Monday, November 23, 2009

Down by the creek


The northern side of our property is bordered by Middle Creek, which joins Swift Creek shortly before emptying into the Neuse River near Smithfield, NC. The Neuse River has a large watershed in eastern North Carolina and eventually ends up at the Pamlico Sound. Here Middle Creek is about 40-50 feet wide, but after a major rain event it spreads out in an area 3/8s of a mile wide and covers much of the farm. Its headwaters are in the next county over, so I keep an eye on how much rain southwestern Wake County gets too.

This is a view on November 5th at the end of a trail that winds down to the creek, looking downstream. The tree laying across the creek is a big cherrybark oak that went down when Hurricane Floyd passed through.


We have had a rather dry year but not terribly droughty, so I was surprised to see the slough next to the trail and adjacent to the stream dry like this. This slough was created years ago by beavers and is populated by water tupelo (a beautiful red bright in the fall some years), red maples, willows and Hibiscus moscheutos. We frequently see turtles and wood ducks when the slough is full, which is most of the time. Prothonotary warblers, one of the most fearless of wild birds, like the slough too. I used to see prothonotary warblers at Jordan Lake when we went birding there and was delighted to see them here. Beavers are still active in the creek and we've had to dismantle a few of their engineering projects. I've even seen one and was rather surprised by its size.


This is the slough in April '08, filled with water.


While the Neuse River has been plagued by pollution problems and frequently looks muddy in Smithfield, Middle Creek is clean, not just by my estimation but by state water testing. Still, I was surprised by the clarity of the water. Perhaps the economic slowdown has halted development upstream.


A lot of musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) grows in the floodplain here. You can see how it gets its name, how the fine barks looks like skin over rippling muscles. It's also known as ironwood. According to Gardening with Native Plants of the South, "The wood is so fine-grained and strong that it was once highly prized as timber for house foundations". Other common names include American hornbeam, blue beech and water beech. This is one of my favorite falls trees, especially in the fall. Its fall color was beautiful this year (but that's another post!).


This late in the year all I could find were the golden seedheads of Northern river oats (they cover the banks in some places) and this frost aster, but there are a lot of wildflowers by the creek during the year: marsh violets, hawthornes and wild crabapples in spring, and wild hibiscus, Joe Pye Weed, white turtlehead, Bidens, and wild Ageratum in summer and fall. In the floodway fields and sloughs that empty into the creek there are even more native flowering plants: Geranium maculatum, Amsonia tabernaemontana, lyreleaf sage, spreading bellwort, atamasco lily, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Jessamine, serviceberry, fringetree, American snowbell, highbush blueberry, Barbara's buttons, Virginia sweetspire, viburnums, Scutellaria incana, a species of Sabatia, elderberry, sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana) coastal pepperbush, swamp cyrilla, swamp azalea, turk's cap lily, downy lobelia, cardinal flower, gerardia (although I cannot find any this year, darn it!), Boltonia, several species of goldenrod, green coneflower, soapwort gentian, and hearts-a-burstin' (if the deer don't eat them before they can fruit). In addition to Northern river oats, sugarcane plumegrass is a very striking grass, and even broomsedge and teddy-bear paws (Scirpus cyperinus) has won me over.

We've had at least 7" of rain since I took these pictures, so I imagine the slough has water in it now!


28 comments:

  1. SweetBay,

    It is pretty soggy here right now. I did not know you were so close by maybe a little over an hour.

    We were enjoying the ironwoods down in our woods last week, such fine trees to behold.

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  2. We are still very soggy as well! What a great collection of plant material. I have been collecting photos of Ironwood/Musclewood for a future posting. Great tree!

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  3. Hi Sweetbay

    You are lucky to have water nearby although it sounds as if it can be a little concerning following a rain event.

    Great pics and narrative, you really know your environ, a great read!

    Rob

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  4. Just lovely. You are so lucky to own this land. I have a fondness for bottomlands and have seen many of those native trees-including the musclewood. Love the 'stretched' muscles. The water is most clear. I just came back from bike riding and happen to pass a stream and I too noticed it as clear. More so than normal. Maybe it has been the good weather here.

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  5. How neat to have all of that right nearby you. Very nice post! -Jackie

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  6. Your photos gave me a peaceful feeling- lovely work.

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  7. I would love to see a Beaver! I never did figure out, what do Beavers even eat?
    That is a ton of rain. I guess you get the rain, we get the snow.
    Rosey

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  8. Lovely post Sweetbay... enchanting and I hope we get to see it all flooded ... well only if there is no danger for you!! Interesting to learn more about the fauna and flora of your world. Carol

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  9. I now have a better idea of where you are in NC and how fortunate you are to have so much at hand.

