Bike to Work Celebration

Caitlin Magidson‎ - Post to our FB page:

I enjoyed the DMV's "Bike to Work Day" and felt energized being in nature (verses the metro!). The Capital Crescent Trail was lovely! To learn more about his annual event:  http://www.waba.org/aboutbiketoworkday/.  

Are you a bike commuter?  Share your stories here as we encourage each other as earth stewards.  Maybe you don't bike.  What other ways are you reducing your commute impact:  public transportation, electric or hybrid vehicles, car pooling, walking, work from home?  

Roberto Cruz bikes to work daily -- you see his bike here as it was covered for rain protection.  He bikes in all weather and says you learn to dress to match the weather.  What he likes best is hearing and seeing the birds, including ducks on a local park pond and the morning quiet plus bird songs as he bikes along park paths much of his route.  It keeps you in great shape too.  In his case there are a few hills that get his mouth open, as he puts it.

Pucker up and kiss me -- Spigelia marilandica

This Maryland native is one of my favorites with its lipstick red flowers.  Unfortunately the deer love it too, so give it some protection.  Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade. It prefers moist, organically rich soils but tolerates dry shade too.  We are at the northern edge of its range which extends south to Florida and west to Texas.  Hummingbirds seek out this flower.  It's in bloom now -- the first week of June.

Mountain Laurel Bloom

This gorgeous native shrub, Kalmia latifolia, is now blooming. They begin to bloom along the coast and warmer low lying areas in mid May. By June those found in the blue ridge mountains begin to open up. If you're out hiking in any wilder woody area, this is a great time to catch a glimpse of their truly, beautiful and unique hexagonal flowers. 

There are slopes of mountain laurel along the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail (see post under "Trails").  There are also large groves along the Calvert Cliff Trails. 

Various cultivated forms of this shrub are also used in the landscape (see photo below).  One challenge with growing this lovely evergreen native is the deer love to eat it.  Keep it protected if you have deer.  All parts of this plant are poisonous to us -- but that is no deterrent to the deer.  The range for this plant extends from southern Maine to northern Florida and west to Indiana.  It is the state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Fascinating frogs and a few toads too

Alexander had a great time catching tadpoles at our opening event in May.  He kept them alive and watched them change into frogs then released them to a local pond.  Click on the photo gallery above to watch the transformation.

Could this frog from Merikay's pond be a relative to Alexander's tadpole?

There are approximately 4,800 recorded species of frogs, accounting for over 85% of extant amphibian species. They may have existed as far back as 265 million years ago.

Besides living in fresh water and on dry land, the adults of some species are adapted for living underground or in trees. The skin of the frog is glandular, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Warty species of frog tend to be called toads but the distinction between frogs and toads is based on informal naming conventions concentrating on the warts rather than taxonomy or evolutionary history. 

Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on fruit. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass. They are an important food source for predators in many of the world's ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many complex behaviours to attract mates, to fend off predators and to survive.  (facts from Wikipedia)

A great way to learn more about frogs is to participate in a project called FrogWatch USA.  

What is FrogWatch USA?

FrogWatch USA is a citizen science program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that provides individuals, groups, and families with an opportunity to learn about wetlands in their communities and report data on the calls of local frogs and toads. Volunteers collect data during evenings from February through August and have been submitting data for over 15 years.  Training is quite basic and it's an excellent way to learn which frog species live near you.  It's surprisingly fun to be able to hear various frogs calling and identify them by species.

There are 20 species of frogs and toads in Maryland.  Photos, descriptions and calls are online in a Field Guide to Maryland Frogs and Toads.  Use it to identify frogs and toads in the photos below.  These were all found in my garden.  Can you determine the calls on the recording made from my window on June 6?  Calls change nightly depending on the temperature, rain, time and date.  I'll try to record another evening and post.  First person to send in the correct ID on all photos below wins a prize.  Email your answers to EarthStewardshipEast@gmail.com

http://dnr2.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/plants_wildlife/herps/fieldguide_OrderAnura.aspx

On the kitchen window -- how cool is that to stick to glass?

In a patch of oregano -- pizza, anyone?

Find me in the leaves if you can.

On a pawpaw tree leaf.

You wouldn't be able to see me at a distance on this rock.

Merikay almost stepped on me -- I'm only about an inch across.

Another near miss while weeding.

