dragonflies — 2015 — The 21st Century Matriarch

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Toward Blood-based Cancer Detection - Lots of promise….but it is still a work in progress.

Buzz Kill for Bumblebees: Climate Change Is Shrinking Their Range - Bumblebees prefer cooler temperatures than many other insects and they like open areas rather than forest. As the ‘normal’ temperatures get hotter, the bee’s southern range is creeping northward but the forests of the north are a physical boundary to their expansion…thus a shrinking area for bumblebees.

Why can’t we move? - A lot of people in the US spend too long commuting…stuck in traffic or on inadequate public transportation. The US has fallen behind the rest of the developed world in our ability to move people to and from and within our cities.

Solving the Energy Efficiency Quandary - It often hard to measure the efficiency of an improvement that is ‘supposed’ to save energy. Not there are some standards emerging that may help do that. It is something needed for homeowners to finally gain enough data to understand the energy use of their home…and guide their decisions re improvements that will have the most impact.

For the Love of Plants - I enjoy botanical prints in old books…and here are some modern ones from botanical illustrator Mindy Lighthipe! (art work) My favorite one is the Monarch Butterfly with milkweed; it includes the Monarch lifecycle.

How free is Your Produce? - How well do you know your 19th century history? Evidently the free produce movement was a food justice movement propelled by Quakers and other abolitionists who hoped to abolish slavery through food ways. And now we have the Fair Trade movement and Fair Food program which are very similar.

The Chemistry of Ice Cream – Components, Structure, & Flavor - A favorite warm weather treat!

Dragonflies and Damselflies - Check out Elizabeth’s Wildflower Blog --- this time about insects rather than flowers.

Smoke North and Saharan Dust South - Smoke and dust travel a very long ways across land and ocean.

Photography in the National Parks: Framing Wildflowers in the Parks - Good photography tips…and National Parks offer so many subjects to choose from!

I became a Master Naturalist trainee last week….1 of 8 day long classes finalized with an exam. It is a good thing that the classes are spread out over 9 weeks (longer if there are snow days) since there is a lot to absorb if the first today is the norm.

The topics for the first class were geology and insects…and it was intense. I appreciated the renewal of note taking skills that the Coursera work had prompted since these lectures were fast and furious even though I had done the pre-reading and had previous exposure to both topics. The day after the class I transcribed my handwritten scribbles into my computer - realizing that I would not be able to decipher them once it wasn’t ‘fresh’ in my mind. I also went off onto tangents following web resources the instructors referenced.

The most time consuming tangent was the Maryland Geology for Education site which provides layers of information overlaid on a zoomable map. The map had been used during the lecture so I knew a little about how to operate it. I looked at the ‘Piedmont Counties Geology’ overlay (with transparency at about 50% so I could see streets and structures through the colors) for around my neighborhood. The major rock under my house is schist; taking a short walk from my backyard down to the river passes over a granite intrusion; to the east across the street from house gneiss is the major type of rock. Within less than a mile - where the Community Supported Agriculture farm is located - there is quite a mix of gravel, sand, and clay (sedimentary rock). Wow! I’m amazed at the geologic variety close at hand.

Another tangent - on the insect side - I read an article referenced by the instructor Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Flowering Plants and then proceeded to spend a lot more time browsing the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. I am still looking at new items from the site. One of the first things I looked at was one of the identification guides (under publications): Field Guide to Migratory Dragonflies. I can hardly wait to get identifying photographs at Kenilwork Park and Aquatic Gardens this summer.

Some other observations from the first class:

I am not used to sitting for most of the day. Even though there were plenty of breaks and some activities that had us moving around the classroom - it was a more sedentary day that I prefer. Will I get up and pace around the back of the classroom next week?
The final exam is take-home and open book. Hurray! If it was more like the SAT, I probably would not have signed up for the program! Tests might be necessary but it is certainly not something anyone enjoys.
I enjoy the before and after days of the class as much as the class day!

Stay tuned to my continuing adventure as a Master Naturalist Trainee.