January 28, 2018

Skunk Cabbage

January 28, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Last week I hiked down to the marshy area where the skunk cabbage usually grows at Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm – and it was already coming up out of the muck. There were no blooms yet; those will be left for February. I used the zoom to get pictures since the area was muddy both from rain the previous day and the usual water from the small spring. It was warm enough that there was no ice in the area where the skunk cabbage was sprouting.

2018 01 IMG_8069.jpg — In other areas there was more ice – further from the spring (the water that emerges from the ground must be a little warmer) or where ice got thicker when the temperature was very low and it takes longer to thaw. It wasn’t freezing on the day I was hiking so part of the stream that has accumulated more water and the flowing more rapidly was entirely melted.

Other highlights from the leisurely hike: the stump for the elementary school hiking groups to climb and count tree rings is surviving the winter…will still be good for the spring field trips,

Shelf fungus group just about everywhere – even on stumps of invasive trees (these were probably Callery pear).

The bird feeders in the Honors Garden were active: nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, and goldfinches beginning to get their spring plumage were the ones I managed to photograph.

January 26, 2018

Birding through a Window January 2018 (2)

January 26, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing from yesterday….

The goldfinches come to our bird bath frequently. They are still drab in their winter plumage. Maybe it is wishful thinking but sometimes think they are looking a little more yellow.

The house finches keep their color even in winter. They seem to like the sycamore and the maple more than the bird bath.

Northern Flickers visit our yard during this time of year. They are hard to see with a back drop of pine needles or fallen leaves….but stand out at the bird bath. The amount of yellow in their wing and tail feathers can be seen sometimes.

The dark-eyed juncos are winter visitors to Maryland…and come in groups to our feeder and bird bather. They explore the gutters too.

The pileated woodpeckers are infrequent visitors to the woods behind our house. If I added a suet feeder maybe they would come….but I’m content to see them in the forest. I got a fleeting glimpse of a red-bellied woodpecker this month as well….but was not fast enough to get a picture.

There is a red-tailed hawk that visits the edge of the forest – watching the open area between the trees and our house. Typically, the small birds leave the vicinity when the hawk is around.

The Titmouse always seems to have bigger eyes than other birds of its size.

January 25, 2018

Birding through a Window – January 2018 (1)

January 25, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I was at home more in January than December…and saw a lot more birds through the window. I posted about the bluebirds back on the 16th but they have continued to visit our bird bath and deck; most of the time I don’t have my camera but I did manage to photograph one just yesterday – perched on the old weather station pole.

The blue jays are regular visitors too. They come to the bird path, the maple, the sycamore and the tulip poplar…staying still long enough for good pictures.

The cardinals alert me to their presence with their chirps. Both the male and female come to the deck for seed and I often see them in the trees around the yard and into the forest.

When we had the very cold days, the Carolina Wrens were entirely missing; I didn’t see them or hear them. But they have returned now that it is a little warmer. They are heard more often than seen.

The doves were missing during the cold days as well but now they are back and frequent visitors to our deck.

More birding through the window from this month in tomorrow’s post.

January 24, 2018

Downy Woodpecker

January 24, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We have a pair of downy woodpeckers in the forest behind out house – at least, I think that is where they come from. I’ve seen then closer than the forest and photographed them over the past month: At our heated bird bath where they stop for sips of water on very cold days (frost forms on the rim when it is very cold),

On the deck railing where they seem to pay attention the knots. There is one know that is now a hole…must have been some goodie that the bird was keen to eat there, and

At the bird feeder where the bird managed to extract a sunflower seed.

I like these little birds. The little patch of red always is eye catching.

January 23, 2018

Conowingo in January – part 2

January 23, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

The day we went to Conowingo was part of a warming trend – but it was still cold enough that ice coated any wet surfaces. The fishing pier was gated off and there were signs saying there would be no fishing because of a toxic spill…so the ice forming from the spray on the railings was undisturbed.

Further out in the water – any rocks or small trees near or in the water because a framework for ice formation.

The rocks along the back were coated. Very little of the ice was totally smooth. It hung in icicles and knotted into pebbly textures that looked a little like bubble wrap!

