A Touch of Nature - 11/1/06
Here At Bluebird CoveWe've had bunches of White-throated Sparrows visiting lately. It's fun to watch them scratch on the ground looking for seeds. We also put out cracked corn so they've been busy with the doves storing up for winter.
We took a day trip to Leesburg, Virginia, to meet some family from Pennsylvania. We all love nature, so most of the day was spent in various parks. At the first stop we got to see a Rough Green Snake, some deer galloping through the woods, and we heard several songbirds but couldn't find any of them. I was very excited about the snake because I don't remember ever seeing one. The pictures turned out great and he was very mild mannered as the field guide said. View the Rough Green Snake photos. Click the double arrows to the right to view the close-ups.
I wanted so badly to pick him up. Although I no longer have a fear of snakes, my mind still tells me they're dangerous. Doesn't compute, so I know that it's just old tapes from growing up and from all the fear that people have about snakes. Sadly so many of them are killed just because of that fear. They don't like us more than we don't like them so they will avoid us at all costs if possible and they do not want to waste their poison on something as large as we are since they know we won't provide a meal for them since they can't swallow us whole. It takes time for them to reproduce that poison so they avoid using it at all costs. If you see a snake back away and don't feel like you have to kill it. Even poisonous snakes have a great benefit to our planet and without them we would be overrun with rodents. I have since looked up online how to catch a snake: www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Snake
This is useful information if you have one in your yard that you would like to relocate for some reason. We appreciate the snakes on our land since they tend to keep things in balance. I don't want them in my bird boxes though, so I wouldn't want too have many of them. It's always hard to think about what you'd like to have and what you'd like to not have. There's so much that we don't know about the balance of Creation. We also have so many learned fears that affect our decisions,
On our way out of the last park we went to, we saw a Great Blue Heron on the lake. I got several photos, but missed the one where he caught the fish and gobbled it down. They are so fast! And so beautiful. View the Great Blue Heron photos. Click the double arrows to the right to view the close-ups.
What Is This Tree?
We saw a tree while hiking at Crabtree Falls and had no idea what it was. I'd never seen one like it before with the green striped trunk. I took some time today to look for it in field guides but finally went online to type in some descriptive terms. What a blessing the internet can be! I've discovered that it was a Striped Maple. I always get a thrill out of meeting a tree I've never seen before. The leaf looked like a Maple, but the bark was like none I'd ever seen.
You can learn more about this tree at this website:
www.colby-sawyer.edu/academic/ces/herbarium/angiosperms/apensylvanicum.html
Screech Owls
We were up very early one warm morning a couple of weeks ago, so I had the door to the screened porch open in our bedroom as I got ready for the day. I heard this odd sound in the woods that I'd never heard before and it drew me outside to get a closer listen. I thought it might be a cat, but our Squeek, who was sitting out there, showed no interest at all.
I tuned in a bit more and thought about it and it just "felt like" it was an owl. It was like a short call with a whinny on the end of it. I called Randal out to listen to see what he thought and he said it sounded like a tropical bird that a neighbor might have. I guess it was too early in the morning for his "birding" brain to get into gear, so I headed for the computer.
What a blessing the internet can be in such times as these. I entered "owl +whinny" and came up with a description and sound bite of what I was hearing. It was indeed an owl. An Eastern Screech Owl. I was so excited to hear a new sound in the woods. You can listen to the sound here: www.owlshill.org/audio/screech.html or get detailed information on this owl here: wildwnc.org/af/screechowl.html
If you'd like to read a short article called, A Little Wail in the Dark - the Screech Owl, here's the link to about.com: birding.about.com/library/weekly/aa102597.htm
Will Bird Flu Fly Into Our Lives?
Federal and state biologists have launched a massive new monitoring program designed to determine whether wild migratory birds are bringing a deadly virus into North America. At a cost of $29 million in 2006, the Interagency Plan for Early Detection team, composed of biologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and state wildlife agencies, took its work to all 50 states. Read about it here: www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=110&articleID=1397
Sharp-shinned Hawk
This bird, or raptor as hawks are known, is on the concerned list in some areas, but we seem to still have them here in Central Virginia. We had the first one we've seen on our property visit last week. I saw all the birds fly from the feeder into the bushes below the kitchen window and at the same time I saw a big bird land on the corner of our roof at the deck, no more than 13 feet away from where I was sitting inside. I knew it was a hawk and, after taking a number of photographs, got the field guide to identify it.
Here's a website with more information:
www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk_dtl.html
Bighorn Sheep Thriving Again in Texas
Bighorn sheep have flourished in the rough and dry West Texas mountains going back to prehistoric times. But unregulated hunting and exposure to disease from domestic sheep had almost wiped out the desert sheep by the 1960's. Now, after years of restoration efforts led by the Texas Bighorn Society there are close to 1,000 of the agile animals occupying the high ground of the Trans-Pecos region, according to a helicopter count this August. Get history of bighorn sheep in Texas at this site: www.texasbighornsociety.org/education_page.htm
Halloween Is Not Animal-Friendly
In my opinion there is nothing good about Halloween, but in the realm of nature I don't like what the holiday does for animals. Not only are black cats under attack, but spiders and bats are portrayed as evil and scary things. Vampire bats are especially feared, but there are many myths about all bats that people believe are facts. They are not.
