Naturally Distracted: Change Happens

Spend enough time in ‘the woods’ and one can’t help but notice that ‘change’ happens all the time. It might be as simple as daily temperature fluctuations, or as obvious as ‘new’ mushrooms lining a trail after a good rain. Hike the same trail in each of the 4 seasons and the changes are impossible to ignore. For me, change is more than a big part as to why nature is so exciting and distracting, it’s the name of the game really. Tap into the change and every walk, every hike is different. Now that is entertainment!

Sometimes natural change can be ‘so’ dramatic, it’s like a refreshing smack in the face! Take the recent developments at Mack’s Pond in MCHT’s Basin Preserve on Vinalhaven for example. For close to 20 years I’ve maintained the local trail system near the pond and over that time there has been a subtle and steady change as sphagnum moss was slowly filling the water, turning the old pond into a bog. Well, come to visit the pond this spring (2026) and it looks like – a pond! Beavers have moved in, dammed the dam and voila – you’ve got a fresh body of fresh water! A very ‘pleasant’ body at that, in the fluid sense of the word!

In mid-June, I took a ‘seat with a view’ of the recently ‘filled to capacity’ Mack’s Pond. The previous few hours I had spent removing trailside tick habitat and now was time for drinking water and sitting calmly. It only took a few minutes (seriously) before a Muskrat swam across the view, dragging material for a den. And then not one, but two Beavers swam around the freshest of fresh water pools – an adult and a youngster. The ‘new’ pond was rich with activity, made me wonder how many other critters were benefiting from the change. Whatever the answer, I was happy for them all.

Earlier that afternoon, less than two miles away on the same trail system, ‘we’ (the royal ‘we’) paid our last respects to ‘Mick’. Mick is/was a mushroom, a Red-belted Conk (Fomitopsis pinicola) to be exact, and was loved by (possibly) tens of people. First time I saw Mick – back in 2021 – he looked like this- healthy, fresh – with red lips that could have made Jagger jealous.

Over the years Mick grew not only large – ultimately becoming the largest mushroom I’ve ever seen in my life – but also grew supportive. At least a dozen tree saplings – from Spruce to Mountain Ash – were growing off Mick’s cap as it started to decay, an early sign of Mick’s impending demise. The shroom also had a ‘punk’ side – sporting a ‘teddy bear tattoo’ on its under carriage for its last few years. Change happens indeed! Took that tat to the grave.

Mick turned ‘green with algae’ in 2025, and sometime in the spring of 2026 broke free of the tree it was growing off of – a final break in the name of freedom and change.

But these stories don’t end with the change, instead the change just keeps on changing. Mick is a ‘nurse shroom’ – the only one of it’s kind I’ve ever seen – and Mick’s legacy has now shifted to the story of the trees that will grow out of its rotting bloom. The beaver dam has changed an ecosystem almost overnight, inviting different life to tap into the pond that is Mack’s Pond. The potentials are limitless, and so is the entertainment!

Change isn’t necessarily welcomed, especially when attached to memories of ‘what was’, like the dying of a favorite climbing tree. For every ‘what was’ there’s a ‘what’s next’, and that’s not only exciting, it’s also the way it goes.  Change happens.

  

About Kirk Gentalen

Kirk joined MCHT in 2007 and is regional steward for conserved land on Vinalhaven and North Haven islands, as well as other areas of Maine’s Midcoast. That means taking care of trail and forestry needs and monitoring easements. He also connects with area residents through environmental education, volunteering, and outreach programs.

Says Kirk, “I love it when someone comes up and tells me about something they observed or enjoyed on a preserve. I mean, not only do we protect incredibly beautiful, serene places for mushrooms and slime molds—we do it for people, too!” Naturally Distracted is a monthly(ish) column published to MCHT’s website.