For three summers after I graduated from high school I worked at Camp Treetops, an incredible residential summer camp located in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park. During the rest of the year, this place is a private school for grades four through eight.
If I was infinitely rich, I would a) do my darnedest to become a permanent staff person there and b) send every child I could to be a summer camper. It is THE BEST experience I can imagine for any child anywhere.
It is (or at least was) the highest elevation working farm in the state, complete with organic veg and livestock, all of which the campers (and school kids) take care of. There are no electronic toys/games. Free range children - everyone running around barefoot. Everyone learns to ride a horse, sail a boat, and climb a mountain. Everyone has chores. Fun is homemade.
Check it out:
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Brrrrr
You know it's cold when you can see the bird's breath when it calls.
(We had snow falling nearly all day Tuesday.)
(We had snow falling nearly all day Tuesday.)
Saturday, April 7, 2012
I am not alone.
It's always great to learn that you are not alone.
I have loved jumping spiders for years.
I have written on this blog countless numbers of times just how amazing this world is - who needs the bizarre creatures of outer space when we have the strange and bizarre (and wholly amazing) life on this planet!
Here is someone who agrees - check it out.
I have loved jumping spiders for years.
I have written on this blog countless numbers of times just how amazing this world is - who needs the bizarre creatures of outer space when we have the strange and bizarre (and wholly amazing) life on this planet!
Here is someone who agrees - check it out.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Road Trip!
Last week the naturalist staff at work decided to take a road trip yesterday to a nearby nature center - we wanted to check out a place none of us had visited before. This place is called Whitehouse Nature Center and is part of Albion College over in Albion, MI. Although it is part of the college, it is open to the public, and apparently it is a well-kept secret. Places like this need to not be secrets!
We arrived around 3 PM and it was a glorious day!
They have a number of trails thru some varying habitats - lots to explore!
The back deck of the nature center looks out over the Kalamazoo River - how delightful!
There were some, shall we say "interesting," exhibits inside. I do hope they know that 'possums don't really hang by their tails!
We were all impressed by the newly planted rain garden out front. More people need to do rain gardens!
The first wildflowers to catch our eyes were blooming right at the head of the trail: Dutchman's breeches. These relatives of bleeding hearts are one of my favorites.
A short distance on was a nice patch of wild ginger. No flowers yet, alas, but it was a very robust colony.
We all loved this bridge. It was later, as we recrossed the bridge at the end of our visit, that I recalled that I had paddled under this very bridge last summer on one of the Kalamazoo River paddles I did with GREAT!
This trip could've been a tribute to my friend Jackie, for so many of the plants we saw reminded me of her and the trips we took. This violet, for example - she'd know which one it was in an instant. I still haven't committed any of the violets to memory.
Wood anemone was also in bloom.
I haven't taken out my winter weeds or pod books yet to ID this vine. Must do so.
The mayapples were coming up in huge quantities! None had flowers yet, although I did see a few buds. Soon. I don't think the ones I planted at home survived - if this is the stage they should be in by now, mine are history.
Trees were also in bloom all over, like this box elder. Maple flowers are among my favorites.
Look, Jackie! A black tupelo! How could I not think of you when we saw these trees?!?!
Just this weekend the redbuds came into bloom. Their bright purple-pink flowers are just not something I expect to see in the woods - they should be on an ornamental shrub in someone's lawn!
They have a small patch of land that they are working on developing as a sample of native prairie. This burn must've been fairly recent for we could still smell the scent of burned vegetation.
And right behind the burn is their small native woodland wildflower garden, with a lovely stone-lined path that winds around the beds.
The bloodroot wasn't in bloom here, although it is blooming profusely at work right now.
Twinleaf was sporting a pair of lovely white flowers.
And who can't help but admire the blue-green flowers of blue cohosh?
The forest floor was carpeted with trout lily leaves, and we even saw a fair number of flowers. Sadly, the trout lilies at work get eaten by the hungry deer hoard before they get to open.
A toad hopped nearby, but paused in its journey long enough for us to snap a couple photos.
These flowering sedges are another plant that bring Jackie to mind. I'm not sure which sedge they are, though.
We came across a patch of young cherry trees that had brilliant pink galls on their leaves. HM...I'm going to have to get my gall book out, too. Ah, the growing season - time to dust off the field guides and start schlepping them into the field again.
The false rue anemone threw me for a loop - had to do a bit more searching in my field guide to get an ID (I thought at first it was the real deal: rue anemone).
Another plant that gave me pause, but it turns out I got it right, was the cut-leaved toothwort. It was definitely a day for four-petaled white flowers.
We only saw this one small group of spring beauties, but they remain true to their name.
