Edge Effect
IN a half dozen paces, I stepped from one world to another. The air warmed, the sky brightened. From woods to field, the air held a different scent. Only a few feet beyond the edge of the forest, the wind lifted the wide brim of my straw hat and my eyes slowly adjusted to a shadeless expanse of brilliant blue.
The plant life understands this "edge effect" and responds by growth in layers of form in this ecotone that is neither forest nor field. Vertical grasses give way to low spicebush shrubs in the shade of young white pines with their whorled branches; and finally older and more permanent hardwoods form the overstory in the dark forest beyond, telling a tale that I sensed first with my skin.
And so this may not be a great photograph, here where I turned to look back on the shady place I had just been. But it records one of those brief and uncommon moments when one feels included as a small, passing part of a structured and orderly community of life, of relationship that all too often we might see as "just a bunch of plants."
Comments
I was in a similar location yesterday. We were taken to see the land my son-in-law has just purchased for the home he will build next year. Most of the house site is cleared already; 3-4 acres amid 7-8 more of dense forest. I wish I had my camera with me, as you did. I really need to take it everywhere, I guess.
Posted by: kenju | July 3, 2006 8:13 AM
I was just at the farm in Floyd, and I am always amazed at the diversity of not only the flora but also the fauna of the place. I saw cat-tails growing at the edge of the pond which contained red-winged black birds, humming birds, and bull frogs and fish around the base. I counted four active groundhog holes on the property - active as in there were flies around the entrance signalling no vacancy.
For me, the "edge effect" often contains the ever-scary poison ivy. As a kid, I was highly allergic to its toxin, but I have not experienced its effects in many years - maybe age has mitigated its effect?
Posted by: Jim | July 5, 2006 12:04 PM