Richard Fay planted the forest with his own hands...

Richard Sullivan Fay

History of Essex County Massachusetts: 

with Biographical Sketches, Volume 1 - Google Books

He commenced at once... "covering the hills with innumerable trees, many of which he planted with his own hands.  He imported larches, maples, firs, pines in large quantities, planted acorns constantly in his walks about the estate, and succeeded in converting a rough and somewhat unattractive landscape into a variegated forest, through which winds an avenue of great beauty, bordered by deciduous and evergreen trees distributed with great taste, and constituting a charming combination of variety and luxuriance of foliage"

Through a wind-chilled winter...

    Sounds of birds pass through the forest.  Wildlife dens are sheltered by leaves.  In the depth of winter, the ground is frozen, until when water in Spring earth receives.  Time-honored stones trace ceaseless arbors.  Beauty is function, as nature perceives.  A Coniferous Forest in the cold of winter, sustains natural homes for life's living things.

Some tree facts: 

Coniferous trees help maintain the micro-climate by blocking prevailing winter winds, and in the summer help provide a cooling shade.  Trees help reduce noise pollution, filter and clean the air, create more oxygen through photosynthesis, and provide year round nesting locations for the wildlife.  Trees can be used to reduce glare, create spaces, control topsoil runoff, and provide an artistic visually rich scene for the senses, by providing color, randomness and beauty in the gray of winter, with consistency throughout the year.

Sakura? Flowering tree

Today, a few flowering trees decorated the scenes near picturesque pools in different locations, on the hill.  The flora appears to be Sakura, an Asian Cherry Tree Blossom commonly found in Japan, China and Korea... a sweet surprise in the wild woodland of Richard Sullivan Fay's exotic arboretum.  This ornamental tree blossoms for a few days in early Spring, and does not produce fruit.  

Old Postcard from the Fay Arboretum

"This divided-back postcard was printed in Germany for the Glenmere Co. of Lynn Mass. Although it has no postmark, it can be dated with confidence, between 1907, when the U.S. Postal Service first allowed divided-back postcard, and 1914, with the start of World War I. After the WWI began American postcards were printed either in England or in America.  By the time of this photo, Dudley Fay had sold out the estate to the Boston Interurban Realty Trust.  It documents that the citizens of Lynn, Salem and beyond were enjoying Mr Fay’s arboretum 100+ years ago, as the citizens and children of Lynn and Salem do today (or “did” if woods are developed)." ~ Tom O.  Thank you Tom for sharing.  

Curious, if the image (not the print), is a reprint of an earlier decade, in the late eighteen hundreds?  Here is a map in progress of the remaining Fay Arboretum:  www.springpondwoods.com/p/arboretum.html

Drawn using Vectorworks Designer/Architect/ Landmark/Renderworks, by yours truly.

Old photo of Fay Road in wintertime

c. early 1900's, Fay Road in wintertime, in the Fay Estate of Lynn

peace

Fall foliage colors

A scientist once credited the sight of colors in helping longevity... The wonder.
Maybe this is true, as colors are known to evoke certain emotions in places and retreats, helping the blood flow.


Green is peaceful, symbolizes nature, refreshing, relaxing & restful, feeling of warmth.
Sky blue and reflecting water is calm, tranquil, serene, and purifying.
Yellow captures the joy of sunshine and communicates happiness, energizing and uplifting.
Orange evokes enthusiasm and excitement.
Red is vibrant, rich and elegant, pumping the heart like no other hue.


Here are a few fall palette colors, from the trees of Spring Pond Woods. 

Images, a few weeks old...

peace 

Fall images

Some images in Spring Pond Woods, mostly on Salem's Public Parcel

Fern in Rock

Leaves are changing color

Red Leaves

Large nest

Snake pose

Pyxie Cup (tiny compared to pine needles)

Pyxie Cups

Pyxie Cups are essential nesting material for small birds.  The cups collect raindrops which help with the growth of the planting.  More info here:  Discovering Plants through Native American Stories

peace

Map of Fay Arboretum

              Mr. Fay's Arboretum was once a well known place, notable for being one of the earliest arboretums, predating Olmstead and for having trees being sighted here first in the country.  People enjoyed walking the estate, admiring the vast variety of native and exotic foliage.  Below is a map of the inventoried flora in the historic Fay Estate.   There is more area (blank areas) to further inventory, as this is only an initial study.  The love of nature and history of this hidden treasure is one of the biggest reasons why so many wish to preserve the entire area.   In comparing the species of flora with historic research, this drawing reveals the hidden gem we have here in Essex County, in Lynn, Peabody and Salem, MA.  I hope regional planning includes uniting these three cities to preserve this old paradise and beloved area.   Three cities are connected here by the recreational wooded areas around Spring Pond.  

The arboretum map will be updated on occasion, when a new inventory of flora is made.  

To view, click on map, and again to zoom in. Right-click to download. 

peace

Poem of a Striving Pine

  Photo of pine tree thriving on ledge on Salem's PUBLIC Parcel

This lovely little pine

found a nook so fine

through a small crack in granite,

its struggle was born.

But its future is finite

because of a developers’ scorn.

Wind, rain and lack of soil,

it can survive it all,

and live on and on,

but not the bulldozers’ toil...

it will crash and fall!

And so, this little pine,

so vulnerable and fine,

struggles to live on and on.

