Josey Ranch – February 2025

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The weather was cold and mostly cloudy…but I headed to Josey Ranch for a nature fix – and to gain more experience with my new camera (Nikon Coolpix P950). The last time I visited was back in September, but I expected to see a lot of birds that are in Texas during for the winter. The pond between the library and the senior living complex was almost empty. I photographed a feather and a dandelion almost ready to bloom before I headed over to the other pond.

There were a lot of birds: American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Canada Geese, Greater Scaup, American Coot, and Ring-billed Gull (many immature).

There were pigeons and crows on the tall lights over the ball fields.

Surprisingly there were cormorants on the poles as well!

I headed back toward the larger pond and my car…noticing some mistletoe in a tree along the way.

There were a pair of Great Egrets that interacted and then flew away from each other. The breeding plumage is beginning to be obvious.

A group of mallards and domestic duck hybrids were on a small pond. One hybrid was mostly black but had a green head!

Back at the larger pond I saw sleeping Ruddy Ducks.

I got a better view of a cormorant on the pond. It seems to have some characteristics of a Double-Crested (bare skin in front of the eye) and the white line of the Neotropic. I read that there are instances of hybrids in the areas where the two species interact….and north Texas might be one of those places!

The cold and wind had me regretting wearing leggings rather than jeans….it was time to head back to the car.

More Snow

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We had more snow last week…not as much as our previous snow day. The temperature hovered around freezing so it was slushy from start to finish. I took some pictures around the peak accumulation. There was no breeze so the pines and cedars and seed pods and patio furniture held the wet snow.

My favorite was my young eastern red cedar; I hope it survives transplanting in the spring.

The birds were very active at our feeders – as they were during the last snow. Unfortunately, a flock of about 15 starlings swarmed in and took turns at the feeders chasing the smaller birds away.

The street in front of our house is barely covered with snow and it appears to be melting. Hopefully it will simply melt and it won’t be a problem to get out and about tomorrow.

Owl Pellets!

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The topic of the session at the two libraries in a nearby county was owls. Since it was the third event for our 3-person team of Missouri Master Naturalists, we were beginning to get better at it…although it was still hectic. This time we had a mounted owl and wing,

handouts,

a display on the wall showing the wingspan of various owls (click on the right image to see the list of owls by wing span), and

the equipment (tweezers, picks, plates, gloves, identification sheets, containers for bones) to dissect owl pellets).

And then the first group of children arrived at the library. There were 28 students and 12 parents. We had a short lecture that included listening to the sounds of the 8 owls of Missouri (4 year-round and 4 more in winter). One student had a Great Horned Owl near where they live. Then the fun began as we handed out equipment and foil wrapped pellets. The students thoroughly enjoyed teasing apart the pellets and finding bones – mostly rodents.

We packed up everything and left the room as we found it…and went to the second library…to set up a second time. It was disappointing that only 3 students came for that session. But we made the best of it and dissected pellets ourselves sitting across from the students.

These are the bones from my pellet!

We have one more session in our series for the library. They’ve been a learning experience for me as a volunteer. I am realizing that the volunteering I did in Maryland was skewed toward the actual event (rather than prep) because others had done the preparation and the audience from multiple schools rotated through experiencing the same program. It was easy to get very polished at presenting the program and the number of students reached was quite large. I’d like to find volunteer opportunities like that here in Missouri, but I am not sure they exist.

Our Missouri Yard – February 2025

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It was a warm day in February when I took a walk around my backyard. I wasn’t in the mood to do any work…but I did mentally begin to make a list. The yew branches I scattered over some bare soil in my wildflower garden when I trimmed the bushes last fall are still green! I thought they would be rotten by now. The other green is Japanese Honeysuckle which I need to get to pull and dig so it won’t take over the area. There is a small eastern red cedar that has come up at the edge of the bed and I will dig it up to plant elsewhere in the yard to increase the privacy of our back patio and deck. Perhaps my aromatic sumac is large enough to make seeds this year.

There are iris coming up in the mulch from last year’s irises and violets. They look fresh and green. In years past they have weathered the late frosts of winter and gone on to bloom. Hopefully that will happen this year too.

There was a feather among the leaves near the small spicebush I planted last fall. There was only one feather so maybe it wasn’t the remnants of a predator’s meal. I have high hopes that the spicebush with thrive and grow a lot over the next summer. That side yard has pawpaw and persimmon and buckeye seeds planted…will be quite the patch of understory trees if they all come up. Right now the daffodils are beginning to come up…a first sign of spring.

