Nicholdale Farm
Off Leavenworth Road, Shelton, Fairfield County, Connecticut
65 Acres
The most accessible and developed piece of land owned by the Shelton Land Trust.
Directions:
Merritt Parkway north to Exit 52 for Route 8 (General Samuel Jaskilka Highway) north; get off at exit 14; turn left onto Kneen Street; turn left onto Route 110 north; follow past Riverview park on the right and then past Indian Well State Park; in the area of White Hills Route 110 is Leavenworth Road between Beardsley Road and Nicholdale Road.
History:
This was at one time a dairy farm with more than 60 cows. The milk was pasteurized on the farm.
1991 – the property acquired by the Shelton Land Trust.
Facilities:
hiking, cross country skiing, scout camping, picnic area
Habitats:
woods, open pasture, brook
Trails: (map)
9/30/2005. When Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I arrived at the park we did not know which way to go. So I suggested we just follow along the wood's edge (with a field on the right) on the left until we could find a trail So we covered 90 degrees of ground until we found the opening through a stonewall. Nearing a stream we turned left to a crossing place onto the trail.
We turned left and walked a short ways until we came to the Orange Trail. We turned left onto this trail and headed south and southwest, crossing a second stream via a small bridge. bridge over a second stream. Head west and cross still another small, flat bridge. Head south again for a little ways until we see an abandoned pieces of farm machinery. By the machinery is a sign about the machine. The machine was a wheel-driven manure spreader used some time before 1940 and then abandoned here.
We went back to the trail and head west out of the woods and on to the fields. The trail follows along the eastern wood's edge. We notice that there are quite a few compost heaps in the fields and that steam was coming off these heaps, the product of decay. We finally start to approach the farm house on the right. Then we reach the sign saying Nichodale Farm that is posted one the Shelton Land Trust websites. Walked around a closed gate, across the parking area and then reached Route 110.
Turned right and crossed by the farm house. This is a little dangerous because Route 110 is very busy and there is not much of a shoulder here. But I decided to take the risk and so we walked the short distance to the other side of the house and our parking area.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plants blooming on field trip, 9/24/2005
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Carya sp. (hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Larix decidua (European larch)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)
Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet)
Vaccinium sp. (a low bush blueberry)
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaf viburnum)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing false hempweed)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster divaricatus (white wood aster) *
Aster novi-belgii (New York aster) *
Aster spp. (small white aster) *
Bidens frondosa (beggar ticks)
Chelidonium majus (celandine)
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Conyza canadensis (horseweed)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed)
Galium mollugo (wild madder) *
Geranium sp. (geranium)
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco) *
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal)
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) *
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil)
Solidago rugosa (rough-leaved goldenrod) *
Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod) *
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Vernonia noveboracensis (New York ironweed)
Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered sedge type)
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)
Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Ferns:
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)
Others:
Sphagnum sp. (sphagnum)
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