La Bella Luna March 20, 2011
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.6 comments
La Bella Luna
The moon has always held a great fascination for me. It’s many phases, appearances, and disappearances. Approaching close, then moving off. Constant in its inconstancy.
Last night the moon was closer to earth than it has been in over twenty years or will be for another couple of decades. The experts say it appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter.
Hmmm….
Habits February 12, 2011
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.2 comments
It seems to take a very long time to form a good habit, and only an instant to stop it. That just doesn’t seem fair, does it? I had been in the habit of regular walks in the woods with my dog. It felt good to get out every day, regardless of the weather. It was good for her. It was good for me… And then, something happened… I can’t even pinpoint exactly what it was.
It took me a while to refit the bindings to my boots.
The weather got too hot. The trail got overgrown. My health took a temporary downhill turn. I got lazy.
Inertia is a powerful thing. Unfortunately, in my life, I’m the object at rest tending to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. I want to be the object in motion that stays in motion. Oh, I’ve taken the occasional walk. But a couple of winters ago, I went: Every. Single. Day. Regardless of the weather. And it was glorious.
I want to experience that gloriousness again. To that end, I have pushed myself lately to get outside more, and to eat better and less. I made a resolution… last Monday was Day One. I did pretty well through this busy week. But not as well as I hope to be doing.
Thursday, I had a really lovely walk with Lolli, the wonder dog. Snow shoes. Bergman park. Back in the woods. It was clear that Lolli had missed these romps in the woods as much as I had.
We could not resist leaving the trail to follow the fox tracks.
At one point, we left the “trail” to follow some old, snowed-over fox tracks. What an interesting path he took us on. Eventually, it led back to a familiar trail where Trillium, Dwarf Ginseng, and Early Meadow-Rue will bloom in the spring.
There is a place along this trail that always makes me stop. I don’t know if it is because I’m too tired to go on, or if there is some magic that holds me there. A deep sense of peace and connection comes over me when I get there, and I just have to stop and breathe deeply.
Self Portrait (of my shadow) and Lolli('s footprints)
I don’t understand why it is sometimes so hard to get up and go do something that I know will make me feel great. Dang that Inertia.
Interesting Reading
- How Long to Form a Habit? – PsyBlog
Humbled October 4, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in blogs, nature.12 comments
Follow a butterfly. She will take you on quite a trail of discovery!
I am humbled to have been placed in the same sentence with names like Emerson, Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold and Mary Oliver – and Dave Bonta! And, I may steal this idea for an activity in some future workshop…
http://donaprofe.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/trails-of-discovery-and-learning/
(Thank you Mavis!)
Sample Post August 14, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.2 comments
Just messing around to see if the computer is working properly.
Had a nasty virus. The nice folks at Norton took control and fixed things… all the way from India! Ain’t technology marvelous?
Surprise! June 30, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.6 comments
Imagine my surprise when I discovered I’m a cover girl! In case you are new to my blog, here are links to the 2009 hike from which that photo came:
Thank You Fieldtrip 2010 June 20, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.14 comments
The site of the Great Blue Heron Music Festival in Sherman, NY has recently become the site for another heron venture: the Green Heron Growers. This was the destination of our 2010 Thank You Fieldtrip for Audubon education volunteers.
Julie Rockcastle was our gracious hostess and gave us a tour of the agriculture operation in the morning. At noon we dined on a lovely potluck lunch. After lunch we did a little exploring – in particular on the chunk of property that is rather bog-like.
Near the house, Julie and her husband Steve grow a variety of vegetables and herbs. The egg-laying chickens are raised here, too.
Left: Several varieties of lettuce under shade cloth; Right: garlic grows beside the pond.
Left: We make eggs! Right: We will someday!
Across the street on a certified organic pasture, the meat chickens are raised in moving pens – allowing them to eat fresh grass (along with organic grain) every day.
Notice that the patches directly behind the pen are burned and eaten. In the distance, the grass grows back greener and lusher after just a few days.
We helped move the pen, then feed and water the chickens:
A little further up the hill were the grass-fed beef cattle.
Happy Cows!
Back down to the house, then out to the woods we tromped to see the Shitake Mushroom operation. To me, this was the most fascinating part of the tour.
But before we could start, the log-flippers gave a quick, impromptu Salamander Lesson.
Rex points out the field marks of a four-toed salamander (which I didn't get a closeup picture of...)
I did get a picture of this two-lined salamander, however...
As part of regular timber stand management, trees with 6- or 8-inch diameter trunks, preferably oak, are cut. This harvest happens in early spring after the sap is running, but before the leaves are out. The trunks are cut into lengths approximately 3 feet long and small holes are drilled into the sides.
The holes are filled with Shitake Mushroom “spawn” – living mycelium. The holes and the ends of each log are sealed with wax to prevent colonization by other fungi.
