Blue Grosbeak

On May 11 a blue grosbeak showed up at the house in Woodlawn. Because they aren't common here on the plateau, my wife and I enjoyed seeing it. They were plentiful during summers in Fayetteville, NC, where we lived for 30+ years. Seeing one here and adding it to our yard list was a treat.

Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally

The 39^th Annual Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally

Each year on Mother’s Day weekend, way up in the (otherwise) quiet community of Konnorock, VA, natural history enthusiasts young and old gather to share in a celebration of our high country treasures.

  

On Friday evening, May 10^th, while the Konnorock Community Center kitchen staff prepared the traditional chicken dinner, folks signed in to the back-ground music of Earth Mama Joyce and her able assistant, Richard Rouse.  

This is meet-and-greet time, with old friends catching up on a year’s news, and deciding which field trips to take the next day.  From 5:30 to 6:30, we settled into dinner.   

After introductions of field trip leaders and announcements, the Rally took time to honor Carrie Sparks for her 20+ years of leadership.  She was given a hand-crafted basket full of thoughtful gifts of appreciation, and a standing ovation.  

Dr. Karen Francl, Associate Professor of Biology at Radford University, was this year’s speaker.  

 Her program on bats and white-nose syndrome captivated the audience.  White-nose syndrome is fungal condition found on bats associated with caves, and is rapidly killing off large populations.  Dr. Francl’s enthusiastic presentation offered as well a general discussion of Virginia bat species, behavior and habitat, and the mythology surrounding unfounded human fear of bats. 

   

The Rally is attended by people from as far away as Vermont to as close as next door.  As the evening came to a close, we dispersed to local campgrounds, homes and motels to rest up for Saturday’s field trips.  Inclement weather does not deter this hardy crowd, who arrived in the morning well equipped for a day of rain.   

The morning field trip options were Birding (Eric Harrold), Fly Tying (Ernie Barker), Geocaching (Link Elmore), Salamanders (Kevin Hamed), Whitetop Wildflowers (Eleanor Grasselli and Carrie Sparks), an All Day Hike to Mount Rogers (Phil Shelton), Mushrooms (Rebecca Rader), and Geology (Arthur Merschat). 

 

A simple hot-dog lunch, prepared by Jim Sparks and volunteers, was offered during the noon hour, as soggy people regrouped for the afternoon events and hikes.  In years past, the Rally has held writer’s workshops focused on capturing the outdoors in words.  This year we were very lucky in having Suzanne Stryk and Kyle Buckland conduct an artist’s workshop for our ‘special afternoon program’.  Both of these artists are highly accomplished and celebrated for their work in natural history illustration and interpretation.

 

Other afternoon field trips and programs were Geology (Fred Newcomb), Fairwood Valley Cultural History (Steve Lindeman), Grindstone Wildflowers (John Kell), Native Trees (Joel Keebler), Geology of the Virginia Highlands (Bill Whitlock), Fish Bugs (Aaron Floyd), and Kid Activities (Mary Alice Hardin, Roald and Ellie Kirby, and Eric Harrold).   

As I was unable to neglect my duties at the community center, I did spend some time with the kid activities and the artist’s roundtable.  Ellie brought clay for the kids to mold into turtle shapes.   

Roald told tall tales related to local mountain lore.   

Eric gave kids the opportunity to dissect owl pellets, always a big hit with the young crowd.   

And Mary Alice conducted her ‘Amazing Race’, taking kids on an outdoor exploration of plants, bugs, rocks and so on, much like a treasure hunt.  

Registration for the MRNR is $13.00 per dinner, and $8.00 for Saturday.  Kids 16 and under can join in the field trips for free.  This year’s overall attendance easily surpassed 200.  For further information please take a look at our website:  http://www.mountrogersnaturalistrally.org/rallyinfo.html

Every year the Friends of Mount Rogers set up a table to bring attention to their organization and offer tee-shirts, field guides, and maps.  Louise Tilson has long volunteered for the ‘Friends’, and continues to attend every Rally.  http://www.friendsofmountrogers.org/aboutus.html

Many people came together to ensure the success of this year’s Rally.  With Carrie’s official resignation last year, the torch was passed to Blue Ridge Discovery Center and yours truly.  I especially want to thank Deborah Partridge, MRNR Committee member, for her tireless assistance throughout the weekend.  I also wish to thank Aaron Floyd for his work on the brochure and help at the registration table, and Mike Nichols for managing the website.  Others, and in no special order, who were indispensable are as follows:  Eric Harrold, Gale Kuelber, Allen Boynton, Roald and Ellie Kirby, William Roberts, Carrie and Jim Sparks, Brandy Nichols, and Beth Merz.  If I have left anyone out, please accept my deepest apologies.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

MRNR Committee Chair

BRDC Executive Director

Appalachian Trail Spring Wildflowers

Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail

Elk Garden, May 3, 2013

While it was warm in Independence and at other lower elevations, in Elk Garden at approximately 4000’, and with 30 mph winds rearranging our hair and expressions, it almost seemed like winter still had a grip.  But we were here for ephemeral wildflowers…those that get the business of propagating accomplished before the forest canopy sucks away the sunlight’s energy…and we were in the right place.