In the other side yard, the Ozark witch-hazel is bare. Hopefully it will grow a lot this next summer…but it still might not bloom for a few more years; the normal bloom time is January/February. The irises I planted from my parents’ garden are up along the fence. I’m not sure if they will bloom this year or not.

My plan to gradually reduce the amount that will need to be mowed in the summer seems to be working!

Springfield Botanical Garden – February 2025

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It was not a great day to go to the Springfield Botanical Gardens – cloudy and chilly….but I wanted to try out my new Nikon Coolpix P950 camera. My husband did the driving to the garden and he brought along his camera too even though he didn’t use it.

It was not a day for landscapes but there was enough light to get some zoomed pictures of winter plants – dried flowers from last summers’ hydrangeas, some evergreens with enough color variation and texture to be interesting, berries that the birds are reluctant to eat, and dried grasses.

I saw one witch hazel and it was booming. This is its normal time to bloom so not exactly a sign of coming spring.

There were some bulbs peeping from the mulch….which seems more aligned with the notion that spring is coming.

There were some succulents and prickly pear cactus that seemed in better shape than I expected after the very low temperatures a few weeks ago.

It was a good first field trip with the camera…a learning experience without much pain. I somehow managed to not charge the battery completely so it was depleted very quickly…and I initially couldn’t see through the viewfinder with my glasses on….but my husband helped fix that problem with a slight adjustment on a knob that had no equivalent in my previous camera.

I am ready to try some bird photography later this week!

New Camera

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I have been using Canon cameras for a long time but they aren’t updating (creating new models) of their bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) so I am transitioning to the Nikon bridge camera: Nikon Coolpix P950. My husband helped me along by ordering everything just as he did last April which I transitioned from Samsung phone and Dell computer to Apple products: iPhone and MacBook Air. This past year has been a tech pivot for me!

The box with the new camera came when I was busy with other things…but I opened it to take out the two small manuals about the camera to look at while I went off to get my car serviced. I realized that I needed to browse the full reference manual to become as proficient with the new camera as I am with the old – to avoid frustration when I am on field trips.

I unloaded the rest of the box: the camera, a camera strap, a lens hood, a battery, and a charger (to charge the battery when it is in the camera).

My husband had ordered some other things: a charger for batteries when they are outside the camera, 2 extra batteries, a better camera strap (Peak Design), and a strap for the lens cap (since I don’t always have a pocket for it). I attached both straps to the camera body.

The battery in the box with the camera was already charged and I had a new SD card---so it was easy to get to the point of turning on the camera. I set the time zone, date, and time then formatted the SD card. And took a few pictures. Two are yard art through my office window and the other is of a picture on the wall of my office.

Next step: browse the reference manual and plan a field trip!

Our Missouri Neighborhood – February 2025

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We had a day in the upper 60s in February!!! It was a great day to walk around the neighborhood. The beds planted with native wildflowers at the edge of the pond are new – a next-step in the project to put more natives in the shallow water and along the edge of the pond. The water plants were done first and surrounded my wire mesh to protect them until they are established. This second phase was cardboard covered my mulch and planted with native wildflowers…mostly coneflowers based on the labels I could see.

The turtles were enjoying the sunshine and warmth. There was a group on the small island – primarily facing the bank. All except one slid into the water as I got closer.

There was one on the opposite bank – a little higher out of the water….looking out over the pond. Perhaps it was a different kind of turtle?

I saw a pair of mallards in an area with some downed branches. The female was alert as I neared…but male stayed asleep. There have been ducklings on the pond for the last two years, but the turtles have gotten them. I wondered if the pair I saw was the same as in years past and if they will try again this year. Based on the number of turtles I saw (and their size), I think our pond is probably not be a good place for ducklings.

Field Trip to Prairies around Lockwood MO

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My husband got the announcement about field trips from the local Audubon chapter and suggested the day trip to the Lockwood area to (hopefully) see Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. The group met in a parking lot before setting out as a caravan of cars; walkie-talkies were handed out to enable communication along the way.

