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Sunday, December 26, 2021

Oak Openings - Day 26

  Today was a real treat, walking through Oak Openings Metropark. It has that name because the early settlers found the trees were widely enough spaced that they could drive their wagons through without clearing. The ecosystem is Oak Savannah, which is scattered oak trees with an understory of grasses.

The day began frosty. frosty morning

I was hiking with Bill and his daughter Lizbeth. Marianne met us at this location so we could get a picture of this sign, on the final approach to Oak Openings on the Wabash Cannonball Trail. This mile is dedicated to her husband, Tom, who was the Manager at Oak Openings for 30 years. He died just a couple of years ago.
Tom Duvendack mile


Next, we were joined by two other human hikers and two dogs. Here is one set. This is Lorie and Tigger. Lorie's story is wonderfully inspiring! She has serious health issues, but she has lost over 100 pounds and completed Hike 100 this year. She has even helped with some trail work. She hiked a short way, and then needed to stop.
hikers


Here is a section of the Oak Openings that is being restored. This is what the area should look like. It has to be maintained by fire, so it will be a while before they can manage to get a lot of the second-growth forest replaced by what was historically present. oak savannah

Frosty goldenrod and oak leaves. The evergreens in the background will eventually all be gone. frosty plants

This is a section of restored prairie with the other set of hikers who joined us. This is Deb and Willow. It's so neat that the NCT catches bits of many special ecosystems.
hiker in prairie


And here are Deb, Willow and me. OK, maybe I'm a little taller than Deb, but I must have been on higher ground. This picture makes me look huge! hikers with dog

Bill, Lizbeth, and me at the bridge at the end of a section Deb helped build.
hikers on bridge


Most interesting find of the afternoon was a Hen of the Woods mushroom. This one was past its prime, but if you find one fresh, it's really good eating. hen of the woods mushroom

Miles today: 15.5. Total miles so far: 371.5.

See Christmas with Marianne

5 comments:

Ann said...

Looks like a wonderful stretch for a hike. That mushroom is quite interesting.

Unknown said...

New to this group, I earned my patch this year and excited for 2022. Love walking at Oak Openings with my 3 labs 🐾
So happy to have these trails nearby. (home base is Sylvania Ohio)

Unknown said...

I just went through the NORTA section this fall. Very pretty, especially Oak Openings. Enjoy!

The Oceanside Animals said...

Charlee: "Whoa, I've never seen a chicken like that one before? ... What? Oh, it's a mushroom? Hey, wait, does that mean my canned chicken food has mushrooms in it?!"
Chaplin: "Charlee eats mushrooms!!!"

BuckeyeAZO said...

Hello. I’m new to your blog, but look forward to following you on your journey. The oak openings reminded me of the oak barrens of Southern Michigan: https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/description/10693.