I was glad that the day was sunny and relatively calm; my winter gear did a good job of keeping me comfortably warm. We stopped for lunch on the way home. Next time we’ll go earlier to (hopefully) see more of the eagles while they are still hungry for breakfast! I wondered where the Great Blue Herons were since we usually see a few of them. Both the herons and eagles will start their nesting cycle soon.

January 22, 2018

Conowingo in January – part 1

January 22, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

My husband and I chose and sunny day …. Headed north to Conowingo Dam one morning last week. We hoped the day would be good for seeing the bald eagles. It was a bit of a disappointment: the birds all stayed on the far side of the river – seemingly even further away than usual, there were not very many of them, and the sky was hazy rather than blue. The gulls and cormorants (and maybe some ducks) were too far away as well.

I turned my camera to other things. The Princess Tree had velvety buds.

There was a small stand of trees near the edge of water that had quite a load of ice; I wondered if it would survive.

An old stump was deteriorating near the fishing pier. I thought part of it looked like a one-eyed owl looking out of the decaying wood.

There was an oak leaf covered with salt that had been liberally scattered on the sidewalk.

There were not many sycamore balls…last spring was not conducive to seed production in our area. This one does not look like it has been discovered by seed loving birds either.

Tomorrow – I’ll write about the ice at Conowingo.

January 21, 2018

Neighborhood Walk

January 21, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

A few days ago, I took a walk down to the storm water retention pond in our neighborhood. It was my first time out of the house after some exceedingly cold days and a head cold/ear ache. It felt good to be bundled up and crunching through the light coating of snow on the sidewalk. The pond is still rather barren looking after it’s refurbishment but there were a few dried cattails at the edge that were surrounded by ice. They had caught some of the snow. It was the ‘artsy’ image of the walk.

Across the street, the gutter is labeled…whatever goes down, is on its way to the bay. I was surprised at how rusted and cracked the cover for the gutter looked. It’s probably the age of the neighborhood – about 25 years.

I noticed some of the limbs that had been cut off our street crews by the county to reduce the possibility of equipment damage if fire trucks had to come down our street. The tees have healed in most cases, but I noticed at least two trees where the wound resulted in part of the tree rotting; that’s not good. I’m glad our oak was not one of them.

January 20, 2018

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 20, 2018

January 20, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

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.

Water-based, eco-friendly and energy-saving air-conditioner: All-weather friendly cooling technology works without mechanical compressors or chemical refrigerants, and generates drinking water -- ScienceDaily – This is one of those technologies I hear about…and hope it lives up to the potential talked about.

New Website Explores the Women in Architecture Your History Books Didn’t Teach You About | Smart News | Smithsonian – A little history.

The Ultimate Winter Wildlife Guide: Enjoy and Understand Creatures in the Cold – Cool Green Science and How Does Extreme Winter Weather Affect Wildlife? – Cool Green Science – It has been a cold January for us. The second article mentions that Carolina Wrens often don’t handle very cold temperatures; I did notice that I didn’t see or hear any on the extremely cold days and have only seen one since it has warmed up a little.

If Birds Left Tracks in the Sky, They’d Look Like This – Another instance where photography allows us to see our world in a way that we can’t do with our eyes.

Archaeologist debunking myth that most people died young prior to modern medicine - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) – Looking at teeth of 300 people buried in Anglo Saxon English cemeteries between 375 and 625 AD…and finding some that were older than 75! It is probably true that average life expectancy was short…but there were some that lived to reach old age.

Frozen Bubble Photos Capture the Amazing Beauty of Ice Crystals – I don’t think I am patient enough for this type of photography – but I can enjoy someone else’s work!

Revelations in the Way Poison Frogs Care for Their Young – National Geographic – There is a video of a parent frog getting tadpoles on its back…taking them to a new pool of water!

Face of Ancient South American Queen Reconstructed – Pictures and short video of the facial reconstruction from the woman’s skull. She was at least 60 years old when she died….and died some 1,200 years ago.

Bones of the victims at Roman Herculaneum - HeritageDaily - Heritage & Archaeology News – Skeletons were found in ‘boat houses’ where they were buried under thin mud….preserving the bones. There are enough of them to understand more about the population of the town…like the frequency of pleural inflammation causing rib lesions, skull depressions from excess irritation and scratching attributed to head lice and age demographics.

