A Visit to Pittsburgh Botanic Garden

April 5, 1016

While I was visiting my daughter in Pittsburgh, I checked to see what public gardens were available. I found Pittsburgh had a Botanical Garden so scheduled time for a visit.

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Jonquils

Jonquil

This garden is very much a work in progress. It is being built at the site of an old coal mine which is still leaching very acidic water full of aluminum. The garden has built a treatment field for the water and now has a pond that is no longer acidic and in which water lilies can grow. Of course, I was way too early to enjoy the waterlily blooms. 

Bridge of the lotus pond

View from the opposite end of the pond

The garden is also spending a lot of time developing a wonderful children's area with lots of buildings and other artifacts. And on a trail leading into the woods from this area, I found a wonderful dragon.

Work continues at the bottom of the children's garden

A building for the children to explore

The garden dragon

Some birds are always in the children's garden

I was glad to see wildflowers blooming along the trails

Forget-me-nots?

Some not-so-welcome garden visitors -staff are building fences to save their plants

Another area in the woods had wonderful thatched roofs on tall tree stumps and quirky little houses that looked like they should belong to faeries or some other wee people. I also enjoyed a pile of wood, that was intricately painted and in front of which there was a dog built from the same wood.

Stumps with thatched roofs

Closeup of carving and painting

Some of the fey houses

More spring bulbs

There is also a meadow which I think will be beautiful in summer. But most of this garden is just native woods with soft trails through it. I enjoyed a peaceful walk of about three miles on the trails. I only found blooming bulbs but expect a lot more will be in bloom by late spring.

The gazebo overlooking the meadow area

The area just behind the garden center is the most formal and is used for weddings and other events. 

A huge fireplace anchors the formal garden

These were the only tulips in bloom

I think these are some very fancy jonquils

The garden also includes an historic farm and has some sheep and chickens. 

The three resident sheep

I can't wait to continue to visit this garden and watch its development.  

Surveying the Vernal Pools

My first on-going job is to help staffer Mike survey some designated Vernal Pools. This survey has been going on for several years and Mike has been the main guy doing the surveys. So he knows the deepest part of each pool, one piece of data we have to gather, as well as if and where we will find spotted salamander and frog eggs.

Most of the vernal pools are in the woods

The involves a lot of walking. It took us most of one day and parts of two other days to complete the surveys of the twenty-three vernal pools. On those days, we walked over two and a half miles to six and a half miles. And we have to walk around the rocky edges of the pools, and sometimes go into them to look for the eggs so there is a lot of hard walking involved. Three of our ponds are not near any trails, and for one pool, we had to fight our way through small trees, then try to get across a swamp without falling into pretty deep holes. Then we had to continue through the woods to the next pond. I came home from that outing and fell into bed and took a nap before I could cook supper.

Mike taking a picture of a pool

Mike is a forester and is willing to tell me all about the trees here which mostly consist of balsams, white pine, red pine, alders, eastern red ceder, and birch, some kind of spruce. (I'm not the best of students so I don't remember all of them.) He also has retained and honed his curiosity and is way ready to pause our official work to show me wondrous stuff. For instance, we walked about forty feet past our turn to go through the forest to a pool to show me the power of steam. 

The rocks I first noticed - with obviously sharp edges from being cracked

The hole with a little of the rock showing in the ground

Part of one of the largest rocks and the tree it scraped down as it
hit the tree and fell to the ground

Two years ago, lightning struck a pine tree and went down into it's big root, which was growing in a seam of rock. The sap in the tree boiled and formed steam and exploded out the rock from an area, about the size of a spa tub. The seam of rock was split into several rocks, weighing probably 5 pounds to  several hundred pounds, which were blown from five to maybe fifteen feet away. 

Mike also enjoys birds and is sensitive to the sight and sound of them. So I feel really blessed in getting to work with him and learn from him. And did I mention he is just fun to be around?

We are anticipating getting to see these swans babies - they aren't nesting yet

When we arrive at a pool we are to survey, we have to note the start time, enter codes for light and wind conditions, then measure the air and water temperatures, and the pH and conductivity. We also have to measure the length and width of the pool and the depth of the deepest part. Then we have to count the wood frogs and the spotted salamander eggs. We are also looking for the eggs of the more rare blue spotted salamander eggs. We have to take photographs of at least one set of frog and salamander eggs at each pond, plus a picture of the pond itself. And we have to enter our end time. 

Mike entering data - this ended up my job while he measured the stream length, width, and depth

Some of the ponds still had ice on them

Mike trying to keep a white tray under eggs while he takes a picture - and tries not to fall in

The first spotted salamander eggs we found

These are wood frog eggs - there are usually up to 6 bunches all stuck together.  SO glad we don't have that many kids at once

It is such a joy to get to be out and get to see so many neat things. Mike is willing to stop and let me take pictures.  These are some things I had to take.

A pretty pond view

A tiny little "cave" under a root filled with snow

I think this may be bobcat scat - please comment if you know what it is

There are many beautiful lichens

This rocky little bluff is unusual here

And sometimes the long view is very beautiful

I just realized that this is Wednesday night - not Tuesday night. Sorry for the lateness. I did another job today and collected lots of pictures - and only needed rescuing once. But that will be the subject of another blog.  

Exploring the Bold Coast and Looking for Lighthouses

April 16, 2016

I was a little late leaving on my first road trip up here in Maine and did not make it to the eastern most spot in the United States for sunup. But I was just a little north of where it is in the contiguous United States and took more of my sunrise pictures between that place, in Robbinston, Maine, and a little further south. Sunrise is just before 6:00 A.M.

