Master Naturalist Training - Week 3

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This week was the third of eight days of training to become a Master Naturalist in Maryland. The forecast was for rain all day but it held off long enough for us to take two short hikes - one for each of the topics for the day: Botany and Mammals. We tromped through snow to look at buds, bark and dry plants. I managed to get some good close ups of bark. How many of these would you recognize: river birch (peeling bark), white birch (white with dark striations), dogwood (blocky bark…but the buds are easier for me to use for identification), and tulip poplar (complete with lichen growing beneath the furrows? Can you guess what the hairy vine is growing up this tulip poplar trunk?

The second hike was for mammals which was harder for several reasons: mammals are very good at hiding, it was wet (snow melt and sprinkles), the freeze thaw cycle had distorted the tracks even though we were able to recognize some deer tracks, and the one non-deer scat we found was dissolving in a puddle of melt water (although it did include hair so was from a carnivore). I managed to get snow over the top of my boots a couple of times; I took the boots off to let them dry out along with my socks while we finished up the class.

Now that I’ve had those two short hikes I am looking forward to the great thaw and run off….and a good round of picture taking of winter trees for shape and bark….may some buds before they pop open (or right after). I’m keen to create a tree tour of the Belmont location (where our class is held) as my project associated with the master naturalist training.

Like the previous sessions - the Wednesday class day dodged the hazardous weather. Yesterday was very snowy in Maryland!

Previous posts: Week 1, Week 2

Master Naturalist Training - Week 2

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This week was the second of eight days of training to become a Master Naturalist in Maryland. Like last week, the day was sandwiched between snow days; the roads were clear but snow was still piled up and salt was being sprinkled on walkways. We keep saying that hikes are part of the training days but it hasn’t been possible so far. I took a few pictures in the morning as I walked into the classroom building at Belmont. The cypress stands at the edge of the ice covered pond (above); we noticed the knees on a hike down to the pond last spring. A pine provides some contrast to the bare trees and white ground looking over the hill toward the forest. Since the class, another 3 inches of snow has fallen. The forecast does appear to be warming - but will it all be melted by next Wednesday?

My preparation for the second class included reading the Science of Science section of the notebooks - which was provided to us during the first class….and I did the web based pre-reading as I had done before. The area I spent the most time looking at was web-based: Criticalthinking.org - I read the complementary articles.

When I got to class - the topic for the morning was focused on local activism toward sustainability using Bethesda Green as an example. The presentation then small group collaboration on specifics for our county was invigorating. Now I’m dangerous and thinking about what to do next to further sustainability. I am already consciously making changes in the way I live but it is clear that there are challenges that cannot be addressed by individuals acting alone. Even some well-intentioned actions at an institutional level can go awry; we heard examples of a university cafeteria providing compostable to go cartons….and then not providing a bin for compostables (so they were treated as trash); a corporation having recycle bins in offices but the maintenance people emptying everything into the trash as they cleaned the offices at night.

In the afternoon - we looked more closely at rocks in our area. At mid-afternoon we were looking at bins of rocks and trying to identify them. We have a field trip in late March which will take us through areas where we should see many of the rocks along the trail! I bought the Maryland’s Geology by Martin F. Schmidt, Jr. (our instructor) to refresh my memory before the hike.

The second class was an intense and the first. I am very glad that the class days are a week apart. This is the type material that could not be absorbed in back to back days!

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - February 2015

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Noticing something worth celebration each day is an easy thing for me to do. The habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations’ - as had been the usual for the past few months. Here are my top 10 for February 2015.

Zentangle® Class - There were 4 classes in the course and I got to three of them; there were 2 snow days so the class extended across 6 weeks rather than the 4 planned. And now I am hooked on Zentangles and do at least one each day because they make the day better.

A day in the 70s - I celebrated the warm days in Texas - knowing there would be none that warm in Maryland in February.

Snow - I do enjoy snow scenes (in Maryland) as long as I don’t have to drive until the roads are treated and plowed. It has been so cold that the snow has lingered for most of the month and I’ve enjoyed feeding the birds and watching it slowly melt in the sunshine.

Snowed in at home - There have been a few days when it was snowing hard enough that we didn’t get out at all --- and I celebrated the days warm at home. We had plenty of good food, a fire in the fireplace, and a movie to watch.

Piles of books - I ordered over 100 books via paperbackswap to use up most of my credits before mid-February and now I am savoring the piles. It is a lot like Christmas when they arrive in the mail and then I have lots to choose from for winter reading. Every time I see the stack - I celebrate all over again. I’ve read 6 so far so the pile will be around for a while.

Carrot cake - I couldn’t resist buying two slices in my Mother’s grocery store….and celebrated that they didn’t skimp on the spices. It was good carrot cake.

Sizzling apple pie - One of the Mexican food places I went to in Dallas served apple pie on a hot skillet with sizzling syrup and topped with cinnamon ice cream. Yum! It becomes my favorite place for dessert in Dallas.

Birds at Josey Ranch Lake - It is hard not to be joyous at the sight of birds and people in the park.

Beginning of Master Naturalist training - I celebrate the content - the intensity - the instructors - the students. Everything was even better than I anticipated….and I did more follow up studying than I thought I would do too.

Master Naturalist Training - Week 1

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I became a Master Naturalist trainee last week….1 of 8 day long classes finalized with an exam. It is a good thing that the classes are spread out over 9 weeks (longer if there are snow days) since there is a lot to absorb if the first today is the norm.

The topics for the first class were geology and insects…and it was intense. I appreciated the renewal of note taking skills that the Coursera work had prompted since these lectures were fast and furious even though I had done the pre-reading and had previous exposure to both topics. The day after the class I transcribed my handwritten scribbles into my computer - realizing that I would not be able to decipher them once it wasn’t ‘fresh’ in my mind. I also went off onto tangents following web resources the instructors referenced.

The most time consuming tangent was the Maryland Geology for Education site which provides layers of information overlaid on a zoomable map. The map had been used during the lecture so I knew a little about how to operate it. I looked at the ‘Piedmont Counties Geology’ overlay (with transparency at about 50% so I could see streets and structures through the colors) for around my neighborhood. The major rock under my house is schist; taking a short walk from my backyard down to the river passes over a granite intrusion; to the east across the street from house gneiss is the major type of rock. Within less than a mile - where the Community Supported Agriculture farm is located - there is quite a mix of gravel, sand, and clay (sedimentary rock). Wow! I’m amazed at the geologic variety close at hand.

Another tangent - on the insect side - I read an article referenced by the instructor Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Flowering Plants and then proceeded to spend a lot more time browsing the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. I am still looking at new items from the site. One of the first things I looked at was one of the identification guides (under publications): Field Guide to Migratory Dragonflies. I can hardly wait to get identifying photographs at Kenilwork Park and Aquatic Gardens this summer.

Some other observations from the first class:

  • I am not used to sitting for most of the day. Even though there were plenty of breaks and some activities that had us moving around the classroom - it was a more sedentary day that I prefer. Will I get up and pace around the back of the classroom next week?
  • The final exam is take-home and open book. Hurray! If it was more like the SAT, I probably would not have signed up for the program! Tests might be necessary but it is certainly not something anyone enjoys.
  • I enjoy the before and after days of the class as much as the class day!

Stay tuned to my continuing adventure as a Master Naturalist Trainee.