DNA confirms the Two Brothers’ relationship | Egypt at the Manchester Museum – I remember the Two Brothers from a course on Ancient Egypt and was interested in the DNA analysis that showed they were half-brothers (same mother, different fathers).

January 16, 2018

Bluebirds at our Birdbath

January 16, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We have a group of Eastern Bluebirds frequenting our birdbath on these very cold days. The first time I saw them there were 6 birds gathers around the rim. By the time I managed to get my camera there were only 3 left.

I was taking pictures through a window, but one seems to know exactly where I was!

The bird’s attention was a little diverted by another bird flying away.

Then it returned to me.

The last bird seemed very comfortable at the birdbath. Its feathers were fluffed and it was savoring the bit of warmth from the heated rim. Its colors were muted – a female. It was the last to leave.

I’ve seen groups of bluebirds at the bath several times since on very cold days. I’m glad we can provide a source of water for them. Bluebirds are in our area year-round. Their numbers are the result of an aggressive nest box program … dedicated people that help maintain the boxes.

What a joy to see these little birds on a cold day!

January 15, 2018

Winter Tracks

January 15, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We are getting another round of very cold weather now and I’m remembering some tracks I saw from my front door during the cold just at the year began. I took pictures through the narrow windows from either side of the door – it was too cold to open the door. The tracks stayed for days until the snow sublimated rather than melted! The ones on the front sidewalk include deer…not sure what the rounds ones were.

The ones on the front porch were smaller but came right up to the front door! Maybe a squirrel? I thought of a chipmunk at first but haven’t seen any recently. We have lots of squirrels.

We are well supplied with food and have no appointments for the next few days…so we are staying warm inside and recovering from colds until it warms up. Our forecasted high for today is 30 degrees and cloudy. A good indoor day!

January 14, 2018

Moon in the Treetops

January 14, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Earlier this month, I noticed the moon shining through my office window like a spotlight from the sky first thing in the morning. The first time – on January 2 – I didn’t wait around for it to sink into the treetops.

But on the 3rd I was more patient. The tall tulip poplars behind our house were catching the moon before the sky brightened.

By the 6th the morning was already well underway before I took my picture.

Catching the moon is a great way to start the morning.

January 13, 2018

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 13, 2018

January 13, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

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.

Cache of Newly Digitized Travel Photographs Will Transport You to 1900s California | Smart News | Smithsonian – A little California history. I couldn’t figure out how to browse photographs almost like a slideshow. The interface seems to only provide one-at-a-time viewing.

With wrist-worn gadget, researchers capture real-life sleep for the first time -- ScienceDaily – I wondered how this differed from my Fitbit Alta HR tracker. I assume it has more detail and that raw data is processed with more sophisticated algorithms.

The National Gallery of Art Releases Over 45,000 Digitized Works of Art – Wow! Follow the link to the NGA images and enjoy!

BBC - Future - The labs that protect against online warfare – Even with the labs….is seems like we are not doing enough. Governments are serious about the problem from a military standpoint…not necessarily about infrastructure or healthcare.

Habitat on the Edges: Making Room for Wildlife in an Urbanized World - Yale E360 – A good summary of some things that appear to be working to increase and/or preserve wild life habitat even as human populations increase. The habitat is gerrymandered…and different that the original, but may be almost the only path forward.

A Floating House to Resist the Floods of Climate Change | The New Yorker – It seems far fetched that whole neighborhoods would be built like this – but it is appealing to think about non-traditional approaches now when extreme storms seem to be more common.

Deep learning sharpens views of cells and genes – Using a neural network to look at retinal images and determine the likelihood of heart attack…and other applications of high end computer algorithms for improving understanding of medical images.

Badlands National Park – It’s been 20 years since I visited the park. I enjoyed it…think I would appreciate it more now.

National Park Service Begins Roof Replacement, Masonry Repair at Lincoln Memorial – Something going on in DC. The memorial will be partially open during the work.

US childhood mortality rates have lagged behind other wealthy nations for the past 50 years: Leading causes of death are prematurity and injuries -- ScienceDaily – Very sad. We have a system that is expensive and not very effective. Infants in the US were 76% more likely to die than in other economically similar countries.

