Herrontown Woods Among "21 Best Things To Do in Princeton"

Thanks to the website Travel Lemming for featuring Herrontown Woods in its "21 Best Things To Do in Princeton." Among the 21 are Princeton's rich collection of restaurants, historic sites, and outdoor destinations.

Having a strong interest in plants, I enjoyed the article's photo of Morven Museum and Garden, which shows the wisteria growing on the front porch. You can see how one side is blooming and the other is not. That's because there are two kinds of wisteria growing there. To the left is Japanese wisteria, which apparently already bloomed, and to the right is Chinese wisteria in full bloom. You can tell which is which by the direction in which they spiral upward. 

Though the wisteria can look lovely and tame in well-tended gardens like Morven and Marquand Park, there are many examples around town of how neglect has allowed it to run wild over acres of land, tackling trees and overwhelming all other vegetation. As we restore Herrontown Woods with a focus on native flora, we've had to knock out two massive clones of wisteria that were obscuring historic features and over time would have turned our beloved woods into a giant topiary.

Shelter Complements Open Space

Just in case we needed more motivation to create sheltered space for events at Herrontown Woods, strategically timed rain has caused cancellation of a number of our events this fall. By one account, there were 14 rainy weekends in New Jersey this summer and early fall, hitting six in a row in mid-October. 

For Herrontown Woods this fall, first came the giant blob of rain that descended upon our long-planned September 24 concert. 

Then, as the first December weekend approached, with lots of events planned for Sunday, the weather report showed what may as well be called a surgical strike of rain to fall on the exact hours of May's Cafe. 

It's common in the world of open space preservation to see buildings only in negative terms, as an intrusion, liability and expense. But for any group wishing to make a nature preserve an all-weather destination, some shelter sure would help.

Our gazebo in the Botanical Art Garden has proven its worth in this regard, serving as destination, launching pad and focal point for the plants all around it to play off of. After we were forced to postpone May's Cafe until the next Sunday, a few of us came down to the Barden anyway. Despite the light drizzle, the mood was remarkably upbeat. With the weather just warm enough for comfort, we sat in the gazebo and enjoyed the misty moisty morning. 

Incredibly, I checked the weather forecast the next day only to see that a long stretch of dry weather during the week would end with another surgical strike predicted for Sunday, Dec. 10.

12.16 Update: We hemmed and hawed all week as the storm's arrival shifted from morning to afternoon and back again. This storm was predicted to include high winds and flooding. Jolly! The forecast on Saturday, Dec. 9, showed the same pattern as the week before, with rain Sunday and Monday. Again we cancelled our May's Cafe gathering, and again a few of us went down anyway and had a great time, talking, pulling up Japanese honeysuckle. The rain held off until 1pm. We could have had the Cafe, but had decided to postpone again until Dec. 17. 

Should we have been surprised that the very same weather pattern is greeting us this weekend, with rain predicted for Sunday and Monday, followed by mild weather all week? It's enough to think that some cyclical element has taken hold in weather patterns this year.

We are going ahead with May's Cafe this weekend, but all this dodging of rainstorms makes our plans for renovating Veblen House and Cottage all the more meaningful. 

Country Time at the Barden

Good news. We've got time! One of the more charming recent acquisitions for the Barden at Herrontown Woods is the grandfather clock that finds shelter next to the shed. The roof protecting the clock from the elements was scavenged from a discarded play set. The clock itself was put out on the curb along Snowden Lane. I had stopped to look at it, but decided it was not of high enough quality to have inside a house. Only the Barden's caretaker, Andrew Thornton, saw the true potential for the clock, as a new fixture in the Barden. 

Surprisingly, the clock works, and even calls out the time with its quiet chime. A grandfather clock in a Barden? Passersby look around in wonder. Where did that sound come from?

Charming, too, is the name on the clock's dial: "Country Time." That's definitely the time we adhere to at Herrontown Woods.

And look who moved in. Instead of ending up in a landfill, the clock is singing Hickory Dickory Dock.

Teaching Pre-School Kids About Trees

Today was a special day at All Saints Church, just to the south of Herrontown Woods in Princeton. One of the preschool teachers had asked us if we could come and teach the kids about trees.