This field trip was a collaborative effort among the Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club, Blue Ridge Discovery Center, and Doris Halsey’s art students from Grayson County High School.  Carol Broderson, who also serves as a substitute teacher for the Grayson County Schools, is an active member of the MRATC and avid hiker.   

Through her connection with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy as well as a volunteer for BRDC, she initiated this field trip.  Eleanor Grasselli, also with the MRATC, and Cecelia Mathis, BRDC volunteer and wildflower enthusiast, offered professional back-up guide support.

We had seven students and Ms. Halsey as artists in the moment.  The bus arrived at 9:something, and we quickly moved out of the wind into the woods to begin our studies.  Aaron Floyd served as our director through Blue Ridge Illustrated, a funded BRDC program.  Each student was assigned a species or two, and given the opportunity to find that flower in one of the many field guides on hand.  We used both the Latin and common names, and instructed the students to write down enough descriptive information on their field cards to assist them in discovering the living forms along the trail.  Which they did.

Finding the best example of their target species for sketching purposes was the next step.  Then the drawing tablets and pencils came out, with each kid finding their comfort zone and settling down to capture the basic details of their flower.   

While the students were sketching, several guides took photos and/or encouraged the kids to do so with shared cameras.  Pictures taken from the same perspective as that of the artist will be utilized for further in-class studio follow-up.  Cecelia, Scott and Aaron were all involved in this process. 

  

During lunch, out of the wind and exploiting the solar advantages of the bus, we shared our morning’s work, ate ramps, and talked about the studio follow-up strategies for creating a valuable poster or other type of publication.  Aaron carefully explained the value of contrast when illustrating wild flowers, starting with a basic outline or silhouette, and moving into detail afterwards.  

After lunch we had an hour to return to the field, take a longer look at our flowers, and work a bit harder on securing the best photos for further documentation purposes.  We also talked about other BRDC sponsored programs and events that might interest this enthusiastic group. 

 

The target species list, derived from the combined expertise and explorations of Carol, Eleanor, and Cecelia appears below:

Latin Name    Common Name
Phacelia fimbriata   Fringed Phacelia
Houstonia caerulea  Bluets
Erythronium americanum Trout Lily
Claytonia virginica  Spring Beauty
Trillium erectum    Red/purple Trillium  
Trillium grandiflorum  Large white Trillium
Dicentra cucullaria  Dutchman’s Breeches
Dicentra canadensis  Squirrel Corn
Dentaria laciniata   
   Aka Cardamine concatenate Cutleaf Toothwort
Caudophyllum thalictroides Blue cohosh
Anemone quinquefolia  Wood Anemone
Ranunculus recurvatus  Blisterwort
Disporum lanuginosum  Yellow Mandarin
Alliaria petiolata   Garlic Mustard
Tussilago farfara   Colt’s Foot
Viola canadensis   Canada Violet  
Viola hastate   Yellow Violet with halberd shaped leaves
Viola pubuscens   Downy Yellow Violet
Viola sororia   Common Blue violet
Allium tricoccum   Ramps
Veratrum viride   False Hellebore

We wish to thank Doris Halsey and her class.  The students involved were Kenny Yonce, Morgan Simpson, Jake Parnell, Levi Taylor, Marcus Thompson, James Williams, and Luke Wright.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Cecelia Mathis' Photo Presentation on Earth Day

Cecelia Mathis, lover of the outdoors and wildlife photographer, presented her photos of wildflowers, birds and a butterfly today at the Grayson County Library, Independence, VA.  Each photo was accompanied by a story which added to the description of the subject, sometimes where it was found, and always with a background of her personal discovery process. The chosen slides represented, for the most part, what we would expect to find at this time of year.  Trout lily, spring beauty, a pair of purple finches, and trilliums graced the screen. 

This is the second library program Cecelia has brought to our area, the first being at the Alleghany County Library in Sparta, NC.  She will return to Independence on May 15th, to offer the nursing home residents an opportunity to share in her enthusiast hobby. 