                                   ~ by a friend

Say no to Super Wal-mart & Lowe's 

in Spring Pond Woods!

A ready-made arboretum

        A tree map through the old Fay Estate, where one can wonder through old paradise and find beautiful rare flora from all parts of the world pertaining to history, is found here: www.springpondwoods.com/p/arboretum.html


      We have a ready-made arboretum here in Lynn, Salem and Peabody by Spring Pond. The trees are found readily in Spring Pond Woods on the old estate.  Richard Sullivan Fay, a historic land owner imported 200 acres of rare flora from all parts of the world, and many of these species are believed to of been seen here first in the country!   In days of old, the trees were labeled for those who strolled through the estate to admire the foliage.  We hope to revive this historic landscape and bring it back to its days of glory.

The flora is inventoried as follows:

• Jasmine from the Mediterranean 
• Bitter Night Shade, native to the Mediterranean in  Europe or Asia 
• Mock-orange, native to America, Asia or southeast Europe 
• Asiatic Day Flower, native to east or south Asia 
• Lemon mint, native to the Mediterranean in Europe 
• Bamboo, native to east Asia 
• Red Oak, unique species 
• Norway Spruce, native to Europe 
• Black Locus, native to southeastern United States 
• Tulip Tree, unidentified
• Austrian Pine, native to Europe 
• European Mountain Ash, native to the Mediterranean in Europe or Asia 
• Birch, unique species 
• Sasafras, native to North America and Asia 
• Mulberry, native to the subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe or Americas 
• Scotch Pine, native to Europe or Asia 
• Missletoe, native to Great Britain or Europe 
• Pussy Willow, unidentified to native country 
• Rhododendrum, native to southern Asia, southern Europe, northern Australia or southern Americas 
• Hyacinth, native to eastern Mediterranean or Asia 
• White Campion, native to Europe, Asia and Africa 
• Elm, native to Asia
• Aster, native to Europe and western Asia

A variety of trees from North America include:

• Mountain Laurel 
• Honey Locus 
• Atlantic White Cedar 
• American Beech 
• American White Birch 
• Larch Tamarack 
• Sugar Maple 
• Lady’s Slippers Orchids

Other unique flora and trees remain unidentifiable

Photo above:  Spring Pond Advocates taking an inventory of the trees.

Old newspaper clipping

The English locust trees and oaks still remain on the old estate... (most of the woods around Spring Pond)...

Walking through a Pine Barren

This area is different than other areas around Spring Pond.  Once understanding where you are (a place we passed many times before without realizing), there is a whole new appreciation of the area.

The Pine Barrens system - This layer is part of the MassGIS Priority Natural Vegetation Communities dataset, which depicts the distribution of natural community systems identified by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) as most critical to the conservation of the Commonwealth's biological diversity. 

According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Pitch Pine/Scrub Oak Communities, otherwise known as Pine Barrens, are severely threatened in Massachusetts. Typically there are several species of butterflies and moths that depend on scrub oak/pitch pine habitats. These species require large tract areas in order to provide ample food sources for their various life cycles.  Fragmentation and loss of habitat puts these species in jeopardy.

This area shows no record of species, but if endangered species are known to survive in Pine Barrens, how do we know for certain there is none here?


“Excessive drainage” of this pine barren naturally flows down hill into the many streams that flow into Spring Pond, and the water is typically filtered.

According to Mass GIS data, there are two Pine Barren communities located near Spring Pond.  One is mostly on Camp Lion's property, and is threatened by the development of a proposed "camp pad":  new pool, field, building, etc.  

The following is a list of  plants Leslie Courtemanche, Rich Randall and I came across on our walk through the Pine Barrens.  These plants create the natural community system we have today...

• Scrub Oak (bear oak)
• Pitch Pine
• Black Cherry
• Gray Birch
• Quaking (or Trembling) Aspen
• Canada Mayflower
• Highbush Blueberry
• Lowbush Blueberry
• Northern Bayberry
• Shagbark Hickory
• Pignut Hickory
• Sedges
• Ring Lichen
• White Pine
• Scotch Pine

The map above was created in the software program Vectorworks Designer/ Architect, using Mass GIS data extracted from OLIVER (as shown below). 

Open space in 1909

Here is a photo from 1909, looking north of Floating Bridge, taken from a Balloon.  We can compare how much open space has been lost today from this photo.  Hope we do not loose the limited resource of what there is left.

Thank you to Tom Osborne for sharing this photo.

Sunset

peace...

Odd tree

We found these trees standing tall in different locations.   They seem like they don't belong, surreal in setting, not built for this heavy north climate but have stood the tests of time for a very long time.  We might be wrong, we might be right.  We really need to identify these trees and rightfully call for preservation.

Rare species of exotic trees and shrubs were brought in from all parts of the world by Richard Sullivan Fay, and it is believed several of these were first seen here in the country.  I believe this place is throbbing with memory, with hidden treasures to discover.

平和  ....Peace

Curious Trees

Some old trees, in different locations have each grown to look like a blossoming flower, spitting from the base.  Someone named one seen on Edgemere, a tulip tree.  It is a wonder to come across one, and then more in the same area of the forest.  

    In various other areas, newly sprouting trees, about 3 feet tall, have freakish large oak leaves. 

The forest is pleasant, growing over an old meadow, and in some places with unusual flora. Creating wonder was a plan.