Room For Change

Traditions are tricky business. Like the mince pie with only one slice eaten before the guests take Chinese food containers and gallon bags of turkey home; some traditions are passed down from generation to generation, some materialize out of necessity and some result from inclusion. This is why Wayne carves the bird with his grandfather's carving set and why our family began serving birthday cake for desert on Thanksgiving (Happy Birthday Emily Tuite). I can only wonder if eating pie over Zoom with our kids on a Thursday afternoon in November of 2020 will become another tradition. I can only hope that in person pie will make a return for 2021.

Wayne and I's first Christmas together happened in Winter Park, Florida (the irony!). We managed to find a live tree that we could sort of afford on Christmas Eve day. We decorated the tiny Charlie Brown tree in shorts and t-shirts, with ornaments that my mother and mother in law had mailed to us from VT. We still hang those decorations (beside Barbara Moseley's from the Vernon Historians) on our tree 35 years later. Though our parents have long since transitioned to artificial trees and my mom now lives in FL while we are in VT,  Wayne and I have maintained our childhood tradition of  a live tree. 

Oh sure there are other wonderful traditions like my mother in-law's sticky buns, her saving wrappings for the next year and my mother's Christmas Tourtiere. My mother passed down to me a piece of green cloth that she used to cover her coffee table during the family party. I did the same with my own children reveling in the festive addition. It wasn't too many years ago when I was unpacking that cherished cloth that I realized that it is in fact from a tablecloth that mom had salvaged by cutting it down. I still deeply miss Wayne's grandmother Thelma and try to say at least once during the holidays one of her endearing sentiments, "Everything is so good, God Bless!" Holding onto things while making room for new, is a balance that anyone who has ever received a child's crafted ornament on Christmas Day understands. 

I have vivid memories of watching Wayne and our daughter Kayden from our living room window taking a tree out of Wayne's truck while I was holding our newborn Helen. From then on, we never again set out to get a tree prior to December 7th. As our family grew, so too did the size of our tree, with some leaving scrape marks on our ceiling and chips in the floor where Wayne was forced to cut down the trunks. When all of the kids could walk on their own, we began cutting our own trees at various farms. Let me tell you about the challenges of getting a consensus of six on the perfect tree! When Ethan grew to six foot three, he became our measuring stick for tree height and the one who helped Wayne hoist the tree onto the car roof. 

One year, our youngest Abigail positively fell in love with a tiny Charlie Brown tree. Though she was fervently clinging to her tree, I thoughtlessly vetoed her choice. It seems that I had at that moment forgotten about my own Charlie Brown tree and crushed her holiday spirit. Perhaps this has something to do with her tradition of hanging a popsicle stick framed picture of Paul Rudd at eye level on the front of our tree each year.

With no kids home for Thanksgiving and Helen being in ME for her birthday, Wayne and I will be trying something both old and new this weekend. Instead of trudging through rows of perfectly manicured award winning Christmas trees at a VT  farm, we have decided to go in search of a $5.00 tree in the Green Mountain National Forest. I'm pretty excited to get lost (really lost) on a cold November day while hunting down the perfect VT native Charlie Brown tree! I have decided however, that even if the kids are unable to join us for in person Christmas, Paul Rudd will be there and tiny owls with any luck will not. -Norma Manning

Post note: 

When our parents transitioned into our guests and until recently, my sister's family each year, hosted us for Easter and we them at Thanksgiving. This arrangement was made so that Claire and I could both enjoy one holiday each without having to panic clean. Additionally, Wayne's sister Marsha, offered that if we were willing to drive to BF on Christmas, she was willing to host. A mention to my brothers Charles & Doug and their families, for they were also willing to travel (after they got their deer). A shout out to my brother Paul,  a Physicians Assistant who works all of the holidays and his wife Darleen who has always put up with that.  

I have over the years, been deeply blessed and grateful for our extended family's generosity. Though 2020 has disrupted our lives, it cannot disrupt my love for you. Wayne, Janice, Annette, we are who we are because of you. You carry on through the lessons you have taught us. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all.