Sunrise just south of Calais along Highway 1 South

Clouds formed at sunrise making it last longer

This was the first of scores of boats, mostly anchored

A pullout let me catch this scene

I bought The Maine Atlas and located three lighthouses within about sixty miles of the refuge, all south on Highway 1 or a few lesser roads that go along The Bold Coast. I never saw signs for the Whitlocks Mill Light which is just south of Calais, but easily found West Quoddy Head Light. I had also planned to go hiking and bird watching at the adjacent state park, but the wind was blowing a gale and I needed a heavier coat, a warm hat and gloves, all of which I'd left at home.

West Quoddy Head Light

I went back up to the town of Lubec and explored that small and currently hibernating town. I made lots of stops and darted out into the cold wind to get pictures, then rushed back to warm up in the car. 

One of many of the churches I admired on this trip

Lubec is still a fishing town and the harbor was full of boats

I found the sign for an International Park. AND I could see a lighthouse across the bridge. So I went over there for about five minutes, just long enough to snap a few pictures. When I came back, I found I had to go through customs and produce my passport. Thankfully, I had it in the car. Then, as I checked my facts for this blog, I realized did not know the name of the lighthouse in Canada. AND I had also missed a view of the Lubec Channel Light which is in the middle of the Lubec Channel. I'll have to go back for a picture of it someday.

The lighthouse on the Canadian side of Lubec

View of Lubec from Canada

I made an unplanned turn into some Conservation Land and took the next two pictures there. 

Not sure what these red-stemmed plants are

But they really set off a grove of birches

A view along the Bold Coast

I saw thousands of crab traps 

One of four species of birds I noticed - the others were robins, one kestrel, and ring-billed gulls

Another church style

Could not take this church without the power lines but yet another style

I had to take this too close and backlit but I'm amazed at all the church styles up here

By late morning, I had gone as far south as I had planned and started home by a different route so I could visit Reversing Falls Park, south of Pembroke. I was glad I was a women or I would probably still be lost. I had to ask directions twice since there are no signs for it on Highway 1 and the signs for it are way higher than normal, so I missed one of them. I spent the afternoon there, so I”ll tell you all the details in another blog.

Then on the way home, I carefully watched for the Whitlock Light, but could only find a very poor, backlit view of it from a picnic point. When I got home, I found that is the best I can do, so I'll stop there when it will at least be lit by eastern light. This light started out as a light on a tree and the small lighthouse is in trees.

This was a beautiful day and I had lots of fun, even though my plan to eat out was foiled by closed restaurants. I was glad I had salad makings and a roasted chicken I'd cooked on Friday. 

If any of  you have suggestions of places I should go visit, please put them in the comments. And thanks in advance for your comments. 

Learning New Jobs in a New Place

April 11, 2016

I got to Moosehorn NWR in Maine on Friday, April 7.  This gave me time to spend the weekend cleaning my room, a bathroom, and a kitchen and getting my car unloaded and mostly getting my stuff stored.

I'm  stoked about this assignment. I really like the Acting Refuge Manager, had a wonderful time with the forester, Mike with whom I'll be doing the Vernal Pool Survey and had Murray, another staffer found me a coffee grinder when I mentioned I found I'd misordered my coffee and had beans and no way to grind it. And my main boss gave me a fantastic list of jobs I'll be doing or helping with including:

• Run the woodcock routes - this is a breeding bird survey
• Do bee surveys
• Check impoundments for beaver damage and other clogs
• Help with the birding festival
• Help with bird banding
• Help with bat monitoring
• Help with the Fishing Derby
• 
  

The only negative thing I've encountered is that I don't have wi-fi.  But I will be able to use the computers at work once I get my security card, so I don't think even that will be too bad.  I found another negative on Tuesday - my alarm got me up and then I noticed the stove and microwave clocks were an hour behind my ipad and computer clocks. I had to go in and take the settings off automatic time set, based on my location.  The computers think I'm in Canada. But that was easily fixed and I plan to sleep an hour later from now on.

My living quarters - the car is way back and it's a lot bigger than it looks

One of the best things about the refuge is that I'm only six miles from the town of Calais (make sure you say "Callus"). I hope to make some of the trips in by bicycle when it is a little warmer and not raining. I ended up working 11 hours on Monday because it took me over an hour to get to an on-line test and then a couple of hours to take it.  I ended up going into town around 7:00P.M. I had to stop to let a mother moose with yearling twins cross the road.  She should soon be kicking them out and having another baby.  It was dark and rainy, so I could not get a picture.  But I'll try to capture them soon.

We are across the St. Croix River from Canada - this here's Canada

Ring-billed gulls are here in large numbers

This seems to be another stream entering the St. Croix

This small town has several churches.  I think this is the most beautiful

This is the free library in the town and in whose parking lot I spend my on-line time

I've been so busy getting moved into my quarters that I only took time off to come online and shop - had to start over on groceries and had a lot of missing things I needed to make my life work. But a lot of the refuge is visible from the road to town.

This seems to be one of the main habitats on the refuge

I think the red stems are raspberry bushes

Birds are few and far between, although the robins have been here for about three weeks and some of the woodcock have arrived. Otherwise, juncos, pine siskins, morning doves and pileated woodpeckers have made themselves known.  I spent two days figuring out this breeding bird - had to come back with the camera as the binocs were no giving me a clear enough picture.  And I've seen one harrier but no ospreys, although there are at least three of these nesting towers in one view.

Nesting bald eagle

I may not be posting too reliably for the next week or so until I have time to have some adventures.

And I'd love to pick your brains.  What are some places I should put on my bucket list in Maine, especially east Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Please just use the comments.