five percent annually since the mid 1960s. Christmas Bird Counts depict the same trend. By these estimates, there may be only one-third as many flickers around today as there were in 1960.

Learn more about the possible causes of the Flicker's decline.

 Trillium are spring ephemeral perennials. It is a genus of over 40 species native to temperate regions of North America and Asia. We have two species of Trillium growing in the woods at Distant Hill Gardens:

• Trillium undulatum - Painted Trillium or Painted Lady. 
• Trillium erectum - Purple or Red Trillium, Stinking Benjamin, Wakerobin, Birthroot. 

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) also known as Groundnut, is a springtime herb native to eastern North America. Its distinctive tubers can be eaten raw or boiled. Native Americans drank tea made from the whole plant for medicinal purposes. It was used as a remedy for a large number of ailments, from colic to rheumatism and tuberculosis.  The root was chewed for headaches, shortness of breath and fainting. 

Monarchs butterflies need milkweed to survive. The caterpillars feed on the leaves, which makes them unpalatable to birds. The sap contains cardiac glycosides, which are toxic to birds.

We favor the milkweed in our fields and go out of our way to help it thrive. We have found that mowing in mid May, just as the milkweed plants are emerging, works best. It develops a healthy crop for the Monarch butterflies by cutting the already tall grasses. The milkweed isn't cut, which allows it to become the dominant plant in the field. We mow a second time in late October, after the plants have gone to seed.

Working with ‘Monarch Watch’ in 2003, Michael tagged a butterfly that was found six months later in El Rosario, Mexico, part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. This is the area where the majority of the Monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to for the winter; an estimated 60 million to 1 billion butterflies every year. That small butterfly from New Hampshire had flown 2288 miles!

The Round-leaved Sundew, one of the most widespread sundew species, is found in all of northern Europe, Siberia, Korea, Japan, New Guinea and much of northern North America.

In North America, it is considered endangered in the US states of Illinois and Iowa, exploitably vulnerable in New York, and threatened in Tennessee.

This is a photo of a tobacco hornworm, the caterpillar of a Carolina sphinx moth (Manduca sexta) feeding on a tomato plant at Distant Hill Gardens. The tobacco hornworm, is closely related to, and often confused with, the very similar tomato hornworm. Both feed on plants in the Nighshade Family. The tomato hornworm is the caterpillar of the  five-spotted hawk moth (Manduca quinquemaculata). 

Note the Red horn at the tail end of the caterpillar, and the seven diagonal lines on its side. These identify this as a tobacco hornworm. The tomato hornworm has a Black horn, and eight V-shaped markings in place of the diagonal lines. 

This is the same tobacco hornworm seven days later. It is covered with cocoons of Cotesia congregata, a species of parasitic braconid wasp. They lay eggs in the bodies of tobacco hornworms. The eggs hatch inside the hornworm and the larva feed internally, later to emerge from the body to spin their cocoons. 

If you find a hornworm with these white cocoons, just let it be. Young wasps will soon emerge from the cocoons and lay their eggs in other unsuspecting tobacco hornworms.

Note: The insect on the body of the hornworm is not a braconid wasp. I'm working on getting a positive ID. Do you know what the insect is?

Oyster mushrooms are not just tasty, but they are good for you too. They contain chemicals that help to lower your cholesterol. 

And Pleurotus fungi have been used in mycoremediation of some oil based pollutants. They help decompose the oils. The key to mycoremediation is determining the right fungal species to target a specific pollutant. Certain strains have actually been reported to successfully degrade various chemical weapons.

There any no poisonous look alikes in North America or Europe. However, the poisonous Omphalotus nidiformis, which grows in Japan and Australia, is sometimes mistaken for an oyster mushroom.   

This Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) was transplanted from our woods here at Distant Hill Gardens, and is doing extremely well in a shade garden on the path to the swimming pond. This plant is a herbacious perennial that grows from a corm, and is native to eastern North America.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit is one of those red-berried plants that families with small children should avoid planting in their gardens. All uncooked parts of the plant are poisonous to humans. However, the  corms can be eaten by humans if processed correctly, and Black Bear, who happen to love the corms of Jack-in-the-Pulpit, can eat them without a problem.

