Intimate Landscapes - April 2016

I skipped February and March for an intimate landscapes post (after Eliot Porter’s Intimate Landscapes book available online here) but am starting them again this month.

In the roots and moss on a path in Centennial Park – I saw a parallel to crossroads on a map or visualized a decision at the fork of a road that has been taken by others but not enough to wear away the moss.

Low growth thrives at the base of a tree and surrounds a stump. A Jack-in-the-Pulpit is blooming there too.

The skunk cabbage surrounds the trees along a now hidden stream and the ferns are filling in the remaining spaces under the trees.

The thick oxalis almost overwhelms the cairns when the sun is shining (the plant’s flowers close up at night and cloudy days). Other plants cover other items with their foliage. The lighter green in the background will be pink lilies later in the summer.

Here an old stump provides a dark backdrop to the pink and yellow of spring flowers.

Brookside Wetland

The boardwalk between the Brookside Gardens and Brookside Nature Center goes through a wetland where a little stream of running water runs and after rains the ground is soggy. The fence to keep the deer out of the garden crosses the area and the boardwalk. By the end of March, the skunk cabbage is rapidly spreading its leaves under the Bald Cypress trees (see the cypress 'knees' in the picture) and the red winged black birds are screeching and move around in the trees jockeying for territory and mates.

A few of the of the skunk cabbage have blooms – those odd looking purple and white structures hugging the base. In other years those blooms can be seen when snow is on the ground but this year March was very warm.

The plants like to very wet areas but not necessarily in places where the water is constantly in motion.

Most of the time the cypress knees look old and worn. But they must be growing too this time of year since many of them amongst the skunk cabbages has a smooth reddish sheen that was new growth.

As I neared the gate going back to the nature center, there was a cardinal in a holly – on the garden side of the fence. I posed with its feathers fluffed…between songs.

The little stream that runs between the wetland and the parking lot has a rocky bottom – probably scoured with the runoff from every rain. Wet rock always looks more colorful than the dry.

Ten Days of Little Celebrations – March 2016

Many years – March is a mix of winter and spring, skewed toward spring. This year it has been heavily skewed toward spring.

I celebrated:

A sunny day for a hike (it was often muddy but the temperature was pleasant enough)

Blooming skunk cabbages (this year leaves are unfurling very quickly)

Birthdays of 3 family members. It happens every year, but somehow have 3 in cluster increases the attention to celebrating.

A road trip to 4 Eastern Shore wildlife refuges

The rapid leafing of a sprouted sweet potato once I put it into dirt

The rediscovery of a small purse that is perfect fit for my camera, id, and chapstick. I getting more comfortable with minimalist fieldtips!

The opportunity to dissect an owl pellet and finding 2 rodent jaws.

Feeling prepared for spring field trips at Mt. Pleasant Farm and Belmont (after training that happened this month)

The weather warmed enough to keep the window in my office open --- hearing the birds at our feeder and at the edge of the forest.

Staying focused on what I want to get done – there is no ‘spring fever’ happening to me this spring at all!

Field Trip Training

I attended all the training sessions this month for the spring field trip volunteers by the Howard County Conservancy. The field trips for elementary and middle school students will start soon even though this year the weather has been warm enough they could have started earlier than mis-April. Some of the training sessions were the same as last spring – but I learn something a little extra each time…and I enjoy the short spring hikes that are incorporated into the training. Things change so fast along the paths in spring that there is always something new to notice.

Once the field trips start – the challenge will be to focus on the hiking groups and guiding their discoveries. Every hike is different. Sometimes it works to stay totally on topic…other times there is something along the trail that captures everyone’s attention so we just celebrate the serendipity. Last spring several of my groups just stood for several minutes and watched tree swallows building a nest in blue bird box! I was impressed with how quiet the second graders could be when their interest was focused. Will the same happen this spring? I hope so.

I have a little break for a week and then the flurry of spring field trips start. It will be over by mid-June (even with snow days delaying the end of the school year). It's a great volunteer gig!

3 Free eBooks – March 2016

So many good books to peruse online….so little time.

There are two botanical print books this month:

Parsons, Frances Theodora. According to the season. New York: Scribner, 1902. Available on Hathi Trust here. This one is in color and included skunk cabbage. I couldn’t resist including the fiddleheads image too for this book!

Audsley, George Ashdown; Greve, W. Ornamental Arts of Japan. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1884. In two volumes from Hathi Trust available here. Mixture of chromolithographs, photoaquatints and carbon prints….beautiful work. I always like the cranes in Japanese art work.

Edwards, George Wharton. Alsace-Lorraine. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company, 1918. Available from Hathi Trust here. Some of the plates are in color. The aspect that interested me the most was the artists emphasis on capturing the light just as it was on the subject.

Mt Pleasant Farm – March 2016

There are signs of spring at the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm but the trees still look very bare. Earlier in the month I posted about the Wood Frogs in the Honors Garden pool. Last week, the frogs (and their loud clacking) were gone, but the tadpoles were beginning to hatch. They were easiest to see on the rocks. They are algae eaters and the little pool has plenty for them to eat. Notice that there is also a tiny snail just above the water line.

The moss growing on the parts of the rocks above the water looks very green right now. Soon there will be a lot more tadpoles in the water below since there is a large egg mass that has not hatched near this rock.

I took advantages of the absence of leaves to capture a stump that is usually hidden by brush. It has shelf fungus

And wood pecker holes

And lots of moss growing on it.

It is near the spot where skunk cabbage grows (previous post is here).

The streams are gurgling (and the paths are usually muddy) this time of year.

The farmhouse is visible from the meadow with the deciduous trees still bare.

I stood photographing a mockingbird for several minutes. At first I thought the breeze was ruffling the neck feathers but then I realized that the neck moves a lot as the bird creates his sounds (mockingbirds have quite a repertoire).

Squirrels are still finding last season’s nuts – and eating them noisily. I would not have noticed this squirrel without that noisy munching.

The maple ‘tree within a tree’ is still one of my favorite stops along the stone wall. Theorizing about why it is that way….and looking for snake skin sheds which seem to be there frequently…are always a hit with hiking groups.

These shelf fungi caught my eye – like little steps up the large branch.

Last season’s dogbane still holds some of its seeds in the meadow.

So even at the end of winter – beginning of spring, there is a lot to see here. It is a calm before the riot of growth that comes in April and May.