Excellent photos, looks like you all had a great day. On some photos, is that the FAA Tower in the distance ? Also, no Stones or Monuments on the trip ?
Jim
Jim
High Plains Drifting
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
James,
It is the FAA tower, and we did not look for or find any stones.
Pancoast
We did not go to the gate. When Jeff and I were coming out to the road by the gate there was a car going by with his dog running alongside, much like the way Bob and his dog travels
I was thinking it may be you because the dog looked just like yours.
Guy
It is the FAA tower, and we did not look for or find any stones.
Pancoast
We did not go to the gate. When Jeff and I were coming out to the road by the gate there was a car going by with his dog running alongside, much like the way Bob and his dog travels
I was thinking it may be you because the dog looked just like yours.Guy
For future reference (we'll let it slide this time), please note that Alfie is under contract and can only appear in photographs taken by myself. Otherwise, I enjoyed all of your photos, the videos (the 4-legged creature handled the slippery surface best!) and reports.
For future reference (we'll let it slide this time), please note that Alfie is under contract and can only appear in photographs taken by myself. Otherwise, I enjoyed all of your photos, the videos (the 4-legged creature handled the slippery surface best!) and reports.
You need to put a big copyright symbol on Al in your photo's or we are free to post photo's of him
Yea, buddy seems to be much more sure footed then us.Guy
James,
We did not go to the gate. When Jeff and I were coming out to the road by the gate there was a car going by with his dog running alongside, much like the way Bob and his dog travels
Guy
No that was not me. But I know the guy you are talking about. I have seen him before. Sometimes it looks like he is chasing after the dog.
I beg to differ.We have some top notch cedar swamps down here.The one in belleplain you may be referringto is probably Savages run.from nummy to east creek pond is a very nice cedar swamp.also there is one out to cedar point.not a creek swamp just a big patch of nice swamp.Also in my back door are the Buckshutem/gravelly run cedar swamps,top notch here.Berryman branch has a nice small cedar swamp and of course i can't leave out west creek and the nice bogs of the belleplain area.mad old cranberry bogs and big cedar in this area.
Al
Al, one of my favorites is the one by Jake's Landing. I need to explore the one by buckshutem.....did that auto park compromise the buckshutem one at all? I've read very old accounts mid 1600's of buzztails being rounded up and killed in the buckshutem cedar swamp.....wonder if there still there?
not unique
Lutz (1934: 17), in his classic monograph “Ecological Relations in the Pitch Pine Plains of Southern New Jersey,” suggested that Plains forest community was not confined East and West Plains. I agree. The Gordon map, despite numerous inaccuracies, has this one right. They are not unique in historical terms. Extensive tracts of the scrublands once were scattered throughout the Pine Barrens. Where do you think the name “Belleplain” is derived from?
Around Newtonville, the now extinct Heath Hen was abundant in the “barrens of Gloucester,” a plain-like region straddling Buena Vista Township, Folsom Borough, and the Town of Hammonton and likely included the Newtonville dune field (see Pinelands Watch SE-11 [Special Edition] and New Jersey Audubon Fall/Winter 2007-2008 [Special Places Issue]: 32-33. Click on Spung-Man above the avatar; choose “Visit Spung-Man’s homepage,” continue on to Research, Geodiversity, and finally “The Newtonville Dune Field”).
This variant of the Prairie Chicken of the Middle West was usually associated with the habitat of the East and West Plains of Ocean and Burlington Counties. Although never officially reported from Cape May County, Stone (1937: 320-322) suspected that it had been present at an earlier time. Certainly, the ornithologist thought a plains habitat capable of supporting Heath Hen had been present there in the nineteenth century.
Lutz (1934: 17), in his classic monograph “Ecological Relations in the Pitch Pine Plains of Southern New Jersey,” suggested that Plains forest community was not confined East and West Plains. I agree. The Gordon map, despite numerous inaccuracies, has this one right. They are not unique in historical terms. Extensive tracts of the scrublands once were scattered throughout the Pine Barrens. Where do you think the name “Belleplain” is derived from?
Around Newtonville, the now extinct Heath Hen was abundant in the “barrens of Gloucester,” a plain-like region straddling Buena Vista Township, Folsom Borough, and the Town of Hammonton and likely included the Newtonville dune field (see Pinelands Watch SE-11 [Special Edition] and New Jersey Audubon Fall/Winter 2007-2008 [Special Places Issue]: 32-33. Click on Spung-Man above the avatar; choose “Visit Spung-Man’s homepage,” continue on to Research, Geodiversity, and finally “The Newtonville Dune Field”).
