I am closing down Nature Article
Blog until July 27th.
If you want me to ontinue let
me know by June 26th
My e-mail is: plato1@cogeco.ca
Thanks Earl Plato
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
A Special Breakfast
Trail Wood #123 Earl Plato
A special June Breakfast at Teale’s
“ a green bowl accompanies me down he slope to the edge of the pond this morning, I am off to gather wild food for our breakfast.
At Cattail Corner I halt beside a stand of the green sword leaves and upright stalks. At this season of the year each stalk supports two closely packed masses of flowers. The lower, the female flowers. resembling an elongated greenish-brown sausage comprises
the female flowers. The upper, now yellow with the pollen that will descend’ in a fertilizing shower over the pistil late blooms below, is formed of the male flowers. The familiar brown cattail heads of fall and winter with their thousands of densely packed seeds with silken filaments attached result from the fertilization taking place on theses June days.”
What’s with Ed Teale’s bowl and breakfast?
A special June Breakfast at Teale’s
“ a green bowl accompanies me down he slope to the edge of the pond this morning, I am off to gather wild food for our breakfast.
At Cattail Corner I halt beside a stand of the green sword leaves and upright stalks. At this season of the year each stalk supports two closely packed masses of flowers. The lower, the female flowers. resembling an elongated greenish-brown sausage comprises
the female flowers. The upper, now yellow with the pollen that will descend’ in a fertilizing shower over the pistil late blooms below, is formed of the male flowers. The familiar brown cattail heads of fall and winter with their thousands of densely packed seeds with silken filaments attached result from the fertilization taking place on theses June days.”
What’s with Ed Teale’s bowl and breakfast?
The Green Bowl
Trail Wood #123 Earl Plato
A special June Breakfast at Teale’s
‘ a green bowl accompanies me down he slope to the edge of the pond this morning, I am off to gather wild food for our breakfast.
At Cattail Corner I halt beside a stand of the green sword leaves and upright stalks. At this season of the year each stalk supports two closely packed masses of flowers. The lower, the female flowers. resembling an elongated greenish-brown sausage comprises
the female flowers. The upper, now yellow with the pollen that will descend’ in a fertilizing shower over the pistil late blooms below, is formed of the male flowers. The familiar brown cattail heads of fall and winter with their thousands of densely packed seeds with silken filaments attached result from the fertilization taking place on theses June days.”
What’s with Ed Teale’s green bowl and breakfast?
A special June Breakfast at Teale’s
‘ a green bowl accompanies me down he slope to the edge of the pond this morning, I am off to gather wild food for our breakfast.
At Cattail Corner I halt beside a stand of the green sword leaves and upright stalks. At this season of the year each stalk supports two closely packed masses of flowers. The lower, the female flowers. resembling an elongated greenish-brown sausage comprises
the female flowers. The upper, now yellow with the pollen that will descend’ in a fertilizing shower over the pistil late blooms below, is formed of the male flowers. The familiar brown cattail heads of fall and winter with their thousands of densely packed seeds with silken filaments attached result from the fertilization taking place on theses June days.”
What’s with Ed Teale’s green bowl and breakfast?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
A Tale of a Tail
Trail Wood #122 Earl Plato
In his early June log Teale continued with his view of the natural world. Let’s move on to a lighter subject.
Elaine and I have many grandchildren.
One, eight year old named Ashlyn, is a budding naturalist. Recently a garter snake headed for a hole. As it wiggled in Ashlyn grabbed its tail. She extricated it and showed it to her siblings. It peed on her arm an orange colored liquid . No problem for her. Quite a girl.
Ed teale a fully grown naturalist tells of his “tail pulling” tale one mid June at Trail Wood. We read as follows:
“ Probably I will never do it again. Certainly I have never done it before. I have just pulled a chipmunk’s tail. It is hard to say which of us - the chipmunk or I - is more surprised. It has happened this way.
Leaving the pasture as we come home Nellie and I draw near to the apple tree beside the terrace wall overlooking the slope to Hampton Brook. From a lower limb we have suspended half of a coconut shell to hold sunflower seeds for chickadees and nuthatches during he winter. This year we have continued feeding on into June - a fact that has not escaped the eye of one of our chipmunks.
