Winter

Dec 2012 - Feb 2013

In this issue: Kipuka • 1 The Curator’s Journal • 2 The Kensico Ax • 3 How to Light a Fire • 5 Preserve News •7 Cranberry Creative Corner • 8

Plus: Cranberry Maze• 9 Calendar of Events • 10 The Mushroom Museum • 12

CRANBERRY LAKE PRESERVE ◦ Westchester County Parks Dept. ◦ 1609 Old Orchard Street, West Harrison, NY 10604 ◦ (914) 428-1005

by Taro Ietaka

I recently learned a new word while reading Orion magazine – kipuka. It is

Hawaiian and refers to areas surrounded by lava flows but which remain full of

vegetation and wildlife. The term has been used to mean “island of life.” Cranberry

Lake is part of a kipuka, along with the land around the White Plains and Kensico

Reservoirs, that is surrounded by human development. White Plains, a city of 57,000

that is only four miles from the Preserve, is very different from a volcano, but its

parking lots, highways, buildings and lawns are only slightly better than flowing lava

from the point of view of much of our wildlife.

“You Are in an Incredibly Important Place” is what visitors to the Cranberry

Lake Nature Lodge read on a big sign above our map display. There are so many

reasons for why this is true – the Preserve can be important for a child’s enjoyment of

the Cascade, an adult’s getaway place from the stress of everyday life, or a beautiful

setting to have a family picnic - but perhaps the most important is the Preserve’s role

as a home for wildlife. After all, there are other places people can go to enjoy

themselves and relax, but there is no place in New York outside of Long Island that is

home to a modest little plant called Twisted Screwstem. There is no other place in

Westchester that I know of that is home to a little lichen called Gnome’s Fingers. Fish

are safe from hook and bait in Cranberry Lake, flowers are protected from picking.

This past summer we had a bobcat spend several months within the

preserve. It was seen by a patrolling police officer, several hikers, and even a

summer camp group. River otter, mink, fox and coyote can also be seen in the park

occasionally. Barred owls, screech owls, pileated woodpeckers, belted kingfishers,

hooded mergansers, great blue herons, green herons, turkey vultures, red-tailed

hawks, coopers hawks, and over 90 other species of birds have been recorded at

Cranberry Lake. To me, these animals represent hope that maybe we haven’t

messed things up too badly yet. Or if we have destroyed their homes in more remote

areas, then I am happy to know that Cranberry Lake and the surrounding watershed

land are a place they can come to weather the storm and hope for better times.

One of the important roles a kipuka serves is as a repository for wildlife from

which it can repopulate surrounding areas. If conditions turn favorable in the

surrounding neighborhoods, Cranberry Lake could act as the launching point for

mushrooms, salamanders, woodpeckers, and locally rare creatures to re-colonize the

(Continued on page 6)

Kipuka

~ 2 ~

The Curator’s Journal

You Are in a Very Special Place

“You Are in a Very Special Place” is what visitors to the

Cranberry Lake Nature Lodge read above our map display. It has

been my job for the last five years to explain to visitors why that is

the case.

A place doesn’t have to be special to someone because of

the wildlife or habitats. A family that visits the park regularly has a

rock where they stop and rest to enjoy the view. They’ve named

that particular rock after their family. What a great way to get

connected to a place! Feeling a sense of ownership or

stewardship makes a place special, so I invite all visitors to come

and adopt their own rock. Or for those who prefer trees, I hope to

have a Stewards of Cranberry Lake fundraiser where families can

make a donation to receive a tree sapling that they can plant in a

storm-damaged area of the park. Hopefully they’d come back to

water their tree during droughts or to take shade under some

sunny day in the future.

It is also memories of a place that can make it subjectively

special. In my own case, I was in middle school and came to fish

Cranberry Lake along with a couple of friends (this is completely

forbidden now and, in retrospect, it was back in the 80s too). We

had an inflatable raft which we quickly carried away from the

parking lot after we were dropped off by my friend’s parent. We

didn’t catch any fish, and after about 30 minutes we noticed our

boat sitting lower in the water. We had a leak which we remedied

by alternating turns fishing and using our foot pump to re-inflate

the raft as we paddled back to shore. I think of that at times as I

walk the Blue Trail. Hopefully, everyone that visits will take away

their own adventures and memories of the Preserve – hopefully

they’ll be smarter about creating those memories than I was.

~Taro Ietaka

Welcome to the first

edition of the Stewards of

Cranberry Lake Preserve

Newsletter!

