When Nature Calls Earl Plato
A favourite evening drive out to Point Abino and the Bertie Boat Club often involved seeing a solitary Blue Heron feeding near the outlet of the Abino drainage ditch. Then one evening about ten p.m. the late Harvey Hollsworth called. “Earl. There’s at least ten Blue herons in the bay!” We counted eleven Blue herons that night. Usually solitary feeders Harvey said they flew in from the north all evening. What gives? Maybe the annual run of those small fish, the smelts.
***
We once had a huge Great blue herony in Stevensville to the north of Bowen Road. Tree cutters came in and took the largest trees and destroyed the herony. This article is my look at this phenomenal site before those destructive days.
We called the herony-Schneider’s Herony. We had asked permission to enter the wetland area where the heron nests were located. We had counted at least eighteen huge nests from Bowen Road. We had to navigate puddles of water as we entered the woods. The sight that unfolded was amazing!’ ”They’re at least forty nests in here!” As we walked around we counted twenty more. Our count was sixty plus!
I had counted 25 heron nests across the border in Alabama Swamp near Lockport N.Y. Stevensville was the greater site .
The nests were rough structures. Blue herons lay 3-5 pale greenish blue eggs. The pair line the nest with finer material on a platform of sticks. Have you heard the hoarse, guttural squack of this giant bird? One tree at Scneiders had five nests in it. Imagine the noise from just this one nesting tree let alone close to fifty others during nesting time.
During that next year through the winter the nesting trees were cut down. Man needs his profit. I have wondered as those giant majestic birds returned north from their migration and found their herony decimated where did they go. I know a few sites but nothing like the Schneider site. Great memories!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Names in Nature
When Nature Calls Earl Plato
Names in nature that’s my topic. In the 1980’s the late Dr. Marcy referred to his Carolinian nature forest as Abino Woods. His sign at the entrance at the west end read for many years Abino Hills. I fell in love with the exceptional site. Some forty plus nature articles I wrote over the years I changed Abino Woods to the present appellation- Marcy Woods. Yes, I’ll take credit for promoting the deserved change.
As I walked the trails and side trails of Marcy Woods I now recall some of the names of flowers that grow in Marcy Woods. Here as follows: Gold thread, Wake robin, Queen Anne’s lace, jack-in-the-pulpit, buttercup, boneset, and black-eyed Susan.
The late American Ed Teale said thus, “Was there ever a real Susan whose name was bestowed on this flower of our fields?” No one seems to know. Who first referred to plants with these unusual names? I believe that it is part of the poetry of the common people of the past.
The late Bert Miller one spring showed us
Gold thread in the Marcy Woods area. He knelt down near the little plant related to the buttercup family. He lifted a stem and there it was - a stem of golden colour hence the name Gold thread. Daughter Allison in recent years rediscovered the plant on the way into Marcy Woods. Exciting for us.
24 carat gold? Could be.
Boneset plants exist in the butterfly fields.
Why he name “boneset” ? Ask me sometime.
Names in nature that’s my topic. In the 1980’s the late Dr. Marcy referred to his Carolinian nature forest as Abino Woods. His sign at the entrance at the west end read for many years Abino Hills. I fell in love with the exceptional site. Some forty plus nature articles I wrote over the years I changed Abino Woods to the present appellation- Marcy Woods. Yes, I’ll take credit for promoting the deserved change.
As I walked the trails and side trails of Marcy Woods I now recall some of the names of flowers that grow in Marcy Woods. Here as follows: Gold thread, Wake robin, Queen Anne’s lace, jack-in-the-pulpit, buttercup, boneset, and black-eyed Susan.
The late American Ed Teale said thus, “Was there ever a real Susan whose name was bestowed on this flower of our fields?” No one seems to know. Who first referred to plants with these unusual names? I believe that it is part of the poetry of the common people of the past.
The late Bert Miller one spring showed us
Gold thread in the Marcy Woods area. He knelt down near the little plant related to the buttercup family. He lifted a stem and there it was - a stem of golden colour hence the name Gold thread. Daughter Allison in recent years rediscovered the plant on the way into Marcy Woods. Exciting for us.
24 carat gold? Could be.
Boneset plants exist in the butterfly fields.
