What is it Wednesday: December 22, 2021

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

December 22, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

The evergreen branches in the center of the photo are the distinctive branches of Norway spruce trees.

 Norway spruce are easily identifiable by the way their branches grow – a long main branch hangs down in a curve, and additional twigs drape downward from the main branches. This gives the effect of “curtains” of evergreens hanging down from the tree.

As the name implies, Norway spruce is not native to North America, but was brought here by European settlers. Norway spruces were often planted around homesteads in the settler and pioneer eras, and a cluster of large Norway spruces can sometimes be a clue leading to an old home foundation. The “Trinity Pines” at Lutherlyn are actually three large Norway spruce trees that were planted around the home near the old grist mill in the 1800’s.  

Larger patches of Norway spruces sometimes are remnants of old Christmas tree farms. We’re pretty sure this is the case at the coniferous forest between Miller Lake and Chapel Hill – that one of Lutherlyn’s caretakers planted them as potential Christmas trees sometime in the 1950’s or 1960’s. We can see that they were planted in very orderly rows, which obviously does not occur naturally! The trees are also growing much too close together for the size that they are – but if they were only 5-10 feet tall they would be just the right distance apart. We don’t know why they were apparently planted and then not used, but it is interesting to have a section of forest that was once intended to be a part of Christmas celebrations. The shapes of our forests can tell us so much about the history and lives of the people who were here in the past. 

Merry Christmas to all of you from LEEP! 

 

 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!