Video 17, Little Things, Big Mysteries

One of the most bizarre discoveries at the Cloister at Three Creeks was this statue of St. Francis of Assisi lying face-down in Flat Rock Creek deep in the wilds of a natural woodland. How did he get there? How long had he been lying there? From the weathering of the concrete on his hooded head (which was pointed upstream), and the growth of moss on his back, the answer to the second question is unquestionably many, many years. If only he could talk, and tell us the tale of how he came to be abandoned and forgotten deep in the woods so long, long ago ...

The video contains a few other stories, ones that nature tells, the kind that PJ is always seeking out.

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness, VLC

 

Video 16, Rain

A little practical joke.

Pretty much self explanatory, no?

A sudden shower hits the Cloister at Three Creeks. Very sudden.

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness VLC

Video 15 A short walk on Stoney Creek

Stoney Creek is the largest of the 'Three Creeks' that surround the Cloister. Here PJ takes a little walk next to some of the noisy white water. The video is chopped short because his camera battery ran out. But the intended experience was complete, so here it is.

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness, VLC

 

 

Video 14, PJ's American Chestnut rescue plan

Here begins the 'Chestnut Liberation'. The Cloister at Three Creeks has only a handful of surviving root-shoots of the American Chestnut, a tree that used to be one of the dominant forest species in the area before a blight imported from Europe in 1904 killed off virtually every tree in the eastern US.

PJ proposes to give one of his charges a hand in its effort to produce seed before the Chestnut Blight fungus kills it back to the ground. There is hope for this effort. PJ has helped wild American Chestnuts produce seed in the past. Given a decent amount of light, natural wild American Chestnut trees do still produce seeds, and so, given time, even without human intervention, it is possible for the American Chestnut to evolve blight resistance and resume its stature as one of the great forest trees of the American East.

But, of course, humans love to meddle.  And we love underdogs, love to offer help and support to the sick and weak, and PJ is no exception; so a little human intervention seems like a fine idea, particularly with the unexpected secondary purpose PJ has in mind.

See what he proposes, as he undertakes to liberate his little friend the deep-woods Chestnut sprout.

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness VLC

Video 13, Tragedy in the woods

In honor of the traditionally unlucky number, PJ chose a theme of tragedy for the 13th video. But this tragic story told by nature is hardly all doom and gloom. In the eternal life-and-death struggle that is nature's wild way, every tragedy leads to opportunity.

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness, VLC

 

 

Video 12, The story told by old White Oak

One of the Noblest trees in the forest, the White Oak's survival advantage is simply to out-live its competitors. To do so, it has superior ability to heal wounds such as those left by dead branches. This leads to a surprising and unexpected behavior, which PJ explains ... in person.

He's getting comfortable with these daily interfaces with the outside world, so we'll be seeing more of 'The Hermit' in future videos.

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness, VLC

Video 11 Evening with the birds

 Sit and listen. The cool of the evening brings out the birds as no other time of day does. Featured is the melodic medley of selections provided by the Wood Thrush. How such a tiny bird can make such big sound is one of nature's true miracles.

Coming next: In tomorrow's video PJ makes an appearance on camera!

Video uploaded for PJ Wetzel by F.I.T. Wilderness, VLC