Let me introduce myself. I am Nina Mollicone, the daughter of Marilyn R. Noyes Mollicone, for whom a commemorative bench and tree, an Accolade Elm, are found in the field at Jordan Farm, part of the Augusta Nature Education Center. You might wonder if I am qualified to write a nature blog. To that question, I would say, “Yes,” and, “No.” My mother was the nature expert, a botanist and naturalist in passion and at heart. I learned about the natural world through nature walks I took with my mother throughout my childhood and adulthood, including time spent in the Augusta Nature Center when my mother became the Director of the Augusta Nature Camp, a day camp for children, run by the Augusta Nature Club. I was a teenager when this happened and still largely bored by the walks (strolls) in the woods, during which I pretty much ignored my mother’s attempts to teach me anything. Perhaps if my mother had hiked right along, I would have been more interested. But, then, she would not have found all the things that she found. She was fascinated by so many things. Two hours later, we might have progressed 200 yards. Me, I was zoned out in my own thoughts, wishing that the walks would hurry up and be over.
Nature hikes were not as bad as being dragged to mines, though. My parents belonged to the Kennebec Rock and Mineral Club. When I was a younger kid, weekends meant going to a mine for the day. I hated it! Hanging around in mine dumps, bored to tears, was not my idea of fun. My brother, on the other hand, loved it. He loved rocks and minerals so much that he studied geology and became, wait for it……a petroleum geophysicist. Impressive! Me? I became a nurse. Mines, and rock and mineral shows, were not a total waste of time, though. I learned to identify a lot of different rocks and minerals before I was 12 years old. Kinda fun as an adult to be able to call out the identity of a specimen that other folks are pondering over.
My interest in learning about nature resulted from a need to know when I got hired (by my mother) to be a camp counselor for the summer at the Augusta Nature Camp. It was only then that I paid attention to the names of the plants and the trees and the other aspects of nature around me. I learned well at least as to what was present in the Nature Center. I would say I have retained between 50 and 70% of what I learned back then. I have since added to that knowledge by a lot, largely due to walks taken with my mother, in the Nature Center and elsewhere, where we looked at every plant and tree we came to, and if we did not know, tried to figure it out. I remember one walk, years ago, through the family woodlot up to the Merrill Place, where the foundation of a barn was all that remained of a homestead that belonged to one of my mother’s childhood classmates. Across from the barn, where the house used to be, we found a large clump of a plant that my mother could not identify. Stumped, we took a specimen home and spent a couple hours of quality family time pawing through plant identification keys and books until we figured it out.
In more recent years, our walks in the Nature Center were mostly in the area known as Jordan Farm and along the Whitney Brook trail, a gravel road that parallels the brook and serves as access for the City of Augusta sewer line. Both areas are easy walking. The Whitney Brook Trail, in the spring, summer, and fall, is the best place to see a wide variety of blooming flora. The road/trail runs between Cony Street (Extension) and South Belfast Avenue, and, according to alltrails.com, is 1.2 miles from one street to the other and back. A small parking area exists at both ends. The Jordan Farm tract includes a quarry, a field, and trails through the woods. From Jordan Farm, one trail goes all the way to The Capital Area Technical Center (Cony High School). Be advised, this trail has some steep ups and downs. Other trails from Jordan Farm leads to other locations in the Nature Center. The Jordan Farm field is filled with an abundance of wildflowers, including many off-the-beaten path hidden gems. It is also the location of the bench and accolade elm that was placed in 2017 in honor of my mother’s long-time service to the Augusta Nature Education Center. Next time you are walking at Jordan Farm, take a few minutes to “set a spell” on the bench and engage with the sounds and smells and sights of nature that are free for the taking in the heart of the City of Augusta, Maine.
Nature Blog by Nina Mollicone Copyright December 4, 2023
SPRING HAS SPRUNG, HASN’T IT?
Nature Blog April 6, 2024
By Nina Mollicone
Spring has sprung in the Augusta Nature Education Center. Or, not. It depends on which day you go for a walk. For a few weeks last month, it looked like we were well into spring and looking forward to “The Big Night,” the night the frogs and salamanders make their way en masse to their breeding grounds. I went to an excellent presentation on April 1st about “The Big Night,” put on by Kennebec Land Trust and Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed. The conditions need to be just right for the amphibian migration. The ground needs to be thawed and free of most of the snow, it needs to be rainy, and the temperature at night needs to be above 40 degrees F. For more information about this, check out https://www.vernalpools.me/big-night/. Although, the migration has started in Southern Maine, in Augusta, it has been delayed by the two big snow storms we have had in the last 2 weeks. Kennebec Land Trust is planning a “Big Night” event when the conditions are just right. This is open to folks interested in participating. For more information on this, check out www.tklt.org.