Friends of Herrontown Woods volunteer Mathilde Burlion offered to lead walks for the 3 and 4 year olds, with help from Herrontown Woods caretaker Andrew and me. Mathilde also has a business, Grow Little Gardener, for teaching little kids and parents to garden together.

First came a song, based on the melody Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, in which Mathilde introduced five native trees and the shapes of their leaves. 

Then we headed out the door and up a trail. The kids looked for leaves to put in the cart and match with the pictures Mathilde had brought.

Then it was time to say farewell. The kids loved Andrew's wolf hat that includes paws he can put his hands into. It's such a joyful thing to pick up on the kids' energy and curiosity, and introduce them to some of the trees that grow in the forest just beyond their classrooms. Mathilde's baby helped out, too, sleeping peacefully the whole way through.

Milling Fallen Trees at Herrontown Woods

The Friends of Herrontown Woods is ten years old, and for a substantial portion of those years, we'd occasionally think, "Wouldn't it be nice to mill some of the fallen trees and use the milled lumber in the preserve." Why import lumber from distant forests when we can utilize local resources in a sustainable way? That idea remained just an idea until Victorino came along. 

Victorino is the chainsaw virtuoso who, in 2020 as the pandemic was prompting many people to explore Herrontown Woods for the first time, turned a fallen pine tree into a bridge in the Barden. 

He then built the arch that welcomes visitors. (Until I found this photo, I had forgotten that he built a model of the arch first, to show us his idea.) Those two installations made clear that the Botanical Art Garden could be more than a nice collection of native plants.

This year, when I mentioned the idea of building a boardwalk from the main parking lot up to the Veblen House, he offered to mill the lumber on-site. 

The first surprise was that even the red oak trees that had fallen in wind storms years before still had good wood in them. Most stay levitated above the ground, which helps reduce the chance of rot. 

Eschewing expensive machinery, Victorino uses the simple machines I learned about in 5th grade--things like levers that greatly multiply one's physical strength. 

Working with his assistant Wilbur, he cuts the trunks into 4 to 8 foot sections and snaps chalk lines on them to guide the cutting. 

The next surprise was that Victorino could cut beautiful boards without any framework other than his eye to guide the blade. No need for even the most basic sort of portable milling equipment. 

A few work sessions yielded a serious pile of beams and planks for a boardwalk. Though he used one of the countless ash trees being lost to the emerald ash borer, nearly all of this wood comes from fallen red oaks, white oaks, and the most rot-resistant of all: black locust. Astonishing to find that a big black locust that had been lying on the ground for ten or twenty years was still rock solid.

When I suggested we build a circular platform partway up the trail, Victorino came up with this design. 

One idea is to place interpretive signage around this circle to tell the story of Princeton's open space acquistion and care, which began with the Veblens back in the 1930s.

He even upgraded a bridge, utilizing boards he hewed from the local fallen trees. 

We love Victorino, and thank him for generously sharing his skill and creativity with us at Herrontown Woods.

The Joy of Autumn Leaves in Autumn Hill Reservation

The ostensible purpose of my walk at Autumn Hill Reservation yesterday was utilitarian, to clear a couple fallen trees from the trail, but the leaves had prepared a surprise party.  

They didn't need to do much to make me happy. Ever since I was a kid, leaves have brought me joy. Though most leaves have fallen, the occasional highbush blueberry is still radiant with color.

Even the winged euonymus, which we spend time removing due to its overabundance, gave a fine demonstration of how it can turn sometimes white rather than red, if the shade is deep enough. 

Here's one that got enough sun to show why it is sometimes called burning bush. 

But the real joy came from the leaves below my feet. Freshly fallen, they made the woods look like it had just turned upside down and become a reflection of itself. Leaves that had peered austerely down at us all summer were now looking up, basking in the newly abundant light now pouring down through the opened canopy. 

I see something of myself in a leaf, collective in spirit, mingling comfortably among many sorts. They seem to be enjoying a leaf's version of retirement, relieved of the workaday world of photosynthesis, their true colors finally showing. I can keep my eyes on the trail and still know that above me tower tulip trees, sweetgum, and sassafras.

Another source of pleasure was the condition of the trail. Though our Friends of Herrontown Woods takes care of trails at Autumn Hill Reservation, we spend most of our time at Herrontown Woods, depending on our volunteers who live near Autumn Hill in Montgomery for periodic reports of any work needing to be done. 