 All parts of the 

White Baneberry 

(Actaea pachypoda) plant are considered poisonous to humans. But, according to Wikipedia, both Native Americans and settlers made tea out of the roots for relieving pain of childbirth. The early colonists also used the plant to improve circulation and to cure headache or eyestrain. This plant is sometimes called Dolls Eyes because the white fruits resemble the china eyes once used in dolls.

In cultivation White Baneberry requires part to full shade, rich loamy soil, and regular water with good drainage to reproduce its native habitat. We have had good luck transplanting Doll's Eyes from the forest to the gardens of Distant Hill. Come late summer, the flowers will transform themselves into the large white berries shown above. 

I recently put up a trail camera in the woods at Distant Hill, just a few hundred feet from the main road. It is amazing what is hidding out there in the forest.

The Common Green Darner (Anax junius) is one of the most common dragonflies in North America. Many of them migrate south for the winter, somewhat like the Monarch butterfly. As with Monarchs, the migration in intergenerational. The Green Darner that flies south in the autumn dies, and the next generation makes the trip back north in the spring.

Researchers at Princeton and Rutgers Universities tracked 14 Common Green Darners with miniature radio tags in 2006. They discovered that migrating dragonflies and songbirds exhibit many of the same behaviors, suggesting the rules that govern such long-distance travel may be simpler and more ancient than was once thought.

American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is a perennial herb that is native to much of North America and grows in the woods at Distant Hill. It is a beautiful and very vigorous plant that can grow to a height of more than ten feet. 

Some research has shown that a protein contained in pokeweed, called pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP), has anti-tumor effects in mice and laboratory studies. It has also been shown to help control some viruses such as herpes and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

According to pokesaladfestival.com, new research has revealed that a possible cure for Childhood Leukemia called (B43-PAP) is found in the common Pokeweed. 

All parts of the plant are at least mildly poisonous when eaten, although the root is most toxic. Even so, the berries and dried roots are used in a few herbal remedies and the leaves can be eaten when small. Young, boiled pokeweed leaves & shoots are considered a special treat in the South and a canned version is occasionally available in grocery stores. The pokeweed leaves must be harvested before there is any noticeable red color in the leaves or stem, usually when the plant is still under about six inches tall. Even at this young age there are highly toxic alkaloids present so the leaves must be boiled in three changes of water to render them safe enough to eat. Boil for five minutes in each change of water.

The seeds are very toxic even after cooking, but the juice of the berries can be made safe by boiling. After boiling the berry juice can be made into a jam or jelly. The berry juice has also be used as a dye or as an ink.

The Yellow-orange Fly Agaric, Amanita muscaria var. formosa, is common in the woods at Distant Hill. It is somewhat poisonous and hallucinogenic when consumed by humans, but not deadly like some species of Amanita. The toxins affect the part of the brain that is responsible for fear, turning off the fear emotion. Viking Berserkers , who had a reputation for fierceness, are said to have ingested this mushroom prior to battle.

According  to Wikepedia, it's called the fly agaric because residents of a number of European countries used it as an insecticide to control flies. Albertus Magnus was the first to record it in his work 'De vegetabilibus' sometime before 1256. Small pieces of the mushroom are placed in milk to attract flies and they become inebriated and crash into walls and die. 

A December harvest of cranberries from the bog at Distant Hill Gardens. The frosts have sweetened the berries a bit, but they still have a tartness that goes well with our sweet homemade maple syrup.

All insects change in form as they grow; this process is called Metamorphosis. There are two kinds of insect metamorphosis, simple (or incomplete) and complex (or complete) metamorphosis.

Earthworms are so ubiquitous here in North America that we take them for granted. But chances are that if you live in the US or Canada, many of the earthworms you see are not native species. 

According to Wikipedia, of the 182 taxa of earthworms found in the United States and Canada, almost 33% are invasive species,  being primarily from Europe and Asia.  When they become too abundant, these non-native earthworms can lead to reductions in native plants species and some trees. This occurs when the worms move much of the decomposing organic nutrients from the soil surface down below the reach of the plants roots. By redistributing nutrients, mixing soil layers, and creating pores in the soil, they are also affecting the characteristics of the soil important to the rest of the ecosystem. 