Meanwhile, back at the Augusta Nature Education Center, winter has given way to spring, then back to winter, then spring, then winter, again. What crazy weather! Winter was very beautiful. I had some very nice snowshoeing and x-country skiing ambles over the winter. All the nature center can be accessed by snowshoe. As far as x-country skiing, I stick to the mostly flat trails. Whitney Brook trail is the best for skiing. Jordan Farm field and the Jordan Farm alternate trail can also be skied but do have a couple hills that I needed to side step down. Perhaps the best parts of nature during the winter are the patterns made from the snow on the trees and rocks. One day, when the sky was gray and overcast, the landscape in the center seemed to be in grayscale rather than in color. It was quite a remarkable to experience.
Despite the beauty of nature in the winter, I am not sad to see the snow and cold gone. I am not a cold weather person. I would not mind the snow if the temperature was in the 70s. That is unlikely to happen. For years, I have said that when I retire, I will summer in Maine and winter in Florida. That is unlikely to happen, too. So, I make the best of it, trying to get outside in nature as much as I can in the ways I am able.
I went for a walk at Jordan Farm before this latest foot deep snow fall. I was disappointed that there were no ducks in Jordan Farm Quarry Pond. A woman who was walking by said that the ducks had been there. So, I will try again to see them another day. I did find the Skunk Cabbage in full bloom. Beautiful! I have never seen it in full bloom before. Rather like, as a friend said, “Alien, spring brood…,” it does look rather otherworldly. I did not make it before the snow to see if the 2nd flower that opens in the spring was out, yet, or not. That is Colt’s Foot. I usually find it on Whitney Brook trail on the way to the Lily Pond. The same friend said the Colt’s Foot was in bloom along the Rail Trail already. Thus, the Lily Pond, to look for the Colt’s Foot, will be my next expedition when the snow melts.
On a sad note, the Augusta Nature Club lost a dedicated member and past president last week, Heidi Munro. She was an active member of both Augusta Nature Club and Kennebec Valley Garden Club and will be very much missed. We send our deepest condolences to her family.
Don’t get discouraged. Spring will come to stay. By mid-May, the leaves will pop out seemingly overnight. The spring walk in the nature center will be on May 15th, 2024. The walk will be led by naturalists Gaby Howard and Beth Brooke. Meet at the Cony Vo-Tech School, the first parking lot, where the greenhouse was, at 10:00 a.m. rain or shine. For more information, call Augusta Nature Club president, Marie Erskine, at 207-549-5474, or via e-mail at merskine@roadrunner.com. Check out our events page for other 2024 Augusta Nature Club meetings, fieldtrips, and events. We hope you will join us.
SPRING HAS REALLY SPRUNG
Nature Blog, June 3, 2024 by Nina Mollicone
Spring has really sprung this time. Beautiful blue skies, sunshine, and warmth, a wonderful combination to take a walk in the Augusta Nature Education Center. The painted turtles are out in force, sunning on logs in Lily Pond. Luc, one of our caretakers, counted 28 one day. Another day, I saw a medium sized snapping turtle among the painted. Whitney Brook trail is always a treat for birders. Oven Bird, Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, I heard on one walk. Merlin, the bird identification app, said there was a Blue-headed Vireo and a Pine Warbler, as well. I was unable to spot those.
I love seeing the progression of flowers as they come into bloom. The first is Skunk Cabbage, followed by Colt’s Foot. Then, in no order, Marsh Marigold, Bloodroot, Dandelion, Cuckoo Flower, Bluets, Forget-Me-Nots, buttercups, and violets. Wild Cala is starting to bloom in Lily Pond.
Augusta Nature Club had its annual spring walk on May 15th. Beth Brooks, Master Naturalist, led us along the Bruce’s Woods and Whitney Brook Trails. Three surprise finds, for me, were Small Flowered Crowfoot, Fly Honeysuckle, and a cluster of Anemones all in bloom. It was a beautiful blue, sunny day. From South Bridge, we watched catfish splashing in Whitney Brook. We walked along the trail trying to catch sight of the birds we heard singing. Birds can be so elusive! We hated to bring the walk to a close.
If you walk along the Whitney Brook trail, you will notice areas cleared of shrubs. Luc and Rose are actively cutting the invasives, especially Asiatic Bittersweet, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Multiflora Rose, to let native shrubs and plants grow.
The Augusta Nature Club is meeting again, after the winter hiatus. Unfortunately, winter weather cancelled the March meeting. On April 24th, Geri Vistein told us about coyotes. She explained the importance of carnivores in nature and how people often have a negative view of coyotes. She had copies of her book, I Am Coyote, and shared a new perspective of them. At the May 22nd meeting, Nature Club’s own Kathleen Quintal gave a presentation on beekeeping and explained how she started and what all it entails.
