Discovery Center Has Been Interesting

     If you visit your local state park you may find some interesting things there, such as foxes or bears in the woods, fish in the lake, cool water or rides on the lake. You could also find more "stuff" about nature if that park has some kind of nature center.
    This summer I've volunteered several times at the Claytor Lake State Park "discovery center" and it's been interesting. Many visitors live closer to the woods than a "townie" like me. I've seen deer near our neighborhood, but nothing else. Visitors (near their homes and at the campground) have seen bears, foxes, and even a coyote (the last near the East coast of Virginia). There "is" nature out there if you will but look!
    In our discovery center we have also had live critters, like a garter snake, ringneck snake, wood frog, musk turtle, sunfish, and the like. So come visit your state park and see what critters and wildlife there are to find!

Treatment of dogs-- Be Humane, not insane

   

                                                             

     I don't even have a dog anymore and so why should something around me be my concern, you ask? Maybe it's because stupid and inconsiderate behavior bugs me. People, those mammals with the big brains, should know better.
     But they don't always, do they? They had an article just today in the Roanoke Times about a young mother who wanted to remind others to not leave their young children in a car. Apparently her husband left their less than two year old child in a hot van. They both regret it, of course, and sometimes kids get "lost in the shuffle". We didn't used to have car seats to leave kids in and we knew they would want to get "out" of the car. Especially a hot one.
     Well, dogs are no different. Who wants to stay in a hot car? The other day I was having my "get a cone for 59 cents" fix at McDonald's and had to get in line to get my treat. There were a number of people in front of me and behind me, and I wonder which one behind me had the dogs. As I got out and went to the car my spouse, who'd been waiting in air-conditioned comfort, commented that a huge pickup a few parked cars down have a window a quarter of the way open, which he considered inadequate in the 85+ degree heat. According to the Humane Society,  a car with a  slightly opened window that is 85 degrees inside can reach 102 degrees in 10 minutes, and 120 degrees in 30 minutes-- wow, that is in the desert hot, whether a dog or child is in there! They suggested we should have taken down the license number and make of the car and announced it in McDonald's. That's what we should probably do next time.
     Another time we were near insensitive dog handlers too. It was at the 4th of July celebration, and a man near us told his friend it was the first time he'd brought his light colored Labrador to this event. Well, it was dumb idea. I thought "we" were a little close and several times "I" plugged up my ears the bangs were so loud. But that dog was on a leash and trying to run away the whole time. A few times the man rubbed the dog's ears, but that's not the same as plugging them up. They say dogs hear sounds we don't and those loud noises probably didn't help her hearing any. Insensitive. And stupid.

PHOBIAS-- We all have them

Have you ever been afraid of the dark? Or seen a spider nearby and said "yikes" and not known what to do?

      The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a "phobia" as               an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something. 

I  am one of those with a fear of extreme heights-- in an airplane I feel somewhat protected, but I wouldn't want to be at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City, which has 103 floors and is 1,454 feet from the street to the tip of its lightning rod.

     Some of us are afraid of the dark, being in a dark closet, or have a fear of snakes and spiders. Researchers now say that when it comes to the snakes and spiders, this is considered instinctive, our way of surviving in the jungle or being around something that suddenly moves around us. But snakes are shy and do not seek out human contact. Spiders are interested in insects for a snack, not people, and most snakes and spiders are NOT poisonous, but control populations of other living things, like rats or flies. 

     Sometimes hypnosis can help people be less afraid of their particular phobia. Pets can also have fears, such as when there is thunder and lightning. If it is an extreme phobia that affects the animal's behavior all the time, then you may need to take the pet to the vet for some helpful suggestions.

Steep hikes at Yosemite, Mountain Lake, etc.

     

                                               

                     On the steep Mist Trail up toVernal Fall at Yosemite.