I hope you enjoy our first

newsletter. Please consider

contributing to future issues. Send

articles, artwork or photos to

jugglingpaynes@optonline.net

Please include the author/artist’s

name and write “Stewards

Newsletter” in the subject line. You

can also mail or drop off your

submissions at Cranberry Lake

Preserve, 1609 Old Orchard

Street, West Harrison, NY 10604

~ 3 ~

The Kensico Ax someone found my commute threatening. Earlier that

day while carrying this ax, I traveled through the towns of

Ridgefield, Katonah, and Chappaqua. I sat among many

commuters on one bus and on two separate trains. I

even passed a political candidate who approached and

asked for my vote. Indeed, according to the Mount

Pleasant Police sergeant he had only been alerted to my

presence as late as downtown Valhalla. I overheard the

DEP Police sergeant more specifically mention a call

concerning an "ax murderer."

My purpose here is not to deny the fact that an

ax can be used to inflict harm on others. People have

been intentionally and tragically killed by men wielding

axes. Indeed, an ax murder did once occur near where I

had been stopped, at a submerged site where a stolen

ax was used to murder a Kensico store owner in 1882.

Also within the choppy gray waters of the

reservoir, deep beneath the reflection of autumn leaves,

lies a favored headquarters of George Washington.

There is an American paradox regarding George

Washington's ax. Since in Washington's possession, his

ax is said to have had the handle replaced three times

and the head replaced twice. In other words, this ax is

still considered an original artifact even though it no

longer consists of any original parts. The ax, the story

goes, is shown to an intrigued audience who are quickly

disenchanted upon learning that Washington never

actually held the handle nor swung the head.

On Halloween night of 1776, Washington

withdrew his troops to the hills on the northeast side of

what is now the Kensico reservoir. Washington was on

the verge of directing one of his most impressive feats

involving the stealthy movement of troops and supplies

over the East River. Amid a climate of urgent messenger

alerts, ever-lurking British spies, and little sleep, acting

based on fear would have compromised the safety of the

troops and the longevity of the nascent United States.

However, as with any emotion, Washington understood

that fear alone would be a tragically unsafe way of

assuring that safety.

Is it not somewhat impertinent, if not unpatriotic, for a

citizen living over the footprints of his or her forefathers to

sound an alarm at the sight of a uniformed county

employee carrying an ax? As colonial farms are further

subdivided, paving the way for our modern livelihoods,

the ax stands as a timeless icon indebted towards this

nation's heritage.

(Continued on page 4)

On October 23rd in Valhalla, NY, at least one

citizen anxiously called the police to report a man with a

weapon. After the municipal police sergeant failed to

locate the danger, the immediate search was called off

and surrounding departments were notified to keep a

look out.

Shortly thereafter I was crossing over the

Kensico Dam on foot as part of my daily protest of the

personal car. Wearing my usual Westchester County

Parks shirt and khaki pants, I had been walking this

stretch of my ninety-minute commute to Cranberry Lake

Preserve. Suddenly I heard the crunching of pebbles

from behind and glanced back to find a large vehicle

marked “DEP Police” with the door opening. In a few

minutes the sergeant returned to his vehicle, and I

admired the gorgeous fall foliage over the reservoir as

the scene gradually crowded with more sergeants and

other officers representing the Mount Pleasant police,

the North Castle police, the Westchester County police,

and the New York State police. I would also soon have

the opportunity to meet my supervisor from Westchester

County Parks for the first time. But at this moment the

sergeant simply asked me to place the ax on the ledge,

which I did neatly, steel clinking against the cold granite.

In some strange way, this commotion had less

to do with the ax that I carried to work than with

exposure. The Mount Pleasant Police sergeant

reassured me that I could carry an ax to work. The

problem was that a citizen had perceived this ax as a

weapon. What I could have done differently, he

suggested, was to keep the ax's head concealed within

my bag. This ax would likely not have been reported if

only the ax's handle extended out the top of my

backpack.

However, when submerged in my bag I would

lose control over the direction of the ax blade. A rustling

ax head could rip a hole through my bag and fall

somewhere accidentally. In another scenario, the ax

could be removed from my bag which would be difficult

for me to prevent when behind my back and out of

reach.

My experience as a park employee suggests

that the safest way to carry an ax is at the side, just

below the blade, with the cutting edge facing away from

my body as I had been doing. By adhering to

professional and safe standards it is truly surprising that

by Zaac Chaves

The Kensico Axe (continued from page 3)

The uniquely robust design of the colonial ax

can be traced to aboriginal origin based on the regional

stone ax, as well as to the displacement of those

aboriginal people. “Deforestation was one of the most

sweeping transformations wrought by European

settlement,” the American environmental historian

William Cronon writes, “reducing the forest was an

essential first step toward reproducing that Old World

mosaic in an American environment.”

