http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com A unique shop and exploratorium Tue, 21 May 2013 10:13:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.png http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/the-best-snowy-owl-story-ever/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/the-best-snowy-owl-story-ever/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 18:56:37 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=20251 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/the-best-snowy-owl-story-ever/feed/ 2 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote Snowy owl snowyowl http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/escaping-on-a-maine-trail/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/escaping-on-a-maine-trail/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 11:33:21 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=20217 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/escaping-on-a-maine-trail/feed/ 6 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote The short trail connects Upper Hadlock Pond (one of the prettiest spots on Mount Desert Island) with Lower Hadlock Pond. It connects to other trails that can extend a hike considerably. The trail has been improved in parts with a split-log path, which keeps hikers' dry in boggier sections. The log trail snakes its way over wet ground and toward a stream that connects the two ponds. The weather was brisk and windy, and no insects bothered us even though we were near a stream and forest pools, which are breeding grounds. Pamelia's rule of thumb is that the black flies in Down East Maine are worst from Mother's Day to Father's Day. They seem to be a little late this year. A calm section of the connecting stream. Sometimes the log trail narrows and takes you over water. Kids (like us) get a thrill from this sort of crossing. But it's easy and the water is shallow. Climbing over granite slabs and chunks is a quintessential part of hiking in and around Acadia National Park. Another bridge! This is the spot at which the stream drops significantly and flows into Lower Hadlock Pond. This is looking down from the bridge toward Lower Hadlock Pond. The trail heads along the right side of the pond. The edge of Lower Hadlock Pond. Hiking back to the car. I told you the trail was a rooted route. Those roots can be beautiful, though. Can you tell the lichen from the paint dot marking the trail? One more shot of that stream. Almost back to the car. Feeling invigorated and relaxed at the same time. Back where we started, at Upper Hadlock Pond, which is also a nature-made reservoir providing drinking water to part of MDI's population. http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/porcupine-couch-potatoes-and-a-vernal-pool-adventure-with-bernd-heinrich/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/porcupine-couch-potatoes-and-a-vernal-pool-adventure-with-bernd-heinrich/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 11:30:15 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=20074 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/porcupine-couch-potatoes-and-a-vernal-pool-adventure-with-bernd-heinrich/feed/ 2 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote The deserted cabin and its aging sofa are now home to Maine's favorite quill-bearing mammals. Marcelene easily kept up with the rest of us hikers. Our group (from left): Pamelia, Bernd, Craig, Dorie Petrochko (artist and head of the Connecticut Guild of Science Illustrators), Renee Duncan (a naturalist and the director of College of the Atlantic's Summer Field Studies Program) and Brett Ciccotelli (naturalist and manager with Renee of the Sweet Pea Farm). Bernd was the master frog catcher. This is a wood frog. We studied the frog in a big jar for awhile before returning him to the pond. You Facebook followers have seen this critter already. It's a dragonfly nymph. Dragonflies live in this stage for most of their lives. The nymphs have extendable jaws with which to grab food such as mosquito eggs. Bernd's pool doesn't completely dry out, so these frog eggs have a better chance than some of hatching into tadpoles and producing adult wood frogs. Some pools dry out too fast in certain years if there isn't enough rain or snow melt. If you look very closely you'll see mosquito larvae in the water. They're the little black things floating beneath the surface. We guessed that the white egg clusters deeper in the water might be salamander eggs. Any of you salamander experts want to weigh in? Brett's poolside sketching gave Marcelene a little something to chew on. When the author of Ravens in Winter and The Mind of the Raven shows you a raven's nest on his property, it's a pretty cool moment. Brett found what we believe is part of a moose skull. Marcelene was steady afoot as she watched Bernd cut up a downed white pine that was blocking a roadway into the woods. Did Stihl design this chainsaw to match a tree fungus? Or did the fungus evolve this coloration to blend into our modern forest society? Oops. A front blinker on Bernd's truck got broken by a hidden stump. This is the porcupine couch in all its glory. No porcupines were in the empty cabin when we looked around, but the evidence of their presence was everywhere. The day ended at a bean supper hosted by a friend of Bernd's—and