     You know you're getting older when you stray away from steep hikes. Living in Virginia, where a good portion of the Appalachian Trail goes through, you may be "used to" winding and steep hikes. Well, maybe you are, but I'm not. 
     Having been a preemie, I think I lost out in the lung capacity department, making steep hiking a real challenge. So my hike up to Vernal Fall at Yosemite National Park in April was a challenge too. I saw many others "bee-bopping" along on this trail that seemed to go almost straight up. We only got partway, to the wooden bridge where you can snap a pix of the fall from a distance. But there were some interesting rock formations, like (above) this pix of me with a facelike set of rocks all strewn together.
     It is amazing that some 150 years ago (or more) John Muir took to these steep hikes at Yosemite like nobody's business. And when climbing he didn't have a piton (pin) and ropes to get him up. He used his hands and boots for many of his adventures in this high country. Could I have done the same? No way.
     And in the last 6 months I 've injured my right knee twice. So no steep hike up a trail at Mountain Lake. My knees would give out; they need some therapy and rest, and I hope to swim at Claytor and help them out.

Tree hugging at Stadium Woods, Value of city forests

                                    Me hugging a tree in "Stadium Woods" behind Lane Stadium at VA. Tech.

     I was walking with some students who were helping to clear away some "invasive" (nonnative) plants at the base of different trees in "Stadium Woods" when we decided upon a break at the far end of the woods to get something to drink. On our way to the other end of Stadium Woods, behind Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium, I came upon a rather fat tree. I suggested to some students, hey, let's reach around this tree to see how big it is. It took a little over three people, their arms totally stretched out, to reach around this old oak. Of course it's big. It's 300 years old!

     Old growth forests are not associated with cities. Forests with fat old trees make you think of the West coast, the redwoods in their temperate rain forests. It doesn't make you think of the East coast, which has been cut down and settled for much longer than the West coast. But yet, right next to a busy university, is a small forest, with mostly white oaks someone left standing, perhaps to have a supply of wood for building homes long ago. We may not fully know why, but Stadium Woods next to VA Tech's Lane Stadium is unique. I think we have a bit of a "ho-hum" attitude about trees. They will always be there. With Dutch elm disease attacking many elm trees and hemlocks failing because of the woolly adelgid, maybe not. We need to hang onto to the old trees we've got before they are all lost.

     While weeding the nonnative periwinkle (vinca) and English ivy out of the woods, I pointed out to the students the mayapple plants would soon produce a fruit. It is highly important as it is actually used in treating testicular cancer (in a particular formulation, of course, in congress with another drug). And the dandelions they saw were edible--- use the leaves in a salad, or boil the root for tea. Though bitter tasting, it is great for detoxing the liver.

     Yes, being out in the spring and helping a place like Stadium Woods was a worthwhile outdoor, Saturday  diversion.

Visiting Charlottesville AND historic McCormick Farm

                                 

                         Our second stop, visiting the log cabin and Grist Mill at McCormick Farm.