Resources to help identify evergreens

Trees of Vermont

Aren't They All Just Pines?

Spruce Up Your ID Skills

Some of the Vermont native conifers I have come across here in Vernon. A frost covered Eastern Hemlock.

Eastern White Pine covered in frost. White Pines have five needles.

Update: A reader corrected me on this identification writing that this is not a Juniper, but instead an Atlantic White Cedar! So it seems that I will have to learn to call the trees in my front yard the cedars instead of the junipers. This also means that I am still on the hunt for a Juniper in town. 

White Cedar / Arborvitae  has been cultivated to fit the urban landscape. In it's original form, the Northern White Cedar is typically 40 to 50 feet tall with some reaching 125 feet tall. 

Though native to VT Red Pine wasn't on my radar until I found this grove planted in Vernon. 

Spruce are difficult for me to tell apart. Though my father in law says that this spruce belongs in the mountains and not in the lowlands, I believe, based on its menthol scent, this is a Black Spruce. This particular tree is located in my own yard.

While I know that they are here and I have most likely walked right past them, I don't yet have photographs of White Spruce, Red Spruce, Fir or Tamarac. I am sure it won't be long before I add them here. 

The Birdseed Coonhound Connection

When the bears go to sleep there are decisions to be made. Even before we make the first decision, we begin prepping Luna just in case. Luna's vet is a fox hunter, is fond of calling Luna, "Lou" and at every visit she reminds us that our coonhound's ribs are buried too deep in a layer of fat. So it was, that in October, we began cutting back on her chow in anticipation of putting out the bird feeders.  

Luna is 6 years old, 69 pounds and is a rescue Treeing Walker / Redbone cross, who was bred to be a bear dog. When she didn't make the cut, she was placed for adoption at MHS. She was adopted and returned (for stealing toddler food) before we took her in. It seems that the only interest Luna has in bears are the birdfeeders that bears dine upon. As way of a side note, Wayne and I now intimately understand why the Basset Hound was bred, for Luna's head often rests on our dining room table while we eat.

Birds don't need us to feed them seed, and neither do coonhounds and bears. Feeding birds is purely for our enjoyment and sometimes to their detriment. I'm a bit of an experiential learner when it comes to these things, so it took a hummingbird feeder full of black ants and yellow jackets to convince me that growing Bee Balm in front of my window was far better than making syrup, dodging stingers and scrubbing ants out of feeders.

I was reminded of this lesson this week after Mary Miller contacted me. I had commented on one of Paul's stunning bird photographs in which he had used Oriental Bittersweet as a prop. Though attractive, Mary wasn't satisfied with Paul's decision to use an invasive plant. Mary hoped that I had some Winterberry to share as locating colorful berries in November is challenging. Though I have always fancied a native Winterberry shrub, I already had "inherited" plenty of an ornamental variety of holly and I couldn't justify the substitution. I offered Mary some of my holly and juniper branches instead. Planting native flowers and shrubs for insect pollinators is a given; but planning for berries in the winter for birds during planting season requires delayed gratification. 

Decisions indeed; finch eye, window strikes, routine sterilizing and refilling of feeders, mounds of empty shells tracked into the house, not to mention sprouted millet in the yard and yes there are those perennial marauders; our neighborhood cat, squirrels, bears, mice and coonhounds. This was going to be the year that I stopped the insanity! Wayne however, knows me better than I know myself; and when I came home from work I skeptically eyed a 50lb bag of Flyer's Choice in the mudroom. This was not the system that I had developed and it seemed that Wayne was finally chiming in. 

