Now to talk about the uniqueness of the northern part of the village. Lets begin over by Susie's cottage. As the land drops off to the west, it becomes wet. Boggy tamaracks and birches. But first come some of the largest oaks on the land. They shade out the undergrowth and create a parklike setting. As soon as the land dips a bit, there is a lot of growth covering the ground. It soon becomes almost impossible to travel through. Trees have fallen over, sudden deep water makes walking treacherous. But if you brave the journey you find interesting plants and fungi. It is there I found Naked Mitrewort and small Yellow Lady's Slippers, Elfin saddle and Great scented Liverwort. It is a very diverse landscape. The water all comes from springs. There is no way to trace them to their source, they just appear and soon become a stream, flowing west and south, through Harlow's land, under the road, and joining up with the stream that flows to the river.
To the east of the cottage the land falls away to a different tamarack bog. This one is also spring fed. These springs flow year round. If you go and walk on the snow in the winter, you can hear the water moving under your feet. This area also is full of many plant species including Orchids and Perolas. Up slope from them, the remnants of a oak woods eases into a open area slowly filling in with goldenrod and asters, sumac and shrubs. Several small ponds fill in the low areas between the oaks and the fields. Each has it's own species that have maintained life quarantined from the others. These woods and ponds stretch to the northern end of the property.
Across the road to the west, past the cow pasture and beyond the marl pits is another pond area and oak knoll. This too is spring fed, trickling through the marl pits and flowing across the open fields, past St Chris' House, under the road and to the river. Hidden along the way are bog areas, deep water, and cattail marshes. It is here the Tufted Loostrife, crested fern, and horsetails call home.
Whether high and dry, or perpetually wet, the land here has one thing in common. It supports an incredible amount of life.
