Nature as Solace by Joyce Andrew
It has been over six months since we were advised to stay safe at home due to COVID-19. I do miss interacting with others, but the natural world has provided plenty of enjoyment. Melodious bird songs fills the air. It is amazing that the small wren can sing so loudly.
Counting feeder birds, monitoring hummingbirds and nature journaling has helped fill the hours. We had the spring ephemerals to enjoy; who does not enjoy a path thru bluebells. Then came the birds in breeding plumage with their lovely songs. Being home more gave one more time for observations of the natural world. Noticed wrens carrying materials to an unused bird box and then at least four new wrens in my garden. One day I noticed a robin’s nest with four beautiful blue eggs watched from a window until all four hatched.
It has been a time to hone observation skills by noticing the lovely colors and patterns of the bird’s feathers and finding new wildflowers to add to my records of 18 years. Actively looked for fireflies and found some; they are just not as numerous these days.
Every trip around my gardens yields another wonder. Have found caterpillars, and pollinators and mystery plants.
Even though this has been a stressful time, it has been a made quite enjoyable by nature at her finest. Who cannot enjoy black and yellow goldfinches, bright red cardinals, and the bright blue of our Eastern bluebird or the bright colors and rapid movements of hummingbird? Butterflies have not been numerous thus far; I finally saw my first Monarch in the garden.
Now I look forward to what nature will offer this fall. We have spent many hours just watching bird antics and used lots of bird food, but nature provided much entertainment and solace for us.
The latest Basic Training class headed out on an Ornithology field trip at Silver Lake Park the morning of December 6. The walk covered about 2.5 miles around the lake, the surrounding woods and fields. Janis Stone led the class that taught how to use binoculars, where to find birds, anatomy and identification. The group logged 35 species on eBird https://ebird.org/checklist/S77139417 . Our chapter held the field trip following the Covid 19-related guidelines issued by Virginia Master Naturalists.
Walk leader Janis Stone holds Dark-eyed Junco, apparently hit by a car. They later placed the injured bird back on the side of the road.
The Day Before Christmas By Tom Ligon
‘Twas the day before Christmas, and out in the yard
It already looked like the winter was hard.
The leaves were all brown and the stems mostly bare,
And nary a gardener seen anywhere.
It looked rather weedy, the neighbors complained,
And thought that the gardener’s back must be sprained
To leave these poor stems, mostly broken and bent,
All gone to seed, their flowers long spent.
But down in the clutter of leaves and of stems
And seed heads and seed pods and small dogwood limbs,
Life was asleep but still surely alive,
Just waiting for spring and a new chance to thrive.
A chrysalis slumbered in butterfly dreams
Of being the subject of gardening memes.
The mason bee pupae were down in a straw
Awaiting the spring and the warmth of a thaw.
The birds were enjoying a wintertime meal,
The thrill of exploiting each seed they could steal
From nature’s bird feeder, the seed heads and pods,
Left by the gardener, knowing their odds.
For some of those seeds surely fall to the ground
Where just enough space for a seed could be found
To put down some roots and rise the next year
As beautiful flowers, unless there are deer.
And down underground was a riot of soul,
Roots and rhizomes and a vole in a hole.
Nestled among them were ground nesting bees,
Bumbles and miners all hoping to please.
With tireless efforts they’ll pollinate blooms
To further the cycle and brighten our rooms.
If you listen closely to what’s not in sight
You’ll leave them alone, and sleep well tonight.
Don’t Get Between a Caterpillar and its Milkweed
When food gets scarce, monarch butterfly caterpillars will turn on each other, duking it out for the rights to grub, according to a paper published in the journal iScience. The jousts don’t get bloody. But they involve plenty of bumping, boxing and body-checking — all the makings of a big brawl of babies, in a hurry to bulk up before they sprout their grown-up wings.
Read the article at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/science/hungry-caterpillars-angry.html
Note: In some cases this may require a sign in or subscription to the New York Times
Why do birds bathe in freezing weather?
On a 24-degree, winter morning, I watched Dark-eyed Juncos and White-Throated Sparrows splash in the running stream of a backyard pond. I knew that birds bathe even in winter to control parasites and condition their feathers. But today, though the stream was 38 degrees, wouldn't ice form on their feathers as they sat in the sub-freezing air? Wouldn't they lose crucial heat and energy keeping warm? What was the upside of these frigid baths? I did a little online research and here's what I came up with. https://askanaturalist.com/birds-bathing-in-winter/
Other insights, comments or different explanations? Let us know at newslettermerrimacfarmVMN@gmail.com. We'll print responses in the next newsletter.
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