January 12, 2018

Icy Stream

January 12, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

At mid-week, I hiked down to the stream restoration area at Mt. Pleasant. The day was a little warmer than many of our recent days and there was very little wind. I dressed for the weather and didn’t get chilled. There has been enough rain that the ox bow portion had water/ice in it. The trees that were extracted during the restoration and repositioned in the stream to upside to down as habitat were indicated how high the water has gotten since the restoration reconnected the stream with its flood plain. The stumps have not been completely covered but the water has gotten a few feet higher than it is now.

2018 01 IMG_7571.jpg — Further along the stream a smaller stream – frozen – cascades over rocks.

Some ice had broken free with the melting and turned over – showing frost crystals…bubbles…smooth contours. It looked like a chunk of clear glass.

I liked the leaves held in place my ice on the flowing water; they added color.

The water level had gone down since this ice froze. It was a shelf above the flowing water. Based on the sediment on top of the ice, it is older and may have had sediment laden water flowing over it briefly.

2018 01 IMG_7583.jpg — The beach area that used to be mostly small pebbles and sand, has had large rocks since the Ellicott City flood before the restoration project and then additional rocks were added during the restoration. It makes it harder to walk in the middle of the stream…but better habitat.

One area had conditions just right for forming crystals…a favorite photography target for me.

As we started back up the hill, I noticed a battered lichen on some of the rocks. After all the clear ice, the bit of color caught my attention!

January 09, 2018

Cathedral of Learning (part 2)

January 09, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

The Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning. The Nationality Rooms on the 3rd floor are open when classes are not in session; the ones on the first floor are available with a tour guide or via an audio tour. Some of the rooms are decorated for Christmas; in 2005, when my daughter has seen the rooms, it was August…so the decorations were new to us. Each room has a one-page description on the wall near the door.

CoL 2017 12 (11).jpg — I like the wood patterns and folk-art plates in the **Ukrainian** room. My husband thought the seating looked uncomfortable…but maybe that’s true for most university classrooms.

The Turkish room is probably my favorite. I liked the stained glass, the doorway, and the pattern on the ceiling.

But most of all, I liked the seating. It looked like simple benches along the wall at first. Then I realized that the lighter wood portion was hinged and lowered to make a writing surface…and it worked for both right and left-handed people!

The Israeli room featured a replica of a mosaic and seating with a unique carving on each seat back.

My daughter and I both remembered the African heritage room. The seating – meant to look like molded clay – is surprisingly comfortable. I liked the fretwork patterns and the art work on the lower part of the wall. Each of the stools has a unique base.

The Indian room had a mix of left and right-handed seating…seemed large enough to hold more people that many of the other rooms.

CoL 2017 12 (47).jpg — The **Swiss** room included a stove. The building is heated with radiators now, but it is interesting to think about what classrooms in the 1800s would have been like with stoves like these. There is are work everywhere. I liked the sleepy looking owl on fascia.

Do you see the hole in the fascia near the ceiling? That’s where the projector is located. The renovation must have included modernizing the AV technology in all the rooms...but it's always somewhat hidden.

The Armenian room included a lot of carved wood. They also managed to incorporate chalk boards into the architecture!

The Austrian room was a room with very decorated walls and ceiling. It was also decorated for Christmas with garland over the door and a creche (under glass…apologies for the reflection).

We spent over an hour at the Cathedral of Learning. It had not stopped snowing or gotten any warmer when we emerged outdoors again. It was time to head for home – allowing enough time for the trek to complete while it was still daytime.

January 08, 2018

Cathedral of Learning (part 1)

January 08, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Our trip to Pittsburgh just before New Years included a walk around the public parts of the Cathedral of Learning. The building is part of University of Pittsburgh built in the 1920s and underwent its latest renovation in 2007. My daughter and I had visited the building in 2005 when we were making a big loop road trip from our home in Maryland up to Chicago and back while she was a new driver. My first impression of the building then (and again now) is that it could be part of a Harry Potter set! There are high vaults

CoL 2017 12 (2).jpg — And unusual furniture.

There are places to study in every nook and cranny…and along hallways. I wondered if the different patterns on the benches reflected when they had been purchased…which ones were there since 1920 and which ones were new with the 2007 renovation. Some of the areas are not well enough lit for reading physical materials; they’re for conversation or work on laptops/phones.

We went up to the third floor to see some of the Nationality Rooms (more about them tomorrow). Looking down to the first floor from this perspective.

