Sifton Bog Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) is a floating acid peat bog surrounded by deciduous swamp and upland forest. A boardwalk leads through the woods to Redmond’s Pond. This pond in the midst of the bog is slowly decreasing in size as it fills with sediment and peat formed by the Sphagnum moss that carpets the surface of the bog.
The area closest to the bog has many northern, or boreal, species such as Black Spruce, Tamarack and Northern Highbush Blueberry. Tamaracks are unusual conifers that lose their needles in the winter.
Northern Peatmoss is a type of Sphagnum moss that carpets the bog. As the upper tips of the moss grow up, the lower parts are shaded, die, and become peat.
Slender Cottongrass is a flowering plant in the sedge family that grows in wet, peaty soil, bogs, and conifer swamps. The bog was dotted with the white tufts of the cottongrass seeds.
There were various shelf fungi or polypores on the damp deadwood and tree trunks in the deciduous/hardwood swamp that is farther from the bog.
The day was cold, with icy patches in the damp soil. The only birds in evidence were a Blue Jay and a small flock of Black-capped Chickadees feeding on the seeds of the goldenrod in the open area near the parking lot. Freeman’s maple are the dominant species in the deciduous swamp.
Our November weather has generally been cold and rainy. The Wandering Bee flower farm has harvested its last blooms for the season. We cut some blooms from our balcony pots before clearing the balcony for the winter.
Featuring LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn won two Grammies at age 14 thanks to her single “Blue”. Patsy Cline’s widowed husband had to stop the car when her first heard her singing on the car radio because her voice is so similar to Patsy’s. Young, talented singers seem vulnerable to exploitation. LeAnn split from her father’s control at age 18. Her subsequent relationships with men have been tabloid fodder over the years.
Here are some samples of her singing at different ages – first at 17.
She goes somewhere special when she sings Patsy Cline Songs.
Her tribute to Janis Joplin also seems genuine and she seems to enjoy the band.
For some years she recorded softer middle of the road songs that did not seem as genuinely felt. But her voice!