As I draw close I notice That its head is invisible, thrust down inside the shell. But its tail is hanging down on he outside. On an impulse I creep silently toward it, never expecting to succeed in my attention to give he hanging tail a little tug. The chipmunk blasts out of the shell. It scatters the sunflower seeds. Its wild leap into space carries it to the grass below. There it bolts away and vanishes in a crevice un the wall. In all the long history of Trail Wood it no doubt will be the only chipmunk ever to have its tail pulled by a man.”
Note: How many animal tails have you pulled?
In his early June log Teale continued with his view of the natural world. Let’s move on to a lighter subject.
Elaine and I have many grandchildren.
One, eight year old named Ashlyn, is a budding naturalist. Recently a garter snake headed for a hole. As it wiggled in Ashlyn grabbed its tail. She extricated it and showed it to her siblings. It peed on her arm an orange colored liquid . No problem for her. Quite a girl.
Ed teale a fully grown naturalist tells of his “tail pulling” tale one mid June at Trail Wood. We read as follows:
“ Probably I will never do it again. Certainly I have never done it before. I have just pulled a chipmunk’s tail. It is hard to say which of us - the chipmunk or I - is more surprised. It has happened this way.
Leaving the pasture as we come home Nellie and I draw near to the apple tree beside the terrace wall overlooking the slope to Hampton Brook. From a lower limb we have suspended half of a coconut shell to hold sunflower seeds for chickadees and nuthatches during he winter. This year we have continued feeding on into June - a fact that has not escaped the eye of one of our chipmunks.
As I draw close I notice That its head is invisible, thrust down inside the shell. But its tail is hanging down on he outside. On an impulse I creep silently toward it, never expecting to succeed in my attention to give he hanging tail a little tug. The chipmunk blasts out of the shell. It scatters the sunflower seeds. Its wild leap into space carries it to the grass below. There it bolts away and vanishes in a crevice un the wall. In all the long history of Trail Wood it no doubt will be the only chipmunk ever to have its tail pulled by a man.”
Note: How many animal tails have you pulled?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Raptor Time
Owls, anyone? Earl Plato
So I missed the annual Bert Miller Club Owl Prowl this year. We were in Simcoe at our grandson’s hockey playoff game. So I lost on both accounts. Writer’s note: We did beat Simcoe 4-1 in the final game back in Fort Erie! What did I miss nature-wise? Here’s an old memory.
We have met Blayne Farnan of Port Colborne, noted owl expert, and have walked with him. during the day. Blayne has developed “owl finding” skills to a high degree. I made some notes over the past years. Blayne took us to owls’ appropriate habitats. We found areas where conifers grow - such as spruce, arbor vitae (cedar), and red pine. Owls like these most.
1. Walk slowly and quietly looking down on lower branches and on the ground for white droppings and the dark, usually oblong pellets of fur and bone that owls cough up daily. We have found a treasure trove of Great horned owl pellets. I counted easily ten pellets in the area. As we approached the pellet site there were the tell tale white washing on the trees.
2. When you find a tree marked by either or both signs look up into the tree for a dense spot which may hide or be an owl. Don’t expect any movement unless you disturb one. Be quiet and look carefully. This is how Bob Chambers uncovered a little Saw whet owl. 3. As soon as you spot an owl back off immediately to the farthest spot you can see it. Why? The owl is then more likely to relax, less likely to fly away. I have been with Rob Eberly when he focused in on a Short eared owl on Ott Road. There staring at you were these two huge yellow orbs. amazing closeness! 4. Blayne Farnan takes many large groups out but usually it’s he, his wife, and a few of us. Make it a small group and avoid surrounding the bird. If the owl has to continuously turn its head to see all of you , it may fly off.
5. Be alert for the loud, frenzied calling of birds mobbing a predator (owls and hawks). This is how Ernie Giles and I once had a good look at a Great horned owl in the Stevensville Conservation Park. A large flock of crows had surrounded the raptor as he sat in deep in the protection of a pine tree for several minutes until finally he tried for an escape. The last we saw him he was flying east pursued by the crows. Remember that these owl day hunts occurred in winter and early spring. Keep birding, eh.
