Crow’s Nest: Pooh sticks station

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

It occurred to me recently that the area around the culvert through which French Creek passes at Crow’s Nest was looking a little denuded of naturally-occurring sticks on the ground. Since I am a proponent of playing Pooh sticks I thought I’d gather some from elsewhere on the preserve and replenish the supply. We have no shortage of twigs from trees and branches that fall in farm fields or are on our brush pile.

Pooh sticks, as I’m sure you know, is when you drop a twig on the upstream side of a bridge or culvert and watch for it to come out the other side. It can be a race—though it doesn’t have to be. Our twin culverts are 20 feet long, six feet in diameter each, and run parallel to the stream (which makes them diagonal relative to the farm lane that passes over them). Good fun. I’ve been a fan of this activity even before I started reading A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh to our son.

We already provide plenty of opportunity to get muddy (we don’t call it the Creek Trail for nothing!), a dose of nature and beautiful vistas, but it seems like people might want something more than that. So please help yourself! We’ll replenish the supply so there’s no need to break off living twigs.