Blockhouse Pawpaw Trail

 Check out the Pawpaw Trail at Blockhouse Point Conservation Park. Park on River Road near the intersection with Petit Way. Follow the Blockhouse Trail for 1.5 miles then take the short Pawpaw trail a quarter mile to a rock outcropping with a spectacular view of the Potomac River and the C & O Canal trail. When the trees are not fully leafed out you can see all the way to Dickerson. There's a perfect rock outcropping to sit on and enjoy the view.

A Tale of Two Magnolias

Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) in a neighbor's garden.  The scent is heavenly.  I can't get enough of it.

We are fortunate in the eastern United States to have many beautiful native trees.  Two of my favorites are magnolias:  Magnolia virginiana and Magnolia grandiflora.  

Magnolia virgiana, commonly known as sweetbay magnolia or swamp magnolia

I wish you could experience the scent of Magnolia virginiana flowers.  Intoxicating.  the tree is worth growing for that alone.  It is a smaller, slower growing tree than the more commonly planted M. grandiflora.  In our area the tree is semi-evergreen.

It is the type species of the genus Magnolia; as Magnolia is also the type genus of all flowering plants (magnoliophytes), this species in a sense typifies all plants. Magnolia is an ancient genus. Plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae date to 95 million years ago. (Wikipedia)

Magnolia grandiflora

With it's huge flowers and glossy leaves, Magnolia grandiflora is spectacular.  We are north of its natural range so select a cultivar that is suited to our climate.   At maturity this tree can reach 90 feet or more.  One of the pleasures of living in our region is to experience the beauty of a mature southern Magnolia.

Why native plants?

I used to select the plants for my garden based on their appearance (and maybe price).  As a Master Gardener I've gradually learned more about the role of our plant choices in providing habitat that is being lost at alarming rates.  Though our part of the world often looks very green, the diversity and quality of habitat is in decline.  Most of our wooded areas, for example, are full of invasive species.  Often new trees are not able to grow due to heavy deer browsing.  If each of us tries to plant natives -- canopy trees, understory trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcover -- we can help mitigate native plant losses.  

Why plant a native tree?  Here's just one example.  The native dogwood (Cornus florda) supports 117 species of native moths and butterflies.   The Asian dogwood (Cornus kousa) supports no native insect herbivores (from Dr. Doug Tallamy, University of Delaware entomologist).  Often there are very complex relationships between plants and insects, birds and other animals.  When a native plant is no longer growing in an area, creatures dependent on that plant are also lost.  The web of life unravels.  

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Native dogwoods in bloom at the National Arboretum.

Virginia Bluebells

The Markoff family home is one of my favorite places to visit in spring -- what a delight to find native plants in bloom under trees rather than the typical landscape of lawn.

Mertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells) is a native spring ephemeral plant with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers.  In early summer, each fertilized flower produces four seeds and the plant goes dormant until spring.  Butterflies and bumblebees pollinate the flowers.  It will naturalize when planted in a shady woodland.

God bless the ground, I shall walk softly there

Spring beauties (claytonia virginica) and wild violet (viola papilionacea)

Happy 108th Birthday to the poet Theodore Roethke! When the tiny spring flowers push up through the soggy mud and begin to bloom, I think of the words of his 1953 poem The Waking,

Of those so close beside me, which are you?   

God bless the Ground!  I shall walk softly there,   

And learn by going where I have to go. 

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?   

The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;   

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. 

Great Nature has another thing to do   

To you and me; so take the lively air,   

And, lovely, learn by going where to go. 

You can read the full poem here. 

There are so many "close beside" us in this growing and blooming season. As we take time to learn which are which and who is who, we become aware of how abundantly full the earth is. I used to look into the forest and see a tangled mass of green. But by watching, each season I've become better at distinguishing individuals. I look forward to the arrival of my favorites and wish a blessing on their growing. My eyes have also sharpened on my less favored, the many over-reaching invasives that choke out the diversity, the native but voracious poison ivy that only the berry eating birds can love. 

Going forward on the blog we will be posting more about the many living beings in our area. 

Hello World

Cephalanthus occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is native to eastern and southern North America.  It grows 3 - 10 feet as a woody shrub and prefers moist soil and will even tolerate standing water.  It's showy flowers are fragrant and attract butterflies.  Tolerates full sun to shade. I have planted three in a low-lying area of our yard where rain collects.  

This is the first in a series on plants native to our area.  If you have a favorite native plant, please email us a photo and brief description..

Button Bush