Why he name “boneset” ? Ask me sometime.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wild Carrot
When Nature Calls Earl Plato
“Wild carrot!” Norma Benner exclaimed. Eight of us Fort Erie seniors were walking the lovely treed trails north of the Butterfly Conservatory on a hot August day. There on the edge of the trail was a stand of Queen Anne’s Lace also known as “ wild carrot”. The next day my wife and I were driving to Welland on the 3rd Concession. On our right was an entire field filled with Queen Anne’s Lace. Back in Ridgeway the day before we had seen a similar sight - a field completely filled with “wild carrots.” Yes, this biennial is the ancestor of our garden carrot. As kids we pulled the long tap root, brushed off the accompanying dirt, and nibbled away. This lacy leafed plant is flat-topped with clusters of tiny cream-white flowers. The late Bert Miller, Fort Erie naturalist, would take the bird’s nest likeness formation at the top of each plant and have us shake the head on a piece of leather he carried.
Tiny spiders, aphids, spittle bugs and other tiny insects often would emerge. It was one of Bert’s teaching points. Here is an ode to that memorable man.
Ode to Bert Miller
In nature you do excel
With you in charge things seem to jell.
I never knew that weeds had beauty.
To pull them up was my only duty.
From Queen Anne’s Lace to the mighty Mullein,
Wild flowers and such merely left me sullen.’
From Shades of Night to the great Bull Thistle,
Mr. Miller made it as clear as a whistle.
There’s the Gold Thread and the Devil’s Paint Brush,
The delicate Orchids - please do not crush!
The Wild Rose and the Sensitive Fern,
The Agronomy! - such a name gives one concern.\
Even to detect a bush of Poison Ivy.
Wild berries, buttercups and also the daisy,
And names of plants that would send one crazy.
Mr. Miller reminded us of all this
As we thoughtfully separated - nothing amiss.
Once again, Mr. Miller, our thanks to you
For your kindness in showing us something new
Of God’s wonder and handiwork all round,
More of God’s mystery that does abound.
A portion of the poem by Ruth Saunders
“Wild carrot!” Norma Benner exclaimed. Eight of us Fort Erie seniors were walking the lovely treed trails north of the Butterfly Conservatory on a hot August day. There on the edge of the trail was a stand of Queen Anne’s Lace also known as “ wild carrot”. The next day my wife and I were driving to Welland on the 3rd Concession. On our right was an entire field filled with Queen Anne’s Lace. Back in Ridgeway the day before we had seen a similar sight - a field completely filled with “wild carrots.” Yes, this biennial is the ancestor of our garden carrot. As kids we pulled the long tap root, brushed off the accompanying dirt, and nibbled away. This lacy leafed plant is flat-topped with clusters of tiny cream-white flowers. The late Bert Miller, Fort Erie naturalist, would take the bird’s nest likeness formation at the top of each plant and have us shake the head on a piece of leather he carried.
Tiny spiders, aphids, spittle bugs and other tiny insects often would emerge. It was one of Bert’s teaching points. Here is an ode to that memorable man.
Ode to Bert Miller
In nature you do excel
With you in charge things seem to jell.
I never knew that weeds had beauty.
To pull them up was my only duty.
From Queen Anne’s Lace to the mighty Mullein,
Wild flowers and such merely left me sullen.’
From Shades of Night to the great Bull Thistle,
Mr. Miller made it as clear as a whistle.
There’s the Gold Thread and the Devil’s Paint Brush,
The delicate Orchids - please do not crush!
The Wild Rose and the Sensitive Fern,
The Agronomy! - such a name gives one concern.\
Even to detect a bush of Poison Ivy.
Wild berries, buttercups and also the daisy,
And names of plants that would send one crazy.
Mr. Miller reminded us of all this
As we thoughtfully separated - nothing amiss.
Once again, Mr. Miller, our thanks to you
For your kindness in showing us something new
Of God’s wonder and handiwork all round,
More of God’s mystery that does abound.
A portion of the poem by Ruth Saunders
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Bobolinks
Bobolinks in Old Bertie by Earl Plato
I grew up with meadowlarks and bobolinks. The time was
WW2 and the fields to the west of our Bertie Township home were ideal for those two birds. No DDT then.
Here in 2008 daughter Allison and I saw bobolinks on the edge of Marcy Woods. Allison asked, “What are those birds with the white rumps? I looked at the birds which were black with white rumps. Bobolinks. That’s right in the fields on the Marcy farm Rob Eberly and I had seen bobolinks in previous years. This is the bird that winters in Argentina, South America! Here in late May he flies our fields again. I say that his flight is like goldfinches - an undulating graceful flight. Listen as they fly by. It is a series of joyful, bubbling, tumbling, gurgling sounds with each note I am told on a different pitch.
