Make plans to see showy lady’s slipper at Eshqua Bog in Hartland

Looking for joy these days? Look no further than the great outdoors. My mother always told me to just get outside, swing from a limb of our apple tree or play in the sandbox. Mom got a break, and I fell in love with the great outdoors.

Hence my advice: Grab some bug dope and get thee to a beautiful place.

I have written before about Eshqua Bog in Hartland. Put a date on the calendar as average peak flowering of the rare showy lady’s slippers is June 20. The preserve is a botanical wonderland of cold-climate holdovers from the post-glacial era 10,000 years ago. The 41 acres contain a diverse array of bog and fen plants, including Labrador tea, cotton grass, pitcher plants, showy lady’s slippers, larches and buckbean. 

The difference between a bog and a fen is the water source. Bogs tend to be acidic; fens are more alkaline. Water flows into bogs through rainwater and run-off, whereas fens are also fed by calcium-rich groundwater.

Eshqua Bog Natural Area hosts a 460-foot accessible boardwalk. It is co-owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy in Vermont and Native Plant Trust.

While you are in the neighborhood, take a walk at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park in Woodstock. No admission is charged.

Closer to home is Colchester Bog, a University of Vermont Natural Area. Fluctuations in the level of Lake Champlain mean that occasional floods deliver nutrients and soil that make it possible for non-bog plants to flourish and out-compete the endemics.

For example, white pine trees grow faster than larch, red maple and black gums that are native to a bog forest. A boardwalk leads to an open section of sphagnum moss that hosts pitcher plants, leather leaf, cotton grass and other bog plants.

Charlotte hosts Williams Woods Natural Area with a 1.2-mile walking trail honoring the late Larry Hamilton, Charlotte’s Tree Warden and volunteer extraordinaire. Clay plain forest of this type originally covered the Champlain Valley but is now a rare ecosystem.

Please note that the 63-acre preserve is tricky to explore. Trees have shallow roots as they need more oxygen than the saturated clay soil can provide. Roots vein the surface of the property. Blowdowns and big potholes reign as shallow root systems render the trees vulnerable to storms or microbursts. The boardwalk is also in rough shape. Yet, for an intrepid and careful walker, a stroll beneath ancient oaks and towering hemlocks is a change of pace. And close to home.

In the dark days of December several years ago, I included some thoughts about stress in my column. I’ve long forgotten the original source.

Humans need a certain amount of stress. Without it, we’re bored, inefficient and frustrated; too much stress and we’re irritable, overwhelmed and exhausted. When the balance is just right, we are motivated, productive and able to function effectively.

• Prioritize. Make three lists: essential, important and trivial. Throw out the third list. Within the essential category, prioritize again. Now, get busy.
• Do it today. Hard work is often the accumulation of easy things you should have done earlier.
• Everyone has a best time of day. For some it begins at 10 p.m., for others it’s 5:30 a.m. Schedule the most important work when you are sharpest.
• Set an alarm clock to remind you of bedtime. Fatigue reduces your ability to function and cope with stress.
• Your time. We all value different activities and have our own ways of spending free minutes or hours. Be a ruthless critic of where your discretionary time goes: email, doom-scrolling, blogs — no matter how inspiring or informative, cute puppy videos, long phone conversations.
• Delegate, swap or pay for help. You might hire your own children to do chores.
• Donate extra stuff to charity. It will be easier to find the things you need.
• Exercise. A body lacking in physical stamina is in no condition to counter stress.
• Learn to relax. Perhaps try yoga, meditation, weeding or watching birds as you sip a cup of tea.
• Enjoy. Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans. If you’re waiting for the perfect moment, when the lists are all checked off and life is under control, you will have a long wait. Smell the flowers or fresh bread, listen to beautiful music, marvel at the stars, send a note to someone you love. Make friends with non-worriers.
• Help others. This will bring more joy to you than to the recipients.

Good luck!