This variant of the Prairie Chicken of the Middle West was usually associated with the habitat of the East and West Plains of Ocean and Burlington Counties. Although never officially reported from Cape May County, Stone (1937: 320-322) suspected that it had been present at an earlier time. Certainly, the ornithologist thought a plains habitat capable of supporting Heath Hen had been present there in the nineteenth century.
what is a buzztail?
the swamp is on state land but the racetrack owns property right to the edge of it almost,within a couple hundred yards.they haven't built on that portion but i understand their eventually going to build a motorcross track next to the swamp.The sounds of the swamp have been very tore up by the constnt whining of the track on nice weekends.I can hear the track enough to annoy me and i live about 3 miles from it,the swamp is less then a mile from the active track,part of the swamp anyway.
Al
We were discussing,Woodjin and I just this weekend that the plains may be solely fire caused because the plains along 72 are quite taller then the ones near governors pond and those near 72 have not burnt in quite sometime whereas governors pond has been burnt twicet
in my memory so there may very well have been large areas of plains probably caused by large scale denudation of the forest for charcoal and then burning of the slash.If this cycle were repeated frequently over a century or so It may temporarily stunt the trees but upon modern fire protection and forestry practices the woods could have recovered whereas the extreme xeric attributes of the warren grove area makes wildfires almost unavoidable especially with are fire happy air guardsmen to help things along.I would bet if the plains were left untorched for 50 years we would see the beginnings of a regular sized forest emerge.I for one like the plains the way they are though.Al
Buzztail=Timber rat, I would love to find one down there, though I think they may be extirpated down there.
Thats some interesting info Spung-Man, what was the cause of extinction for the Heath Hen? Habitat change?
Thats some interesting info Spung-Man, what was the cause of extinction for the Heath Hen? Habitat change?
Dragoncjo, my grandfather's parents had a farm in Millville on Buckshutem Rd. I remember him telling me when he was young (early teens of the 20th century!) and working in the fields, it was common to come across a few "rattler snakes", as he like to call them, when you where out there. I remember when I was younger (back in the late 60's) and going to Millville to see my family for get togethers, all the kids were warned to be careful 'cause there might be some of them rattler snakes in the "garden". This "garden", a smaller farm, was on my great uncles property on cedarville road, I think. I never did see any though.
Chrisr, it seems at the turn of the century much of south jersey had rattlesnakes. Obvioulsy given there reputation(not really deserved) they were killed anytime they were seen, which extirpated them from many areas. I know the area you speak of had them up till fairly recently and I'm sure one may turn up from time to time...but at one time they were a pretty common critter from what I've been able to gather. However with all the cutting of at. white cedar forests I'm sure many were killed and thus they really only are found in areas of deep wild woods now. If any of your family members ever see one down there let me know I would love to document their existence.
We were discussing,Woodjin and I just this weekend that the plains may be solely fire caused because the plains along 72 are quite taller then the ones near governors pond and those near 72 have not burnt in quite sometime whereas governors pond has been burnt twicet
Al
I believe Pine Plains to be precontact features. At the Millville Historical Society is a copy of Miller (1749: A Map of the Honorable Thomas Penn’s and Richard Penn’s Land on the Prince Morris River). On this document are landforms “cripples” (a semidry stream channel) and “plains.” This map predates widespread charcoal manufacture.
At Willowwood Arboretum, Gladstone, NJ, is a pygmy pine taken from the Pine Plains over 50 years ago. Botanist Dr. Benjamin Blackburn collected the specimen, if I remember correctly. He was the author of Trees and Shrubs in Eastern North America (1952). This tree is directly behind the park office, and is about half the height of a normal pitch pine. On dunes, pitch pines also seem to grow about half their customary height and tend to keep lower branches.
Figure: Typical South Jersey “barrens” in the Millville area, Engle, C.C., Lee, L.L., and Miller, H.A., 1921: Soil Survey of the Millville Area, New Jersey. Geologic Series Bulletin 22, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. 46 pp.
Attachments
Wow, that really just depressed the heck out of me....I wish Millville had those today, really cool picture. I would love to know were that pic was shot from.