with a 12-week-old rescued chihuahua puppy asleep in my arms. The dog was one of 80 that animal-welfare officers had removed from a trailer home. She had purple stitches across her left eye, which a veterinarian had been forced to remove because of injury. She's got a good life ahead now. The Naturalist's Notebook was named Best of New England in the latest issue of Yankee Magazine. The Naturalist's Notebook's timeline kept kids busy at Redding's Earth Day. frogtangle http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/illuminated-frogs-eggs-duck-teeth-and-more-on-that-boston-photo/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/illuminated-frogs-eggs-duck-teeth-and-more-on-that-boston-photo/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:59:35 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=20024 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/illuminated-frogs-eggs-duck-teeth-and-more-on-that-boston-photo/feed/ 0 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote When we went to our local frog hangout this week, Pamelia took this gorgeous photo of newly laid eggs. We knew that the eggs were freshly laid because they hadn't been there the day before. This is a close-up from one of the pictures. Note that the eggs have slots on top, as if they're meant to be split into four. The also resemble chocolate morsels. This is the shot being used in the nature video. The duck had been attacked by a goshawk by our house and had just died. Those aren't teeth; they are lamellae, which are used for filtering food from the water. Buffleheads arrived two days ago. That's a male on the left and a female on the right. They're quite small and dive for crustaceans. They nest in holes in trees—yet another reason why it's animal-friendly to leave old, and even dead, trees standing unless they're a danger. The first purple finch of the season just showed up. The Boston sea glass photo. Pamelia took my photo in front of the Frank Gehry-designed Stata Building at MIT. The Sun Room at The Naturalist's Notebook is still evolving, but it keep looks cooler (and hotter)... John Muir http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/how-to-become-an-astronaut-or-have-fun-trying/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/how-to-become-an-astronaut-or-have-fun-trying/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:39:22 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=19949 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/how-to-become-an-astronaut-or-have-fun-trying/feed/ 0 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote Karen's windowsill. We went to the Jessup Library in Bar Harbor to hear Karen talk about how to become an astronaut. Karen's childhood visit to the Enterprise shuttle. The HMS Beagle. Astronaut Michael Barratt in the International Space Station, 230 miles above Earth. Karen handling Moon rocks at the Johnson Space Center. At the Johnson Space Center, Karen took this shot of the world's largest indoor dive facility. It contains a 747-size model of the Space Station that astronauts use to practice space walking. Karen says that walking underwater is the closest approximation to that out-of-this-world experience. The phone hookup from the Space Station to students in Brazil. Karen says her phone rang one day. It displayed these digits. Michael was calling from the Space Station. Later—of course!—Karen tried dialing the number back, damn the cost. Didn't work. NASA's initial astronaut job application form. Karen covering the Atlantis launch for the Guardian. For those of you who didn't see it on The Naturalist's Notebook's Facebook page, here's the funny sight that popped up on my computer screen when I was downloading some shots of barnacles. The face-recognition software in iPhoto saw one barnacle as a human face, but couldn't identify whose. Coming to the Notebook this year: Another way to show you care about endangered rhinos. Sir Francis Bacon pineconequiz http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/listen-vernal-pool-wood-frogs/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/listen-vernal-pool-wood-frogs/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:35:29 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=19932 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/listen-vernal-pool-wood-frogs/feed/ 3 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote This and the other frogs spent the winter submerged in mud in a near-freezing state. Their emergence is reason to celebrate—for us as well as them. I'm not sure if this guy is going to come to life or not. He seemed covered with sand. http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/angry-birds-or-the-battle-to-be-the-alpha-turkey/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/angry-birds-or-the-battle-to-be-the-alpha-turkey/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:53:45 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=19877 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/angry-birds-or-the-battle-to-be-the-alpha-turkey/feed/ 0 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote As many as four male turkeys were involved in the scuffles—sometimes one-on-one, sometimes two-on-one—and the methods of attack included flying at the rival. One male was especially effective at pulling on his