Shaker Village Hike

mneedham

mneedham

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Jul 8, 2006
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This morning we hiked near an old Shaker village near the Berkshire Mountains. Nearby is Mount Lebanon, the most sacred spot for Shakers. The Shakers resided in my area several hundred years ago, a truly fascinating people, the shakers were named for their erratic dancing during prayer, they were master craftsmen, engineers, pharmacists and farmers. In the pics below, you can see remnants of the their old dam system that powered the village that is nearby....


The gear that we took:
mike077.jpg

The foundation of the lumber mill:
mike074.jpg

The upper dam that supplied the village and mills with water power:
mike073.jpg

My son sporting his new REI hat
mike075.jpg

An industrious woodpecker?
mike072.jpg
 
andrew7978 said:
cools pics. I will be interested to hear what people make of that last one.
Click to expand...

Same here. Woodpeckers usually go much higher on a tree, don't they? I've never seen anything like that in the woods, but most of my camping/hiking has been in the southeast.
 
I have woodpecker action on trees around my house that is only several feet off the ground, but in this case, I was impressed by the cavity that was created in the tree. Maybe it was a woodpecker that is on Balco's client list?
 
Could it be a beaver? They generally strip the bark from the bottom of trees and take down smaller saplings. Not sure I've ever heard of one excavating a hollow in a tree...
 
DONAMC,

We have a lot of beavers in the area, but I didn't see any traditional signs of Beaver activity.....
 
Weren't the Shakers the ones that practiced celibacy so they sort of petered out (pardon the expression)
 
Can't really tell from the pic, but looks like marks around th edges that would suggest scraping. I would have to guess beaver as well, but it is really odd. Could also be man made.
Terry
 
Very cool mneedham :thumbup:

I love historical hikes, if you're ever in Rockland Country New York you should check out Doodletown
 
HD,

Yep, Mother Ann Lee (the spiritual leader of the Shakers) prophecized that Shakers would dwindle to a number that could be counted on one hand and than would prosper again.. The last couple of Shakers live in Sabbath Lake, Maine. For anybody who is interested in craftsmanship or engineering, these people were amazing..

Guys,

I'm still betting woodpecker..
 
My opinion is that it is NOT a woodpecker. They drill into wood to get at grubs with their tongue, there is no reason for them to excavate like that. Beyond that they cannot gouge out wood, they hammer into it like a nail and the marks do not show that kind of modification. I have seen many woodpecker attacked trees and they look like it was hit with a shotgun. I cannot say what it is but I will state IMO- not woodpecker.
 
CutsLike,

I don't know. Here is a pic of a tree off my land that I observed a woodpecker working on. The pic doesn't show the wood chips in front of the tree... I included a 12" Tram for size (yep, its Pict and Bear's fault...):

mike079.jpg
 
Theonew,

Missed your post, Thanks, and I will!

Sorry about the pic in the last post...
 
Great shots mneedham. Love that modified Becker! The bottom hole doesn't look like a woodpecker one to me, but the top could be.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
My opinion is that it is NOT a woodpecker. They drill into wood to get at grubs with their tongue, there is no reason for them to excavate like that. Beyond that they cannot gouge out wood, they hammer into it like a nail and the marks do not show that kind of modification. I have seen many woodpecker attacked trees and they look like it was hit with a shotgun. I cannot say what it is but I will state IMO- not woodpecker.
Click to expand...

Wrong Kris, I JUST watched a red bellied woodpecker of about 10" in height build himself a nest in one of my trees. He started pecking like he was looking for food, then the hammertime came for the next 4 days he worked it Sunup to Sundown. About 15ft up off the ground, JUST like that cavity, except he did'nt break through to the outside. How do I know:confused: the bonehead who owns the property nextdoor had his knuckledragger working the backhowe to clear a road and took the tree down while I was gone:grumpy: I pointed it out to KD and he shrugged and said "it was just a damn bird's nest":thumbdn:

I think the Woodpecker made the nest in error, and another animal got in and did the larger excavation.
 
I have been shown to be wrong- not the first time!! Interesting that none of the ones around here have ever acted like that, that I have seen anyways. Must be differences in area or something. At least I have learned something today.
 
Great pics. My mom grew up in the Shaker Village in Harvard, MA, YOur out towards NorthADAMS MA, correct??
 
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