Last year we made some initial improvements in the trails, shifting one stretch over to higher ground along an old rock wall. Hard to believe that this peaceful meander became navigable only after we overcame a dense tangle of invasive shrubs--multiflora rose, winged euonymus, privet and linden viburnum. 

Nice when battle leads to lasting peace, when struggle with thorn and thicket segues to a walk decorated with a fresh new layer of leaves, radiant on a misty moisty afternoon. I paused for a moment to look for the three shapes of sassafras, and later on, writing this, realized I had stumbled upon the reason it's called Autumn Hill.

A Kiosk Rises at Herrontown Woods' "Back Door"

Herrontown Woods has a front door and many back doors. Most people know about the "front door" off Snowden Lane, leading to the main parking lot, trailheads, and the Botanical Art Garden. Fewer people are aware that Herrontown Woods borders Princeton Community Village (PCV), off Bunn Drive. The building of more affordable housing there, perched right next to Herrontown Woods, has drawn our attention to how we might make this "back door" more of a front door, and connect with PCV residents in some way. Perhaps we could build and maintain a raingarden together, and make an appealing loop trail on that side of the preserve. In addition, PCV is served by local and regional buses, with a bus stop just 100 feet from our trail system. This may make Herrontown Woods the only nature preserve in Princeton that can easily be reached by bus.

An important first step would be to build a kiosk at the PCV trailhead, and as serendipity would have it, a member of the venerable Boyscout Troop 43 was looking for an Eagle Scout project to do in Herrontown Woods. 

That's eagle scout Leone Robbins in orange, posing with helpers from among his friends and family, partway through the process of installing an impressive kiosk he designed and built. Leone, a senior at Princeton High School, worked with FOHW, Princeton Community Housing (PCH), and town officials to get permissions and choose a location for the kiosk.

It's always fun to try to catch these Iwo Jima moments. Digging down to make the holes was probably less fun than lifting up. The town and PCH both helped with funding for the materials.

Here's Leone in front of the completed kiosk. A dedication ceremony is planned for this Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1pm, during which Leone will lead a short nature walk down the trail. 

A big THANK YOU to Leone and his fellow scouts and family for this timely and beautifully executed installation.

Update: Here are a couple photos from the dedication Leone organized, attended by members of Princeton Community Housing, Boyscout troop 43, PCV residents, and board members of the Friends of Herrontown Woods. 

As part of the event, Leone led a nature walk down the path into Herrontown Woods, pointing out Christmas fern, spicebush, and other native plants. 

He later sent a testimonial about his experience: 

"I have been volunteering with the organization since the fifth grade. Whether it was planting trees to prevent erosion or nature walks on cold winter mornings, Friends of Herrontown Woods is the reason I am passionate about the outdoors and am committed to my community. I’ve had so many beautiful experiences with the organization and wanted to
share them with others through my kiosk and an educational nature
walk. I hope my kiosk encourages others to explore the outdoors and
the many physical and mental benefits it provides."

A Tree Inventory Underway in Herrontown Woods

If you are hiking in Herrontown Woods and notice a tree tagged with a number, it's part of a tree inventory underway in the preserve. 

At some point in its history, the word "arboretum" was added to the preserve's name, as reflected in the current, highly faded sign out on Snowden Lane, and the current wikipedia page. Though Herrontown Woods certainly has a lot of trees, there's no evidence of any past effort to consciously create a tree collection. 

Since being founded 10 years ago, FOHW has worked to bring back many native woody species marginalized by introduced diseases, heavy shade, or intense deer browse. Among these are the butternut, the American chestnut, serviceberry, hazelnut, azalea, and hearts a'bustin. 

Though we've dropped the "arboretum" from the name of the preserve, it seemed like it would be fun to better understand and highlight the many kinds of trees found here. 

Thanks to the initiative and organizational elan of FOHW volunteer Alastair Binnie, we have thus far tagged and catalogued 266 trees and large shrubs, comprising 65 species. 

Helping out is Princeton High School graduate Jack Durbin, who is spending some of his gap year volunteering at Herrontown Woods. Jack has been helping in many other ways as well, including building and installing plant cages, cutting invasive species, and improving the trailhead at Princeton Community Village.

