Audio

Access Wayside: More Than Meets the Eye

Acadia National Park

Transcript

Along the Jesup Path, a railing defines a small deck that overlooks the forest. A wide, angled panel attached to the top of the railing displays a wayside exhibit entitled "More Than Meets the Eye."

The exhibit's title appears next to a partial view of a birch tree with its characteristic peeling white bark.

Introductory text reads: "The birches dominate and demand our attention, but be patient and look closely - this freshwater wetland is full of all kinds of life hidden in the grasses, on logs, and on boulders."

Text accompanies nine images that appear across the long horizontal panel:

-Two tentacles protrude from the head of a spotted, snake-like slug. "As the sun goes down, look for spotted garden slugs feeding on fungi and decaying leaves."

-Black edging adorns the yellow wings of a butterfly. "You might see an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly sipping nectar from wildflowers."

-What appears to be a patch of peeling paint on tree bark is actually a crusty lichen. "White paint lichens provide shelter for insects and food for small mammals."

-A lichen clings to a branch, resembling a soft tangled beard. "Look for old man's beard growing on branches above."

-A mottled brown frog sits on duckweed. "Female northern green frogs lay up to 3,000 eggs on the water's surface. Fertilized eggs become tadpoles and within a year, adult frogs."

-A tan mushroom's dome-shaped cap grows on a short, thick stem. "Mushrooms decompose dead plants in the forest and help living plants absorb those nutrients."

-Yellow patches stand out on a fallen tree-limb. "In rainy weather this common jelly fungus, called witches' butter, appears in bark crevices on dead branches."

-Raindrops dot a green leaf. "The presence or lack of water may affect what species you see."

-A lizard-like creature has a blunt snout and short limbs. "An eastern red-backed salamander hunts for insects in the leaf litter."

A quote: "What we see depends mainly on what we look for." - John Lubbock

Description

Recorded audio description of an interpretive wayside, "More Than Meets the Eye."

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