We noticed that the snow outside was not ending as the forecast had predicted.

CoL 2017 12 (70).jpg — I didn’t remember the courtyards from our previous visit. The windows looking down to them were single paned but well-sealed. Keeping the Cathedral heating is quite a challenge.

We went up to the 36th floor to see Pittsburgh from that vantage point. Did it look even more snowy?

The floor was part of a library area and I wondered how much of it was original vs from the renovation. Certainly, the stained glass fits the character of the building even if it is relatively new.

January 06, 2018

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 6, 2018

January 06, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

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.

30,000 Shards of Historic Stained Glass Found in Westminster Abbey’s Attic | Smart News | Smithsonian – Glass found in the dust and dirt that accumulated in the deep cone-shaped pits of the interior of the triforium. Evidently most of it is from the Medieval period.

Streams can be sensors -- ScienceDaily – Using streams to assess the health of a region’s landscapes my lead to more focused actions for sustainable agriculture and development. This research highlights that basic concept but also points to some way to improve the way streams are monitored.

Stunning Images of Hokkaido Covered in Snow by Photographer Ying Yin – It is very cold in Maryland while I’m creating the post…fortunately we only have a dusting of snow.

BBC - Future - The mosquitoes that are fighting dengue and Zika – Increasing mosquito born diseases….new measures.

John Wesley Powell: Soldier, Explorer, Scientist and National Geographic Founder – National Geographic - A little history – one of the founders of the National Geographic Society.

Scientists find surprising evidence of rapid changes in the Arctic -- ScienceDaily – Chemical changes in the arctic ocean…open waters, increased wave action, stirred sediments. There is a need for international collaboration to understand what is happening.

Hawai’i Volcanos National Park – A reminder of our vacation a few years ago to the Big Island

The Race North – Cool Green Science – Some trees may not be able to move north or up fast enough as the climate changes. Will foresters for the future step in?

New desalination method offers low energy alternative to purify salty water -- ScienceDaily – In places where water shortages are happening (and projected), desalination may become a very important technology.

The Year Climate Change Began to Spin Out of Control - MIT Technology Review – An aspect of 2017 in review. When will everyone decide climate change is an existential issue rather than a political one?

January 05, 2018

National Aviary (Pittsburgh) – continued

January 05, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

When we first arrived at the National Aviary, we were hurrying back to the Atrium to get food. I went back later to take pictures of the Eagle Owl (sitting just over a heater in its outdoor enclosure),

2017 12 IMG_7169.jpg — The Stellar’s Sea Eagle (seemingly focused on something other than the cold and the crowds on the other side of the glass), and

A roadrunner (my son-in-law was drawing this birds attention – not sure how) in the exhibit with the sloth and toucan.

We also went outside the Condor Court. The Condors were not well positioned for pictures but the two Snowy Owls looked comfortable in their enclosure…they’re adapted to cold.

The Grasslands Exhibit has a lot of smaller fast-moving birds. I managed to capture a few of them even in the low light. At least two had very long tails.

The Tropical Rainforest Exhibit was my favorite during a previous visit, but it was too crowded this time and the cloudy (and snowy) day meant that the skylights provided poor lighting for photography. We were there for the bird feeding….and I noticed one bird that was the same as in the Wetland Exhibit.

January 04, 2018

National Aviary (Pittsburgh)

January 04, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Last Friday afternoon was very cold in Pittsburgh – and a lot of people decided it was a good day for the National Aviary. Our first clue that it was going to be crowded was the full parking lot. We pulled into a parallel space across the park from the aviary and walked across the frozen, snow dusted paths to the gate in the fence around the Aviary. The priority was food instead of seeing birds since we hadn’t had time earlier for lunch. The café area was crowded but we managed to satisfy ourselves enough to last until dinner…and then headed to the Wetlands area. We walked in a few minutes before feeding time. The schedule feeding times are great for picture taking. They have several spoonbills and I got a picture of the underside of bill like I did for the white ibis on South Padre Island; the spoonbill underside is the same concave shape. I also realized that spoonbills are don not have totally bald heads like vultures, but they certainly have a receding feather-line.

The flamingos seemed to be doing their preening while standing on one leg.

As the staff (and volunteers) started feeding the birds, the birds moved about more, and I was able to get different angles of the same bird. Some of the colors change dramatically.