The Nightcrawler (Lumbricus terrestris), the large reddish worm species many of you know, is actually a native to Europe and is considered an invasive species in the north central United States. 

Are the wetlands at Distant Hill emitting Methane Gas and contributing to climate change?  The answer to that question might be yes!

According to Wikipedia, one of the most significant natural sources of atmospheric methane are wetlands, and they remain a major area of concern with respect to climate change. The methane is released as organic material in the wetland slowly decompose and ferment in the oxygen poor environment found there. 

If this is in fact methane being released, I'm sure that the small amount of being produced isn't adding much to total global gas emissions. But it certainly isn't helping. 

The test to see if it is methane is to attempt to light it on fire. If it Burns it is methane. I definitely have to give that a try!

On one of the first days this spring with no snow cover on the ground, I noticed this group of Scarlet Elf Cup Mushrooms (Sarcoscypha coccinea) on the forest floor. This medium to large mushroom, with its bright scarlet stalked cups, fruits in very early spring, often rising through the snow.

These mushrooms are widely distributed in hardwood forests east of the Rocky Mountains, and along the West coast. The Scarlet Elf Cup is a saprobic species, growing on rotting wood. Basswood (Tilia) is the preferred wood type for the species, and American Basswood (Tilia americana) grows in abundance in the woods of Distant Hill. 

The fungus has been used medicinally by the Oneida Indians of Northern New York State. The dried fungus was used as a styptic for the navels of newborns after the umbilical cord was cut in order to help it heal properly. Scarlet Elf Cups were also used as a dressing for wounds.

Hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium - syn. lantanoides) blooms in early May in the woods of Distant Hill Gardens. It is a shade loving deciduous shrub growing 6–12 ft (2–4 meters) high, with branches that will root if they touch the ground. These rooted branches form obstacles which can trip (or hobble) walkers – hence the common name. 

Swamp Beacons are the club-shaped fruiting body of the Mitrula elegans fungus. They grow in marshy and wet areas either solitary or in groups, and are often found growing directly in shallow standing water. Appearing in the late spring or early summer, they sport an irregular blob-like orange/yellow cap, with a stem that is smooth, straight, and translucent white. Up to 2 inches tall (5 cm), Mitrula elegans is a ‘recycler’ fungus, feeding on dead and decaying plant litter. They play a vital role in driving the carbon cycle, releasing nutrients that they don’t require back into the habitat.

Slime mold is often called "hands and knees fungi" because it helps to be on your hands and knees to see them well. There are over 700 named varieties of these fungus-like organisms. They vary drastically in their size, shape and color and are found during periods of very wet weather. 

In addition, ants can actually reduce the likelihood of other pollinators visiting a plant because they are stealing the insect attracting nectar. Luckily, Spreading dogbane is also pollinated by flying insects and does not rely totally on ants. Hopefully they leave some nectar for the more efficient pollinators like bees. 

The eastern red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a common newt of eastern North America. It is also known as a red eft, a red-spotted newt, or an eastern newt. 

Eastern red-spotted newts have a very interesting life cycle. They have three very different and distint stages of life:

• The aquatic larva or tadpole
• The red eft or terrestrial juvenile stage (shown here)
• The aquatic adult

The larva possesses gills and are brownish-green in color. Born in the spring, they shed their gills in late summer and they transform into the red eft.

As an eft they develop spots on their backs. They can have as many as 21 of these spots, with the pattern differing among the subspecies.

After two or three years, the eft transforms into the aquatic adult. The skin on its back of the adult reverts to the brownish-green of the tadpole and it develops a yellow belly. It develops a larger and wider tail than the eft stage to aid it in swimming. Adults may be active all winter on pond bottoms or in streams. 

After two or three years, the eft transforms into the aquatic adult. The skin on its back of the adult reverts to the brownish-green of the tadpole and it develops a yellow belly. It develops a larger and wider tail than the eft stage to aid it in swimming. Adults may be active all winter on pond bottoms or in streams. 

 The caterpillar of the Giant Swallowtail is as least as interesting as the butterfly. It looks exactly like a bird dropping, making it unappetizing to most insect-eaters. If it does happen to be threatened by a predator, a bright red, forked structure called an osmeterium emerges from its head, along with releasing a strong noxious odor.

