Was I to Blame the Storm?

I knew on some level that this day would arrive, in fact I used to joke about it with Wayne, "You don't know this but these are the good old days." I find myself increasingly relying on personal experiences to relate to nature and my life here in Vernon. I'm unsure when the transition to reflection crept in, or perhaps this connectedness has always been there; only the novelty of  busy days pushed these sorts of thoughts aside.

"We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us." - John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck has for as long as I can recall, been my favorite author, so when my much respected Expository Writing professor assigned us to examine an author of our choice, there wasn't any question as to who it would be. Steinbeck and I shared a curiosity of science in particularly biology and with each piece read, I fixated on the theme that nature always wins. Imagine my embarrassment when my professor responded that my understanding of Steinbeck was superficial. Twenty five or so years later I walked along Cannery Row and touched the statue of Steinbeck there. I drank in the sights of Monterey Bay, Salinas Valley and Big Sur.

"When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you've got two new people." -John Steinbeck

Our daughter is here from CA and we both found ourselves involved in an unexpected detour of sorts. Kayden who came home to see her grandmother who is struggling with her health, hadn't anticipated becoming a birdwatcher (that is her sister's gig) but when Wayne found a nest of Gray Catbird chicks by the deck, they became part of the family. Not long after finding the nest, I found what appeared to be adult Gray Catbird feathers by the Blue Spruce. Seeing the kill site caused me stress not only for the nest, but also because since last summer, a Catbird has been following me around the yard  as I did my gardening. We have had the most delightful conversations!  I speculated that the neighborhood cat or perhaps a hawk lessened the babies chances of survival and we wondered if they would. Then yesterday I found a second scattering of Catbird feathers in the middle of the lawn.

"I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you and that's why" - Of Mice and Men

I think it's human nature to want to 'help" creatures who may be struggling and so we considered what it would take to aid the little beings. I decided that it was best to watch and see if they were still being cared for. Having no idea if those taken were the parents or if so, how long they could survive alone, we checked on them throughout the day.

"I wondered why it is that some people are less affected and torn by the verities of life and death than others." -John Steinbeck

It would have been easy to be angry at the neighborhood cat for the death of my feathered friend and its offspring even if the cat was not the culprit. Laying blame sometimes relives one of their own responsibilities to look deeper into the matter. We went to sleep knowing that the chicks were alive and looking strong. This morning after heavy rains, I found the nest tipped and all of the chicks gone. Was I to blame the storm?

"It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone." -John Steinbeck.

-Norma Manning

Gray Catbird chicks in the nest

Even with eyes closed their mouths opened when we came near

Their home did not withstand the storm

Summer Days Make Scientists

On a recent sweltering evening about the time our Bee Balm was just about ready for its annual blaze red fireworks display, Wayne pointed out that the front garden was full of twinkle lights. Upon seeing the merry display, I was transported to a simpler time when we used to run barefoot out the screen door with glass mayonnaise jars at the ready. If you were to ask me today what my favorite sounds of summer are; the slamming of screen doors would rate right up there with children racing around under the moon and that particular baseball announcer's voice wafting out into the yard on a cooling breeze. I caught myself rising from my recliner just in time to remember that I was 56 years old and already in my jammies.

I will take pause here as I know that many of my readers don't exactly know the value of owning a glass mayonnaise jar come summer vacation. We were a family of seven, and while the adults were never in line to claim a jar, It could take a long way into the summer before kid number 4 came into an empty jar. The first order of business was to wash out the inside then soak and scrub off the paper label. The lids were metal back then, so we needed to borrow a hammer and nail from the workbench to punch holes into it.  That, and a fair amount of bravery was all that was needed to become a summer scientist.

If you filled the jar three quarters of the way with sand or dirt you could start an ant farm or try to raise fishing worms; but more often than not, we were after bigger prizes like grasshoppers, polliwogs, minnows, butterflies, lightning bugs and the blue ribbon of all insects - bees!
Bees are tricky because you must hold your breath while positioning the lid on one side of the flower and the jar on the other. There was none of this using your bare hands or nets when it came to bees. Once lined up, the trick was to snap lid to jar while quickly sliding flower, bee and all off from the branch or stem  so that the lid could be screwed down tight. My sister Claire once dropped her jar and received a nasty gash and stitches on the top of her foot. Catching bees was serious business and those with experience could catch multiple bees in the same jar without being stung or having a single one escape.