opponent's head and neck. The head on the left belongs to the wild turkey on the right. Count the legs: There are two turkeys here, and the head you see belongs to the turkey in back. For a while, one turkey seemed to have his foe in a wrap-around-neck chokehold. Pamelia gave a few participants directions on creating a solar flare. The flare kept growing larger and hotter. Art met science in the Notebook's future Sun room. That's Joe, the solar physicist, on the left. He's a wonderful and interesting guy. He has invented a number of simple devices to help teach children about astronomy. I have to repeat a story I mentioned on the Notebook's Facebook page. The youngest Moon and Sun room painter was four. She brought this toy. I asked her who the rider was. Maria Zuber, the girl said shyly. Wow, I thought. Maria Zuber is an MIT professor and one of the world's foremost planetary scientists. It turned out that a past visit to the Notebook had helped spark an insatiable interest in science in this potential future Maria Zuber, who loves watching the real Maria in a science video she has at home. What's going on here? Western powers carving up Africa again? No, just another Notebook project that requires building something unusual. Next time I'll show you what happens when you cut a globe in half. Sir Isaac Newton http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/chuckies-back/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/chuckies-back/#comments Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:22:47 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=19814 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/chuckies-back/feed/ 2 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote The woodchuck came out this week after months in hibernation—and wasn't the only animal on the move. A yellow-rumped warbler He—or she—roamed the lawn, the garden beds and under the bird feeders, sniffing and nibbling. He—or she—showed pretty good speed in almost bounding down granite stairs toward the water. I'd probably feel frisky too after spending months in a dormant state in a hole in the ground. We took this photo at the Museum of Natural History in London. Rene Descartes http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/the-beautiful-earth-from-space/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/the-beautiful-earth-from-space/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:06:52 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=19778 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/the-beautiful-earth-from-space/feed/ 2 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote earth-from-space-western-300x300 A yellow-headed blackbird, one of the species you're likely to see on Jeff's trip. A Wilson's phalarope A willow ptarmigan A three-toed woodpecker A yellow rail White cliffs of Dover http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/the-excavating-chickadee-and-the-canine-taste-tester/ http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/the-excavating-chickadee-and-the-canine-taste-tester/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:06:01 +0000 naturalistsnote http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/?p=19660 ]]> http://naturalistsnote.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/the-excavating-chickadee-and-the-canine-taste-tester/feed/ 0 44.298973 -68.240370 44.298973 -68.240370 naturalistsnote One of the chickadees at work. Two days ago we saw the reddest cardinal this side of Rome. Sign of spring? Felicitous license plate sighting on Sunday, a few hours before we had dinner with the great naturalist Bernd Heinrich, author of the books Mind of the Raven and Ravens in Winter. That same day Bernd received a prestigious PEN award for his latest book, LIfe Everlasting. Bentley volunteered to be our taste tester. He dove into the task with great enthusiasm. He chose treat number two. While taking this shot of Bentley's brother cat Fritz, we didn't notice the word on the refrigerator. Purrr-fect. During a short visit to Portland, Maine, last weekend we came upon Longfellow's birthplace. Maine was part of Massachusetts when Henry Wadsworth was born. (Apologies to our Portland friends—we will stay longer next time!) We saw this sign by the entrance to a colonial-era home in Maine. I saw this at the Belfast Co-op market on our drive home and was initially startled by the idea. Turns out Cat’s Claw, otherwise known by the Harry Potter curse of a name Uncaria tomentosa, is a woody vine that has claw-shaped thorns and is also called hawk’s claw and sparrowhawk nail. If what I read on the Internet is correct, it pretty much cures everything. Wadsworth in England with his adoptive mother, Ann Munday. The Moon as seen from Portland, Maine, on Saturday night. If you were following the astronomy news this week (or read The Naturalist's Notebook's Facebook page), you know that the European Space Agency's Planck Observatory produced a major discovery: The universe is 13.82 billion years old, or roughly 100 million years older than was previously thought. And yes, that means we will have to update The Notebook's slogan. It's now a place for everyone who's even a little curious about the last 13.8 billion years (give or take). There's even more to be curious about! Would you eat anything that contained 200,000 heat units?