The caterpillar has the nickname 'Orange Dog' due to preference for plants in the citrus family. It is very common in Florida and is considered a pest in the citrus groves throughout the State. 

Here in northern New England, it will feed on Common Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) or the Common Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata), if available. Both are native plants in the citrus family. Only the Prickly Ash can be found in this part of New Hampshire.

The only plant growing at Distant Hill Gardens that we have found Giant Swallowtail caterpillars feeding on is a Gas Plant (Dictamnus albus). It turns out that Dictamnus albus is in the same botanical family as citrus, Rutaceae.

There is one other plant in the Rue family growing at Distant Hill Gardens, an Amur Corktree (Phellodendron amurense). We will have to keep an eye out for the Giant Swallowtail caterpillar feeding on its leaves.

Gem-studded puffball, Lycoperdon perlatum, are also known as common puffball, warted puffball, or the devil's snuff-box. 

Puffballs are considered to be a good edible mushroom when young, when the gleba or inside is still homogeneous and white. Nutritional analysis of pufballs indicates that they are a good source of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and several micronutrients.

In maturity, the top of the puffball sloughs away, revealing a pre-formed hole called the ostiole, through which the spores can escape. Mature puffballs release their powdery spores through the ostiole when they are compressed by touch or falling raindrops. A single puff like this can release over a million spores.

Bees in the family Apidae, made up in part by bumblebees, honey bees, stingless bees, and orchid bees, all posess pollen sacs. The corbicula, Latin for "little basket", is a cavity on the rear legs into which pollen is placed.

To fill the corbicula a bee moistens the forelegs with its protruding tongue and brushes the pollen that has collected on its head, body and forward appendages to the hind legs. The pollen is transferred to the pollen comb on the hind legs and then combed, pressed, compacted, and transferred to the corbicula on the outside surface of the tibia of the hind legs. A single hair functions as a pin that secures the middle of the pollen load. 

The bee then carries the pollen in the pollen basket back to the hive where it is mixed with honey or nectar to produce what is called bee pollen. 

Bees collect the pollen as a protein source to raise their brood. An average bee colony will collect about 40 to 120 pounds (20 to 57 kg) of pollen a year.

Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the above information.

Chaga Mushrooms are nothing like the common soft Mushroom. They are almost as hard as wood.  Known in Russia as the “Gift from God” and the “Mushroom of Immortality,” chaga have been used medicinally for thousands of years. The Japanese call it “The Diamond of the Forest,” while in China it is known as the “King of Plants.”

Chaga mushroom, Inonotus obliquus, is also known as clinker polypore, cinder conk, black mass and birch canker polypore. It is a parasitic fugi on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and has the appearance of burnt charcoal. It is not the fruiting body of the fungus, but a mass of mycelium, mostly black due to the presence of massive amounts of melanin.

Documented as early as 4600 years ago, Chaga was used by Asian folk medicine practitioners to maintain a healthy life energy balance  or “Chi”, preserve youth, promote longevity, and boost the body’s immune system. It was ingested by the local people of the Siberian mountains as a Chaga Tea, with a flavor that resembles coffee. It was also smoked, or applied to the skin.

Laboratory studies on extract of chaga mushroom have indicated possible future potential in cancer therapy, as an antioxidant, in immunotherapy, and as an anti-inflammatory. For medicinal use, an extract is needed to make the active components available to humans.

Piptoporus betulinus, the Birch Poypore, develops from a small white spherical swelling on the side of dead or living birch trees. It quickly grows into a large shelf-shaped mushroom up to 10 inches (25cm) across. Barbers used to 'strop' or sharpen their razors on strips cut from these polypores, and so they are also sometimes called Razor Strop Fungus.

An extremely useful medicinal fungi, Birch Poypore has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It also contains compounds that are effective against intestinal parasites.

Pieces of Birch Polypore were found on the 5000 year old mummy known as Ötzi the Iceman. Ötzi's frozen and mummified body was found in September 1991 by hikers in the Ötztal Alps on the border between Austria and Italy. It is uncertain why Ötzi carried the pieces of Birch Polypore, but he did have intestinal parasites in his gut. Did he use the Birch Polypore as a medicine to help control these parasites?