We were surprised that most of the field trip was spent in the car – driving around on country roads with small farms (lots of cattle) with occasional prairies managed by the Missouri Prairie Foundation or the Missouri Department of Conservation. We did see lots of Northern Harriers and Red-tailed Hawks and Kestrels and Shrikes and a flock of red-winged blackbirds (maybe with some other kinds of blackbirds mixed in) large enough to fly up into a murmuration. No short-eared owls though. We did see a Prairie Falcon!

I didn’t take any pictures as we drove around although in retrospect maybe I should have leaned out the window with my camera.

We stopped for lunch at Cooky’s Café in Golden City, MO for lunch – the leaders of the trip having called ahead to let them know the number of people and the approximate time we’d arrive. It worked out well. The food was good and there was a great selection of pies for dessert.

We stopped late in the afternoon at Niawathe Prairie Conservation Area and walked to the top of a low hill to look for owls. They had been spotted there recently. I took some pictures of the winter prairie from the top.

There were occasional holes (armadillo probably) big enough to be dangerous to anyone walking the prairie in the dark so we went back to the cars to try one more place as the sky became colorful.

We drove past another prairie where short-eared owls had been seen recently. No luck.

I contented myself with two sunset pictures as we headed back to Lockwood…and then home.

The area has a fair number of wind turbines. We noted them early in the field trip and as we drove around….and then we got to see the red lights that flash in unison at night!

This was our first field trip with the local Audubon chapter and we’ll be doing more. I need to think about how to do more photography. There were several people that were using a better bridge camera than my current Canon Powershot SX70 HS…and my husband opted to order one for me. Good birds and good tip on a new camera…a well spent Saturday.

Winter Seed Sowing

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I assisted one of my fellow Missouri Master Naturalists with a program for her county’s libraries – planting seeds in plastic jugs for planting in gardens next spring. There were about 50 participants (plus parents) that participated across the two sessions. The set up included lots of plastic jugs (saved from distilled water purchased for humidifiers), soil, gloves, tarps to protect the carpet of the library meeting rooms, scissors, and seeds. I took pictures of the brief calm between set up and the chaos of everyone getting dirt and planting their seeds.  

The battery powered drill was used to make holes in the bottom of the jugs and marker holes to cut the top part almost off…leaving a 1-2 inch hinge. Most of the children were young enough that we recruited parents to make holes in the jugs.

Several of the older children mixed the soil with water in big buckets for everything else to use. We had native wildflower seeds but almost half the children chose to plant vegetables. An older lady chose to plant common milkweed in her jug…and she is going to plant the seedlings near some buckeyes in her yard in the spring.

Each hour-long session was a whirlwind of activity. We managed to contain the mess with the tarps on the floor, so cleanup was not bad. I was grateful that we had some extra help from some local Master Gardeners and the parents of the children jumped in to help too.

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 1, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Warmer, Greener Arctic Becoming a Source of Heat-Trapping Gas - Roughly half of the region is growing greener, but only 12% of those greener areas are actually taking up more carbon.

More Than 100 Died When the S.S. Valencia Wrecked in the ‘Graveyard of the Pacific’ - Not long before midnight on a night with poor visibility in 1906, the Valencia struck a rocky reef off the west coast of Vancouver Island. The captain ordered the ship run aground, but it caught on rocks less than 400 feet from shore….and sank over the next 40 hours. The rough seas made it difficult of lifeboats and many capsized. 136 people died, 37 survived. Weather, waves, swift currents and a shifting sandbar made the area particularly hazardous, even for experienced captains. Lessons learned from the wreck of the Valencia are its most lasting legacy.

Menopause research is globally underfunded. It’s time to change that - The overwhelming majority of studies in the field of ageing do not consider menopause…and yet half the population will experience it. The disruptive nature of menopause and its health impacts have been known perhaps for millennia and should have been a topic for health funders for a long time. It is never too late to start.

How To: Go Snow Day Birding (with Merlin) – A good idea for a snowy day (maybe not if the temp is in the teens or single digits though).

Fighting Forest Pests With AI: A Hemlock Success Story – Fighting the hemlock woolly adelgid…increasing the odds of saving some trees. It’s too late for the ones behind where I used to live in Maryland. They succumbed to the pest years ago.

Incredible Winners of the 2024 Ocean Art Underwater Photography Contest – I like the ones that are good documentation of a species…and art at the same time.

In the Northeast, 50% of adult ticks carry Lyme disease carrying bacteria – Not good for public health

Inca Tunnel System Identified Under Cuzco – More than a mile of tunnels that reflect the streets and walkways in the Inca capital.

