Site 1: HF Hemlock Grove with Chestnut Skeletons

The skeletal pole of a long-dead chestnut tree rests in the embrace of its neighboring hemlock. Struck down by blight nearly a centuryago, they share a cool, dark grove in Harvard Forest. The tranquil quiet is broken by the silvery call of a winter wren.When the chestnuts fell, the young hemlocks of this forest must have bowed under the weight of their fallen companions. Now the hemlocks are great trees and the chestnuts are hollow remnants. This one is balanced will be carried higher and higher with every passing year. This chestnut is supported almost entirely above the ground by hemlock, a species now also at risk.