Read more about bats and their contribution to medicine at the National Wildlife Federation site: www.nwf.org/kids/kzPage.cfm?siteId=3&departmentId=82&articleId=50
Get more details on where some of those myths come from and also information on owls, spiders and bats at the eNature site: enature.com/articles/detail.asp?storyID=379
Musings
"We are immensely fortunate to be alive now and to have the chance to save the almost incomprehensible diversity of animal and plant species which still exist. Forebodings of doom for millions of lifeforms are all too well founded. Scientists who study the great forests of South America, Africa, and Asia are far from having even found and named more than a small
proportion of the species that still flourish in these moist havens of life."
-- Christine Stevens, 1983, Endangered Species Handbook
This quote was taken with permission from the Extinction Memorial site.
Natural Herbs, Supplements and Essential Oils
Natural herbs and supplements bring the powerful world of nature into your body for health and healing. We've been using herbal remedies since the late 70's and have been so blessed by them.
It's been our full-time business since 1982. We'd appreciate you shopping with us.
Herbs and Supplements by Health Topic
Nature's Sunshine 100% Pure Essential Oils
We took a day trip to Leesburg, Virginia, to meet some family from Pennsylvania. We all love nature, so most of the day was spent in various parks. At the first stop we got to see a Rough Green Snake, some deer galloping through the woods, and we heard several songbirds but couldn't find any of them. I was very excited about the snake because I don't remember ever seeing one. The pictures turned out great and he was very mild mannered as the field guide said. View the Rough Green Snake photos. Click the double arrows to the right to view the close-ups.
I wanted so badly to pick him up. Although I no longer have a fear of snakes, my mind still tells me they're dangerous. Doesn't compute, so I know that it's just old tapes from growing up and from all the fear that people have about snakes. Sadly so many of them are killed just because of that fear. They don't like us more than we don't like them so they will avoid us at all costs if possible and they do not want to waste their poison on something as large as we are since they know we won't provide a meal for them since they can't swallow us whole. It takes time for them to reproduce that poison so they avoid using it at all costs. If you see a snake back away and don't feel like you have to kill it. Even poisonous snakes have a great benefit to our planet and without them we would be overrun with rodents. I have since looked up online how to catch a snake: www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Snake
This is useful information if you have one in your yard that you would like to relocate for some reason. We appreciate the snakes on our land since they tend to keep things in balance. I don't want them in my bird boxes though, so I wouldn't want too have many of them. It's always hard to think about what you'd like to have and what you'd like to not have. There's so much that we don't know about the balance of Creation. We also have so many learned fears that affect our decisions,
On our way out of the last park we went to, we saw a Great Blue Heron on the lake. I got several photos, but missed the one where he caught the fish and gobbled it down. They are so fast! And so beautiful. View the Great Blue Heron photos. Click the double arrows to the right to view the close-ups.What Is This Tree?
We saw a tree while hiking at Crabtree Falls and had no idea what it was. I'd never seen one like it before with the green striped trunk. I took some time today to look for it in field guides but finally went online to type in some descriptive terms. What a blessing the internet can be! I've discovered that it was a Striped Maple. I always get a thrill out of meeting a tree I've never seen before. The leaf looked like a Maple, but the bark was like none I'd ever seen.
You can learn more about this tree at this website:
www.colby-sawyer.edu/academic/ces/herbarium/angiosperms/apensylvanicum.html
Screech Owls
We were up very early one warm morning a couple of weeks ago, so I had the door to the screened porch open in our bedroom as I got ready for the day. I heard this odd sound in the woods that I'd never heard before and it drew me outside to get a closer listen. I thought it might be a cat, but our Squeek, who was sitting out there, showed no interest at all.
I tuned in a bit more and thought about it and it just "felt like" it was an owl. It was like a short call with a whinny on the end of it. I called Randal out to listen to see what he thought and he said it sounded like a tropical bird that a neighbor might have. I guess it was too early in the morning for his "birding" brain to get into gear, so I headed for the computer.
What a blessing the internet can be in such times as these. I entered "owl +whinny" and came up with a description and sound bite of what I was hearing. It was indeed an owl. An Eastern Screech Owl. I was so excited to hear a new sound in the woods. You can listen to the sound here: www.owlshill.org/audio/screech.html or get detailed information on this owl here: wildwnc.org/af/screechowl.html
If you'd like to read a short article called, A Little Wail in the Dark - the Screech Owl, here's the link to about.com: birding.about.com/library/weekly/aa102597.htm
Will Bird Flu Fly Into Our Lives?