Despite the name, rattlesnake-plantains are not related to the common lawn weed plantains, but has similar appearing rosettes of leaves. They are actually in the orchid family, Orchidaceae.

In addition to Goodyera pubescens, Distant Hill Gardens has two other species of native rattlesnake-plantain growing in our woods: 

• Goodyera repens - (Dwarf Rattlesnake-plantain, also known as Lesser Rattlesnake-plantain, Creeping Rattlesnake-plantain, or Northern Rattlesnake-plantain.) 

• Goodyera tesselata - (Checkered or Tessellated Rattlesnake-plantain)

Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), also known as  simply Pearly Everlasting, is a perennial wildflower that was often used medicinally by North American Indian tribes to treat a range of ailments.

Common uses for this species included poultices for treatment of sores, boiling in tea or a steam bath for rheumatism, or smoked to treat colds. The plant was also among many native species of plant used as a tobacco substitute.

Over 100 species of Anaphalis are recognized in India, south Asia, and Europe, but only one, Anaphalis margaritacea, is native to North America. All members of the genus are commonly known by the name pearl or pearly everlasting for the pearl-white involucre bracts that surround the yellow disk flowers. These bracts remain fresh in appearance long after the central disk flowers have wilted, making them well suited for dried flower arrangements.

Western Pearly Everlasting attracts both butterflies and bees and

acts as the host for Skipper, Moth and  American Painted Lady caterpillars.

American spikenard (Aralia racemosa) is one of my favorite shade-loving native plants under cultivation at Distant Hill Gardens.

American spikenard is a relative of ginseng.  A perennial here at Distant Hill Gardens, it reaches up to 6 feet in height and makes a striking display in the garden. The plant produces tiny greenish-white flowers in rounded clusters in the summer and dark purple-red berries in the fall.

One of its most beautiful attributes of Aralia racemosa are its heart-shaped leaves that can reach up to 8 inches across.

We grew our Spikenard from seed  gathered from native specimens in our woods.

Medicinally, the roots of American Spikenard have a number of uses, including as a diuretic and as an expectorant. Native Americans used an infusion of the roots to treat a wide variety of ailments, including tuberculosis, coughs, colds, sore throats, menstrual problems, kidney problems, and lung diseases. They also applied a poultice of the root to burns, swelling, wounds, boils, sprained muscles, and broken bones.

According to Wikipedia the Common Split Gill (Schizophyllum commune) is the world's most widely distributed mushroom, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. It is found predominantly from autumn to spring on dead wood, in coniferous and deciduous forest.

Often when fungi appear to be similar but occur on widely separated continents, DNA analysis shows that their genetic separation is so great that they should be classified as distinct species. Thanks to the work of John Raper and colleagues at Harvard University over two decades from the 1950s to the 1970s we know that Schizophyllum commune is one species worldwide. Roper and friends collected Split Gill mushrooms from all over the world. From germinated spores they grew mycelia and showed that as two strains are of different mating types they were able to mate with one another. They also discovered that Schizophyllum commune has more than 28,000 sexes, an adaptation that minimizes the risk of siblings mating and hence maximizes the genetic diversity by achieving nearly 100% outbreeding with new genetic stock.

Although European and US guidebooks list it as inedible, this is apparently due to differing standards of taste rather than known toxicity, being regarded with little culinary interest due to its tough texture. S. commune is, in fact, edible and widely consumed in Mexico and elsewhere in the tropics.

It’s hard to predict where in the western and northeastern US Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus) will show up in any given winter to feed. Knowing that, we are lucky to have a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks visiting our bird-feeder this winter here in New Hampshire.

These beautiful birds are fairly large and often travel in sizable flocks. Because of their size they prefer platform feeders to tube feeders. They eat sunflower seeds but are also attracted to the seeds, berries, and buds of trees and shrubs, especially maples, in the gardens and forests of Distant Hill. 

In summer Evening Grosbeaks fly north to breed in spruce-fir, pine-oak, pinyon-juniper, and aspen forests of northern North America and the mountains of the West.

