Code Purple

A new element has been added to our local weather forecasts, color coded air quality alerts.  Today was a code purple kind of day, the worst.  The problem is a fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge that was started by lightening on August 4th.  It has continued to burn almost out of control to the point that over 6000 acres are now affected, mostly in Virginia, but also in North Carolina.



The situation has been compounded by the hand of nature and the hand of man.  There are still many fallen trees from 2003's Hurricane Isabel.  Though not as severe, there was another fire last year that left behind incompletely burnt fuel.  Ironically, that fire was started by one of the pieces of equipment used in efforts to restore the Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) habitat.  This year we had drought conditions until just recently, so the grasses and shrubs were in a dry state.  However, the trump card in this disaster is the peat.  Millenia old layers of dry, carbon-rich peat are slowly burning causing the thick acrid smoke.  In some places it has been estimated that up to 4-6' of the peat has burned changing elevations of the swamp.



The peat would not be so dry if the water levels in the Dismal Swamp were kept at natural levels.  Beginning with George Washington, the swamp has been subjected to centuries of ditching, canals and draining which have lowered the ground water level several feet.  In another bit of irony, the strategy to attack this year's fire involves installing large pumps throughout the swamp to redistribute the water and fight the fire.  If you have ever smothered a campfire with water, you know how much smoke is produced.



This morning there were several accidents due to the smoke, causing road closures and general traffic mayhem, in an area already famous for its mayhem.  It also made working outside difficult, but I surprised myself as to what I could tolerate.  We are supposed to have another day of this tomorrow, but then after the wind will shift, and some other group of people will be affected.  In the meantime I will hope the pumps work and more rain might fall.

Back to the Swamp

Last Saturday I returned to the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail with my son and our bikes. As I have mentioned in other posts, the fall colors here have been unusually spectacular so I was hoping we would see some on our ride. We did, but I had forgotten that the predominant tree species on this trail was Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) whose fall color is strikingly similar to its spring, summer and winter color. However, there were enough Red Maples (Acer rubrum) and Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) to punctuate the green.

In my previous post I spoke about how the water from the Great Dismal Swamp was valued by sailors for its long shelf life. I valued the mirror-like reflections coming from the black surface.

Into the Swamp

No, I did not go to Washington D.C. today, but rather to The Great Dismal Swamp, where I explored, by bike, The Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. This relatively new trail is actually the old Rte. 17 that runs through here into North Carolina and other points south. When a new, safer 17 was built, people with vision decided to turn the old tree-lined road into a recreational trail, straight and flat for easy biking. It parallels an older route opened in 1805, that of the canal, which was hand dug by slaves through the eastern edge of the swamp. The Dismal Swamp Canal connected the port of Norfolk with northeastern North Carolina, facilitated decades of lumber extraction, and offered an inland alternative to the unpredictable Atlantic.

Even though I was in a swamp, it was evident that the area is in the midst of a severe drought. However, the edge of the trail offered a surprising number of late summer blooms. There were huge blue swaths of Wild Ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum), some of it mixed with Goldenrod (Solidago).

Wild Ageratum also offered a nice background to the bolder color of American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana).

There were a couple of wildflowers I did not immediately recognize. I think this is Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) ...

... and this may be Slenderleaf False Foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia). I hope someone will let me know if my ID is wrong.

I posted a picture of Passiflora lutea for this month's Bloom Day post and noted its weediness. I have also grown Passiflora incarnata (pictured below), which while showier, is just as weedy, but more difficult to pull up.

The Great Dismal Swamp is perhaps better known for its animal communities. There is a sizable population of black bears, as well as over 20 snake species, including all three of Virginia's venomous ones. Fortunately all I saw were birds and a disinterested rabbit.

There are still a few reminders of busier times on the canal. The building below is the house where the toll taker lived. It is right on the edge of the water and the back half will likely be in the water given a strong enough wind. Hopefully some funding will be secured to preserve it, but it is fairly far gone.

These days the canal is used mostly by pleasure boats travelling between the Chesapeake Bay and the sounds of North Carolina.

Sailors in another age would put this swamp's water in barrels to drink on ocean voyages. The acids and tannins from tree bark inhibited the growth of bacteria making it safe to drink long after it was put on board. Even though too many of its trees have been felled, and much of the land that was once part of The Great Dismal Swamp has been ditched and drained for soybeans and tract houses - the water still retains its characteristic strong tea color.