So I missed the annual Bert Miller Club Owl Prowl this year. We were in Simcoe at our grandson’s hockey playoff game. So I lost on both accounts. Writer’s note: We did beat Simcoe 4-1 in the final game back in Fort Erie! What did I miss nature-wise? Here’s an old memory.
We have met Blayne Farnan of Port Colborne, noted owl expert, and have walked with him. during the day. Blayne has developed “owl finding” skills to a high degree. I made some notes over the past years. Blayne took us to owls’ appropriate habitats. We found areas where conifers grow - such as spruce, arbor vitae (cedar), and red pine. Owls like these most.
1. Walk slowly and quietly looking down on lower branches and on the ground for white droppings and the dark, usually oblong pellets of fur and bone that owls cough up daily. We have found a treasure trove of Great horned owl pellets. I counted easily ten pellets in the area. As we approached the pellet site there were the tell tale white washing on the trees.
2. When you find a tree marked by either or both signs look up into the tree for a dense spot which may hide or be an owl. Don’t expect any movement unless you disturb one. Be quiet and look carefully. This is how Bob Chambers uncovered a little Saw whet owl. 3. As soon as you spot an owl back off immediately to the farthest spot you can see it. Why? The owl is then more likely to relax, less likely to fly away. I have been with Rob Eberly when he focused in on a Short eared owl on Ott Road. There staring at you were these two huge yellow orbs. amazing closeness! 4. Blayne Farnan takes many large groups out but usually it’s he, his wife, and a few of us. Make it a small group and avoid surrounding the bird. If the owl has to continuously turn its head to see all of you , it may fly off.
5. Be alert for the loud, frenzied calling of birds mobbing a predator (owls and hawks). This is how Ernie Giles and I once had a good look at a Great horned owl in the Stevensville Conservation Park. A large flock of crows had surrounded the raptor as he sat in deep in the protection of a pine tree for several minutes until finally he tried for an escape. The last we saw him he was flying east pursued by the crows. Remember that these owl day hunts occurred in winter and early spring. Keep birding, eh.
Raptor Time
Cheevers5.09 Earl Plato
Raptor time. We drove west on the Q.E.W. and turned north on Christie Street and turned at the top of the escarpment right to the Beamer’s Conservation site. See the signs. It’s just at the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. This was another clear, sunny day but still quite cold. I have always been fascinated with the seasonal arrival of the raptors since I saw my first ones years ago in Ridgeway. A fox had died in the fields to the west of us. First one, then two, three and four appeared drifting in circles over the dead animal. Turkey vultures are highly skilled specialists with an acute sense of smell not possessed by other raptors. Their eyesight is excellent too. They are commonly mistaken for hawks. Our largest local hawk, the Red-tail, is much smaller. Vultures in wingspan (circa six-feet) compare to our Bald eagles. I have seen Turkey vultures across Ontario. They usually are seen drifting over fields. cliffs or lakes. Because of their slow take-off speed they avoid road kill on our highways unlike crows with their quick take-off. They are consummate scavengers. Look for their wide wings on a shallow ‘V’, slowly tilting from side to side on wind currents. At these times at Beamer’s Point they almost never flap their wings. Beautiful to watch but ugly to see up close.
***
Those of you who know Beamer’s Conservation site know it has the elevated lookout. Six birders with scopes were up top. There to the north in the very top of a tree was a Horned owl. It’s been there for years. Of course it’s a fake. That Tuesday, April 12th was not a good day for seeing the Turkey vulture, Diane and I saw only three. However. we met Ed from Mississauga at the most eastern lookout. Here in a more protected area we were able to warm up. Wear layers of warm clothing. You can always down layer. Ed was at Beamer’s the day the great ingathering of the migrating Turkey vultures came in from the southeast. He said, “1700 total they estimated. 1400 or so of the Turkey vultures along with Bald eagles, hawks, and songbirds. The sky was filled. I had to come back here again and again. It was an amazing experience.” He had his Pentax camera with its telescopic lens ready. Ed had a chair, a bottle of water, and his lunch. We were still chilled and headed back. The trails are good there and the days will become warmer. “You can count on it,” said Ed. Beamer’s Point overlooking the Town of Grimsby is worth the visit any time.
