Fun with Science

When researchers can’t be everywhere at once, they rely on a crowd sourcing type of data collection called citizen science.  After training, ordinary citizens can contribute their findings to research.  James River Master Naturalists participate in many citizen science projects in Powhatan and Goochland.  Some members contribute to salamander studies, bird counts, Easter Spotted Skunk surveys, frog studies and bluebird monitoring. 

After training, our small group of naturalists set up a new bluebird trail consisting of eight boxes, for weekly monitoring and data collection.  The North American Bluebird Society and Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology track monitoring efforts and bluebird population data.  Back in the 1970s, the bluebird population reached a 70 percent decline, mostly due to habitat loss and competition for nesting cavities from non native species such as house sparrows and starlings.  Today, bluebird boxes, trails and monitoring  have all proven successful in reestablishing the bluebird population. 

Preparation for the new Powhatan trail began in January, when we assembled the wood boxes, baffles, poles and hardware.  Baffles deter snakes, raccoons and other predators.  Next we scouted locations with the help of two experienced birders.  A bluebird box needs some open space, afternoon shade in the heat of summer and trees nearby, but no overhanging branches that might enable a snake to drop down on a box.  Finally, our team gathered to install the boxes. 

By mid February the new bluebird project officially began.  Early weekly monitoring reports so far have been varied.  Volunteers have found wasp nests, a tree swallow nest lined with soft feathers and filled with white eggs, and a mossy chickadee nest topped with wool from sheep on a nearby farm and filled with eggs.  Some bird species simply compete for next boxes but others will destroy the bluebird eggs or young.  Hopefully bluebirds will soon find the six, new unoccupied boxes awaiting them.

Bluebirds have two to four broods a season.  The female lays four to six blue eggs.  She lays one a day and when the last egg is laid, she then begins to incubate them.  Eggs hatch about 17 days after the first one is laid.  Nestlings occupy the nest from 17 to 21 days before fledging.  Old nests should be removed each time a brood fledges.  Bluebirds catch and eat insects, although they will eat berries in winter when fewer insects are available.  Both parents catch insects to feed the young.  They also remove the fledglings’ waste, which are small white sacs, to keep the nest clean. 

 


James River Master Naturalists Susan Brett, Bonnie Schulkers, Kathy Dunn and I assembled and installed bluebird boxes in my wooded neighborhood.    



The first bluebird box occupants were tree swallows. Photo by Susan Brett.



Chickadee eggs in a soft, tidy nest on top of a pile of moss. . Photo by Bonnie Schulkers.

Hopefully bluebird eggs like these will soon appear in a box on the new trail.  Are there realtors for bluebird houses?

April Wildflowers

Today I strolled my wildflower path to see what is in bloom.  I see that the deer have been chomping on my Mayapples but have only nibbled on my Solomon’s Seal.  Many of the wildflowers will be gone by the time the tree leaves are fully out, blocking their sunlight.   Here are a few treasures I found.

 

(Note: Please do not pick or dig up wildflowers.  You may purchase them from a local nursery or on-line.)

Dwarf Iris, Iris verna, grows only 4 to 6 inches tall.
 

The small Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides.

Dwarf Larkspur, Delphinium tricorne.

 

 

Jack in the Pulpit, Arisaema triphllum



Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum.  After blooming the leaves add interest to your garden.

 

A newly opening bud of Green and Gold, Chrysogonum virginianum.  This plant grows very low to the ground.

 

 Woodland Phlox, Phlox divaricata.

 

 

Columbine, Aquilegia micrantha? This plant is perfectly built for a hummingbird's long tongue.

 

Golden Ragwort, Senecio aureus.

 

 

Leaves of the Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum. One small yellowish flower can be found underneath the leaves.

 

Life is Too Short to Read an Average Book

Usually I write about nature or gardening.  But, due to hip surgery I’m not walking for a while, and I’ve had a lot of extra time to read.  Today I am writing about books, a topic I take very seriously.  I have loved books since the moment I learned to read.  There are so many great books to choose from.  I believe that life is too short to read an average book. 

With Stay at Home orders as a result of the pandemic, I would like to offer a few titles that may help to pass the time, may enrich your life, and will definitely broaden your horizons.  My selection is not what you will find on any bestseller lists or Oprah’s list, although she and I overlap once in a while.

Since I am a nature writer writing about books, I’ll start with books by one of my favorite nature writers.

Nature and Science

Sharman Apt Russell

With an MFA in creative writing and a long string of writing awards, Russell’s science and nature books approach science by cleverly enticing you to learn, to pay attention -- using language you won’t find in science textbooks. 

 “Pollen has itchy feet. Pollen has a job to do, going down that long lonesome highway, bound to leave, bound for glory.  You can’t hold him back.  Hit the road, Jack. Pollen is a travelin’ man.”

“A female butterfly lays an egg that looks like a miniature pearl, or a squashed golf ball, or a whiskey barrel.  She might lay one egg or a clutch of many.  The danger begins at once.”

A few of Russell’s books include:

• Anatomy of a Rose
• An Obsession with Butterflies
• Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and other ways of Engaging the World.

Art

Susan Vreeland

My world is a little less vibrant since Vreeland’s death in 2017.  A high school English teacher, writer and brilliant researcher, she made art her lifelong companion. Her books paint a captivating story of history, art and humanity.