The suet feeder is out front hanging from a chain secured by a double clip from a dog cable that prevents squirrel entry. My home mix of seed hangs over the steps where it can be viewed while washing dishes and yet is not too close to the slider so as to limit the amount of shells needing to be excised from the door's tract in the spring. Developed after years of trial and error, my home mix begins with bags of black oil sunflower seed and ends with those cheap bags that contain mostly white millet. It's important to not buy the red millet, as the millet is for my much loved, ground feeding Dark Eyed Juncos and Mourning Doves who don't seem to care for the red. The black oil seed, to my mind is less messy and is included for everybody else. We store our mix in a lidded metal trash can that we keep in the garage. Weekends are to be spent shopping for bags containing white millet which are added to the can at the precise time when I judge that the can is too heavy on sunflower seed. Good grief, Wayne's choice contains safflower and stripped sunflower! 

Why do I even bother?

This is why: 

Denny who is head of facilities at the school, found a nest out front and brought it into our kindergarten classroom. Mrs. Eriksson asked me to present it to the class and this is what they had to say: I think it's a black and white peeper's nest. I think it's a  Red Jay's nest, a Blue Jay's, a Robin's...The bird wonders where it's home is. I see mud. Where was it found? We should put it back so that the bird can find it! The mom doesn't know where the babies are! Did the babies fall out? What if they are dead or if the mom saved them? I think 3 or 22 babies. Maybe the babies fell out of the nest when the nest fell. And my favorite comment showing wisdom beyond their kindergarten years was, "A teenager bird built the nest." At five and six young years, Vernon's smallest scientists observed the nest, looked at it's size and makeup, making contextual and experiential based guesses, followed by statements of compassion. One student even proposed a possible plan to fix the perceived misfortune. 

On the same day, our Principal Mary Ross told me a story about how she found a stunned bird in front of her door. Not knowing what she could do to help the bird, she called her husband who is a bird biologist. Cory told Mary to pick up the bird to see if it would fly away. Instead the bird remained in her hand motionless. Cory then suggested that Mary gently jiggle her hand because, "sometimes they need to be reminded that they have wings to fly." Don't we all Cory? 

Caring for those who are smaller, suffer misfortune, seem to be stuck out in the cold or seemingly hungry for our help, makes us better humans. Helping feathered others, distracts us from our long silent winter months and rewards us with a sense of stewardship. It reminds us that though we are often removed from nature (and like Luna longs for birdseed), we still long for a connection with nature. -Norma Manning

Blue Jay by -Paul Miller

Black Capped Chickadee by - Paul Miller

In Search of Mudpuppies

Getting Hooked

Some readers might think me completely ridiculous when I tell them that Facebook groups on occasion lead me to write nature blogs about Vernon. In this instance, I was watching a local WCAX  news piece on Mudpuppies* right before a post by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Facebook on the same exact topic, miraculously appeared on my homepage (funny how that happens). How could I resist taking a closer look?  Well let me tell you, what I found was quite the dust up and Vernon Vermont is sort of knee deep in it. 

There are plenty of corners in which to stand in when it comes to the value of eradicating invasive Sea Lamprey and whether or not the practice impacts Mudpuppies. There also seems to be an annual November conversation about it when the Lamoille River is treated with Lampricide. It's easy to get caught up in emotion of it all, as the pictures of Mudpuppies are so darn cute and those protesting on their behalf appear so passionate! I'm not getting involved with the Lampricide application debate here as I have even found what I see as discrepancies between VT F&W Lampricide impact statements** and their 11/05/2020 news interview on WCAX*.  I only bring the Lampricide issue to your attention, because upon posting an online question about it to the VT F&W Facebook group, I was met with reader comments like, "...Do your research!" and "Have you ever tried eating mudpuppies?" I appreciate it when strangers challenge me (or rile me up) enough to do my homework for this is how I discovered Vernon's role in the Mudpuppy story.

(Image credit Wikimedia)

What Is A Mudpuppy?