Raptor time. We drove west on the Q.E.W. and turned north on Christie Street and turned at the top of the escarpment right to the Beamer’s Conservation site. See the signs. It’s just at the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. This was another clear, sunny day but still quite cold. I have always been fascinated with the seasonal arrival of the raptors since I saw my first ones years ago in Ridgeway. A fox had died in the fields to the west of us. First one, then two, three and four appeared drifting in circles over the dead animal. Turkey vultures are highly skilled specialists with an acute sense of smell not possessed by other raptors. Their eyesight is excellent too. They are commonly mistaken for hawks. Our largest local hawk, the Red-tail, is much smaller. Vultures in wingspan (circa six-feet) compare to our Bald eagles. I have seen Turkey vultures across Ontario. They usually are seen drifting over fields. cliffs or lakes. Because of their slow take-off speed they avoid road kill on our highways unlike crows with their quick take-off. They are consummate scavengers. Look for their wide wings on a shallow ‘V’, slowly tilting from side to side on wind currents. At these times at Beamer’s Point they almost never flap their wings. Beautiful to watch but ugly to see up close.
***
Those of you who know Beamer’s Conservation site know it has the elevated lookout. Six birders with scopes were up top. There to the north in the very top of a tree was a Horned owl. It’s been there for years. Of course it’s a fake. That Tuesday, April 12th was not a good day for seeing the Turkey vulture, Diane and I saw only three. However. we met Ed from Mississauga at the most eastern lookout. Here in a more protected area we were able to warm up. Wear layers of warm clothing. You can always down layer. Ed was at Beamer’s the day the great ingathering of the migrating Turkey vultures came in from the southeast. He said, “1700 total they estimated. 1400 or so of the Turkey vultures along with Bald eagles, hawks, and songbirds. The sky was filled. I had to come back here again and again. It was an amazing experience.” He had his Pentax camera with its telescopic lens ready. Ed had a chair, a bottle of water, and his lunch. We were still chilled and headed back. The trails are good there and the days will become warmer. “You can count on it,” said Ed. Beamer’s Point overlooking the Town of Grimsby is worth the visit any time.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Take Care mankind
Trail Wood #122 Earl Plato
Teale applied natural laws to mankind
In his June log. We read:
“ We are on earth under certain conditions. We adjust to those conditions to survive. To live is to be in peril. It is up to the individual to be alert, to avoid injury and death, to survive as long as one can. Nature looks on without concern . If you step on a rotten branch or fall out of a tree and break your neck. If you walk out on thin ice break through and drown; if you eat poison mushrooms and die - just as nature displays no interest in the mouse caught by a weasel, the rabbit surprised by the fox, or the bird that falls into the talons of a hawk. It is up to us - to all living things - to man and mouse and rabbit and bird to be on guard.”
That’s the message. Take care, eh.
Teale applied natural laws to mankind
In his June log. We read:
“ We are on earth under certain conditions. We adjust to those conditions to survive. To live is to be in peril. It is up to the individual to be alert, to avoid injury and death, to survive as long as one can. Nature looks on without concern . If you step on a rotten branch or fall out of a tree and break your neck. If you walk out on thin ice break through and drown; if you eat poison mushrooms and die - just as nature displays no interest in the mouse caught by a weasel, the rabbit surprised by the fox, or the bird that falls into the talons of a hawk. It is up to us - to all living things - to man and mouse and rabbit and bird to be on guard.”
That’s the message. Take care, eh.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Natural Laws
Trail Wood #121 Earl Plato
Ready for more of Pulitzer Prize Winner,
Edwin Way Teale’s outlook on nature. Still June 7th. Memories of D Day, June 6th, 1944! Momentous times.
“ Like the general deploying troops before a battle, thinking not in terms of individuals but in terms of divisions and armies, nature is concerned with classes and genera. It is up to the individual to survive as best he can. Nature is not a mother concerned for the welfare of each member of the family. Nature is not friendly or well intentioned toward the individual. Nature is neutral. But if disaster to the individual is not averted, neither is it planned. If there is no compassion, there is no malice. There is only the working of natural laws.”
You may not agree but I believe that the Creator gave us those natural laws.
