The Many Stories a Barden Can Tell

There are many curious sights in the Barden at Herrontown Woods, and each has a story behind it. This figure was carved two years ago by our chainsaw virtuoso, Victorino, as a bit of whimsy after a morning of tree work in the Barden. Is it sad because it has lost its bark?

The gazebo in the background has a long but fun story behind it. 

This dugout has two stories behind it. One is the story of how it was carved by Princeton High School students. The other is the story that inspired the carving: the Odyssey. 

I'm sure the kids who made these mudpies can tell you all about them, and how delicious they were.

This tree is very quietly telling its story every day at the Barden.

This tree, a dead ash cut down by Victorino, has a story to tell if we take the time to study its markings. The story will be not only about the tree but about the woods or abandoned field in which it sprouted.

I bet its rings will take us back to a time when Herrontown Woods was mostly farm fields. And what sort of insect made that blue-stained channel?

This version of a leaf corral, with a central cylinder for food scraps, tells the story of organic matter's journey back to the soil from which it came. 

Venture up the red trail from the Barden to the little red barn, and the stories really start to get interesting. So impressive that this skeleton is defiant even long after passing. Now that's spirit!

On the next wall over, Teddy Roosevelt has the same pose. Maybe the skeleton is Teddy's!

And it's great to see a skeleton maintaining its flexibility, despite the attritions of age.

Herrontown Woods doesn't have any skeletons in the closet. Just in the barn.