Skunk cabbage is almost a dominant understory plant along many parts of the property here.
This stretch of the woods, though, was blanketed with another four-petaled white flower that none of us knew.
It took some sleuthing this afternoon but I think I've identified it as spring cress.
As you can see, we were now in a very damp area...no wonder the skunk cabbage was growing so happily!
We encountered several crayfish castles along this section of trail. Sadly a couple got smooshed as our boots slipped in the mud.
It was 6:00 by the time we rolled back into the parking lot at work, but what a great trip and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Not only did we get to visit a really nice nature center, but we saw lots of spring wildflowers and listened to many birds singing their spring songs. Saw my first swallows of the season, and one of my coworkers thinks he heard his first warbler of the season.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll post the video I shot - stay tuned.
We arrived around 3 PM and it was a glorious day!
They have a number of trails thru some varying habitats - lots to explore!
The back deck of the nature center looks out over the Kalamazoo River - how delightful!
There were some, shall we say "interesting," exhibits inside. I do hope they know that 'possums don't really hang by their tails!
We were all impressed by the newly planted rain garden out front. More people need to do rain gardens!
The first wildflowers to catch our eyes were blooming right at the head of the trail: Dutchman's breeches. These relatives of bleeding hearts are one of my favorites.
A short distance on was a nice patch of wild ginger. No flowers yet, alas, but it was a very robust colony.
We all loved this bridge. It was later, as we recrossed the bridge at the end of our visit, that I recalled that I had paddled under this very bridge last summer on one of the Kalamazoo River paddles I did with GREAT!
This trip could've been a tribute to my friend Jackie, for so many of the plants we saw reminded me of her and the trips we took. This violet, for example - she'd know which one it was in an instant. I still haven't committed any of the violets to memory.
Wood anemone was also in bloom.
I haven't taken out my winter weeds or pod books yet to ID this vine. Must do so.
The mayapples were coming up in huge quantities! None had flowers yet, although I did see a few buds. Soon. I don't think the ones I planted at home survived - if this is the stage they should be in by now, mine are history.
Trees were also in bloom all over, like this box elder. Maple flowers are among my favorites.
Look, Jackie! A black tupelo! How could I not think of you when we saw these trees?!?!
Just this weekend the redbuds came into bloom. Their bright purple-pink flowers are just not something I expect to see in the woods - they should be on an ornamental shrub in someone's lawn!
They have a small patch of land that they are working on developing as a sample of native prairie. This burn must've been fairly recent for we could still smell the scent of burned vegetation.
And right behind the burn is their small native woodland wildflower garden, with a lovely stone-lined path that winds around the beds.
The bloodroot wasn't in bloom here, although it is blooming profusely at work right now.
Twinleaf was sporting a pair of lovely white flowers.
And who can't help but admire the blue-green flowers of blue cohosh?
The forest floor was carpeted with trout lily leaves, and we even saw a fair number of flowers. Sadly, the trout lilies at work get eaten by the hungry deer hoard before they get to open.
A toad hopped nearby, but paused in its journey long enough for us to snap a couple photos.
These flowering sedges are another plant that bring Jackie to mind. I'm not sure which sedge they are, though.
We came across a patch of young cherry trees that had brilliant pink galls on their leaves. HM...I'm going to have to get my gall book out, too. Ah, the growing season - time to dust off the field guides and start schlepping them into the field again.
The false rue anemone threw me for a loop - had to do a bit more searching in my field guide to get an ID (I thought at first it was the real deal: rue anemone).
Another plant that gave me pause, but it turns out I got it right, was the cut-leaved toothwort. It was definitely a day for four-petaled white flowers.
We only saw this one small group of spring beauties, but they remain true to their name.
Skunk cabbage is almost a dominant understory plant along many parts of the property here.
This stretch of the woods, though, was blanketed with another four-petaled white flower that none of us knew.
It took some sleuthing this afternoon but I think I've identified it as spring cress.
As you can see, we were now in a very damp area...no wonder the skunk cabbage was growing so happily!
We encountered several crayfish castles along this section of trail. Sadly a couple got smooshed as our boots slipped in the mud.
It was 6:00 by the time we rolled back into the parking lot at work, but what a great trip and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Not only did we get to visit a really nice nature center, but we saw lots of spring wildflowers and listened to many birds singing their spring songs. Saw my first swallows of the season, and one of my coworkers thinks he heard his first warbler of the season.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll post the video I shot - stay tuned.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
WNS in Canada
The following is from the latest e-newsletter from Bat Conservation International
March 2012, Volume 10, Number 3
Bats in the News - WNS ‘endangers’ Canadian bats
White-nose Syndrome is killing Canadian bats in such catastrophic numbers that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada is recommending an emergency order to add three bat species to the nation’s endangered species list, Postmedia News reports.