Mudpuppies are a completely aquatic salamander. They are Vermont's largest salamander averaging thirteen inches; but they can reach up to eighteen inches in length. They are easily identified by their red external gills that persist into adulthood. Adult Mudpuppies are brown with dark spots, They have flat heads, short legs with four toes each, and a laterally flattened tail. They mate starting at four to six years of age and can live up to 20 years old. Mating takes place in the fall, but the females do not lay their 18 to 180 eggs until spring. These salamanders are dubbed "puppy" because their vocalizations sound somewhat like a dog's bark.*** 

 Though an opportunistic predator, the Mudpuppy primarily eats crayfish, snails, insect larvae, worms and small fish. According to Vermont Fish and Wildlife, "The Mudpuppy is a generalist, occupying myriad habitats throughout its range including lakes, rivers, small creeks, canals, irrigation ditches and reservoirs." They live in cold, warm, moving and still water. The bottom of the body of water can be graveled or muddy with the juveniles preferring pools with minimal silt. They are found in both water that is clear or clouded. It is thought that they have limited migrations into shallower water for the purpose of laying eggs. They require "flat rocks, slabs, logs or planks" to provide shelter from the sun and predators." The lower CT River is listed under the heading Habitat Types**

What Is Their Status?

Though they enjoy a global rank of G5, mudpuppies are classified as a state of Vermont natural heritage species; with a conservation assessment of "high priority" S2 (rare). The state trend is categorized as "declining". There have been two authenticated reports in Vernon between 1993 and 2017. They are confident of the presence of Mudpuppies in the Southern VT Piedmont** Biologists think however, that our Connecticut River Mudpuppies may have a slightly different genetic composition than the VT native northern mudpuppies. Our population of mudpuppies may have been introduced to our area from Ohio. Scientists have listed "Population Genetics" as being of medium importance in conservation.**

It seems odd that an animal considered to be a "generalist" would be rare in its native range; and as I mentioned above, the equation with regards to the contributing factors of their decline is still being researched. Habitat degradation, a preference for cooler water during rising temperatures, and botulism poisoning may be important factors and are being studied by IL researchers in the Great Lakes region. "Mudpuppies are also very sensitive to pollution. That characteristic could make them especially important to researchers."**** 

How Can Vernon Help?

Listed among the high priorities by Vermont researchers in the Fish and Wildlife Action Plan is to,  "Develop survey techniques to effectively sample the Mudpuppy...monitor the size and determine the sustainability of existing populations..."** Reporting Mudpuppies is an aspect of conservation where Vernon residents have an opportunity to play a role. Mudpuppies are more active during the fall and winter months. For this reason they are sometimes hooked while ice fishing. Once discovered, residents should  photograph their find and then release the Mudpuppy where it was discovered. Anyone finding a mudpuppy is being asked to report your find here.

Vernon's Long Tradition

Vernon is no stranger to hosting and protecting endangered plants and animals. In 2009, the Department of Fish and Wildlife acquired land near (redacted location per request of VT state herpetologist Luke Goff). The parcel, championed by resident Peggy O'Neil Farabaugh and unanimously approved by the then town select board, was procured by the state for the conservation of valuable habitat that supported a rare semi aquatic species. Once obtained by the state, this land expanded existing wildlife designated management areas by attaching it to the (redacted location per request of VT State Herpetologist Luke Groff). The establishment of this parcel for conservation purposes additionally benefited species such as, waterfowl, frogs, snakes, salamander and deer. (see addendum)

Vernon has a proud heritage of conservation from the Black Gum Swamps at the Maynard J. Miller Town Forest, to Lily Pond, our Farmlands Conservation Committee, the Roaring Brook Wildlife Management Area including a state wetland preserve and the Newton Road F&W Fish Hatchery pond. Peggy O'Neil Faragbauh  has also been working diligently to raise resident's awareness of the status of the Monarch Butterfly.  With Vernon's long tradition in conservation, it seems like a natural step for residents to participate in identifying possible populations of Mudpuppies here in Vernon. We can as citizen scientists play an important role in conservation while leaving the Sea Lamprey and Ohio genetics debates to the Herpetologists -Norma Manning

Addendum:

This article was edited on November 22nd and again on November 27th per written request by VT State Herpetologist Luke Groff in an effort to comply with state laws protecting the exact locations of threatened and endangered wildlife. The information conveyed in my original article as previously written, was found as public information and was directly quoted from a public source. Though I did not specifically disclose anything more than was previously shared by multiple media outlets (including the department of Vermont Fish and Wildlife), understanding the importance of protecting threatened and endangered wildlife it is important that everyone is aware that specific locations of populations not be disclosed. I therefor included this addendum in an effort to raise awareness. 