Frogs, toads, minnows, garter snakes, turtles...are all fair game for kids with time on their hands; but perhaps I think it is curiosity mingled with adventure and sprinkled with the slightest inkling of fear that draws them outside on hot summer days. Do you remember learning about the life cycle of a frog even before it was taught in school? Do you remember howling like a wolf at a full moon? We dug bear traps and covered the holes with sticks. We never caught a bear but we sure did catch a lot of Poison Ivy. How many of you laid belly down on a hot dock scooping up minnows with plastic buckets? Did you tenderly pick up a butterfly with a broken wing and carefully place it on a flower? How many rocks did you flip trying to find Rolly Pollies and worms? Our son's uncle Charlie once handed him a snake which then bit him multiple times...I can still remember his grin as the blood ran down his stomach. 

Summer days and kids in towns just like Vernon, are the makings of real lifelong scientists; mayonnaise jars and YouTube not required.  - Norma Manning

Frog at the Vernon Fish Hatchery

Tadpoles at the Vernon Fish Hatchery

Tadpole with hind legs

Be on Cone flower 

Baby Snapping Turtle

Toad

Wool Sower Galls

While hiking in the J. Maynard Municipal Forest the last weekend in June, Wayne spotted what looked to be the kind of white pom poms that I used make and tie to my ice skate laces and zipper pulls. Several of them  were  hanging from a Swamp Oak sapling; and though I didn't know what they were I had to investigate and worry about contact irritations later should they arise. With this frequent abandonment of good sense, I am as surprised as anyone that I have yet to suffer poison oak, sumac or ivy this season. Perhaps it has been the unusually dry spring that has saved me.

A quick search on the internet and I found that they are encased wasp grubs that form leaf galls called Wool Sower Galls. The grubs are encased in a hard woody protective growth that I was unable to pull apart with my fingers. I couldn't find the purpose for the Horton Hears a Who fluff on the outside of the gall and think (hope really) it could relate that old physics assignment to build a case that keeps an egg from breaking when dropped from the school's roof. I truly hope that's it because it would make them almost magical instead of just a home for a parasite.

If you click on this NC State Extension link (highlighted words), you will see pictures of the wasp grub and an adult wasp. Under the heading,  "Residential Suggestions" the extension discuses using pesticides; but another site UK Entomology, mentions that in most circumstances they are not a threat to  host trees. There are an abundance of creepy crawlies and fungi that do require intervention here in VT, and the municipal forest is not an exception; but with this one you can just observe and enjoy the Wool Sower Gall.

More information on the formation of and including other topics of interest such as threats to our town forest and Black Gum Swamps are discussed in a 2017 virtual tour hosted by;  Forester Bill Gunther, Wetlands Program Manager Laura Lapierre and VT Fish and Wildlife Lands Ecologist Bob Zaino. I highly recommend watching this informative video on Vernon's ecological gem!  -Norma Manning

When the Eastern Mountain Laurel Blooms; be Sure Not to Miss it.

I was given an incredible gift from from someone who is composed of such generous spirit that they were able to look beyond their own life circumstance and offer me such a kindness that I have difficulty expressing the depth of my gratitude. 

You see,  I had been wondering if my spending time writing wasn't a very unimportant thing when the world had exploded all around me with broad strokes of  physical suffering, strife and other pressing issues. I have shared as much in conversations with my adult children who are all very active in one way or another preserving what is good and working for change where it is not so good.  I was having a difficult time with my guilt over using writing as a way to escape and even celebrate Vernon's small things instead of working on projects that mattered. I was considering throwing in the proverbial towel because it all felt so foolish in comparison. Then I got an email.

"I just wanted you to know how much I enjoy your nature blog. Due to **** I can't get out for walks as I used to...I enjoy reading it and seeing the different photos you take." 

And there it was, one moment of their time used to express appreciation and it felt like a soaking rain after a dry spring. The Eastern Mountain Laurels are finally blooming in the town forest, how nice it is when that happens and I am so grateful to be able to share it with you. 

Sincerely, 

 Norma Manning

25 Foot Tall American Chestnut

I seem to have accidentally stumbled onto a theme of chestnut trees here; but how could I resist letting readers know that I think that we found a hard boiled egg at the chicken farm?

Wayne and I hiked in the town forest today looking for Eastern Mountain Laurel in bloom and stumbled upon another "stand" of American Chestnut. I put the word stand in quotes because the saplings will in all probability succumb to Chestnut Blight.  A few trees however can survive to be between fifteen and twenty feet tall and produce nuts before they die.  For most, "The blight kills the above ground portion of the trees, but the root system can survive and form new sprouts" -LEAF The American Chestnut: Extinct or Returning These are the chestnut rings that I wrote about in, "Doesn't it Look Like a Banana."