A few of her books include:

• Lisette’s List
• Clara and Mr. Tiffany
• Luncheon of the Boating Party

 

Historical Fiction

The term “book mobile” may conjure up an image of a van full of books, but in the 1930s in the rural mountains of Kentucky, women delivered mostly used books by pack horse or mule to poverty stricken families high in the hills in hard to reach places. It was a WPA program that employed 200 people, mostly women, and served 100,000 rural residents. What are the chances that two very good books would recently be published about this topic?

• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Another recent historical fiction book:

The foundation of our great nation was fraught with divisiveness, bitter opposition and war. This story is narrated by Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton.  This is not Lin Manuel Miranda’s version of Hamilton. American history is filled with surprises.

• My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

 

A Gifted Story Teller

Kate Morton

When a gifted storyteller is also a book lover, you get a Kate Morton novel that is so epically told, the story lingers long after you finish the book.  Getting lost in a Kate Morton novel is a gift you give yourself.

Get started with these Kate Morton novels:

• The House at Riverton
• The Distant Hours
• The Forgotten Garden

Non Fiction

Sam Quinones

Did you ever wonder what happened in America that led to the opioid crisis that swept across our nation leaving destruction and death in its wake?  Journalist and author Sam Quinones outlines in precise details how and when it began, who is responsible along the way, and why it was unstoppable. This book puts it all in perspective, leaving you feeling anger, shock and disbelief that this went on all around us -- unabated.

• Dreamland: The true tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic

David Gran

Sometimes a look at American history can be shameful, especially where minorities are concerned.  In the 1920s the U.S. government relocated a tribe of Native Americans in Oklahoma from one reservation to a smaller and poorer piece of land.  But when oil was found at the new location and tribe members were set to profit, a rising number of them were found murdered, yet few questions were asked.

• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Recent Lifetime Favorites

I am unable to put into words the power of these books.  What I can say, is that these books today are what Pat Conroy’s book The Prince of Tides was to me in 1986.

Expand your horizons with these:

• The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• Paris in the Present Tense by Mark Helprin

 

 

 

Fall Feast

           When I moved to 10 acres in country six years ago, the first thing I did was plant two small trees,  despite the fact that  8 of those acres were completely covered in trees.  It seemed important to have a hawthorn and a black gum among my trees, since both provide food for birds in late fall and winter, so I planted one of each.  Earlier this fall, I notice a good supply of drupes (or small stone fruits) on my black gum.  Today something amazing happened! My black gum was filled with cedar waxwings eagerly harvesting those drupes!

               Black gums, or Nyssa sylvatica, are sometimes called tupelo trees.  Often, but not always, the trees are single sexed so it takes  both  a male and female tree close together to pollinate, and the female to produce fruit, much like hollies.  The drupes ripen in early fall and are an important food source for migrating birds.  The tree begins turning bright red well before other trees take on fall color, likely as a way to “advertise” the ripe fruit.  When the fruits ripen, the trees fill with woodpeckers, mockingbirds, catbirds, thrushes and … cedar waxwings.

               Cedar Waxwings are easily identified by their black eye mask and crest.  Also easy to spot is the bright yellow tip at the end of their tails.  The birds are social and so when you see one, you usually see a flock of them.

               As gardeners, we tend to look ahead.  When I planted my small black gum, I didn’t even  know how long it would take to bare fruit, but I nevertheless envisioned it filled with fruit and hungry birds.   Today I joyfully saw my vision fulfilled. 

Today there is plenty of food but it won't last long.

The yellow-bellied sapsucker on the left wasn't fazed by the incoming waxwings.

 

 

 

 

I wish I had gotten better, sharper photos.  I was afraid if I got close I would scare them away.  It was raining, so for a good vantage point,  I opened a window and stood in the bathtub to get these shots.  

 

The Moss Lady

           When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  And when life gives you moss, make a moss garden. That’s what Norie Burnet did 20 years ago when her heavily shaded property refused to grow grass.  Today her beautiful garden has appeared in numerous books and national publications, and Norie has become known as The Moss Lady. In fact she is extremely knowledgeable about moss and often presents programs.   Garden tours are frequently requested by gardeners, horticulturalists and bryologists (moss experts).

            There are 14 types of moss and many other shade plants that grow in Norie’s garden.  While the space is beautifully serene, the maintenance is not.  Fallen leaves kill the moss and raking is not an option, so Norie uses a blower to keep walkways free of leaves.  It just so happens that blowing leaves also means blowing reproductive spores produced by the moss, so the regularly cleared moss thrives and spreads.  The garden is so enchanting, I wouldn't be at all surprised to look up and spot a hobbit, or sprite or fairy. 

 

 

 

  

 

Visiting A Gillette Garden

          Virginia Landscape Design Consultants recently toured the Gilette gardens at the historic Virginia House in Richmond.  Although the magnificent home was built in 1927, the stone and materials came from a sixteenth century priory in England.  Alexander Weddell and his wife Virginia had the dismantled building materials shipped to Richmond to construct their “new” home.  And, the grand new home required a grand new garden.

            While overseeing the design work at a newly built college in Richmond, now the University of Richmond, renowned Boston landscape architect Charles Gillette met many people in the local area.  So when the Weddells built their home, they hired Gillette to design their gardens.  He also designed gardens for Agecroft Hall, as well as other notable Virginia homes, creating a regional style of gardens that later became known as the “Virginia Garden.”  Gillette created more than 2,500 design projects around the country in his 56-year career.



The Virginia House

 

 

Cherry Blossoms

If you can't get to Washington, D.C. to see the cherry blossoms, a trip to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens is a nice alternative.