*Critics concerned VT lamprey poisoning harming salamander population, WCAX

**Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Action Plan, Revision 2015, Species Conservation Report, Mudpuppy

***Necturus Maculosus, Animal Diversity Web

****Secretive Amphibian Can Provide Pollution Clues, Great Lakes Echo

Mudpuppy, Canadian Herpetological Society

Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas

Vermont's Reptile and Amphibian Species and Conservation Status

Report a Sighting (form)

Roaring Brook Wildlife Management Area

Make Way for The Hunters

 Wayne and I have been ribbing each other for a couple of weeks and it goes something like this; I say "skunk" and he says "Squirrel." Nothing more needs to be said as we exactly know what the other's argument is. Last night while glued to multiple news outlets, Wayne put Luna out for the annoy(inth) time, only to immediately bring her back in. He held her firmly by the collar and marched her right into the living room. He inquired if she smelled like skunk, ran his hands over her raised back hair and went back outside. Looking both bewildered and remorseful, Luna dared not move from where Wayne had left her.  Thankfully, Luna sported only eau de fraiche! When Wayne returned to his chair, under my breath I said, "skunk." 

 While hunters case the fields and woods in Vernon, it seems prudent for hikers to stick to well traveled paths and roads. Although it's not against the rules for hikers to be in these areas during hunting season, I feel that it's a minor inconvenience to allow hunters the space they need for a sport that is a valuable asset to VT conservation.* Additionally, space is getting tighter for this heritage sport due to the parcelization and development (not to mention the posting) of land. The VT Natural Resources Council reported, that between 2012 and 2017, Vermont lost an estimated 100,2000 acres of forestland. "Both the amount of land in parcels 50 acres and larger and the number of parcels 50 acres and larger are decreasing..."** The squeeze is on for both conservation and hunters, so I figure that I will survive a few weekends doing yard work instead of hiking. 

If none of this is making any sense at all to you, fear not for I have thought of a visual. Imagine that you purchased  one of those premade rectangle cheese pizza's at the deli. Wayne thought he would like pizza and so bought a cheese pizza. Because someone (Wayne) hates olives, I ceremoniously place olives on only half of that pizza making half inedible for him. Now this pizza is plenty big enough for two, so half a pizza isn't such a big deal. It's not a problem that is, until your brother in law who likes anchovies (blech) stakes a claim. Wayne seeing that others are adding on, is bound to want cured meat and mushrooms but not fish or olives. He begins to add his toppings, only to learn that a millennial vegetarian who also hates olives and mushrooms is craving eggplant pizza...Wayne bakes the pizza in the oven and then carefully cuts it up. Wayne is happy to finally have his portion before our son walks in and declares, "Yum, pepperoni and mushroom pizza! 

 As I was saying, I have plenty of leaf and twig management to break a sweat and keep me out of the woods on November weekends; and as it turns out, after the first hard freeze is a wonderful ankle twisting time to explore your own subdivided property. Occasionally we've had deer wander through our yard; but we have dogs and we don't have enough land for them to take up residence. Our residents are smaller animals that discovered their niche in our man made ecosystem. One unbashful resident is the skunk that digs holes in the lawn searching for tasty grubs all the while being ever alert to our nosey Luna.  I consider skunks to be allies, as comparatively thinking, their aerating my lawn is better than having all the roots gnawed away by hungry grubs. However, if I were the manicured lawn sort of landowner, skunks digging up my yard could also be upsetting. 