The wildlife disease, discovered in a New York cave in 2006, is so deadly that it poses a “serious and imminent threat to the survival” of these bats, the committee of wildlife experts concluded after an emergency meeting, according to the nationwide news service. The species are the tri-colored bat, little brown myotis and northern myotis.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent would make the decision on listing the species as endangered.
“This is one of the biggest events in terms of a massive decline in a common mammal in such a short period of time ever recorded,” committee member Graham Forbes, of the University of New Brunswick, told Postmedia News. “This is dramatic.” WNS has battered bat populations in four Canadian provinces
In the United States, meanwhile, WNS has been confirmed for the first time in Alabama, the 18th state to be hit by the disease. The Geomyces destructans fungus that causes the disease has been found two other states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now estimates that White-nose Syndrome has killed more than 5.7 million bats in North America. Mortality rates approaching 100 percent have been reported at some bat-hibernation sites.
The committee also warns that the impact of White-nose Syndrome will be felt far beyond bat caves, reporter Margaret Munro writes. “Bats provide tremendous value to the economy as natural pest control for farms and forests every year and may play an important role in helping to control insects that spread disease to people.”
U.S. researchers have estimated the bat die-off will cost North American agriculture $3.7 billion annually.
The committee says the fungus likely impacts many bat species, but it is hitting these three Canadian species especially hard. They all hibernate in caves or mines, which are cold and damp and hospitable to the WNS fungus.
The tri-colored bat is relatively rare, the committee said, but at one hibernation spot in Quebec their numbers dropped 94 per cent over two years. “The disease risk to the tri-colored bat is considered exceptionally high because it hibernates at temperatures considered optimal for the pathogen and for relatively long periods of time.”
The little brown myotis has been quite common, but the committee said recent population counts at infected hibernation sites in eastern Canada show declines of up to 99 percent within two years of exposure, Postmedia reports. In the United States, scientists have predicted local extinctions of little brown myotis within 15 years because of WNS.
Northern myotis is also facing disastrously high mortality rates.
 |
| Tri-colored bat © Bat Conservation International |
Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent would make the decision on listing the species as endangered.
“This is one of the biggest events in terms of a massive decline in a common mammal in such a short period of time ever recorded,” committee member Graham Forbes, of the University of New Brunswick, told Postmedia News. “This is dramatic.” WNS has battered bat populations in four Canadian provinces
In the United States, meanwhile, WNS has been confirmed for the first time in Alabama, the 18th state to be hit by the disease. The Geomyces destructans fungus that causes the disease has been found two other states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now estimates that White-nose Syndrome has killed more than 5.7 million bats in North America. Mortality rates approaching 100 percent have been reported at some bat-hibernation sites.
The committee also warns that the impact of White-nose Syndrome will be felt far beyond bat caves, reporter Margaret Munro writes. “Bats provide tremendous value to the economy as natural pest control for farms and forests every year and may play an important role in helping to control insects that spread disease to people.”
U.S. researchers have estimated the bat die-off will cost North American agriculture $3.7 billion annually.
The committee says the fungus likely impacts many bat species, but it is hitting these three Canadian species especially hard. They all hibernate in caves or mines, which are cold and damp and hospitable to the WNS fungus.
The tri-colored bat is relatively rare, the committee said, but at one hibernation spot in Quebec their numbers dropped 94 per cent over two years. “The disease risk to the tri-colored bat is considered exceptionally high because it hibernates at temperatures considered optimal for the pathogen and for relatively long periods of time.”
The little brown myotis has been quite common, but the committee said recent population counts at infected hibernation sites in eastern Canada show declines of up to 99 percent within two years of exposure, Postmedia reports. In the United States, scientists have predicted local extinctions of little brown myotis within 15 years because of WNS.
Northern myotis is also facing disastrously high mortality rates.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Fire at Work
We had another prescribed burn at work last weekend - the first of the year. Here are a couple videos I shot during the burn. This took place after 7 PM, so the low light made the flames stand out beautifully.
Noooooooo!
Do you see it...there on Toby's toe?
It's the first tick of the season!!! AUGH!!!!!
This was taken about a week and a half ago. I have since removed two ticks from his lips (about the only place he hasn't been treated with tick-proofing poisons), and one from my back. Oh, and I had one crawl off me and up the book I was reading last Sunday afternoon.
>sigh< "They" say it will be another big tick year since the winter (what winter?) was so mild.
It's the first tick of the season!!! AUGH!!!!!
>sigh< "They" say it will be another big tick year since the winter (what winter?) was so mild.
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