Summer is the beginning of the club’s field trips. On June 12th, members and guests will be going to Langlias Art Preserve in Cushing. On July 10th, the fieldtrip will be a tour of Bigelow Labs in Boothbay. August 14th will be a bog tour at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson. If you are interested in going on any of these trips or want more information about the club or Center, contact Augusta Nature Club president, Marie Erskine at 207-549-5474 or merskine@roadrunner.com. We would love for you to join us.
© 2024 by Nina Mollicone
THE WHITNEY BROOK TRAIL PROJECT
Nature Blog, August 17, 2024
By Nina Mollicone
I did not mean to spend the entire afternoon at the Augusta Nature Education Center. I intended to take a quick walk to see the progress on the improvements along the Whitney Brook Trail (WBT). Even though the sky was hazy from the wildfire smoke from Canada, it was a beautiful August day. The temperature was perfect, and the wildflowers were coming up along the trail, again.
I say “again” because, as you may have noticed, the flowers, shrubs, and even trees along both sides of Whitney Brook Trail were cut off a couple of weeks ago. The cutting was a collaborative project among the school, the city, and the Nature Education Center, to improve trail conditions for both school and public use.
The Cony running track weaves though the Nature Center, including along the WBT trail, which can be very muddy at times. With heavy rain, water overflows the trail in places. The trail near Middle Bridge washes out yearly and needs repairs. Due to its condition, WBT was no longer safe for the Cony athletes or for holding track meets.
The purpose of the WBT project is to improve overall conditions of the trail to make it easier and safer for all walkers and runners, be they dog walkers, nature enthusiast, or students. New culverts are in place to help with water runoff. Luc has hauled in and positioned heavy rocks to make the water flow more efficient. Low areas have new gravel fill. Shrubs and trees have been cut back to keep them from encroaching on the trail (i.e., the road Augusta Public Works uses to access its sewer system.)
I admit, I was shocked when I first saw the amount of clearing and cutting. I had gone to admire the wildflowers and there were none. They had been cut off, as had the trailside thickets of invasive honeysuckle and multiflora rose. There are always pluses and minuses of machine (or any) clearing. A negative is that it removes wildlife habitat. A positive is that it removes the invasive species much quicker than our two caretakers ever could by hand. Clearing the invasives will make space for native shrubs and plants to come in. The tiny evergreens that Luc planted a year or two ago that were lost in the bushes are now visible. I am hoping that the various dogwood species and the arrowwood that already grows in the Nature Center will spread. The berries from these provide food for the birds. Perhaps, we will even get elderberries.
It has only been two weeks, and the flowers and plants are starting to come back to the cut area, already. Luc has done much clean up and the trail sides are looking much better. I hear Cony is hosting a track meet with multiple schools at the end of August. Yes, it was shocking, initially, to see the cutting and clearing. But, as Jane, our Augusta Nature Club treasurer and caretaker-helper said, “Nature has a way of healing itself.”
© 2024 by Nina Mollicone
SEPTEMBER IS UPON US
Nature Blog, September 8, 2024
by Nina Mollicone
Summer is coming to an end. September is upon us. The days are still warm but the evenings are cooling off rapidly. Goldenrods and flat-topped aster are in full bloom. Soon, my favorite, the purple heart-leafed aster will be in bloom. To me, there is little more beautiful than a large stand of this aster in full bloom. It grew around the bases of the massive elm trees at my grandparents farm in East Bethel.
The Whitney Brook Project is finished. Cony held a very successful multi-school track meet at the end of August. The improvements to the Whitney Brook Trail allowed this to happen. Kudos to the school, the city, and the Augusta Nature Club for their collaboration on this project.
On September 3rd, Luc Pepin, presented the Cony Boosters with a check from the Augusta Nature Club for $3000 to be put towards the cost of the improvements. Luc, one of two caretakers for the Augusta Nature Education Center, has done a tremendous amount of work on the improvement project and continues to work on improving and maintaining trails and the center.
Our other caretaker, Rose Rodrigue, continues to work on obliterating the invasive bittersweet. At this time of year, bittersweet produces orange berries that birds like to eat. Because the berries are attractive, they are often used in making wreaths. Both birds and people unintentionally spread bittersweet, birds through their droppings which contain the seeds, and people, when they discard the wreaths with the berries after the holiday season is over.
The leaves will be changing color soon. As beautiful as the maples turn with their red, orange, and yellow colors, my favorites are the oaks and beeches which come after the maples. Every fall, I am awestruck by the beauty of the hillsides awash with russets and golds along by Cooper Spring on the back road between Paris Hill and Buckfield. You don’t need to travel the back roads of Maine to see the colors, though. Just take a walk in the Augusta Nature Center in the fall when the leaves are changing. It is a delight to the eyes.
Copyright by Nina Mollicone, 9/8/2024