Nothing keeps me from my chores like any excuse I can find coupled with a good mystery. When I was cutting down the area that I allow to grow up each year for wildlife, I discovered that a den had been used for a second season. The difference between this year and last, is that the abode was noticeably expanded. I measured dirt that had been cast 54 inches from the opening and then 39 inches opposite of that. There was no lose dirt to the left or right of the den. The entrance is eight inches tall and twelve inches wide. I stuck my tape in 68 inches before I chickened out and stopped poking the bear. Okay, so perhaps not a bear; but maybe a Red Fox calls the den home.*** I managed to find one unidentifiable (for this novice) print that somewhat looks like a Red Fox print. I have managed to have no negative encounters with this resident and so I'm pleased to share the premises. 

While both the skunk and fox made their home in our backyard, we have a more frustrating "friend" mining out front. This is the ankle twisting chap that I wrote about above. If you are unaware of his impressive work, your foot will suddenly sink and you'll be hoping that you can pick yourself up off the ground before the neighbors see you there. Why is it that the smallest of creatures can cause the greatest anguish? Vermont Garden Journal reports that the smell of raw castor oil spread along the tunnel irritates their senses;**** but our mole's or vole's longest tunnel is 50 paces long! This does not include all of the spurs that run to the left and right that connect to other tunnels. Perhaps it would be easier to wear snowshoes while out front. Having my tape measure already at hand, I found their tunnels to be five inches wide on the outside and rising three inches above the ground. What's interesting, is that upon finding the spot where the tunnel was mounded, I gently pushed the dirt aside to find a perfectly round quarter sized hole leading to a three inch deep, below ground tunnel. Seeing that there are mounds of soil along the tunnel, I suspect that we have moles. Moles (unlike voles) mean my bulbs and trees no harm as they are in search of worms.**** In any event, I also noted a pile of scat near one end of the tunnel. A pile of scat may mean that a predator is already on the job and will soon solve our mole concerns. 

    . 

It's important that Vermonters become familiar with the impact that land use has on the precarious balance of prey and predator. In my neighborhood, there was once a covenant that prohibited fences. I assume that this ban was an attempt mediate the impact of the development and allow large mammals to pass through it. The covenant has since expired and so additional "roadblocks" have been erected. 

If somehow we managed to erect enough "roadblocks" to keep predators like the fox out of the neighborhood, imagine the number of rabbits, (say nothing of moles) that we would have to adjust to!  

When Europeans brought with them farming, a fear of large predators and an increased demand for fur and trophies to Vermont, the days of the Vermont Catamount and wolf became numbered. The last native Catamount was shot in 1881.***** Our native wolf disappeared from VT in the late 1800's, only to have the non native Coyote move into the state in the 1940's.******The loss of these large native predators created an imbalance in our White Tail populations. To their detriment, this human interference increased VT's deer numbers past carrying capacity. One result of increased populations is winter starvation as competition for food depletes resources. Other impacts of crowding are stress, the spread of diseases like respiratory illnesses and Chronic Wasting Disease. Parasites like deer tick are also brought into neighborhoods when land pressure and overcrowding occur. High deer populations also increased conflicts with humans in the way of crop destruction and eventually with the automobile which came on the scene in 1898. Without the Catamount and wolf, careful heard management through hunting became imperative to sustain a healthy White Tail population. Without large unimpeded tracts of land for deer habitat, and permission granted by landowners to hunt on it, the balance may again be jeopardized. The alternative is to welcome higher numbers of large predators like the coyote and bobcat into our communities; but again, that would require large tracts of undeveloped land if they are to avoid conflicts with humans.

-Norma Manning

Resources:

*A New Need For an Old Tradition: Hunters Help Vermont's Forests, Vermont Land Trust

**Loss of Undeveloped Woodland in VT, VT Natural Resources Council

***Red Fox, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department

****Vermont Garden Journal: Moles and Voles, VPR

*****It's Official: Feds Declare The Catamount Extinct, VPR

******Coyote, Vermont Fish and Wildlife