Archaeologists in Pompeii Discover Private Spa Where Dozens of Guests Bathed in Luxury 2,000 Years Ago – Found in a lavish home…big enough to host 30 people. Three rooms: calidarium (hot water), tepidarium (rub oil on skin and immerse in warm water), and apodyteriaum (changing room with mosaic floor). The spa was connected to a banquet room decorated with elaborate frescoes depicting characters from the Trojan war.

New study identifies how blood vessel dysfunction can worsen chronic disease - Specialized cells surrounding small blood vessels, known as perivascular cells, contribute to blood vessel dysfunction in aging, chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and fibrosis.

Zooming – January 2025

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January was a busy month but not one that included any big photography opportunities! My selections for zoomed images this month have some themes: sunrise/sunset, snow, birds, and lights. They are mostly from Missouri (although there are two that are left over from my trip to New Mexico in December that I didn’t post about until January). Enjoy the photographic mosaic.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 25, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How Will Climate Change Affect the Spread of Invasive Species? - The silver lining of knowing humans are still one of the main drivers of invasive species spread, is that humans can also curb invasive species spread. We can plant native plants in our yards and gardens instead of ornamentals from other states and countries. We can clean our boots, shoes, fishing waders and boats when we travel from one area to another, and we can stop releasing unwanted pets into local parks, ponds or creeks.

Kangaroo species went extinct in the Pleistocene - Nearly two dozen kangaroo species vanished in the Pleistocene. If things get warm enough, dry enough, kangaroos today are going to have a tough time making it, regardless of whether they're mixed feeders.

Medieval Crowns and Scepters Discovered Hidden Inside the Walls of a Crypt Beneath a Lithuanian Cathedral – It had been hidden for 85 years—since it was stowed for safekeeping beneath the Vilnius Cathedral in southeastern Lithuania - put there at the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Your work habits may be threatening your sleep - Sedentary workers experience a 37% increase in insomnia-like symptoms. Employees working nontraditional schedules experience a 66% greater risk of needing 'catch-up sleep.' It’s more about how jobs are structured and staffed than individual ‘habits.’

Bold Parakeet Biting a Lizard’s Tail Wins SINWP Bird Photographer of the Year Contest – Lots of great photos!

Renewables Supplied Two-Thirds of Germany’s Power Last Year - In Germany the solar buildout continues to surpass government targets, with solar now amounting to 14 percent of power generation. Wind remains the biggest source of clean electricity, accounting for 33 percent of generation, though new wind farms are being developed more slowly than planned. Along with new renewable power plants, Germany is seeing a growth in battery storage as homeowners install batteries alongside rooftop solar panels.

Why just two hours of exercise a week can be life-changing - One retrospective study of over 37,000 people found those who did their week's worth of physical activity over just one or two days had the same reduction in cardiovascular disease risk as those who did activity spread throughout the week.

Lead pollution likely caused widespread IQ declines in ancient Rome, new study finds - Scientists used Arctic ice core records to reconstruct historic atmospheric lead pollution in Ancient Rome and link exposure to cognitive declines. Ancient lead pollution stemmed largely from silver mining, whereby the lead-rich mineral galena was melted down to extract silver. For every ounce of silver obtained, this process produced thousands of ounces of lead -- much of which was released to the atmosphere. In the 20th century, lead pollution predominantly came from the emissions of vehicles burning leaded gasoline.

A Half Mile Underwater on Connecticut’s Eight Mile River - Designated a Wild and Scenic River. Black rock geology and tannin in the water take most of the light making visibility to a snorkeler limited.  Caddisfly larvae, mussels, Chinese snails (invasive, aquarium escapees), musk turtle, white sucker, common and spottail shiners, sea lamprey (a native here, unlike in the Great Lakes), redbreast sunfish.

Pirates, princes and hostages: inside the mysterious life of the unnamed medieval princess of Cyprus – An example of how medieval women found ways to overcome the limitations placed on them…but not one with a ‘happy’ ending.

Branson’s Aquarium on the Boardwalk

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The temperature was in the teens when we made our drive down to Branson to see the Aquarium on the Boardwalk. We were early enough in the day that there were not a lot of people already there. The entrance was a little daunting…too much plastic…but the displays of fish made up for that first impression. So many shapes and colors of fish! The signage could have been better; often there were fish on display without any signs to help identify them. One of my favorite tanks was the one with seahorses – some of which looked pregnant!

