Kaatz Pond Park
Trumbull, Fairfield County, Connecticut
17.5 acres
Directions:
Drive a little more than 30 miles north on the Merritt Parkway to get off at Exit 48 for Route 111 north; turn left onto Route 111 (Main Street); drive 3.0 miles to Stonehouse Road on the left; drive a short distance more and where Rt. 111 turns bears left go straight onto Broadway; turn right onto Whitney Avenue; drive about 0.6 of a mile (going underneath Route 25) and turn left onto Teller Road; make an almost immediate left onto Veterans Circle. Park by the Veterans' Organizations building by Kaatz Pond.
Stocked pond for young people
Veteran's Center
1904-1955 -- E. Kaatz and family operated the Kaatz Ice House.
Trails:
9/24/2005. On a warm afternoon, Rosemary Cooney, Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I parked at the Veterans' Center building. We walked to the left of the building and started our walk around the pond. We didn't know if we actually could get around or not. Rosemary said no, I said let's see how far we get. There were quite a few flowers in bloom, especially compared to the woods where we had walked in the morning.
Because we are in a drought, we could get access to some areas of the pond that otherwise would have been watery. We went into a little marsh area and found quite a few plants in bloom. Coming out of the marsh and into the woods I smelled fox grapes. I looked up and around and sure enough I found them. I had quite a few of them -- they were delicious. And this time, they all tasted sweet. When Rosemary came up she ate a few.
We got about half way around the pond when we had to climb up the embankment and get onto Veterans Circle. We walked along the pond via the road and finished the circumference of the pond.
This walk around the pond was the highlight of the hiking day for Rosemary because of the flowers. She is trying out a new digital camera and it getting enthusiastic about photography again.
The pond is not big and it would not take long to get around it, but we are botanists so it did take awhile. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plants blooming on field trip, 9/24/2005
Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula papyrifera (white birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (striped wintergreen)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Vines:
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing false bindweed)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)
Herbs:
Acalypha sp. (three-seeded mercury)
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Alisma sp. (water plantain)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster spp. (small white aster) *
Bidens connata (swamp beggar ticks) *
Bidens frondosa (beggar ticks) *
Boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle)
Centaurea jacea (brown knapweed) *
Coronilla varia (crown vetch) *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Epilobium coloratum (purple-leaved willowherb)
Eupatorium fistulosum (trumpetweed)
Eupatorium perfoliatum (boneset)
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Hieracium paniculatum (panicled hawkweed)
Hypericum sp. (St. Johnswort)
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Ludwigia palustris (water purslane)
Lycopus sp. (bugleweed)
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Mimulus ringens (monkey flower)
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Penthorum sedoides (ditch stonecrop)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Polygonum hydropiperoides (mild water pepper) *
Polygonum lapathifolium (nodding smartweed) *
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb) *
Polygonum spp. (smartweed) *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Solidago bicolor (silverrod) *
Solidago rugosa (rough-leaved goldenrod) *
Sparganium sp. (burreed)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Urtica dioica var. dioica (stinging nettle)
Verbena hastata (blue vervain)
Rushes:
Juncus canadensis (Canada rush)
Juncus effusus (soft rush)
Sedges:
Carex lurida (sallow sedge)
Cyperus strigosus (umbrella sedge)
Eleocharis sp. (spike rush)
Scirpus atrovirens (dark-green bulrush)
Grasses:
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Echinochloa sp. (barnyard grass)
Eragrostis spectabilis (purple love glass)
Leersia oryzoides (rice-cut grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem)
Ferns:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Polypodium sp. (rockcap fern)
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