MDC guide Lauren Baker leading hikers through Emmenegger Park. Photos by Ursula Ruhl.
by Don Corrigan
With dwindling daylight and Halloween approaching, some souls take note of the “Witching Hour,” when demons and ghouls come alive in the woods . Ghosts grow more active .
A group of hikers in Emmenegger Park recently were having none of that. They climbed Bluff Creek Trail in search of the “Golden Hour,” when a dusky sunlight sends beams through the Kirkwood park’s tree canopy for optimum hobby photography.
With cellphones and digital cameras at the ready, the hikers were led by Lauren Baker, a naturalist with the Powder Valley Nature Conservation Center in Kirkwood. An introduction commenced about 5:30 p.m.
“Does everybody know about the golden hour?” asked Baker, standing just past the park’s bridge trailhead. “This is when the sun is about to go down and the light turns everything golden. There’s a special nature to this light.
“It can be very useful for taking photos, especially this time of year,” explained Baker. According to nature photography books, the soft, diffused light blurs imperfections and even adds a perfect touch of glowing tan.
Before hitting the trail on a muggy, late September evening, Baker advised assembled hikers that the trek was being shortened for hiker health. Also, there would be more stops on the trail than originally planned, so hikers could catch their second or third wind.
Witching hour or golden hour, Baker was determined that no participants would give up the ghost on this evening. A few struggling and straggling hikers did seem to appreciate the added rest stops.
“We’re going to stop here,” said Baker about a third of the way up the trail. “Notice there are a lot of insects flying around now, some that are feeding on the nectar of the fall flowers.
“Also, I want to point out the large spider web in the weeds facing the (Meramec) river,” noted Baker. “That is owned by a spider who is obviously interested in taking advantage of the insects for a dinner.”
Arachnid Eating: Ala Carte?
The spider web raised a few questions: Was the spider active because it was the golden hour for a meal? Or, because it was the witching hour? In any case, few hikers took advantage of a web shot to later post on the worldwide web.
A second stop for photographers prompted Baker to talk about furry creatures that just might show up to ham it up for a camera lens. Baker said these critters, which are especially active at dawn or dusk, are known as crepuscular animals.
“This is a good stop for observing squirrels,” said Baker. “I love squirrels. They are entertaining. Raccoons, on the other hand, are viewed by many as nuisance animals. They are very smart and will eat just about anything.”
Baker related stories about raccoons skirmishing with skunks over meals available from bird seed feeders behind the nature center at Powder Valley. Baker said the raccoons exhibit their intelligence by getting out of the way when a skunk stamps its feet and appears ready to spray.
Baker held up pelts to show some of the crepuscular animals that inhabit the woodsy park areas in the I-44 / I-270 corridor. Among the pelts were raccoon, skunk and spotted skunk.
“We haven’t seen a lot of spotted skunks in this area,” said Baker, who enlisted the hikers’ help. “If you come here to hike and see one, we would like for you to contact us because we want to know if they’re living here.”
Striped skunks and spotted skunks are “look-alikes” with similarly colored black-and-white pelts. The smaller size, and the circular shape of the white forehead patch on the spotted skunk, are key distinguishing features.
Spotted skunks also have a habit of doing hand stands before they spray their odiferous concoctions. By contrast, the striped skunk will raise its tail and take aim with its hind end.
Glade & Golden Hour
At about 6:30 p.m. – and with the sun setting in the distance – Baker declared that the hike was entering its peak golden hour interval. After passing a glade area, the urban wilderness entourage stopped near bluff-like ledges overlooking the river.
The glade at Emmenegger is a relatively small patch of open wood scape. By contrast, a larger example of a glade is southwest of the Kirkwood Park in Jefferson County. Valley View Glades Natural Area is a 225-acre site full of rocks, creeks and a mix of grasses.
“Our glade at Emmenegger is a good way to get a look at a glade,” said Baker. “Glades are forest clearings, generally higher dry areas, where there are rocky soils and outcroppings.
“Glades in the St. Louis area have been lost to cropland and development,” said Baker. “A lot of their animals have been lost. Animals in glades farther south of here include brown tarantulas, scorpions and different snakes.”
Pat Siewing, a volunteer at Powder Valley who joined the golden hour hike, said it was her first hike at Emmenegger. Siewing of South County said the park is underrated and she singled out flowers available for photos.
“I am a ‘flower-a-holic,’ so I really enjoyed the wild flowers on the hike,” said Siewing. “The goldenrod was pretty amazing and they’re a favorite of the monarch butterflies coming through Missouri. Glad to see them here.
“The white snake root was doing well, too,” said Siewing. “This flower has an interesting story behind it. When cows eat these, it poisons their milk. Abraham Lincoln’s mother drank the milk in the early 1800s and died from it. I didn’t want to bring that up on the hike.”
At the conclusion of the “Golden Hour” event, Baker answered some questions about using cellphone cameras and taking selfies in nature.
“We want to caution people not to go to extremes to try to take the perfect cellphone selfie,” said Baker. “It’s never a good idea to get too close to the edge of a cliff or near a wild animal.
“Our deer here are generally pretty docile. Some people are surprised when they get within five feet of them,” added Baker. “But now the deer are going into rut, and the males get pretty aggressive this time of year.”
Baker said too many people are unaware of all the cellphone camera capabilities and settings, especially in the outdoors. She said she will offer a session on using cellphone cameras this winter.
Environmental Echo 