Ready for more of Pulitzer Prize Winner,
Edwin Way Teale’s outlook on nature. Still June 7th. Memories of D Day, June 6th, 1944! Momentous times.
“ Like the general deploying troops before a battle, thinking not in terms of individuals but in terms of divisions and armies, nature is concerned with classes and genera. It is up to the individual to survive as best he can. Nature is not a mother concerned for the welfare of each member of the family. Nature is not friendly or well intentioned toward the individual. Nature is neutral. But if disaster to the individual is not averted, neither is it planned. If there is no compassion, there is no malice. There is only the working of natural laws.”
You may not agree but I believe that the Creator gave us those natural laws.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Realistic View of Nature?
Trail Wood #120 Earl Plato\
On a June 7th day at Trail Wood
Edwin Teale waxed philosophically about nature. Seated beside Hampton Brook he penned these words:
“ Yet even here the calm is transitory.
No lasting peace is anywhere on earth where life exists. Each living thing has its foes; Each creature lives a mortal life. Each nestling bird, each branch in a tree competes with its kind for food. For all, danger in many forms lies waiting, temporarily sleeping perhaps, but never gone entirely. The beauty we see in this time of bird song and flowers is the beauty of form and colour and sound. The spirit that extends through all nature is one of never ending competition. Of parasite and predator, of a shifting balance of power, of harmony achieved through discord. Everything alive, plant and animal, spends its days in a world at odds, surrounded by perils, competing each in its own way, in a realm of strife.”
Realistic view? I think so.
On a June 7th day at Trail Wood
Edwin Teale waxed philosophically about nature. Seated beside Hampton Brook he penned these words:
“ Yet even here the calm is transitory.
No lasting peace is anywhere on earth where life exists. Each living thing has its foes; Each creature lives a mortal life. Each nestling bird, each branch in a tree competes with its kind for food. For all, danger in many forms lies waiting, temporarily sleeping perhaps, but never gone entirely. The beauty we see in this time of bird song and flowers is the beauty of form and colour and sound. The spirit that extends through all nature is one of never ending competition. Of parasite and predator, of a shifting balance of power, of harmony achieved through discord. Everything alive, plant and animal, spends its days in a world at odds, surrounded by perils, competing each in its own way, in a realm of strife.”
Realistic view? I think so.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tranquilty at Trail Wood in June
Trail Wood #119 Earl Plato
It’s early June at Trail Wood. Let’s find out what the Teale’s are doing.
“ Sunshine filters down through the new leaves. It warms the mossy rocks and the woodland meld. We have been sitting ere for some time where the Hampton Brook winds through the Far north Woods among skunk cabbages and hellebore, under overleaping trees, along quiet stretches where the transparent water slides above a sandy bed. Idly we watch he water striders drift or skate across the surface. This is the good time of the year.
These are the Elysian days, the days we dreamed of in January and February and early March. Around us stretch the calm woods and the tranquil hills. The sun shines. The brook flows. The June air is redolent with earth perfumes. We seem in a woodland paradise where all is peace.”
Do you know of such a natural place where you can find tranquility? I hope so.
It’s early June at Trail Wood. Let’s find out what the Teale’s are doing.
“ Sunshine filters down through the new leaves. It warms the mossy rocks and the woodland meld. We have been sitting ere for some time where the Hampton Brook winds through the Far north Woods among skunk cabbages and hellebore, under overleaping trees, along quiet stretches where the transparent water slides above a sandy bed. Idly we watch he water striders drift or skate across the surface. This is the good time of the year.
These are the Elysian days, the days we dreamed of in January and February and early March. Around us stretch the calm woods and the tranquil hills. The sun shines. The brook flows. The June air is redolent with earth perfumes. We seem in a woodland paradise where all is peace.”
