Honey, is that you?

It wasn't caught on eMammal, but dMammal and the "D" in dMammal stands for Donnelly! 

Richard Donnelly reports "Here are the details from our event this morning":

Doss Photography captures the beauty of our area

Darrin Doss lives here in Franklin County and takes the most incredible photos. 

If you follow him online you will usually let out a gentle ahhhh when you see his photos. Especially those photos in and around our area, from Rock Castle Creek to the Smith River. 

Note from Shellie - the photo above is one of my all-time favorite places to hike and photograph wildflowers in the Spring! This is Rock Castle Creek.  It is a Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. See trail map and directions here (there is limited parking so carpool y'all)

Who can you trust?

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Spring Is Coming! 

But what does the Woolly Bear Caterpillar predict? (Wait, the Woolly Bear predicts a harsh or mild winter). Who else is in this prediction business? Here are a few more from Weather Lore:

Why trees can’t grow taller than 100 metres

Have you ever wondered about this?

Visit the Science Junkie website

Why trees can’t grow taller than 100 metres

TYPICALLY, the taller the tree, the smaller its leaves. The mathematical explanation for this phenomenon, it turns out, also sets a limit on how tall trees can grow.

Kaare Jensen of Harvard University and Maciej Zwieniecki of the University of California, Davis, compared 1925 tree species, with leaves ranging from a few millimetres to over 1 metre long, and found that leaf size varied most in relatively short trees. ...read the rest here.

Have you ever been to see The General Sherman tree in California?
It's said to be the largest tree in the world - based on bulk, not height. Standing 85 meters tall (that's around 280 feet for you Americans) and an estimated 2,000 years old, it's truly a majestic sight. Those little things standing near the tree's base are people. This tree is located in Sequoia National Park, California. See a photo here.

VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS LAP UP THIS STUFF! BRFAL CHAPTER VMN'S NEXT BASIC TRAINING IS FALL OF 2013. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Virginia’s East Coast is tops for bird-watching

"Still, I hadn’t traveled all the way to Virginia’s Eastern Shore to look at a bunch of ordinary, French-fry-loving seagulls. It was late September, the migratory season was in full swing, and this long finger of land — stretching south from Maryland, with the Chesapeake Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other — is known as one of the country’s top spots for bird-watching."

Tundra Swans enjoying the early morning sun at False Cape State Park

One of the best places to see the winged migration is along Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Read the entire article here in the NYPOST.

More on False Cape State Park:
No vehicular access. Located in southern Virginia Beach, False Cape State Park is a mile-wide barrier spit between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Access is through the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and is limited to hiking, bicycling or boating. The park features primitive camping and an extensive environmental education program in one of the last undisturbed coastal environments on the East Coast.

In the 1800s, False Cape gained a reputation as a ship’s graveyard. The area got its name because its land mass resembled Cape Henry, luring boats into shallow waters. One of the area’s first communities, Wash Woods, was developed by survivors of such a shipwreck. The village’s church and other structures were built using cypress wood that washed ashore from a wreck.

Vehicular access to False Cape State Park is prohibited because the park is land-locked on the southern end of the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Those wishing to visit the park for the day must either bike or hike through the refuge (via beach or interior trails, and the interior trail is closed from November 1 through March 31), or boat or canoe in down Back Bay. You can also take the Terra Gator, a specially designed vehicle that minimizes impact to this special environment, during this period.

The Back Bay Restoration Foundation operates a tram (PDF) that leaves from the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (4005 S. Sandpiper Rd. in Virginia Beach) and travels through the wildlife refuge. The trek allows visitors to explore the park for two hours in the Barbour Hill contact station area or ride farther to False Cape's Wash Woods area. This area has a church site and cemetery. The tram provides a round trip ride and is not available for overnight guests. Overnight guests must either hike or bike through the refuge, or canoe or boat in. Both day use and overnight visitors are advised to read all warnings regarding visiting the park to learn what is expected and about preparation. All visitors must follow refuge regulations while on refuge property.

The diversity of Virginia

From the mountains to the seashore there is so much here in Virginia for Master Naturalists to explore!

Potomac River in Winter (along the shore at Caledon State Park) 

The Flora of Virginia is in print!

Virginia Native Plant Society shares it is time to celebrate~ 

12 years in the making The Flora of Virginia, a book cataloging Virginia’s native plants, has now been published and is already in the hands of those who pre-ordered. This historic accomplishment is the product of 12 years of work between collaborating partners, with members of the Virginia Native Plant Society providing funding, leadership, and expertise. The Flora describes 3,164 taxa in 200 families, with 1,400 captioned, scaled, and botanically accurate drawings.

This is the perfect gift for that Master Naturalist in your life - hint hint. You know the person who seems to have everything? Well they don't have this! Not yet anyway.

This is a very valuable, long awaited resource.

Get your copy here.

Specifics:

Flora of Virginia (New Release)

by Alan S. Weakley, J. Christopher Ludwig, and John F. Townsend

ISBN-13: 978-1-889878-38-6

Publication Date: November 2012
Copyright © Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project Inc.

Specifications: 7.5"×10.5" (hbk), approx. 1572 pp., 1400 b/w figs.

Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve expands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Planting American Chestnut Seedlings

Planting American Chestnut Seedlings in Jefferson National Forest, Craig County, Virginia, November 27, 2012

The orientation for planting American Chestnut Seedlings

Sea Turtle Rescue

Meg Brager shares: This past weekend my sister and niece were hiking at the Welwyn nature preserve on Long Island, NY, and came across a young sea turtle which they at first thought was dead.  

Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)

They called a local vet who told them to try and bring it in. Once it warmed up a bit it started moving, and the vet contacted the Riverhead Turtle Rescue Foundation. Turns out it is a Kemps  Ridley sea turtle, and quite rare.  It had probably gotten off course swimming back to Mexico for the winter and became trapped on the beach, possibly as a result of the hurricane.  It most likely would have died of exposure on the beach that night if they had not found it. 

This breed was added to the endangered list in 1970 and is making a slow comeback  but is still in a very precarious position. Luckily for this youngster it was found by people who cared enough to carry it a mile back to their car and bring it to someone who could help. Good on ya’ sis!

Read about these endangered turtles :  

Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) and Here

VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS CARE ABOUT ALL CREATURES on land, air and sea...LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM HERE.

Girl Scout Daisy Troop saw what lies beneath!

Netting the Macroinvertebrates

Master Naturalist Connie Hylton with Girl Scout Daisy Troop #89

2300-acre conservation easement established in Isle of Wight County

DCR's newest dedicated Natural Area Preserve established in Isle of Wight County

VDOF, DCR and TNC partner to conserve forestland and water resource

Isle of Wight County has created a conservation easement on 2,348 acres of forestland that fronts the Blackwater River. This will conserve a large block of forestland, protect a vital source of drinking water for residents in South Hampton Roads and enhance the public’s recreational activities in the county.

Once in a blue moon...

Do you have any plans for the Blue Moon on August 31st? Ever wonder why it is called a blue moon or where that saying came from?

Wiki says:

Folklore gave each moon a name according to its time of year. A moon that came too early had no folk name, and was called a blue moon, retaining the correct seasonal timings for future moons.

The Farmers' Almanac defined blue moon as an extra full moon that occurred in a season; one season was normally three full moons. If a season had four full moons, then the third full moon was named a blue moon.

A "blue moon" is also used colloquially to mean "a rare event", reflected in the phrase "once in a blue moon".

A blue moon can refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons.  Most years have twelve full moons that occur approximately monthly. In addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations. The extra days accumulate, so every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon. Lunisolar calendars have rules about when to insert such an intercalary or embolismic ("leap") month, and what name it is given; e.g. in the Hebrew calendar the month Adar is duplicated. The term "blue moon" comes from folklore. Different traditions and conventions place the extra "blue" full moon at different times in the year. In the Hindu calender, this extra month is called 'Adhik(extra) masa (month)'. It is also known as purushottam maas, so as to give it a devotional name.

Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program here.

More and more, Virginia farmers are feeding world

Part of the Virginia Master Naturalist training here at the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes Chapter deals with agriculture. After all agriculture is part of the Virginia landscape, we have mountains, piedmont, coastal plain...

This was an interesting article in the Virginia PilotOnline.com: "More and more, Virginia farmers are feeding world"

Bowman Dairy Farm in Franklin County VA

Feed at the Dairy

Excerpt: 
A plow etches the dark soil of the Tidewater – an age-old act that ripples around the world.

Four hundred years after tobacco sprouted at Jamestown and bailed out the foundering colony, agriculture remains the backbone of Virginia. Few industries can touch its economic impact – a $55 billion engine stoking 350,000 jobs – or its far-flung reach.

Soybeans to Morocco and China.

Wheat to Egypt and Brazil.

Corn to Ireland and Venezuela.

Cotton to Turkey and Vietnam.

Last year, nearly $2.4 billion worth of homegrown products was exported around the globe – a record for Virginia agribusiness and proof that, despite urban sprawl and warp-speed lives, farming is far from dead...read the rest of this article with photos here.

RECORD AMOUNT

Last year, nearly $2.4 billion worth of homegrown products was exported.

LOCAL FARMLAND

Norfolk and Portsmouth don’t have enough farmland to register on the national agricultural census, but these localities do. Below, acreage:

Virginia Beach: 26,671

Chesapeake: 51,124

Northampton County (Eastern Shore): 63,760

Suffolk: 71,393

Source: U.S. agricultural census, 2007

Learn more about the Virginia Master Naturalist Program here.

*Disclaimer -- no political commentary is intended by sharing this article about Virginia Farms.

Ever wonder what an ant hill was like underground?

Ant Hill Megalopolis 

This is an amazing video of an ant hole that was filled in with cement and dug up to see what it looked like. Very interesting short video.

Learn more here

Thank you to one of our BRFAL Chapter Members for sharing this great video with us!

VIRGINIA MASTER NATURALISTS LOVE THIS SORT OF STUFF! LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS HERE.

Virginia Black Bear Tests Positive for Rabies

DGIF Virginia Outdoors Report shared:
Remember, if you live in Virginia, you live in bear country!

Virginia Black Bear Tests Positive for Rabies

Give wildlife space and report any strange behavior

How Clean is the Roanoke River?

Diversity, volume of bugs speak to health of Roanoke River water

Every mile of the upper Roanoke River is polluted in some way, DEQ says.

BRFAL Member water testing

Trillium in the Blue Ridge

AFTER OUR WILDFLOWER LECTURE I DECIDED TO FIND SOME WILDFLOWERS AND PHOTOGRAPH THEM.  Here are two I found, Trillium:

Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge Parkway Presentation

Mr. Butch Kelly giving Wildflower Presentation

We were very fortunate to have Mr. Butch Kelly as our guest speaker for our April 2012 BRFAL meeting .  After working for the Roanoke County school system for 35 years as a teacher and as the school system energy manager, Butch spent 13 seasons as a National Park System ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway and was the President of the New River Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists for 4 years.

Symbiosis: VMN & VMG

Symbiosis: The interdependent or mutually beneficial relationship between two persons or groups. 
By Rich Brager

Meg receiving certificate