While expressing my sympathies to those who

may have been frightened by this ax, it is with only my

kindest intentions that I suggest that these fears only

estrange the community. The suburban and

Halloween-marketed attraction to the label of "ax

murderer" offers an all-too-easy detachment from the

perceived lower culture of rural Americans. All material

wealth, including our nourishment, derives ultimately

from a rural Earth. Moreover, this land remains

intrinsically embedded within a regional history

whether we choose to start with Washington or

perhaps the Siwanoy Indian chief, Cokenseco, from

whom Kensico derives its name. What we know about

our regional history remains an inseparable part of our

cultural heritage, and by extension, a necessary and

accessible part of understanding who we are today.

Like George Washington's Ax, if a society is

built using an ax, then, somehow, that society's heritage

will always be encapsulated within that tool. By making

the choice to prioritize our iconic heirlooms we can

connect our modern lives with a more enduring vision.

Downtown Valhalla comes directly from the

displacement of Kensico, from turn-of-the-century

technological manipulation of the geological landscape,

and bequeaths an appreciation of a unique place on

Earth.

At 1 pm on Saturday, December 15th I led a program at

Cranberry Lake Preserve which was timely submitted

before this police commotion. At the program, I

discussed the role of the broad ax leading up to what is

today recognized as the Kensico Dam. This regional

environmental history program included a live hewing

demonstration. The recent debacle has demonstrated

the need for such an educational program.

Photo by B. Gliwa

~ 5 ~

How to Light a Fire

by Cristina Ramos-Payne

Photos by C. Ramos-Payne

My children attend homeschooling nature

classes at Cranberry Lake Preserve. They had

several classes on survival skills, and one in

particular about building a campfire. But it wasn’t just

about making fire.

First we discussed safety and how to contain a

campfire, then we cleared our area of debris and a

bucket was filled with water in case of emergency.

Fire safety: Check.

Then Taro began to tell the children about how

local Native Americans taught their own children how

to build a fire. They learned how the fire was looked

upon as a guest, and this guest would need a

comfortable bed—kindling—and a house—sticks—

with enough ventilation so that the fire can breathe.

Local History, Native American lore: Check.

Then Taro demonstrated different fire starting

techniques. He showed how some methods spark,

like flint and steel or 9 volt batteries and steel wool,

while other methods use friction, like the bow string.

Science: Check.

The children set to work, squatting in front of

their little stick houses, trying to catch a spark in their

kindling beds. As each little campfire lit, so did the

faces of the children. It is something they will never

forget learning, proving that education is not simply

the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.

~ 6 ~

area. At first it may seem ridiculous to think that

Westchester, especially near White Plains, could ever

revert back to conditions suitable for more wildlife. But

that’s not true. If golf courses are converted from

monocultures of grass suitable only for Canada Geese

into wooded or meadow habitats, as may happen at the

old Ridgeway golf course, it may be the offspring of

plants at the Cranberry Lake kipuka that are dispersed

there and act as pioneers for a re-greening movement.

Or, if phragmites, the tall reed that dominates the

wetland between the Stop & Shop on North Broadway

and George Washington Elementary School, ever

releases its stranglehold then it would be possible for

the pogonia orchids, chokeberries, and buttonbush at

Cranberry to land seed there with the aid of wind and

bird dispersers. It can happen as long as we humans

are vigilant in protecting Cranberry Lake and other

kipukas as “islands of life”, safe from our flowing

asphalt, bulldozers, and lawnmowers.

Kipuka (Continued from page 1)

~ 7 ~

Passing of Ken Soltesz – We were very

sad to hear of the death of Ken Soltesz,

Curator of Cranberry Lake until 2002. Ken

was an amazing naturalist and educator

who was legendary for his knowledge of

dragonflies. Visitors to Cranberry Lake who

have never met Ken may still recognize him

from the Cranberry Lake Maze – upon

successfully navigating the maze from the

Quarry to the Nature Center, one is

welcomed by a self-portrait of Ken, bearded

and waving. It is how I like to remember

him. In thanks for Ken’s contributions to the

Preserve, Eagle Scout Jonathan Smith will

be creating the Ken Soltesz Memorial Trail

to one of the park’s most scenic overlooks

of the lake and will be building a bench for

visitors to enjoy.

Superstorm Sandy – Monday, October 29

was a black day for the trees at Cranberry

Lake Preserve. Dozens of hundred-year old

Red Oak trees were blown over the road

and trails. For the next couple of weeks,

Preserve staff with dozens of scouts and

volunteers helped to re-open blocked paths.