There are sometimes surprising patches of color that become visible only from the side or back.

The hadada ibis has wings with a sheen.

Some birds are small and fast…hard to photograph except when worms are offered on the railing and they fly down to gobble them up.

Some appear drab but have ‘personality’ when viewed via the camera’s zoom.

One of the pelicans flew up to the top of a tree in the enclosure….closer to the glass roof….alas no sun while we were there.

Of course, there was water below the bridge walkway we were standing on…if there were fewer people around I would taken more time to photograph the variety of ducks present in the exhibit.

As I turned to leave - I noted the brilliant yellow tail feathers of a bird on one of the pipes high overhead, near the ceiling…a last hurrah for the wetlands exhibit.

January 03, 2018

A Cold Road Trip to Pittsburgh

January 03, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We drove to Pittsburgh last Friday for a quick visit with my daughter and son-in-law…returning home on Saturday. It was a very cold trip. The trek from our house to the first rest stop (South Mountain) was cold but the sun came out from behind the clouds occasionally.

As we were leaving South Mountain, the clouds thickened, and we didn’t see the sun for the rest of the day. We stopped at a truck stop between I-70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Breezewood). It was miserably cold. I took one picture of a car carrier pulling out through the windshield.

By the time we stopped at the New Station rest area on the turnpike, there was snow on the ground.

As we got closer to Pittsburgh, there was more snow on the ground and almost every road cut had ice flows. On the plus side, it wasn’t snowing….just very cold.

Overnight it snowed. We were staying at the Hampton Inn Waterfront; I took a picture through the window of our room before sunrise.

During the day the snow was supposed to stop but it kept on longer than was forecasted. We started back a little earlier than planned. I didn’t take any pictures on the way back; the light was too dim. The rest stops were overcrowded, and we were glad we had some protein bars in the car, so we didn’t need to stop for food!

More about what we did in Pittsburgh over the next few days…

December 31, 2017

Savoring 2017 – Anticipating 2018

December 31, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

2017 was a busy year. Here are some highlights.

January

My daughter and I drove from Maryland down to Dallas to visit family and then spent a week in Grapevine TX for a AAS conference before driving on to Tucson. It was the trek between Tucson and the east coast for the year.

Not long after I returned – I bought a new car: a Prius Prime.

February

February was the trough of the year in terms of activity but we did buy another car – a Honda CR-V for my husband.

March

In March a flew round trip to Dallas to do the chauffeuring for a trip to Oklahoma for my parents to visit other family members.

When I got back, we made a short visit to Pittsburgh – and enjoyed the Phipps Conservatory and the Aviary.

April

April was the start of field trips: Delmarva Birding with my husband and then the field trip volunteering I do with Howard County Conservancy.

May

In May there was another family visit in Texas and then moving my daughter from Tucson to State College. The packing up was some of the hardest physical work I’ve ever done…and then driving cross country with very sore and stiff muscles. Now that time has passed, I can see it as quite an adventure.

June

In June I started volunteering at the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy exhibit. That continued into early September.

July

I made my first road trip in my Prius in July – to State College to help my daughter move into her apartment.

August

In August we drove to Nebraska for the Solar Eclipse.

September

September was full of Howard County Conservancy field trips. The stream and school yard assessments with the high schools were the more numerous for the season.

October

Staunton River Star Party is becoming an annual event or us. This was our third trek down to southern Virginia’s dark sky site.

My sister visited later in the month and we toured two places I had not been in more than 5 years: Fort McHenry and Nemours Mansion and Gardens.

November

I was back in Texas in November for a family birthday celebration and then

Down to Harlingen for the Rio Grande Birding Festival.

December

This December was by first time to volunteer as a conservatory docent at the Brookside Gardens Model Trains Exhibit. What a joy!

Then we went to Pittsburgh…I’ll post about that trip in the new year.

Anticipating 2018

There are already some things on my calendar for 2018: getting the eBotanicalPrints section of my website up and running in January, an 8-week class that will fill one day a week in February and March, a family visit in Texas for birthdays in April, Howard County Conservancy volunteering for school field trips in the spring and fall, and Brookside volunteering for the butterfly exhibit (April-September) and probably the model trains in December. I’m sure there will be a lot more that will fill the year.

Happy New Year to us all!