    I was on the street with my fellow naturalists in the unlikely place of downtown Charlottesville. Charlottesville, founded in 1762, several years before Thomas Jefferson starting building his famous Monticello, with its interesting gardens and architecture, has some interesting spots of its own, with some narrow streets (one time for horse drawn carriages) and old architecture everywhere (and perhaps Jefferson would still feel comfortable there today). And since our wetlands training was actually supposed to be two hours away in Richmond, putting us in the wrong spot we thought, what the heck, let's walk a bit downtown.
     The library where we were supposed to meet was on Market Street, with its part organic "Market Street Market," an interesting combo of coffee shop, fresh produce stand indoors, and specialty items for sale like organic packaged goods. I think I even picked up a peanut butter bar that was gluten free and pretty good overall. So we ventured away from the library and Market, and in less than two blocks took a turn, on the advice of a local, down to what is called the "Downtown Mall."
     Here, on a brick covered walkway, you can visit all kinds of historic shops. We briefly (my cohorts were impatient) looked around the Timberlake (the name makes me think of  Justin) Drugstore, a corner store with a formal white facade, that was formerly a bank and kind of looks it. Inside it's been an old timey drugstore since 1917. I say that because it still has those covered round stools and counter, the so-called soda fountain, where you can still get a limeade, milk shake or soup. But we were impatient. It had a good variety of loose candies in baskets near the register, and one wall had a lot of lotions and soap. I settled on a greenish aloe and cucumber one that would make a great face soap, and a few tiny Peppermint patties. And down from this, to the east of Main Street, we obtained some information at the visitor center, which is very close to a covered "pavilion" I assume is used for city concerts.
     Up a few short blocks in this very brick and mortar area was the oldest home in "Historic Downtown," built in 1785 and of course of a brownish brick on the outside. I wondered if it was open on Saturday, as a sign nearby said they served lunch from 11-2 from Monday to Friday. So I knocked on the door anyway, and a hostess graciously let us see some of the colorful rooms. It'd been a law office and they had actually tried to cut off one of the fireplaces in a shortened room and covered up the hardwood floors, but this "Inn at Court Square" was redone and refurbished. Interesting was the John Kelly room with the lime green walls, bright yellow ceiling and oak looking head and end boards on the spacious bed. The red door to the building also stood out.
     But it was lunch time and we decided to head down the road, off I-81, to the old McCormick Farm, now owned by Virginia Tech. It was rustic and rather cool. We picnicked in the car and walked around the log cabins and grist mill, the mill containing miniature models on display of Cyrus McCormick's famous mechanical "Virginia reaper," which in 1934 could do the work of three men or more. It would speed up the gathering and cutting of wheat and grains, and was improved upon. He was only in his twenties when he invented it-- well, necessity "is" the mother of invention, I'd suspect.
     There was a little trail we didn't get the chance to explore, and the farm buildings still standing at this National Historic Landmark were fairly close together. We don't even think about what it takes to farm anymore. Tractors and disc harrow tools are used now on farms and I suppose there are fancier reapers or "gathering" machines now (probably motorized and using too much gasoline). Maybe the mechanical way without dependence on oil is better. 
    

About trees, tree bud i. d. in winter

                                Soon tree buds will open, like this saucer magnolia with the furry buds.

    Spring will be upon us soon, but last week I saw robins in the snow...
                               Snow Robins

     Robins in the snow
     As the white around us grows,
     Hopping on their merry way,
     On this wintry March day.
     Fighting off the starlings
     Who weren't exactly darling,
     Blue jays getting into the act,
     Jumping on snow to pack
     it down and compete for the food.

    About Trees ---
    Did you know that the red maple is one of the most plentiful here in southwest Virginia forests ("ubiquitous" is the word)? 
     I went with a group of "budding" Master naturalists on this unique walk, up a bank away from a parking lot at Pandapas Pond, the parking lot just barely melted enough for my Chevy to find a spot I could get out of. We chatted casually till one of the organizers, Dianna B, made her appearance, as I asked my fellow naturalist friend about if her daughters had built a snowman during the last week. (She complained that they hadn't had school in the last 13 days, and when her husband was teaching a college class she had to somehow work on her computer at home with a 6 and 9 year old -- good luck.)
    So  how the heck do you identify a tree in the woods, in the middle (or end) of winter? No foliage, no flowers, and they mostly look gray, right? Our guide, Virginia Tech forester John Peterson, was very specific and pulled down a number of very small branches and twigs with buds for our group to look over. Did you  know that the red maple actually "has" red buds? And later, in fall, its green, jagged edged leaves will turn a bright red as well. But the sugar maples have them beat in the color dept. in fall. Their leaves vary, even on the same tree, from yellow, to yellow-orange, to red and deep red-orange. Really pretty, in my view. But Peterson said the sugar maples were fussy about soil type and weren't as readily seen in the Appalachian woods as the red maples.
    Like the photo above, we also found a "furry" budded tree, the cucumber magnolia. I'm not sure where the cucumber name comes from, but it certainly has soft to the touch buds.
Other trees common to the woods in this region include various pines, like Virginia pine, Table Mountain pine, and white pine, and hemlock, another evergreen. Oh, and pitch pine too. They are very close in appearance and it takes knowledge of certain characteristics (like the size of the needles, the type of bark, the shape of the particular cone) to get them right. Not rocket science, but may take a little memorization. And we did this standing in an inch of snow much of the afternoon. Good thing I wore a hat so that I didn't catch a chill!