They had eels that looked menacing! There were also white margin unicorn fish which I had never seen before…and which I had to look up once I got home since there were no signs that I saw for it.

My favorite place in the aquarium was the display of jelly fish in cylinders and surrounded by mirrors on the walls…creating an infinity room with jellyfish everywhere! I made a short movie.

We spent about an hour at the aquarium and saw everything. It would take longer with a child…spaces to crawl into/see the fish from a different perspective, a touch tank, and a ‘kelp’ tower of platforms/netting to climb which we didn’t do. We did enjoy the Submarine Adventure (3-D glasses, cartoon, special seats) and it would be even more fun with children in the audience.

The building was purpose built for the aquarium – with a huge stainless steel clad octopus over one end of the building. I found myself wondering if they ever do behind the scenes tours. It must take a lot of work to keep the fish healthy over time and it would be interesting to understand more about how they do it.

This initial visit was an enjoyable ‘field trip’ on a cold morning.

Shoveling our Driveway and Sidewalk

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After a snow day….

I decided our driveway and sidewalk was not to going clear via melting…shoveling would be required and the sunny afternoon the day after the snow came down was the prime time to do it. Perhaps my physical therapy would help me do more at one time than I would have been able to 6 weeks ago. The temperature was in the low 40s when I bundled up and headed outside.

I could hear the melt water trickling in the downspouts and see it on the driveway closest to the house; having the driveway on the south side of the house means that it gets sun almost all day long which usually means the snow melts fast enough that we don’t need to shovel. The snow on the front yard this time still measured 4 inches even with the melting. The walkway to the front door was snow covered but looking slushy.

I spent about 30 minutes shoveling the path to the front door and most of my side of the driveway…deciding not to push past my comfort level (i.e. put the gains from physical therapy at risk). The pile at the street created by the snowplow was left for the next day!

Snow Day!

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The local school district and university went virtual (rather than closing); it is the ‘new’ response when there is too much snow or ice to travel safely. I opted to cancel my early morning physical therapy appointment since getting out of our neighborhood with 5-6 inches of snow everywhere was not feasible; the snow was still falling too. It was an unexpected day at home to savor.

At first there were things I’d put off doing the previous day…but then I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate…and opted to make a walk outside to photograph our yard before the wind knocked more of the snow off the trees and horizontal surfaces.

The area we view for our FeederWatch sessions was transformed by the snow. The chiminea had snow inside as well as out! The table and nearby chair was piled with 4-6 inches of snow (I didn’t measure).

I walked toward our back gate and notices a small eastern redcedar that was holding a lot of snow; I plan to transplant it to a better place in our yard next spring.

I opened the gate to walk out onto our neighborhood path and realized that it was too hard to walk without getting snow in my boots (the snow was over the tops of my hiking boots in some places). As I came back to our yard – I took a picture of the fence line with piled snow and took a picture of the back of our house with the snow outlining the deck.

I sat down in one of the chairs that was far enough under the deck to not be snow covered and took a few pictures of the cedars and pines in the snow before the birds returned the feeders. The patio was too snow covered for the birds to move easily so they were coming to the feeders more readily and under plants or furniture/deck where there was not as much snow.

After I went back inside, I took pictures of the snow in our garden stakes: iris, butterfly, spider mum, and peacock.

And then I enjoyed the rest of the day indoor….delaying any shoveling of the driveway of sidewalk until another day.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 18, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

A looming 'demographic cliff': Fewer college students and ultimately fewer graduates – Universities are already experiencing declining enrollment. In the first half of last year, more than one college a week announced that it would close….and the projection is that the pace of college closings could accelerate. This does not bode well for the US economy.

Charging Ahead: Key Geographical Clusters for Electric Trucks – The realistic sequence looks like: The west coast of the US up to British Columbia and New York to Virginia will be the first wave of green charging corridors for trucks. Virginia to Florida and then Texas to California with be the second wave.  I am bummed that Missouri (where I live) is not positioning itself to be in the second tier which would facilitate a complete cross county route.

Severe Cold Spells May Persist Because of Warming, Not in Spite of It – Evidently, we have a weaker, more meandering jet stream that allows frigid air to reach further south because the Arctic is heating up and there is not as much difference between the Arctic and warmer air to the south.

