January 2012

BOOK REVIEW:  In working out the list for natural flowers in our wetland we used the study from Yale  on Connecticut’s Freshwater Wetlands by Stephen P. Broeker, Yale Study. The second plant we chose to look for this spring is the Northern Blue Flag iris versicolor . It flowers from May to July. Leaves are folded on the midribs so they form an overlapping flat fan. The word flag comes from the Old English meaning rush or reed.

NATURE THINGS TO OBSERVE THIS MONTH: Things to observe at camp this month (From Mass Audubon)  Watch for the chipped off twigs of apple and sumac. Rabbits clip the twigs neatly; twigs with ragged ends  have been chewed off by deer. This is woodpecker season. According to folklore, on Twelfth Night animals can speak this night. At the full moon this is the traditional Hunger Moon of the Eastern Woodland Indians. Winter finch migration begins. Watch for flying bees and other insects in the January thaw. Watch for flocks of feeding pine grosbeaks in ash groves. Watch for basking stone flies  on rocks and tree trunks along woodland streams. Look for the bright purple stems of the red osier dogwood. Winter constellations are up. In rocky woodlands look for evergreen leaves of rock polypody. Polistes wasps and bluebottle flies emerge in sunny unused rooms on warm days.

JOIN OUR ONGOING PROJECTS: We’re designing nature interpretation displays at Bird Spot One and Two;  We’re building owl and bat houses at camp Thursdays this winter. The nature journal is being kept of weekly sightings and can be read at the Nature Library.