Bell Cedar Swamp Post Rabbitat

Posted By on July 7, 2019

Bell Cedar Swamp Post Rabbitat

4.2 miles; North Stonington, CT

I was curious to see the results of the “rabbitat” clearing that Avalonia had done on this nearby preserve, so I made a quick visit. They stayed pretty far away from the pond and the cemetery, so it’s not as shocking as I had frankly expected.

St. John's Wort

St. John’s Wort

This was along my driveway. St. John’s Wort is known to be a natural anti-depressant. I can’t say for sure one way or another, pharmacologically-speaking, but it is a very cheerful yellow flower to encounter on a summer morning. Made me happy.

Aggressive Groundhog

Aggressive Groundhog

Walking down Boombridge Road to the preserve, I encountered this rather angry woodchuck. He didn’t back down, and with rabies always lurking in the back of my mind, I crossed the road rather than mess with him.

Road Lilies

Road Lilies

The clear cutting certainly increased the sunlight on the property, and a big happy patch of road lilies benefited mightily from that.

Sparse

Sparse

It sure does look bleak, though.

Cemetery

Cemetery

There is a very large cemetery on this preserve bordered by hemlocks and white pines. It’s a very sad place, too, because so very many of the graves are of children and infants.

Two-Year-Old's Grave

Two-Year-Old’s Grave

This little girl was only 2 years old. The tiger lilies at her grave kind of made me happy, though.

Rudbeckia, or Black-Eyed Susans

Rudbeckia, or Black-Eyed Susans

It really was a pretty good wildflower day overall.

Spreading Dogbane

Spreading Dogbane, Apocynum androsaemifolium

This spreading dogbane was sweetly-scented as well as charming.

Map

Map

Not posting the actual GPS track for this hike, since it starts in my driveway, but as you can see, there’s a short loop trail that takes in the cemetery. It’s not marked and actually kind of hard to follow, especially since the rabbitat work. And though it shows access to the preserve from Stillman Road, there really isn’t any access there or any trailhead—it’s mostly swamp on that end. At this point I usually tell you where you can find out more about this preserve, but there’s really nothing out there. It’s not listed on Avalonia’s website, for example, and a Google search only results in articles about the property’s acquisition and about EEE-infected mosquitoes (that was from October 2018). But you can find a trailhead for it at 62 Boombridge Road. There’s a gate you have to squeeze around, and then you come to a sign which still says it’s owned by the Nature Conservancy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Comments

2 Responses to “Bell Cedar Swamp Post Rabbitat”

  1. Patricia Turner says:

    Note that across the stone wall to the north, Peterles have also had am New England Cottontail habitat clearing done.

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