Both male and female Evening Grosbeaks display an interesting physical change from winter to summer — not in the color of their plumage but in the color of their rather large beak. It turns a pale, pearly green color during breeding season from a bone-white color in winter. The beak of the bird in the photos is beginning to change to breeding color.

Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America and one each in Japan and China. They are deciduous shrubs or small trees growing to 10–30ft (3–9m) tall.

The Bronze Fern, also known as Cut-leaved Grape Fern or the Common Grape Fern, is unusual in that it grows in one of two forms, a broad leaf form (Botrychium dissectum obliquum), or a skeletonized cut-leaf form (Botrychium dissectum dissectum).

This small grape fern also has an unusual life cycle. It begins it growth during the late summer, when new leaves (both fertile and infertile) are produced.

The infertile leaves remain alive during the winter, changing from a green to a beautiful bronze in response to below freezing temperatures. These leaves may wither away during the spring (although not always), and the fern persists in a dormant state during the summer, until the same cycle repeats itself beginning in the following August or September.

Canadian Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is a woodland perennial flowering in late spring at Distant Hill Gardens. It only reachs a height of about 8 in (20 cm), unlike other taller native dogwoods that are shrubs or small trees. It grows in moist partial shade, often under conifers, and in wooded swamps, shaded bogs and peaty areas. It likes acidic soils, which we don't have much of on Distant Hill. Just a few Bunchberries grow on the acidic shore of the Cranberry Bog/fen under some native high bush blueberry plants.

Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica) is a native perennial wildflower that can be found growing in the woods of Distant Hill Gardens. It is an evergreen herb, 5-10 inches high with a slender, branching rootstock that produces a set of basal, dark green, ovate to elliptical leaves.

The naked flower stalk bears from 7-15 white, waxy, drooping, greenish-white flowers, which smell like lily-of-the-valley and bloom in early summer here in southern New Hampshire.

Shinleaf is also known as Waxflower Shinleaf or Wild Lily-of-the-valley.

It contains a drug closely related to aspirin. The leaves reportedly have analgesic properties and were used as a poultice on bruised shins and other sores and wounds. Such a leaf plaster was referred to as a shin plaster. Tea made from the plant is said to have been used by some native American tribes as a treatment for epileptic fits, rheumatism, indigestion, and sore throatsI have read that Shinleaf can be propagated by root cuttings or runner divisions. If young plants are containerized, they can be brought inside in late winter to hasten growth. I think I may give it a try. It sounds like it would make a good addition to the medicine cabinet!

Stretched pebbles are formed from a specific combination of pressure, heat, and a linear movement of the earth's sub-surface as a type of rock called a metaconglomerate is being formed.

A metaconglomerate is a metamorphic rock composed of pebbles and gravel that have been flattened due to directed pressure. Sometimes, strongly directed metamorphism results in a stretched-pebble conglomerate.

The parent rock for a metaconglomerate is a sedimentary rock conglomerate. The rock forms from large, rounded sediment grains such as pebbles and cobbles deposited by a stream. If the sedimentary deposit becomes buried, compaction and cementation occur forming conglomerate rock. If burial continues to great depth, the pebbles and cobbles become flattened from the pressure. In some cases the pebbles may become stretched from linear movement.

Most metamorphic rocks form at a depth of 25 to 50 miles (40-100 km) where pressures are 10,000 to 30,000 times greater than at the surface.

Metaconglomerates are considered high-grade metamorphic rock, meaning they formed at a temperature of greater than 1000°F (≈600°C).

Occasionally stretched pebble metaconglomerates may work their way up to the surface of the earth, as is the case with these unique outcroppings here at Distant Hill Gardens in Walpole, New Hampshire, USA. 

I noticed this tiny fungus growing in the grass on my way to the swimming pond recently. Cyathus striatus, commonly known as  Fluted Bird's Nest, is a common bird's nest fungus with a widespread distribution throughout temperate regions of the world.

Fluted Bird's Nest can be distinguished from other bird's nest fungi by its hairy exterior and fluted inner walls.

Cyathus striatus is a saprobic fungus, deriving its nutrition from decaying organic material, and is typically found growing in clusters on small twigs or other woody debris. It is also common on mulch under shrubs.