Do you know of such a natural place where you can find tranquility? I hope so.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Great Gray Owl Ontario
Cheevers2.09 Earl Plato
There it was staring me in the face! Do you remember the National Geographic Magazine of a few years ago? There it was! The Great Gray. Inside is a very informative article on this giant owl that stands almost a metre high and with a two metre wingspan. It’s Ontario’s largest owl. No kidding - Maggie Chambers of Fort Erie sent me a few years back via e-mail a close up of this rare raptor in Southern Ontario. She wrote, “This great gray owl visits my sister’s back yard off of Highway #10 near Bradford regularly.” Friend naturalist, Ernie Giles, sent me a close up of a Great Gray sitting on a post near his Lake of Bays homestead. I know what this giant raptor looks like. I am on the Birders’ Hotline and I recall a few years ago the sighting of a Great Gray south of Buffalo. Brother Ed, and I went with American cousin Willie Stein to the last sighting of the bird, We walked up and down several rolling hill trails in the rural Western New York lands, No luck. Some day I hope to see one alive. What do we know about the Great Gray? You can see the great photos and read that piece in the National Geographic. Here is some of what I remembered about the bird. It is not a raptor that has the muscular strength of our Great Horned Owl. Strip this guy clean of his feathers and he is a “skinny-minny.” His impressive layers of feathers is a cover-up. His sharp peak and impressive talons are only good for preying on field voles. He doesn’t have the strength to capture anything bigger. A field vole is like our fat meadow mice. The Great Gray mainly feeds at night but the Geographic says they hunt in daylight too. That would be a magnificent sight to see. When there is an major epidemic among our Northern Ontario voles the Great Gray must come to the south to survive. I believe that is why Maggie’s sister was seeing a Great Gray now. Hoo-hoo-hoo knows when we might see one.
There it was staring me in the face! Do you remember the National Geographic Magazine of a few years ago? There it was! The Great Gray. Inside is a very informative article on this giant owl that stands almost a metre high and with a two metre wingspan. It’s Ontario’s largest owl. No kidding - Maggie Chambers of Fort Erie sent me a few years back via e-mail a close up of this rare raptor in Southern Ontario. She wrote, “This great gray owl visits my sister’s back yard off of Highway #10 near Bradford regularly.” Friend naturalist, Ernie Giles, sent me a close up of a Great Gray sitting on a post near his Lake of Bays homestead. I know what this giant raptor looks like. I am on the Birders’ Hotline and I recall a few years ago the sighting of a Great Gray south of Buffalo. Brother Ed, and I went with American cousin Willie Stein to the last sighting of the bird, We walked up and down several rolling hill trails in the rural Western New York lands, No luck. Some day I hope to see one alive. What do we know about the Great Gray? You can see the great photos and read that piece in the National Geographic. Here is some of what I remembered about the bird. It is not a raptor that has the muscular strength of our Great Horned Owl. Strip this guy clean of his feathers and he is a “skinny-minny.” His impressive layers of feathers is a cover-up. His sharp peak and impressive talons are only good for preying on field voles. He doesn’t have the strength to capture anything bigger. A field vole is like our fat meadow mice. The Great Gray mainly feeds at night but the Geographic says they hunt in daylight too. That would be a magnificent sight to see. When there is an major epidemic among our Northern Ontario voles the Great Gray must come to the south to survive. I believe that is why Maggie’s sister was seeing a Great Gray now. Hoo-hoo-hoo knows when we might see one.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Orchid Hunt at Trail Wood with the Teales
Trail Wood #117 Earl Plato
Oh to visit Trail Wood in spring with Edwin and Nellie May. Here in Niagara we had Bert Miller and Ernie Giles to lead us on nature explorations in floral spring time. Now here in Teale’s May 29th log we read his account.
“ With a picnic lunch packed in a market basket, we set out about nine o’clock. A leisurely half hour later we deposit the basket on the heavy chestnut plank. It is supported by twin piles of flat rocks to form a bench beside the cascade where Hampton Brook cuts across the Old Woods Road. Unencumbered we begin our search for the largest of the orchids.
Oh to visit Trail Wood in spring with Edwin and Nellie May. Here in Niagara we had Bert Miller and Ernie Giles to lead us on nature explorations in floral spring time. Now here in Teale’s May 29th log we read his account.
“ With a picnic lunch packed in a market basket, we set out about nine o’clock. A leisurely half hour later we deposit the basket on the heavy chestnut plank. It is supported by twin piles of flat rocks to form a bench beside the cascade where Hampton Brook cuts across the Old Woods Road. Unencumbered we begin our search for the largest of the orchids.
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