A Quarry Worker Felt Strange Bumps While Digging. They Turned Out to Be the Largest Dinosaur Trackway in the U.K. – I remember going to see the dinosaur tracks at Glen Rose, Texas. Somehow the huge tracks make it easier to internalize how big these animals were!

U.S. Surgeon General offers 'parting prescription' to heal America's division – Thought provoking.

Seven key climate and nature moments to look out for in 2025 - Big moments in 2025 that could shift the dial on climate and nature….while extreme weather continues.

Who built Europe’s first cities? Clues about the urban revolution emerge - Around 6,000 years ago, a group known as the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture developed egalitarian settlements north of the Black Sea and created the region’s earliest urban centers. Then, after two millennia, they vanished. Cucuteni–Trypillia has always stood out as something of an anomaly, because its settlements seemed to have been egalitarian societies that were devoid of social hierarchies. Their distinctive pottery was discovered almost simultaneously in two locations in the late nineteenth century: Romania (where the culture was named after a site in Cucuteni) and Ukraine (where the same culture was named Trypillia, also after a community where artefacts were found). The group made pots, hunted and gathered, farmed, raised cattle and lived in settlements where all the houses were the same size. People ate legumes and cereals grown on the rich soils of Ukraine, which were well manured by cattle. Livestock animals were also eaten, although isotope analysis of rare human remains shows that meat made up only roughly 10% of people’s diets. Despite the organized urban design of Cucuteni–Trypillia megasites, there were no palaces, no grand temples, no signs of centralized administration and no rich or poor houses.

Looking Back on Geological Activity in Yellowstone During 2024 - Hydrothermal explosion in Norris Geyser Basin in April, July explosion of Black Diamond Pool at Biscuit Basin, Economic Geyser(in Upper Geyser Basin) experienced a series of eruptions for the first time since 1999, Abyss Pool began to heat up and overflow/its color changed from dark and somewhat murky to a deep blue as the summer progressed, Steamboat Geyser continued to be active although with many fewer eruptions than in previous years…but the year was seismically calm!

Citizen science reveals that Jupiter's colorful clouds are not made of ammonia ice - The abundance of ammonia and cloud-top pressure in Jupiter's atmosphere can be mapped using commercially available telescopes and a few specially colored filters and the instrumentation/analysis showed that the clouds reside too deeply within Jupiter's warm atmosphere to be consistent with the clouds being ammonia ice.

Photographer Highlights the Importance of Monarch Butterfly Conservation Through Stunning Images – Photographs from Jaime Rojo. The monarch butterfly isn’t just a pretty sight—it’s an essential pollinator that keeps our planet healthy. But in the last 40 years, their population has dropped by a staggering 90%, leaving them on the brink of extinction.

Project FeederWatch – January 2025

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Our third month of weekly Project FeederWatch counting continued our regulars: white-crowned sparrows, white throated sparrows, house finches, gold finches, and dark eyed juncos. We have started seeing the Northern cardinals more frequently – but never the male and female at the same time. We haven’t seen the red-bellied woodpecker recently but the downy woodpecker (a female) comes frequently (even though sometimes not when we are making the count!). The chickadee, titmouse, and Carolina wren have not come to the feeder when it is very cold and snow is on the ground; I’m hoping they are hunkered down somewhere. We seem to have more starlings around – which is not a positive development. The doves seem to have returned; we are seeing 2-4 consistently; they like the area under the hollies and cedars. The squirrels don’t seem as aggressive toward each other…still come to the feeders and go away mostly frustrated.

2024 in Review: Travel and Classes

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2024 was a year we ramped up our travel and educational activities – almost to the pre-COVID levels. Both involve being out and about with groups of people….great opportunities to enjoy the place and engage social skills more frequently. Since we now live in the center of the country rather than the east coast, our travel has been via road trips rather than flying; we are not missing the hassle of airports and rental cars!

The travel included two birding festivals (Whooping Crane Festival and Festival of the Cranes) and a solar eclipse…and frequent trips (at least monthly) to Dallas for family visits.