As a youth I uncovered a bobolink nest in our field. There were five spotted with red-brown and purple. They were well nestled in a cup of grass, stems, and small rootlets. It was not as well constructed as its neighbour the meadowlark. Migration? Apparently they flock together in large numbers for the migration flight south. In southern United States they are called “Rice birds”. That makes sense. They have to fuel up for they still have a ways to go. Like fir the white rump.
I grew up with meadowlarks and bobolinks. The time was
WW2 and the fields to the west of our Bertie Township home were ideal for those two birds. No DDT then.
Here in 2008 daughter Allison and I saw bobolinks on the edge of Marcy Woods. Allison asked, “What are those birds with the white rumps? I looked at the birds which were black with white rumps. Bobolinks. That’s right in the fields on the Marcy farm Rob Eberly and I had seen bobolinks in previous years. This is the bird that winters in Argentina, South America! Here in late May he flies our fields again. I say that his flight is like goldfinches - an undulating graceful flight. Listen as they fly by. It is a series of joyful, bubbling, tumbling, gurgling sounds with each note I am told on a different pitch.
As a youth I uncovered a bobolink nest in our field. There were five spotted with red-brown and purple. They were well nestled in a cup of grass, stems, and small rootlets. It was not as well constructed as its neighbour the meadowlark. Migration? Apparently they flock together in large numbers for the migration flight south. In southern United States they are called “Rice birds”. That makes sense. They have to fuel up for they still have a ways to go. Like fir the white rump.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Two Brock U. scientists and Marcy Woods
Fort Erie Post May. 2009 Earl Plato
We are concerned about the many hemlocks found in Marcy’s Woods. On May 15th we lead Sarah Leone, Plant protection inspector scientist, into Marcy’s Woods to look for an important pest of hemlock trees, the Hemlock Wooley Adelgid. Daughter Allison and I had already looked for the tell tale cottony white egg sacs at the end of branches. We found none but we are not scientists. Why so serious? The small aphid-like insects, the Wooly adelgid sucks sap from the needles. For most of its life it is covered by a white, woolly substance that it secretes over its body. They feed primarily on young branches causing cessation of growth. There is a discoloration and premature dropping of needles, the dieback of branches and possible death of the tree in little as one year! Infestation has been found outside of Rochester, New York. That’s not far away - 160 km - 100 miles. We need the least-toxic control when it arrives. Check your home hemlocks.Contact me at
plato1@cogeco.ca to report any local infestations. Thanks.
***
Brock Phd. Student, Aynsley Theilman, followed wife Elaine and I from Marcy Woods to the alvar area off M road on the DiCienzo property. That Thursday, August 6th was mosquito day.
Mosquitos every where! That’s exactly hat Aynsley wanted. In that alvar area
!limestone surface? She wanted to collect mosquito larvae. She believed that these crptic mosquitos were rare. She called me later to say that she was successful. Later she would let mosquitoes bite her. She would examine their blood for its DNA. A real scientist using Marcy Woods for research.
We are concerned about the many hemlocks found in Marcy’s Woods. On May 15th we lead Sarah Leone, Plant protection inspector scientist, into Marcy’s Woods to look for an important pest of hemlock trees, the Hemlock Wooley Adelgid. Daughter Allison and I had already looked for the tell tale cottony white egg sacs at the end of branches. We found none but we are not scientists. Why so serious? The small aphid-like insects, the Wooly adelgid sucks sap from the needles. For most of its life it is covered by a white, woolly substance that it secretes over its body. They feed primarily on young branches causing cessation of growth. There is a discoloration and premature dropping of needles, the dieback of branches and possible death of the tree in little as one year! Infestation has been found outside of Rochester, New York. That’s not far away - 160 km - 100 miles. We need the least-toxic control when it arrives. Check your home hemlocks.Contact me at
plato1@cogeco.ca to report any local infestations. Thanks.
***
Brock Phd. Student, Aynsley Theilman, followed wife Elaine and I from Marcy Woods to the alvar area off M road on the DiCienzo property. That Thursday, August 6th was mosquito day.
Mosquitos every where! That’s exactly hat Aynsley wanted. In that alvar area
!limestone surface? She wanted to collect mosquito larvae. She believed that these crptic mosquitos were rare. She called me later to say that she was successful. Later she would let mosquitoes bite her. She would examine their blood for its DNA. A real scientist using Marcy Woods for research.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Westward Ho!