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  10. Your creek is beautiful! I'm jealous of all the big trees, and such wonderful variety. If you ever get a chance to photograph a beaver, I want to see it!

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  11. Wow, Sweetbay, I find it amazing how things grow in that area that periodically floods. That's quite a list of plants, too! I so enjoyed seeing this part of your property! Your photos are awesome! I would love to see more photos through the seasons.

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  12. What a great post - especially love your first picture - it is just beautiful! How lucky you are to have all that acreage and the creeks and river on it. I thought you said you wanted Soapwort that I sent you a start of or is the wild (like other flowers I've noticed) different looking than what I had.
    Anyway this was a really great and informative read!

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  13. What a treasure your land holds in native trees and wildflowers. It must be a joy to wander through it and find them flowering or fruiting. I love wildflowers that can take the flooding and the droughts...amazing aren't they! gail

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  14. Thank you everyone for your comments!

    Rosey, beavers are vegetarians -- they eat tree bark, cambien (the layer under the bark that grows new bark and wood), saplings, roots, buds, and grasses. They must be strong, to haul the trees that they use when constructing dams.

    Raingardener, thank you and I need to edit my post. It's Soapwort Gentian that grows in the floodway fields (unfortunately haven't seen any this year), Gentiana saponaria. I had thought it was a biennial but it's listed as a perennial. I've seen it as a sprawling plant with beautiful powder blue flowers that look a lot like Closed Gentian.

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  15. simply beautifully captured shots...lovely!

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  16. Love the musclewood, for sure! And the photos of pebbles in the water. Malletts Creek is right behind the south border of my yard, but it's more of a crick, between 10-20 ft. wide. It's part of the Huron River Watershed.

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  17. This is such a lovely place with a wealth of different plants, Sweet Bay. It would make for an interesting walk--you would have to identify all these wildflowers for me:) I was just reading an article in the paper this weekend about a beaver dam at a local park. I'm hoping I can see it some time, but I didn't realize beavers are nocturnal, so you were very lucky to see one.

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  18. It's very interesting to read of all the plants and trees in your area - I've never heard of Ironwood. We live on the edge of the temperate deciduous forest biome - and we have many evergreens as well as deciduous trees. But not quite the variety that you have down south. I've never heard of teddy bear paws either - I'm going to look that one up it sounds cute!

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  19. Hello SweetBay,

    What a beautiful area with so much life. I can just picture myself walking along the shore and enjoying the variety of plants that grow there. But, since I can't go there, I will pretend I am there through your pictures.

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  20. You have a lovly area to walk!
    The Ironwood must be a remarkable tree. I will look it up.
    I love seeing your flora and learning about the fauna in your area. I am very fond of birds and bugs!
    Thank you for taking us on a walk about on your land. It is lovely in every season.
    Happy Thanksgiving,
    Sherry

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  21. What a lovely story and pictures. Somehow it made me think of the Macahan's family and iniands, but that wasn't in your territory, was it? I surprised to read turtles, somehow I always thought they were in Oceans. Must be a lovely walk along that creek, with beavers and all.. Thank you for showing :)

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  22. Looks like a lovely area for a walk, of course, not when there has been a lot of rain.

    Jan
    Always Growing

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  23. You live in an amazing part of the country. Have you ever posted a photo of Hearts-a-Burstin' or Teddy-Bear Paws? Luv those names.

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  24. Wow - simply beautiful! I love water, and to have such a glorious creek must be a constant source of pleasure.

    Verdant and abundant are my words for your very special property :)

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  25. It's just beautiful there. As much as I like my pond, it doesn't compare to the natural creeks and ponds and all that grows there. I can't imagine getting that much rain in such a short time. I guess ours doesn't seem as bad after seeing how much you got.

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  26. What beautiful pictures. So lovely!

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  27. Oh my goodness, Sweet Bay, what a list of wildflower goodies you have there! I am surprised so many of them also live in the well drained dry slopes of southeast TN. That Ironwood is fabulous, what interesting bark and structure, totally new to me. Those waters are full of mystery, love the first shot!

    Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

    Frances

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  28. Thank you for your comments!

    Mia the Macahans lived out west, if you're referring to How the West was Won -- but it may have been filmed in the east! We have many species of fresh water turtles here.

    Donna, I haven't shown pictures of the Teddy Bear's Paws, although I should take some pictures. The deer really love Hearts-a-Burstin so I rarely actually see the fruit. We used to have two at the edge of the woods that used to fruit in wet years but they are gone now, perhaps done in by drought and browsing. I see small plants all of the time. They are very beautiful in fruit.

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