This was a great book – took me a while to read through it, because it’s densely packed with all sorts of details, but that’s a good thing. The full title is Cache la Poudre: The natural history of a Rocky Mountain river. That pretty much says it all.
The Cache la Poudre is a river (a designated ‘Wild and Scenic’ river at that) that flows through Fort Collins on its way from the mountains to the Platte. The book follows the river’s natural history – terrain, plants, birds, insects, fish, everything else – from the headwaters of the mainstem and two main tributaries all the way to the end of the river. The authors also cover the social history, how the river has been referenced and used in local history, prehistoric to modern.
It was a good introduction to the area, though I may have to read it again when I’ve actually hiked these trails and have a bit more personal knowledge to bring to the book. It will certainly reward re-reading.
I did learn some interesting facts from the book; will share two here. First – there is a species of orchid high in the mountains that is exclusively pollinated by mosquitoes. Who knew .. a useful function. Second – one of the mountain squirrels harvests and dries mushrooms to add to their winter food store. They pick them, line them up on tree branches until dry, and then add the dried mushrooms to the pantry. Clever.
Personally, I think I’ll sacrifice the orchids if it meant that mosquitoes would go away.
Of course, a week or so after they all went away we’d discover that the suppressant they release to keep blood flowing actually contains some anti-body against some disease that, without mosquitoes, spreads and kills off nearly everyone.
LOL. No doubt.
Actually, mosquitoes are low on my list of ‘species to annihalate if given the chance.’ Fire ants are much, much higher on the list. Wipe out fire ants? Not a second thought …