The storm was interesting for a number of

reasons. Of the scores of trees that came

down, the overwhelming number were

either Black Birch or Red Oak. Black Birch

is known for its small seeds that will sprout

in inhospitable places such as in the cracks

of rocks. I hadn’t realized that Red Oak

acorns were similarly indiscriminate about

growing in shallow soil over rock, as

evidenced by looking at the blown over

rootstocks. The other interesting thing was

the direction that trees fell – either to the

southwest or northwest. Nor’easters are

pretty common in our area, so only a few

trees came down while Sandy was blowing

from that direction. Sandy then shifted with

winds coming from the southeast – a much

more infrequent occurrence, with

correspondingly many more trees toppling

to the northwest.

South Pond Boardwalk Update –

Regrettably, we still recommend visitors

avoid using South Pond Boardwalk – it is

still unstable and missing boards. Earlier

this year we sourced cut locust tree logs to

use as the footings for a rebuilt boardwalk.

However, we are still awaiting delivery.

~ 8 ~

Cranberry Creative Corner The Three Beetles

Once upon a time there were three

beetles. One blue, one green and one red. They

ate the native plants in their area. They weren’t

afraid of anything; no birds, or big bugs, or plant

either. So when word came to them that there

was a new plant in town that was very big and

had leaves and stems that could slice you, the

beetles just laughed and said, “Who’s afraid of

the big bad weed?” and went on with their day.

But one fateful day they saw the plant

growing in the swamp. So they moved away.

The next day, they saw more growing in the

field. The following day, the field was completely

covered!

“An invasive species!” marveled Blue

Beetle.

“Maybe another yummy plant we can get

rid of!” said the hungry Green Beetle.

“You’re right! We could eat it away till

there is no more!” said Red Beetle. So they tried

it.

“It’s tough to bite!” sputtered Blue.

“It tastes awful!” spat Green.

“It cut my tongue!” wailed Red.

So they flew away before another bite.

Meanwhile, the triumphant Fragmities

kept on growing.

The End

~Phoebe Streeter, age 10

On Spotting Wild Turkeys

The turkeys! The turkeys! The WILD turkeys! They ran across the path; They went to the cascade and then They ran into the grass. We looked into the grass for them We followed them into suck mud; They ran into the bush and then We slipped and we went “thud!”

~August Geary, Age 6

Author’s note: “suck mud” is the thick, gooey mud that

clings so hard it feels like it’s going to suck your shoes

right down into the ground.

Photo by C. Ramos-Payne

~ 9 ~

~ 10 ~

Cranberry Lake Preserve Calendar of Events • January - February

January

Sunday 13th, 1:00 PM – NATURALIST’S CHOICE HIKE Our destination will be determined what nature gives us. Saturday 19th, 1:00 PM – STRAIGHT VEGETABLE OIL AS DIESEL FUEL Discussion and demonstration of a vehicle converted to run off vegetable oil. . Saturday 26th, 1:00 PM – WINTER COLOR SCAVENGER HUNT You’ll be surprised at how many colors are out there even in the middle of winter: red berries, green mosses, bluish lichens and more. If you can find the colors on our list you can even win a prize.

February

Saturday 2nd, 1:00 PM - BICYCLE REPAIR 101 Cycling is a great way to reduce consumption and stay fit. Come learn how to do a basic tune up on your bicycle: tires, adjustments, cables, and safety. Saturday 9th, 1:00 PM – NATURE STORY TIME We’ve got a library of great story books in the nature lodge that we’d love to share with you and your children. Staff choices may include The Lorax, The Salamander Room, Bufo: the Story of a Toad, and more. Sunday 17th, 1:00 PM – GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER AND CONSERVATION A hike focused on recognizing some of the practical ecological advice offered by Carver.

~ 11 ~

cut along dotted line and return with payment

Cranberry Staff

Curator – Taro Ietaka

Naturalist – Zaac Chaves

Conservation Division of the

Westchester County Department of

Parks, Recreation and Conservation

Newsletter Staff Managing Editor:

Cristina Ramos-Payne

The Stewards of Cranberry Lake

Preserve is dedicated to promoting a

better appreciation and understanding

of the natural world and the value of

Cranberry Lake Preserve. The

Stewards provide financial and

volunteer aid for exhibits, educational

programs, and science equipment.

The Stewards also encourage citizen

participation in local and state

government actions related to the

future of the Preserve and nature

center.

2012 Stewards Board

Members

President – Mindy Swope Quintero

Vice-President – C. Ramos-Payne

Treasurer – Catherine McGibney

Become a Member Today!

~ 12 ~

The Mushroom Museum

Stewards of Cranberry Lake

Preserve Cranberry Lake Preserve

1609 Old Orchard Street

West Harrison, NY 10604

USA

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Printed on Recycled Paper

This temporary exhibit was set up at the end of a

mushroom identification program led by Zaac Chaves.