Federal and state biologists have launched a massive new monitoring program designed to determine whether wild migratory birds are bringing a deadly virus into North America. At a cost of $29 million in 2006, the Interagency Plan for Early Detection team, composed of biologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and state wildlife agencies, took its work to all 50 states. Read about it here: www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=110&articleID=1397
Sharp-shinned HawkThis bird, or raptor as hawks are known, is on the concerned list in some areas, but we seem to still have them here in Central Virginia. We had the first one we've seen on our property visit last week. I saw all the birds fly from the feeder into the bushes below the kitchen window and at the same time I saw a big bird land on the corner of our roof at the deck, no more than 13 feet away from where I was sitting inside. I knew it was a hawk and, after taking a number of photographs, got the field guide to identify it.
Here's a website with more information:
www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk_dtl.html
Bighorn Sheep Thriving Again in Texas
Bighorn sheep have flourished in the rough and dry West Texas mountains going back to prehistoric times. But unregulated hunting and exposure to disease from domestic sheep had almost wiped out the desert sheep by the 1960's. Now, after years of restoration efforts led by the Texas Bighorn Society there are close to 1,000 of the agile animals occupying the high ground of the Trans-Pecos region, according to a helicopter count this August. Get history of bighorn sheep in Texas at this site: www.texasbighornsociety.org/education_page.htm
Halloween Is Not Animal-Friendly
In my opinion there is nothing good about Halloween, but in the realm of nature I don't like what the holiday does for animals. Not only are black cats under attack, but spiders and bats are portrayed as evil and scary things. Vampire bats are especially feared, but there are many myths about all bats that people believe are facts. They are not.
Read more about bats and their contribution to medicine at the National Wildlife Federation site: www.nwf.org/kids/kzPage.cfm?siteId=3&departmentId=82&articleId=50
Get more details on where some of those myths come from and also information on owls, spiders and bats at the eNature site: enature.com/articles/detail.asp?storyID=379
Musings
"We are immensely fortunate to be alive now and to have the chance to save the almost incomprehensible diversity of animal and plant species which still exist. Forebodings of doom for millions of lifeforms are all too well founded. Scientists who study the great forests of South America, Africa, and Asia are far from having even found and named more than a small
proportion of the species that still flourish in these moist havens of life."
-- Christine Stevens, 1983, Endangered Species Handbook
This quote was taken with permission from the Extinction Memorial site.
Natural Herbs, Supplements and Essential Oils Natural herbs and supplements bring the powerful world of nature into your body for health and healing. We've been using herbal remedies since the late 70's and have been so blessed by them.
It's been our full-time business since 1982. We'd appreciate you shopping with us.
Herbs and Supplements by Health Topic
Nature's Sunshine 100% Pure Essential Oils
Japan Producing Electricity from Train Station Ticket Gates
The East Japan Railway Company, as part of research aimed at developing more environmentally friendly train stations, is testing an experimental system that produces electricity as people pass through ticket gates. JR claims that this sort of human-powered electricity generation system may provide a portion of the electricity consumed at train stations in the future. Read the story here: www.orgismo.com/?p=1218
Honeywell to Spend $451 Million in NY Lake Cleanup
The giant corporation Honeywell Inc. will spend $451 million to help clean New York's Onondaga Lake under the "Polluter Pays" principle held by federal and state environmental departments. The lake is a sacred American Indian site where the famous chief Hiawatha once canoed, but after a century of pollution it became one of only three lakes in the country designated a federal Superfund site. Read entire story here: msnbc.msn.com/id/15236965/?GT1=8618
Detoxify Your Soaps and Cleaning Supplies With Sunshine Concentrate!
This environmentally-friendly cleaning and washing concentrate is nothing less than wonderful. We've used it for 15 years for laundry, hand soap, pet baths, soaking produce, dishwasher, cleaning, and a multitude of other uses. This product has saved us money and health. No more "itch" of chemical soaps. Read more about Sunshine Concentrate.
Pets Are Part of Our Nature at Home and We Love Animals
Free Samples of Pet Food, Supplements and Treats - These formulas are developed by Dr. Jane Bicks, a highly respected and nationally recognized holistic veterinarian and author. Pet Success Stories Using Nature's Remedies - Read how pet owners have used herbs.
Nature's Heartworm Program - Yes, there are successful herbal programs.
Healthy Pet Corner - Resource site for cats, dogs, birds, horses, rabbits and reptiles.
Healthy Pet News - Complimentary professional email newsletter with great articles.
The Frugal Life - Living Well With What You Already Have
Living more simply is a great way to effect change in your own personal environment and it helps the planet. The Frugal Life website has lots of ideas on getting back to basics. They also provide a free newsletter twice-monthly and a forum where you can ask questions or search for information. Visit The Frugal Life site.
Forward This Newsletter to a Friend
If you enjoy this newsletter, please let others know about it.
Copyright and Reprint Information
© 2006 Donna L. Watkins
All photographs are the property of the editor, Donna L. Watkins. This newsletter may be forwarded in its entirety by email but may not be placed on any website without written permission.
Legal Disclaimer
The content, suggestions, and web links in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and not necessarily endorsed by our sponsor "The Herbs Place.com." This is a personal publication by Donna L. Watkins. The ideas and information expressed in it have not been approved or authorized by anyone either explicitly or impliedly. In no event shall Donna L. Watkins or "The Herbs Place.com" be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication.
posted by Donna at 5:08 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home