Wayne and I had previously found a small American Chestnut tree in the town forest and so have kept a lookout for a possible mother tree on subsequent visits there and in the adjacent Roaring Brook Wildlife Refuge.  That's as much information as I can give you on the location of these trees as it is not allowed to share the exact locations of rare and endangered species.

The tree that we found today, Wayne estimates to be between 20 and 25 feet tall. I plan on revisiting the tree in late summer to see if any nuts have developed and if so, I will visit again around the first frost as that is when the nuts drop to the ground.

It's important to note that Chestnut Blight is easily transmitted. If you do locate an American chestnut tree, please do not touch it if you have been in contact with other chestnut trees. I was informed by forester Corey Keeffe that he cleans his tools between trees with Lysol spray to help prevent disease transmission. I sprayed my shoes when I got home today. Even with the greatest care, it is likely that this tree will soon die as blight resistant trees are rare.

Reference - I am 5'9"

Tree base

Just above the base 

American Chestnut in center of photograph

Chinese Chestnut; A Miller Family Legacy

Mary Miller writes: Each spring we anxiously look for the first fruit trees to blossom while watching a thermometer at night with hopes that the fruit will survive a late frost.  Weeks after we quit worrying about frost, there is a "late bloomer" which appears.   The three Chinese chestnuts at the Miller Farm now show their strange origins of chestnuts.

After a flower is pollinated, it will be approximately 12 weeks until we gather mature chestnuts under each tree.  One tree produces tasty small nuts; next to it another tree drops large easy to peel fruit; and across the yard the third young tree delivers medium size, tasty nuts.

When Paul's grandfather, Arthur L. Miller, was nearly 80 years old he told his wife, Ethel, that he wanted to order and plant Chinese chestnuts.  She said, "why? You will never eat them?" and he said, " No, but my grandchildren will."-Mary Miller

Mary included the link: How a Flower Becomes a Chestnut

I am also including an article on how the Chinese Chestnut may play a role in creating a blight resistant American Chestnut hybrid. 

The Miller's Chinese chestnut in bloom

We Have Options

I began my morning by dumping a full mug of coffee onto the living room carpet. Just so we are clear, it was an accident and coffee is not some sort of trending biodegradable cleaning agent that I am aware of. Be that as it may, I wish to emphatically state that I believe in accidents. Like a resurgence of Bob Ross and his "happy little accidents," and that infamous bumper sticker "it happens" I like to believe if for no other reason than preservation of spirit, that there is something to be gained from little mistakes.

Wayne and I went through a phase of leaving things on the roof of our Toyota pickup and driving off. Mostly it was pizza and Rand McNally road atlases; but one time it was my purse with a bank check inside for the amount of every last dollar we had. We were moving from FL to NY and I hadn't even realized that my purse was missing until I spoke with my mom on the phone. A woman had found my purse, located mom's number inside and called her. Now this was back in the days when we used payphones, so the serendipity of that particular stranger being the one to find my purse still humbles me. She had options.

We found a McDonald's beverage cup along Pond road. From what I was able to find from a Google search, around half of the litter along roadways is there unintentionally. I also discovered that there is a lot of information out there on the subject of littering. For example; McDonald's sells 500 million cups of coffee in the US every day. The cup we found wasn't a coffee cup but I couldn't find a number for fountain drinks. I'm not trying to create a McDonald's commercial here; but imagine the odds of finding one of their cups here in Vernon VT when we don't even have a restaurant in town. Fun facts: It takes twenty years for a coffee cup to decompose. Nine year old Milo Cress from Burlington VT started a movement to eliminate single use plastic straws when he estimated that 500 million straws were being used in the US every day. It can take 200 years for a straw to biodegrade. Disposable drink cup lids are not very recyclable though recycling symbols are on the lid, it depends on the facility that it is sent to.

As anyone who follows our small town of Vernon knows, trash disposal and litter are hot topics.  It's not all bad news however thanks to folks like Hannah Palmiter Rosinski, who volunteers to coordinate Green Up Day here in Vernon.  Green Up Day takes place the first week in May and is the one time of year that free pay as you throw bags are handed out to residents who in turn comb the roadways bagging up all that unintentional litter. The rest of the year it's up to good neighbors or disgruntled property owners to foot the bill for picking up. Whatever your motivation for picking up another's mistake, thank you. There are a lot of good people here in town and sometimes it takes finding a cup on the side of the road to be reminded of that.

One final note regarding the attached photograph, ants don't actually eat McDonald's cups so I can only imagine the little guys were trying to move it to a trash can. -Norma Manning