Westward VIA Trail Earl Plato
Think big, really big! We travelled VIA Rail to Vancouver and back recently. We were four retired couples from Fort Erie. It was a trip of a lifetime. After a city tour of Vancouver we boarded the ferry for Victoria, Vancouver Island. We would explore this unique and beautiful island for the next five days. In our rented cars we headed north and reached Cathedral Grove. Elaine and I had been there in 1970. We had camped across Canada with our children. The Grove had been one of our highlights. Now here in 2006 we had returned with Fort Erie friends to walk the entire trails. We knew that it was a not-to-be-missed stop on Highway 4 to Port Alberni- a chance to be awed by nature. Think old. At Cathedral Grove there is a wondrous display of 800 year old trees. When Elaine and I were there in 1970 only a few trees were down. We had the children pose on one fallen giant. In January 1997 a severe windstorm damaged many of the ancient Douglas fir giants. There are short trails winding through some of the biggest trees in Canada. One Douglas fir in the South Loop Trail measures over 9 metres in circumference. Think almost 30 feet! Writer‘s note: We thought that Bert Miller’s giant local Tulip tree at Rosehill that measured 161/2 ft. was big. Look up. The tallest tree in Cathedral Grove is a Douglas fir 76 metres high. Amazing! That’s over 200 feet tall!
Among the many fallen trees lush growths of ferns and Red Cedar trees are interspersed in the under story. We walked in a wet area on a bridge made from a fallen Douglas fir. Friend Ken examined the sides of the bridge where the rangers had hewn out openings for the railing supports/ It as a long and strong bridge. Cathedral Grove is only a small part of MacMillan Provincial Park yet it is a most important part. The Park is still restoring other trails as a result of the 1997 storm. Cathedral Grove has been fully restored thankfully.
***
The eight of us sitting in the observation dome of our VIA Rail car looked for animals on our way both west and east. Collectively we saw the following: elks, deer, bisons (buffalo), bear, mountain sheep or goats, beaver, bald eagles, ravens and crows. One of the most exciting views was that of seven mountain sheep beside our stopped train. Led by a large horned ram they made their way up the cliff and posed for us on the way..
Think big, really big! We travelled VIA Rail to Vancouver and back recently. We were four retired couples from Fort Erie. It was a trip of a lifetime. After a city tour of Vancouver we boarded the ferry for Victoria, Vancouver Island. We would explore this unique and beautiful island for the next five days. In our rented cars we headed north and reached Cathedral Grove. Elaine and I had been there in 1970. We had camped across Canada with our children. The Grove had been one of our highlights. Now here in 2006 we had returned with Fort Erie friends to walk the entire trails. We knew that it was a not-to-be-missed stop on Highway 4 to Port Alberni- a chance to be awed by nature. Think old. At Cathedral Grove there is a wondrous display of 800 year old trees. When Elaine and I were there in 1970 only a few trees were down. We had the children pose on one fallen giant. In January 1997 a severe windstorm damaged many of the ancient Douglas fir giants. There are short trails winding through some of the biggest trees in Canada. One Douglas fir in the South Loop Trail measures over 9 metres in circumference. Think almost 30 feet! Writer‘s note: We thought that Bert Miller’s giant local Tulip tree at Rosehill that measured 161/2 ft. was big. Look up. The tallest tree in Cathedral Grove is a Douglas fir 76 metres high. Amazing! That’s over 200 feet tall!
Among the many fallen trees lush growths of ferns and Red Cedar trees are interspersed in the under story. We walked in a wet area on a bridge made from a fallen Douglas fir. Friend Ken examined the sides of the bridge where the rangers had hewn out openings for the railing supports/ It as a long and strong bridge. Cathedral Grove is only a small part of MacMillan Provincial Park yet it is a most important part. The Park is still restoring other trails as a result of the 1997 storm. Cathedral Grove has been fully restored thankfully.
***
The eight of us sitting in the observation dome of our VIA Rail car looked for animals on our way both west and east. Collectively we saw the following: elks, deer, bisons (buffalo), bear, mountain sheep or goats, beaver, bald eagles, ravens and crows. One of the most exciting views was that of seven mountain sheep beside our stopped train. Led by a large horned ram they made their way up the cliff and posed for us on the way..
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