The Stump

The Marcy Woods Stump Earl Plato
Marcy Woods and a stump fascination - c’mon Plato. Yes, this article is about a very tall stump. Hey, a stump is just a stump, eh. Not so, at least according to this stump admirer. I love Marcy Woods, that pristine 250 acres of second growth trees. Yellow birch, beech, black oak, black maple, hemlock, and a few giant tulip trees are found there. If you love trees just for the sake of their longevity you would have enjoyed a walk along the Lower Trail. One morning long before the property was sold, I took my sketch book, my collapsible tripod seat and headed for my stump. If you know Marcy Woods the yellow birch stump was located just before the Lower Trail takes a sharp swing south. I spent about an hour drawing the remains of the stump that stood about fifteen feet tall. Someone knocked the stump down in the years that followed. The late owner Dr. George Marcy didn’t believe in removing fallen trees unless they blocked the walking paths. The remains of the old stump is still there helping to produce new organic life as it decays. I like the Yellow birch not because it far outlives our common White or Paper birch but because it is associated with the Carolinian trees found at Marcy’s. Just a few hundred feet into the trail you find the first of several huge Yellow birches. They have a yellowish sheen to their rather loose and laterally peeling bark on their trunks. You might even think that the bark had been lightly buttered here and there. If it was possible in 2005 to come out sometime for a walk here you could agree or disagree with my above observation. Tim Seburn of the Bert Miller Nature Club pointed out to me a long time ago that Yellow birch twigs have a pleasant wintergreen flavour. Just sample one, eh. How old was my old stump? Yellow birches can live from 60-100 years or more. What I drew was the remnant of a mighty tree that was probably alive in the 19th century. That’s the 1800’s! Remember there’s plenty of time in 2005 to plant a good tree.