« Climate Change?
2018-06-04
Climate change?
All the world’s a classroom
if the student is willing. Like everyone else I read about climate
change and look for evidence in the real world - or at least the world in
which I live.
I don’t necessarily need another scientific study
to support what I can see. I can see the changes.
I’ve been
connected in one way or another to the “family” property in New
Hampshire for over 60 years. I grew up here, inherited it from my mother,
rebuilt it, and maintain it. That alone is a bit of work as
there are always weeds to pull, floors to sand, outside walls to paint,
and gutters to clean.
There is also landscape to maintain - weeds
to whack, lawns to mow, brush to cut, trees to remove, and wood to
cut, split and stack. And there are, now, always vines to yank, rip,
tear, and burn.
Over the last 15 years, we have been invaded by
Oriental Bittersweet - a deceptive name. The name sounds elegant,
but the reality is ugly. This orange rooted vine climbs up trees,
spreads across the crown of trees, weights down the top, and eventually
topples the tree, often breaking it in half - only to grow on to the next
tree. Invasive is an understatement of New England
proportions.
It grows rapaciously, without stop, without end.
I yank its orange roots out and burn them as often as I can. If left
untended the vine would cover the entire property, the town, the state,
the eastern seaboard.
"
- Celastrus orbiculatus is
commonly found in old home sites, fields, and road edges. The fast growing
vines can cover, shade and outcompete other vegetation. It can even girdle
and kill large trees. Birds and other wildlife eat the fruit, thus
distributing the seeds. It hybridizes with Celastrus scandens,
potentially leading to loss of genetic identity for the native species. It
was introduced from China around 1860 as an ornamental. (Invasive.org)
Check out the map
of its spread throughout the Northeast. It’s spending north and west -
just like the increase in temperatures.
I don’t necessarily need another study -
oriental bittersweet is my reminder that climate change is real.