Drilled, filled, sealed and stacked.
The logs are stacked. It will take 12-18 months for the mycelium to spread and fully colonize the log. After a year or more in the stacks, the logs are moved to the fruiting area where they are leaned against “fences” to give the fruiting bodies room to grow.
Working on "fruits."
The Mushroom Farm
Not quite ready for harvest.
Julie and Steve are trying something new: These copper bands at the base of the logs are intended to keep away slugs… who apparently don’t like to crawl over copper.
Supposedly, slugs don't like to crawl across copper. Here's hoping it works!
After touring all the agricultural parts of The Heron, we headed back to the house for lunch where we celebrated our college intern’s 20th birthday!
Not a teenager any more.
After lunch, we changed into mud boots and headed down the road to explore a boggy area of the property. We found sphagnum moss and sun dews and some plants we couldn’t identify, and a few critters…
Water Pennywort
Sundew and Sphagnum Moss
Elyse: Dragon Hunter
Elyse's Dragon: Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Rex's Beetle. (He also caught at least one snake that I heard of, but alas... I was too far ahead and didn't get a picture...)
After leading fieldtrips for countless school children through May and June it was delightful to go on a fieldtrip of our own. Many thanks to our wonderful (goofy) volunteers (and staff!) who help get us through this intensely busy time of year. We couldn’t do it without you!
Emily, Jeff, Holly, Julie, Nikki, Sarah, Elyse, Rex, Bonnie, Gayle, Joyce
(There are several others who couldn’t make it to the fieldtrip… we thank you, too!)
Friday at ANP June 13, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.4 comments
For the last few years, I have been the designated driver… that is, the person who drives the Audubon van loaded with stuff down to the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage. It’s not a bad gig. Once we get the van unloaded in the early morning, I am free to explore the park and take in a program or two before the kids arrive.
This year, my daughter was with me. We opted for a hike around Black Snake Mountain and the Soil program to fill our Friday.
Black Snake Mountain Trail is in the south part of Allegany State Park. The trailhead is on ASP 3 – which is also labeled ASP 1 on this google map… Go figure…
View Larger Map
We hiked the 3 mile loop stopping at the midway point for lunch. We were serenaded by Wood Thrush, Eastern Wood Peewees, and Chestnut-sided Warblers. There was also a bird with a wonderful song that I can’t now remember, but wish I could… Why didn’t I use my camera’s video feature to capture that song?
We saw the following flowers:
When we returned, we took a power nap on the grass, then joined Henri DeMoras for a program on Soil. Now who would think a program about soil could be so fascinating? We started with some introductory comments under the tent at Camp Allegany…
Then we car-pooled up to Thunder Rocks to observe some things in the field.
We talked about the various agents that work on rock to break it down into components of soil. Biological agents such as trees, lichens, rocks, etc…
Notice that one of the layers in this rock is actually the roots of a tree!
The rock breaks down and becomes mixed with remnants of parties…
As lichens, moss, and plants grow and die, organic matter is added to the mix. The acids formed during decomposition provide a chemical agent for further breakdown of rock particles.
On the way back down the road toward Camp Allegany, we stopped at several spots to notice how rain and gravity (physical agents) had moved things down the hill and affected the soil profiles…
It’s so amazing to me that I can go on a walk to a location I have visited numerous times in my lifetime and continue to see it in new ways every time… The pilgrimage is like that. You go on a walk with a different person each time and you see the world through yet another lens, expanding your understanding of your place in the world…
Always the weekend after Memorial Day… Join us next year?
http://alleganynaturepilgrimage.com
Goofy Polls May 23, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.5 comments
So you know how people who are bored make up silly polls to put on Facebook? And they you’re supposed to copy the questions and answer them for yourself and post them? And then your friends are supposed to copy them and erase your answers and put their own answers on and then re-post them?
Here is the Naturalist Poll that I created while bored. You know what to do:
- Have you ever eaten a cuckoo flower (or any other wildflower)?
- Have you ever held a spittle bug on the end of your finger and watched it do the spittle bug dance?
- When was the first time you saw a Bald Eagle?
- Would you rather be pee’d on by a toad or musked by a garter snake?
- Have you ever found an owl pellet in the woods?
- Have you ever watched a dragonfly nymph eat a minnow?
- Have you ever gone out on the first warm rainy night of spring to watch the salamanders do “it”?
- When was the first time you went tent camping?
- When was the most memorable time you slept under the stars?
- Have you ever stayed up all night to watch a lunar eclipse?
- Would you rather go hiking in summer or winter?
- When was the last time you lost your shoe in the mud?
I’m gonna put it on Facebook, too…
Thank you, Jane April 19, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in nature.add a comment
Look! I’m the featured blog on the Nature Blog Network:
http://natureblognetwork.com/blog/featured-blog-a-passion-for-nature/
