Friday, September 16, 2022

Moving Back to New York State!

 I do not know if anyone is following this blog any more...it's been so long since I've done anything even remotely consistent when it comes to posting here.

But, I am moving AGAIN!

For the last five and a half years, I have been in northern Illinois, learning and teaching about the natural history of the Prairie State.  It has been a rewarding and educational time.  

Some of the highlights of my time here have included seeing bison up close and in person; learning about prairie ecosystems; exploring the four rivers in this county (Rock, Sugar, Pecatonica, Kishwaukee); learning about freshwater mussels; seeing a badger (it was roadkill, but still, it was a real badger); creating amazing and imaginative camps for our summer day campers.

(Showy Orchid at Coleman Dells - EJR pic)

(Big Bluestem in bloom - EJR pic)

(American Badger, deceased - EJR pic)

This summer I applied for a job back in Central New York, where I grew up.  In fact, the job is at the nature center that I grew up visiting as a child:  Rogers Environmental Education Center in Sherburne, NY.  It has been an incredibly busy 5 weeks since I accepted the job - and I start on October 3rd.  

(Photo from https://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1831.html)

I am excited to be moving "back home," and will only be a 2-3 hour drive from my beloved Adirondack Mountains!  I am looking forward to exploring both the mountains and central NY.  I'll have my canoe ready to paddle, and my winter gear ready for real snow.  I anticipate learning more of the native vegetation and insects of my home region, and can't wait to explore many of the state lands there.

(photo from www.martinre.com)

Hope you will join me as I learn about the beauty and nature of Central New York!




Friday, May 7, 2021

Spring is Rolling In

We have days where the temps soar to nearly 90*F, and the they plummet into the 30s, and we get frost warnings.  It's the new "normal" for spring.

But the joy is that the spring birds are coming through, and the spring wildflowers are all a-blooming.

Here are some recent sightings of note:

Eastern Towhee - they've been back a few weeks now.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks - arrived last weekend.

Baltimore Orioles - also arrived last weekend.

Red-headed Woodpecker - such a stunning bird!  
This one has been visiting our birdfeeders.

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher - out nabbing insects 
in the trees along one of our trails last weekend.

Palm Warbler - a life bird for me, photography-wise.  
This was last Sunday.

Violet Wood Sorrel 
(just in case you thought all wood sorrels were yellow).

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (they've been out for a couple weeks now)

Nymph of a green assassin bug - doing what it does best.

Female Andrena - a native mining bee - 
unfortunately getting a meal from garlic mustard.

Green frog hiding underwater in the creek - 
trying to avoid being caught by an overly enthusiastic family.

Prairie Violets - a new species for me.

White Blue-eyed Grass - there seems to be a thing here in the Midwest 
where species are white instead of the colors I'm used to further east 
(like the trout lilies, and now the blue-eyed grass, which is normally blue).

Prairie Smoke - most is already past blooming, but this one 
was still hanging on last weekend.

Hoary Puccoon - I just love the name - 
and I love the brilliant orange blossoms!

False (or Bastard) Toadflax - not quite blooming last Sunday.

Temps are chilly again most of this week, and there is a frost advisory tonight.  But I may still go out and about on my days off to see what new spring arrivals are about.  




Thursday, April 22, 2021

Bison - photo taken in March at Nachusa Grasslands,
just south of where I live.

 Good morning, Dear Reader!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last wrote a blog here.  Oy Vey!

I've been so busy at work that I find I have little time to wander in the woods and fields, and even less time to research what I find and then write it up.  I suppose that is good news, since it means that things are chugging right along at work.  And at home, well, internet connection is iffy at best - I don't often use it.

But, just in case there is still ANYONE out there reading this blog, I hope to resurrect it and get stuff up and running again. 

In the meantime, I will share some blogs I have written for work here in Illinois.

How Opera Glasses Saved Birds

Beyond Peter Rabbit

Hackberry - the Tree You Didn't Know

The Beautiful, Amazing Opossum

Journaling Journey

Winter Solstice - Will the Sun Return?

