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January
30, 2002
One
of the joys of living in the Finger Lakes region is winter. White
snow symbolically purifies the land. Beeches and birches punctuate
the blank slate. The coming year offers new opportunities and experiences.
Emerging from the virginal scene are passing expressions of life.
Some of these are human forms making tracks with skis and snowshoes.
In the powder we behold the tiny claws of a squirrel, the beard of
a turkey, or tail of a rabbit.
A healthy dose of January optimism can be obtained by making tracks
in the woods. A fortunate few will catch wildlife glimpses. On sunny
winter days the smallest of woodland inhabitants can be found in depressions
in the snow. A dark patch resembles ground pepper spilled by a woodland
giant enjoying a lazy lunch underneath a towering hemlock. However,
these little specks spring into the air with enthusiasm! They are
snow fleas.
Snow fleas are members of an order of insects known as Springtails.
They are not really fleas and do not jump. They actually catapult
themselves into the air by releasing a tiny prong from a hook on their
underside that pushes against the ground or snow. These wingless insects
occur by the thousand. They are so small that it takes large masses
of them to draw people's attention. Aside from snow, they sometimes
mass on moist tree trunks. When the sun warms the forest floor in
winter, snow fleas emerge to feed on the algae that oozes.
Snow fleas often go unnoticed by the woodland venturer, yet they occur
throughout the forest floor in New York State and are important components
of the food chain. Larger insects prey on these minuscule vegetarians.
Intrepid fishermen spend the winter creating imitations of these larger
insects hoping to beguile trout in the spring. Larger insects that
feed on snow fleas are in turn consumed by songbirds. The nuthatch,
warbler, and bunting accent the woods with their chirping. Unlike
the trout, these songbirds are protected from human predation but
make colorful, crunchy snacks for birds of prey such as the red-tailed
hawk, northern harrier, and barred owl. All this wonderful vertebrate
life is made possible by the meekest of creatures.
In conclusion let us reflect on the words of Robert Frost:
A
Patch of Old Snow
There's
a patch of old snow in a corner
That I should have guessed
Was a blown-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.
It
is speckled with grime as if
Small print overspread it,
The news of a day I've forgotten-
If I ever read it.
Master
Gardeners are available to answer your gardening questions. Call the
Extension Office in Penn Yan at 315-536-5123, leaving your name, phone
number, a time you can be reached and of course your gardening question.
Request for future column subjects is also appreciated. To visit past
articles written by Yates County Master Gardeners go to www.cce.cornell.edu/yates/mgindex.htm.
Cornell
Cooperative Extension Yates Association
Last updated: 1/11/02
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