We've documented trees along all the trails at this point, with Jack doing the tagging, Alastair recording, while I add locations on a map created some years back by Alison Carver. 

Along the way we've been tempted to include in the inventory a few specimens of ash tree, now nearly all lost to the hidden ravages of the emerald ash borer. Here's one's beautiful deeply furrowed bark.

One of our goals with the inventory is to create a self-guided Tour of Trees that people can take when they visit Herrontown Woods.

A Dragonfly Walk with Mark Manning

This summer, we pitched the idea of a dragonfly walk to Mark Manning, a Hopewell science teacher with broad and deep knowledge of nature, with a particular passion for amphibians and dragonflies. Mark's first choice for a location was Rogers Refuge, the wonderful wetland just down from the Institute Woods. In 2021, he and his sons had compiled an impressive list of 36 Odonata species (dragonflies and damselflies) there. But logistical difficulties shifted the walk to Herrontown Woods. 

Having not yet seen any dragonflies this year, I was wondering whether the walk would acquire the same existential feel we had some years back when a mushroom walk we hosted coincided with a prolonged drought. I cut a path down to a pond on preserved pasture land near Veblen House, but the pond was dry.

As with the mushroom walk with very few mushrooms, however, our July 1 phantom dragonfly walk proved satisfying nonetheless. Mark talked about the relatedness of milkweed and dogbane in the Botanical Art Garden, 

and told the story of how the toxin Tremetol in white snakeroot caused thousands of deaths in the Midwest when settlers drank milk from cows that had eaten the plant. 

A couple of Mark's former students who came along were not squeamish about picking up frogs to show us close up. 

And we did in fact see a couple dragonflies: an Eastern Pondhawk in the pasture, and two Common Whitetails where the red trail crosses the gas pipeline right of way. 

One added benefit of the walk was that it got us thinking about how we might better cater to the needs of dragonflies at Herrontown Woods. That dry pond in the pasture may be dry because the outlet needs repair. And might it be possible to build another little pond, of the sort we witnessed during a recent visit to Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve? 

Thanks to Mark for leading the walk, and for his work in inventorying Princeton's Odonata and getting us thinking about their habitat needs.

Our Pair of Black Vultures Lost Their Progeny

For as long as I can remember, a pair of black vultures has arrived at Herrontown Woods each spring to raise their young in the corncrib next to this little red barn. We'd see them perched on the chimney of the derelict Veblen Cottage, and think them a bad omen. But in 2017, one of their two chicks was slow to develop, and we watched as the parents patiently tended to it until it could join them up on the Veblen Cottage roof. The word online is that black vultures mate for life and are devoted parents. As we watched the immature vulture gain strength and ultimately join its parents on top of the chimney, our uneasiness about vultures turned to affection. They do, after all, perform considerable custodial work in nature, cleaning up messes that the rest of us steer clear of. 

If one thinks about it, our initiative at Herrontown Woods involves a great deal of scavenging, that is, finding promise in what the rest of the world has forsaken. The boarded up house and cottage, overgrown trails and a derelict pine grove filled with invasive species--these scenes of long time abandonment have been for us prize finds.

The past couple years, I've only seen one black vulture hanging out near the barn. Though I generally stay away from the corncrib, not wanting to disturb them, I have checked a couple times and found it empty. The story I told myself was that the male had lost its mate, and now returns as a bereft spouse each spring to linger and grieve. 

On June 20 this year, when friend and hiker Georgette texted me that she had found a dead black vulture lying on the ground along the red trail that runs past the Cottage, I thought we were witnessing the end of an era. 

It was a surprise, then, to come across the carcass and find not the last adult vulture but instead a bird that was clearly immature, with baby fuzz on the wings. The pair of vultures had been there after all, secretly raising their young. 

As I took a close look at the fallen bird, one of the parents looked down from the ridge of the barn. What sort of grief does a vulture feel? It's not clear how the young bird died. There was no clear sign of damage on its body. 

Having not seen the adult vulture, or vultures, since that day, I now tell myself the story that the pair have headed off for another year of scavenging, to return again next spring, to make another go of raising young. We'll see if my story proves true this time.