Fluted Bird's Nests are also known as Splash Cups. The name refers to the method of spore dispersal. When raindrops hit the 'eggs' in the cup, they spring from the cups and are thrown three or four feet away. 

Shortly after discovering the Fluted Bird's Nest, I found an even smaller species of this interesting family of fungi. It is called White-egg Bird's Nest (Crucicibulum laeve) and is the only bird's nest fungi to have white "eggs". (See photo below)

Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) are common on a number of flowers at Distant Hill Gardens. Our Milkweed Meadow is one of their preferred sites for laying their eggs and guarding them until they hatch.

This species is a sit-and-wait predator that does not use a web to catch their prey. This one was hiding on a pink Rugosa Rose. Not the best camouflage, but it was still able to snare a bumble bee.

Because flowers are their chosen habitat, the majority of their diet includes pollinators such as bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, and moths. 

Misumena vatia is also known as the Banana Spider or White Crab Spider. They are one of the few spiders in North America that are capable of changing their body color from bright yellow to white, or white to yellow, depending on the flower they are hiding on. The color change from white to yellow takes between 10 and 25 days, the reverse about six days.

Salidago, commonly called Goldenrod, is a genus of over 100 species of flowering perennial plants in the aster family. The majority are native to North America, with just a few species native to South America and Eurasia.

The pollen of Goldenrod is often unfairly blamed for causing hay fever in humans. However, the true culprit is the wind-dispersed pollen of Ragweed (Ambrosia sp.), which blooms at the same time as goldenrod. Goldenrod pollen is too heavy to be easily blown about, with the plants relying on insects for pollination.

The flowers of Goldenrod are an important source of fall nectar for bees, flies, wasps, and butterflies. The leaves are also used as a food source by the larvae of many butterfly and moth species (Lepidoptera).

Humans have put Goldenrod to good use over the years. Native Americans used the seeds of some species for food. They also chewed the leaves to relieve sore throats and chewed the roots to relieve toothaches.

Solidago virgaurea, European Goldenrod, is used today as a kidney tonic by herbalists to treat inflammation and irritation caused by bacterial infections or kidney stones.

One of the more interesting uses of Goldenrod took place in the early 20th century, when Inventor Thomas Edison experimented with goldenrod to produce rubber.  Edison created a fertilization and cultivation process to maximize the rubber content in each plant. His experiments produced a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) plant that yielded as much as 12% rubber. The tires on the Model T given to Edison by his friend Henry Ford were made from goldenrod.

It is hard to believe that leaving a log or downed tree in the woods might help you grow better vegetables, but it might just be true. It turns out that there are a number of parasitic wasps of the  Superfamily Ichneumonoideathe, Braconid and Ichneumon, that are important parasites of other insects. 

The adult female of the Ichneumon centrator wasp, shown above, hibernates for the winter under the bark of downed trees and logs on the forest floor. The females are impregnated before hibernation and will develop eggs in the spring when warmer weather returns. This subfamily of wasp, Ichneumoninae, with over 120 species native to North America, are all parasitic and lay their eggs in mature caterpillars - species of caterpillars that are often pests in the vegetable garden.

I found this female Ichneumon wasp (Ichneumon  centrator) while cutting sugar maple logs for cordwood. The adult females hibernate for the winter beneath loose bark of fallen trees, which is where I found this one.

North America is home to  about 140 species of Ichneumon wasps. This subfamily of wasp, Ichneumoninae, are parasitic and lay their eggs in mature caterpillars. 

This larva of a Fire-Colored Beetle (Dendroides canadensis), was also found under the loose bark of a dead sugar maple log. Like the wasp above, it is also ready to spend the cold winter months hiding out.

And the carpenter ants  in the photo below (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) were also found under the bark of a dead tree, this time an Eastern Hemlock log.

Carpenter ant species that live in temperate climates are able to overwinter by entering into a state of slowed metabolism called “diapause”. The worker ants begin to aggregate and develop large fat bodies, as well as producing glycerol.

Glycerol is an alcohol that helps prevent the formation of ice crystals within the ants’ bodies. They remain in this state of dormancy until the warmer temperatures of spring arrive.