The woods behind Monica Jakuc’s house are aesthetic to most eyes
that are attracted to woodland scenes regardless of their inclination
toward quantification. But to most woods walkers, Monica’s woods are
not markedly different in appearance from the woodlands of adjacent
areas. Monica’s woods have an abundance of trees in the 14-28 inch
diameter class. So their sizes do not overpower the visitor. In the
upper reaches of Broad Brook in Monica’s Woods, several oaks and
hemlocks are larger. One oak is 9.6 feet around. However, these trees
are the exceptions.

      The bed rock throughout Monica’s Woods and the adjacent areas
appears to be gneiss (Ed, ya gotta take a look this coming October). It
is very hard and there is little topsoil on top of it in most places. In
the hilly areas adjacent to Monica's Woods, where the rock outcroppings
are common, the trees are stunted. The corridor of impressive woodlands
stays close to Broad Brook.

        On Saturday, I spent a full hour re-measuring Monica’s tallest
northern red oak. I also re-measured the Ehrhard Frost tuliptree, and
found a new green ash that was quickly measured. For Ehrhards’s
tuliptree, the tail of the tape was 125.1 feet. From another location I
got 125.15. These measurements confirm an earlier measurement of 125.3
from a third location. So we have three 125+ feet measurements for
Ehrhard’s tree. Time to move on.

        The green ash turned out to be 101.1 feet tall and 7.2 feet
around. It becomes the 11th species to surpass 100 feet in Monica's
Woods. The Rucker index is now 109.94. Sweet.

        The big challenge was a red oak. I'd measured it a couple of
times previously and had gotten 109.5 feet both times, but I wasn’t
satisfied. Its crown is partially obscured by a closer red maple and a
closer oak. Binoculars helped me to trace branch patterns and
distinguish the closer branches from the more distant ones. It was a
more distant crown spot that proved the tallest, but it took repeated
use of both lasers to tease out the numbers. The new height for the red
oak is 111.4 feet. The tree is hereby named the Clementi oak. Monica was
in her music room practicing for her upcoming concert series on her
borrowed Clementi piano.

         So let’s see, how many trees have been named in Monica’s Woods
in order of height?

        Monica’s pine – (133.0, 7.6)

        Kaeza Fearn pine – (126.5, 7.7) (Kaeza is the composer that
contributed to the ENTS concert)

        Ehrhard Frost tuliptree – (125.3, 6.6)

        Monica’s tuliptree – (122.2, 6.5)

        Clementi oak – (111.4, 5.7)


        So far, 10 trees in Monica’s Woods have been measured to 120
feet in height or more. Eight are white pines and 2 are tuliptrees. In
the adjacent Upper Broad Brook area, 3 white pines have been measured to
over 120 feet. That’s a total of 13 trees over 120. By Berkshire
standards, 120 feet is not noteworthy, but it is conspicuous in the
valley regions to include Florence, MA. When comparing Monica’s woods to
the adjacent areas and especially the property of Fitzgerald Lake, which
is a popular conservation and birding area, 120 is even more
conspicuous. By that conservation property’s standards, Monica’s trees
are extremely tall. Why such a difference? We’re talking of low-lying
land around Fitzgerald Lake. Well, the Fitzgerald Lake property was
unmercifully high graded. There’s evidence of that everywhere. As a
consequence, the forest around the little lake is in pitiful shape as a
late Saturday walk there reminded me. The walk reminded me of just how
much of Massachusetts countryside consists of severely high-graded
woodlands. It made me ever more thankful for the areas that have escaped
high grading. It also reminded me of how clueless the public is when it
comes to forest practices, but that’s another story.


Bob

 THE PRESTIGEOUS 120 CLUB

     On Saturday, I finally was able to find a spot that I was able to
use to measure Monica's 3rd tall tuliptree. Its crown merges with the
Ehrhard Frost TT and intervening oak branches to create an almost
impossible tangle. But persistence paid off. The 3rd TT is 122.1 feet.
So we’re proud to say that Monica’s prestigeous "Above 120 Club" now has
the following distinguished members.

        TREE                  HGT        CIR   

        Monica’s WP           133.0      7.6
        Ehrhard’s TT          125.2      6.6
        Kaeza’s WP#1          123.6      6.8
        Kaeza’s WP#2          122.9      7.3
        Monica’s TT           122.3      6.7
        Brenda’s TT           122.1      5.7
        Erhard’s WP           121.2      7.6
        Unnamed WP            121.9      7.5
        Unnamed WP            120.6      7.2
        Unnamed WP            120.4      5.4



BROAD BROOK AND BEYOND:

     I’ve traced an area on the topographic map that takes in 33 acres.
This is what I choose to call Monica’s Woods as a site name. The next
area to the north is called Broad Brook. However, boundaries have not
been established for Broad Brook. Adjacent to Monica’s Woods on the east
is Fitzgerald Lake. Northward, the woods stretch unbroken for 5 miles.
From north to south, an area of about 3,500 acres is all wooded. There
are no major intrusions. As such, the area represents a natural resource
that I am only beginning to appreciate and explore. There are numerous
wetlands. Small Broad Brook runs for approximately 5 miles before
joining the Mill River.

     While the small number of 120’s doesn’t challenge any of the
Berkshire super stuff, nonetheless, the 120's is a pleasing assemblage
of handsome trees. The are has black bear, coyote, fishers, and other
small mammals - and of course, too many deer and what attracts the wild
life and enhances the tree growth? Why, Monica's music, of course.

Bob