When Hosts Become Rare

Summer Camp Wraps Up

Bees, Then and Now

Exploring Ferguson Forest Preserve

Signs of Spring

World Wildlife Day

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Signs of the Seasons

Summer Camp is Under Way

What?  Bananas are Berries?

Death at the Dells - a Story in Four Parts

Nothing is Permanent Except Change

Christmas in August

Forest Fantasy Camp

Mantis Musings

Springtail Speculations

Hairy Rope...

Surprise Roommates

Shrewd Observations

Winter Walk

Weasel Wonderings:  Part One - The Badger

It's All Happenin' Below the Snow

Frosted Windowpanes

Grounding/Earthing

Feed the Birds

Cabinet of Curiosities

Behold, the Boxelder Bug

Turn 'em Loose

Finding the Little Things

Are Acorns Dangerous Nuts?

Things that Make You Say "Hm"

The New Kids on the Block


There - that should keep you busy for a while!

And drop me a note in the comments box to let me know you were here!

Monday, December 11, 2017

I've Moved Again

I occasionally wonder if anyone follows this blog any more.  I rather fell off the radar while in Michigan - no computer/internet access except at work, and we all know that one isn't supposed to do personal stuff on the work computer.


To catch you all up, if there are any "you alls" out there, just about a year ago I lost my job in MI.  It was on my birthday that we were all summoned in for an important meeting, and we were told that as of 12/31 (less than two weeks notice), we would all be unemployed (the director, the admin person, and the preschool teachers all kept their jobs).  Happy Birthday.


For the first time in my life, I was on unemployment.  It was a scary time.


But the stars were all aligned and within three months I was on my way to a new job...in northern Illinois!  (I keep getting further and further away from my beloved Adirondack Mountains.)


On March 10th, I moved to Rockford, and on the 13th I started my new job at Severson Dells Nature Center.  It's very much like my last place - a small non-profit nature center.  Grand total of four employees.  Part of the Winnebago County Forest Preserve system, but oddly we are not paid by them.  That would be the non-profit part - we are paid by the SD Education Foundation.  It's all rather strange, but hey, as long as it works, and donations keep coming in to support us, then it is all good!


Northern Illinois is quite a new thing for me, naturalist-wise.  The six years I was in MI sort of prepped me for this, but I have a LOT to learn.  This is the Prairie State, and even though almost all of the prairie is now gone, I have been able to see some good restoration areas.  Oak-hickory forests dominate where there are forests...although invasive species dominate those.  There are some interesting geologic features (the dells), and lots of rivers to paddle (five in this county alone:  Sugar, Pecatonica, Kishwaukee, Rock, and ...dang, can't remember the fifth; maybe there are only four).  We have red-headed woodpeckers in the forest where I work, and I've already seen a badger!  Okay, it was a road-killed badger, but hey, it's a start!


If I ever get around to getting internet hooked up at my house, you should start to see more posts.  The whole Net Neutrality thing will probably be a big factor in whether or not that happens.


In the meantime, I will post when I can...

Friday, February 3, 2017

Day Five...Skagway & River Rafting Outisde Haines

Day Five - we landed in Skagway.  As with most of the land trips, we all went our separate ways.   I left the ship early, to scout around a bit before heading to my destination.
 

There's a memorial park right near the docks, with this very cool snowplow train on display.


Just check out the working end of this thing!  Now that can handle some serious drifts!



A small family of otters crossed the road and went down the embankment to get to the water.  


I was all excited that these might be sea otters, but they were river otters, even though they went to swim in the salt water.



The day trip I chose was a river rafting excursion on the Chilkat River in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.  To get there, however, we had to board a smaller boat and take a ride to Haines.



The day started off rather cool and slightly drizzly.  Lots of waterfalls to oogle on the way.


And marine life.  There were seals on that rock, and there were lots of birds:  kittiwakes, gulls, scaup...


Haines is a neat little community - I wish we had time to explore.  Sadly, we did not.


