The tamaracks that were barely noticeable in the forest all year long now take centre stage.
Their soft, burnt orange needles provide a bright contrast to the clear blue sky. Being complementary colours (set opposite one another on the colour wheel), orange and blue look especially vibrant together in the autumn landscape.
Tamaracks don’t mind wet, boggy soil. Their Ojibway name, muckigwatig, means ‘swamp tree.’ They thrive in Cow Bay wherever there is little competition for sunshine with other trees. These deciduous conifers are tolerant of extreme cold. Their delicate appearance often enhances residential landscapes in northern regions.
The inner bark of tamaracks is edible and has many medicinal uses among Native Americans, among them, treating burns, wounds, inflammations and headaches. It’s also a favourite of porcupines.
Along Bissett Road, which has extensive stands of tamaracks on both sides, it’s no wonder that porcupines are a frequent item on the roadkill café menu. I’ve crossed paths with them twice in as many weeks, but both times managed to see these slow walkers in time to yield.
It won’t be long before the tamaracks shed their needles for the winter and once again fade into the background of the forest. But for now, it’s tamarack time.
For more information about tamarack trees, see The Last of Autumn’s Leaves and Needles
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As I no longer have a dog, I’m not on the lookout for porcupines as much as I used to be while walking in the woods. However, it’s pretty hard to miss this fresh evidence of their activity just behind my home: fresh bark chips on the ground below a girdled trunk. Unfortunately, the Balsam Fir at left will die because its bark has been nibbled all around the circumference.