There are accommodations my husband and I (4 years older than when we travelled pre-COVID) are developing for ourselves to ensure that we feel good when we travel:

  • stretch breaks every hour or so when we are driving

  • exercise regime that works in hotels to minimize aches and pains

  • eating almost the same as we do at home (big meal in the middle of the day, extra veggies for me)

  • keeping our sleep time on central time (if possible)

Both my husband and I have been doing online webinars for a long time. This last fall I re-started in-person classes with the Missouri Master Naturalist Training and a class at Missouri State University (Identifying Woody Plants). The master naturalist training was a path toward creating the level and type of volunteering I had enjoyed in Maryland; it lived up to my expectation of continuing the transition to ‘Missouri as home.’

The university class was the first time I had taken a university class since the 1980s and was something to savor because of that and the topic/professor/other students; I found that taking a university class without the pressure of needing a grade or hurrying off to my job was pleasantly different from any of my prior experience.

2024 was a year that saw us settled in our new home in Missouri and increasing both our travel and in-person classes activity. The travel will be sustained (or increased slightly in 2025). The in-person classes might be reduced since there is nothing equivalent to another master naturalist core training, but my volunteering in 2025 is likely to be significantly more than it was in 2024.

White Oak Seedling

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I planted a white oak acorn last fall and posted about it sprouting last November.  The seedling is doing well on the windowsill of my office – and still had its 4 green leaves. I’ve put some snowmen decorations on each side of it.  The seedling leans a bit toward the light, so I turn it occasionally…and keep it damp. I’m wondering if the leaves will turn and fall at some point. I can’t tell that they’ve grown very much recently; perhaps the roots are more active but it’s difficult to see with the soil.

In February, I have an outreach event about trees and the seedling will be a good prop!

And then in the late spring – when I’m confident there will not be another frost – it will get planted outside somewhere. It will grow up to be a very large tree so I am not sure I should plant it in my yard.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 11, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Dogs trained to sniff out spotted lanternflies could help reduce spread – Dogs sniff out egg masses that overwinter in vineyards and forests. This is some good news in the fight against this invasive insect.

Farmers are abandoning their land. Is that good for nature? - Small-scale farmers with rocky soil, steep hills, or scarce water "give up because they cannot compete." By one estimate, the area of farm land that's been abandoned around the world since 1950 could be as much as half of Australia. Without people, cattle or sheep around, meadows filled with wildflowers and butterflies give way to shrubs and trees, which ecologists say are often less biologically diverse. There is an effort in some regions where humans are moving out to help wildlife move in (i.e. rewilding).

Seven proven ways to help the planet in 2025 – Some of the ways are easier than others. I have done 3 of the 7 for at least the last 5 years…and maybe now I should think about what more I want to do. The beginning of the year is always a good time to take stock on things like this.

This Mysterious Pyramid Dominated a Prehistoric Mexican City—and Still Guards Its Secrets – The Pyramid of the Niches in El Tajin….built by indigenous groups that predate the Aztec and Toltec. The Wikipedia article about site says it became a World Heritage site in 1992.

Aerial Photos Highlight Surreal Beauty of Kazakhstan’s Mangystau Plateau - Colorful canyons and mountains, dramatic salt flats, and surreal rocky outcrops…photographed by Daniel Kordan.

The Year in Energy in Four Charts - Solar is driving the shift to renewable power, and it continues to outpace the projections of both analysts and industry experts owing largely to China. Global EV sales reached a new high. In China, the sticker price for EVs is now generally lower than for conventional cars. Along with EVs, the growth of electric heating and cooling and the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers globally are driving up demand for power. Wealthy nations have all but stopped building new coal plants, and coal burning is expected to continue its decline in the developed world as countries move to wind and solar. We’re now moving at speed into the Age of Electricity, which will define the global energy system going forward and increasingly be based on clean sources of electricity.

Photos of the Year – December 30, 2024 – From The Prairie Ecologist

A Year of Climate Extremes, In Photos - 2024 … the hottest year ever, with warming reaching new extremes worldwide. These photos from Greenpeace show the profound impact of severe weather, which scientists are increasingly connecting to climate change.

Squirrels Are Displaying ‘Widespread Carnivorous Behavior’ for the First Time in a California Park – In California’s Briones Regional Park (not far from Oakland and Berkeley), California ground squirrels there are now known to hunt, kill, decapitate and consume voles. Squirrels of all ages and sexes took part in the vole hunt, an indication that this dietary flexibility is widespread across the species and may serve as a crucial survival mechanism in response to fluctuating environmental conditions

Vampire hedgehogs, pirate spiders and fishy fungi - the strangest new species of 2024 – New species are discovered every year….so much we don’t know about our world!