Cecelia is a volunteer for Blue Ridge Discovery Center, and works under our 'banner'.  We are hugely grateful for her public outreach, and hope she will publish some of her excellent photos with us on this blog in the near future.  We also wish to thank the staff at Grayson County Library for their help in making this possible.  Not to mention the cookies.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

BRDC and CCSA

In honor of Earth Day and the arts, BRDC collaborated with Deb Grief and the Grayson County High School's ECO Club, to share in the creative spirit of recycling with a purpose.  Given that BRDC has a strong commitment to the idea that science and art are artificially separated, and that we are better served when these similar skills of observation and documentation are recombined, the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts was a great place to spread 'the word'.

Sara Fennell, with the CCSA as a potter and all 'round enthusiastic person, organized this event with the assistance of Dixie Leanord, to ensure that all participants were comfortably accommodated.  Other offerings included kite construction and decoration and origami sculptures.  The ECO club is famous for its hats-from-otherwise-discarded-stuff, starting with newspaper and tape, moving into applied house-hold things like cut-outs from magazines, frills such as bottle caps, ribbons, packaging 'peanuts', and so on.  Kids love it. 

BRDC's Aaron Floyd and I provided a background of natural history illustration with several books devoted to that tradition, along with skulls, feathers, Native American projectile points, seeds, leaves, rocks and preserved butterflies for objects of study and models for sketching.  Aaron's approach is to demonstrate the basic principles behind transferring what one is looking at to the blank paper.  Starting with dimensions, then to basic shape, the conversation moves into detail.  Depending on patience, anyone can learn to graphically describe a leaf or frog without having to be an 'artist'.  The point is, being confident and aware of the value of this way of sharing one's discovery is within anyone's grasp.  Don't be shy.

 

 

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Spring Fish Bugs Outing

Project Fish Bugs Strikes Again

April 18^th, 2013

The temperature of Wilson Creek’s rushing waters topped out at 52F degrees at 9AM this somewhat cloudy and breezy day.  Rock Bottom Cabins was today’s venue, where we have hosted other Fish Bugs programs over the last two years.  Rosemary Young’s advanced biology class students (Grayson County High School) were the chosen ones, all 17 of them.  

Aaron Floyd (program director) and I arrived at 8 to set up our work station, and just before the big yellow bus arrived, he caught a brown trout for dissection purposes.

While that enterprise was underway, I noted a lone Louisiana waterthrush grazing on the moss covered rocks across the creek, one hop at a time, feasting on the very macro-invertebrates we were there to investigate.  Eventually another showed up, and for the rest of the day, these two waterthrushes chased each other through the rhododendron thickets singing their male territorial songs above the constant chorus of the stream’s drumming bass notes.  We pointed out the association of these birds within the ecological balance of their habitat, and the importance of the food chain. 

We provided wading boots and seine nets for collecting live macro-invertebrates for our on-site 

investigation.  Once the net was properly positioned in the ripples, we counted out 40 seconds of collecting, with two net handlers and at least one substrate disturber upstream, turning over and rubbing the rocks.  We then brought the nets to the field tables containing ice cube trays, and the sorting began. 

It is commonly understood that some critters are good indicators of the health of the stream.  A preponderance of snails or mosquito larvae is not necessarily a good sign.  This day’s harvest was abundant with May and stone flies…good indicators.  And we had plenty to count.

Among the special bugs discovered today were two net-winged midges and an armored mayfly larva.  The mayflies had the numbers, well over 100, with stoneflies coming in second.  We also counted many common fly larvae such as crane and black flies.  In our first sampling, taken in rapid riffle waters, we found but one caddisfly, most of which species are known for their ability to construct protective coverings from local materials.  Depending on what’s at hand, some make their cases with small pebbles or sand, some with leaves and sticks.  Free-living caddisflies also exist without cases.  When Aaron dissected the trout’s stomach, it revealed an exclusive diet of pebble-encased caddisflies, so our second sampling was moved upstream and in somewhat calmer waters near where he caught the trout, and of course, we collected quite a few of the encased caddis.  

Other finds included crayfish, a minnow, one snail, one salamander, a water-strider, a couple of dragonfly larva and a hatching mayfly. 

It is not our point to describe these animals to the species level, but even managing to categorize to family gives us enough of a challenge at times.  We utilize field microscopes to gain that obvious advantage and bring the discovery process closer to the moment.  

After the morning‘s schedule of data gathering and assimilation, we regrouped after lunch to document through illustration some of our finds.  Every student was given the opportunity to pick a subject and instructed to take their time with pad and pencil.  Again, it is BRDC’s strong advocacy to include this documentation component within the field experience, thus expanding the connection potential of a day in the outdoors. 

  

Ms. Young’s class provided us with a great group of kids, and we thank them all.  Fish Bugs is funded entirely by the Harris and Frances Block Foundation, without whom, we would not be able to offer this fun, learning by doing, experience.  

Scott Jackson-Ricketts