We boarded a bus and tally-ho, were on our way.  Partway to our destination, the driver says:  there re a couple moose.  Well, those of you who know me, you can only imagine my reaction.  Firstly, I was on the wrong side of the bus.  I jumped up and grabbed cameras, probably shouting "where?!?!"  


In desperation, I started taking photos.  "Get the window down!  Get the window down!  You don't understand!  This is a life moment for me!"



Sadly, a bus behind us, whose driver either didn't see the moose or didn't care about them, pulled around our bus (which had pulled off to the side), scaring the moose off.  They bolted into the trees.  Still, I finally got to see my moose!


So, our destination:  the river rafting!  We had a wonderful guide (whose name I no longer recall).  We were each decked out in life vests and instructed where to sit on the rim of our inflatable raft.



The scenery was magnificent.


We filled two rafts. 


From the Alaska DNR website:  The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve was created by the State of Alaska in June of 1982. The preserve was established to protect and perpetuate the world's largest concentration of Bald Eagles and their critical habitat. It also sustains and protects the natural salmon runs and allows for traditional uses; provided such uses do not adversely affect preserve resources. The Preserve consists of 48,000 acres of river bottom land of the Chilkat, Kleheni, and Tsirku Rivers. The boundaries were designated to include only areas important to eagle habitation. Virtually every portion of the preserve is used by eagles at some time during the year.

The river "flats" of the Chilkat River along the Haines Highway between miles 18 and 24 are the main viewing area for eagle watchers and considered critical habitat in the preserve. Bald eagles are attracted to the area by the availability of spawned-out salmon and open waters in late fall and winter.

The natural phenomena responsible for five miles of open water on the Chilkat River during freezing months is called an "alluvial fan reservoir". The Tsirku fan, which is a fan-shaped accumulation of gravel, rock, sand, and glacial debris, at the confluence of the Tsirku, Kleheni, and Chilkat Rivers acts as a large water reservoir.

During the warmer spring, summer and early fall seasons, water from snow and melted glacial ice flows into the alluvial fan. The fan receives water faster than it can flow out, creating a huge reservoir of water. When winter arrives, cold weather sets in and surrounding waters freeze. However, water in this large reservoir remains from 10 to 20 degrees (F) above surrounding water temperatures. This warmer water "percolates" into the Chilkat River and keeps it from freezing.

Five species of salmon spawn in these and other nearby streams and tributaries. The salmon runs begin in the summer and continue on through late fall or early winter. The salmon die shortly after spawning and it is their carcasses which provide large quantities of food for the eagles. This combination of open water and large amounts of food bring large concentrations of eagles into the Chilkat Valley beginning by early October and lasting through February.


SO, here you can see some of that collected gravel, rocks, sand and glacial debris.  Our guide told us that the river bed changes daily, and they never follow the same route twice.  And while the water is shallow, the river is deep - that is not solid footing you see out there.


I never did find out what these yellow flowers were, but there were a lot of them blooming along the shore.


The raft behind us got stuck and had to bounce their way clear.


Bald eagles are their claim to fame, so our guide pointed out the old nests.  We were not there in the busy eagle season, when there will be hundreds of eagles along the river.  But that was okay.  I'd already seen my moose, and the only thing that would've made it even better in my opinion was seeing wolves and bears.  Spoiler alert:  we didn't see any of those.



We did see one eagle, though.



And this arctic tern.


We passed a native village.  They were completing their new village center.


The sun was now out and it was time to leave the river.  We docked our rafts and waited in this roadside park for the bus to pick us up.  We had a quick snack.




And then returned to Haines.


We hopped back on our shuttle boat and returned to Skagway.



The sun was in full blast mode now.  In fact, it got up to about 90 degrees this day!  I was waaaay over dressed for this kind of weather!

With plenty of time until the ship departed, I headed back into town.  This is one of the excursion trains, returning from its trip.


One can almost imagine the "old days" in this town at the start of the gold rush.



Of course, today it is all touristy - lots of jewelers and "Indian crafts" for sale.  All associated with the cruise ship business.   They must be, for every town had the SAME vendors.




Soon we were back on the ship and headed out to sea.


And the sun set on a beautiful day.