Simplicity for the Naturalist

My minimum equipment field bag.

My naturalist training group spent the afternoon in the field the other day. We were in a wooded area of Fairmount Park. We did wetlands activities, bird behavior, plant identification and searched for reptiles and amphibians.

Yet again I learned the importance of carrying very few items of equipment. Lucky, I have learned this the hard way after years of nature walks, but it bears repeating. I fight hard to take just a few things with me. The most useful items are my five senses, a notepad, binoculars and a hand lens. Much more than this and the bag is too heavy and awkward. And I spend every few moments adjusting or re-positioning something.

I write this post for the newbies out there. Take little and experience everything. 

My binoculars are good ones. They were moderately priced but the image is clear and sharp. The binoculars let me spot a Blackburnian Warbler (I think) moving quickly if annoyingly through the tree branches. (For Pete's sakes why won't warblers hold still?)

My little hand lens is simple and about fifteen years old, but it showed me and several others the foamy, plant tissue of a sedge. This plant tissue looked like Styrofoam and filtered the gasses from the water.

My simple notepad kept notes of what I had seen, what I had heard and what I did. It cost less than a dollar. Nothing fancy there.

My camera is middle of the line. Not too expensive but full of features. And it takes fantastic photos. The  one in the photo is the little pocket camera I always keep with me.

Resist. I say resist the endless stream of junk we have pushed at us from every angle. Keep it simple and explore, not rack up debt.

Ummm, strawberries

strawberries, originally uploaded by donnallong.

I picked a quart of strawberries from my strawberry patch. It is the first time I have had a successful strawberry harvest. Urban farmer, am I.

Wissahickon Valley Park

Forbidden Drive, Wissahickon Valley Park, Philadelphia, PA

I started my volunteer naturalist training, yesterday. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to learn about the land that I live in. Here in Philadelphia, in school, we don't extensively study the land that we live in. We make sure our kids learn about Shakespeare and the Ancient Greeks, but not the ground beneath their feet. This I am sure, is because of our arrogance.

Sunday, we learned about the geology of Philadelphia and the surrounding area. We traveled to Wissahickon Valley Park, in the far northwest section of the city. The valley is about 1 billion years old.

In the lush brilliant spring green of the forest, large metamorphic rock outcroppings push up through the soil all over this part of Philadelphia. This is the Piedmont Region of Philadelphia, 300-400 feet above sea level.  This hilly forest is the highest point in Philadelphia, pushing into the sky. It reaches far higher than the center of the city which is a mere 20-30 feet above sea level.

The talk on the region's geology was fascinating, but I was distracted by the birds that visited the feeders behind the Park's treehouse. Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Hairy or Downy Woodpeckers, White-Breasted Nuthatches, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Robins landed on a tall Black Walnut tree.

Monday, my naturalist training continues.

fungi, Wissahickon Valley Park

Baptistia australis is in bloom again

Bee sipping nectar in Baptisia australis, originally uploaded by donnallong.

Baptista australis (False Indigo) is in bloom again. And I am grabbing the horns of a dilemma. Each year this plant plagues me with thoughts of doubt. Shall I cut it down after it blooms? Maybe I better press a stalk with blooms to remember it by?

It is one of those plants that you planted but are sometimes sorry you did. The blue-violet of the blooms are a delicious color. I always wish that there was a food that color so I could eat it. Not including candy. Shouldn’t Earthlings have a luscious delicious purple fruit to eat. Not the purple of grapes, but purple this color.

I start to cut it down but then I say to myself, “ But, it is the host to so many butterfly larva. Okay, most of those butterflies I rarely see around here, but you never know.”

For the curious Baptista australis is the host plant to the following butterfly larva.
• Orange Sulphur (lives in Philadelphia)
• Clouded Sulphur
• Frosted Elfin
• Eastern Tailed-Blue  (lives in Philadelphia)
• Hoary Edge
• Wild Indigo Duskywing

The female butterfly of each species, lands on the leaf of a plant, tastes it with her feet, and if tastes right (with the correct chemical makeup) then she lays her eggs. If it tastes wrong she moves on. The chemical makeup means the caterpillars will be able to digest it. This is why it is important to plant native species, caterpillars can only eat certain native plants. And non-native plants won’t do. The correct plant is called a butterfly host plant.


The problem with Baptistia australis, is the habit of the plant. It needs to be surrounded by open space not forced to stand at attention in a hoop, by a fence, which is where I have it. Otherwise it flops over and completely dwarfs the highbush blueberry shrubs. And we can’t have that.

Each year around March I begin to worry I cut it down last spring and can’t remember that I did. I wait with anticipation for the first green stalks to poke out of the ground. Finally, they poke up and ease my mind. I think I just have to grow up and live with it.

Baptisia australis

Thank you, Baptista australis for being so beautiful. Thank you for feeding bees and butterflies. Wado.

A Dreary Day

Another dreary day in a string of dreary days. It is too wet and windy to eat lunch outside. And when I go home it is too soggy to kneel in the garden. I am stuck inside with no place to go.

It seems that the major bright spot of this week is that I start my Naturalist training this weekend. I have been patiently waiting for a Naturalist program to start in my area, and now it has.

In the coming weeks I will learn about the geology, ecology and natural history of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. I will learn more about the why of the land than the names of specific plants, mammals or trees.

The natural history of this area, is not easily found in a book or other resource. I feel very fortunate to learn this stuff. Perhaps, one day they will teach it in school or for adults in a continuing ed. program.

The Hummingbirds are back.

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Several people have seen hummingbirds here in the Philadelphia area.  These tiny fast fliers often whizz by so quickly, you might think they are insects or bees. The only hummingbirds that breed in this area are the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. 

Last year was my first successful year attracting hummingbirds to my garden. I have planted hummingbird attracting flowers and hung a nectar feeder in my garden.

Hummingbird nectar can be made at home. It is just sugar water. It mimics the nectar found at the base of flowers. Hummingbirds sip the nectar and any tiny insects floating in it. 

I make enough nectar to last a week and keep it in the refrigerator. I change the nectar every other day or so. I don’t mind doing this because the thrill of seeing hummingbirds in my garden is more than worth  the effort. 

The recipe is 1 part regular granulated sugar to 4 parts water.  Boil this mixture until the sugar crystals are dissolved. Pour it into your hummingbird feeder of choice. 

I have gone through several feeders. Some feeders are hard to clean and get moldy fast. This is one of them. 

This is my current feeder. It is very easy to keep clean.  

I look forward to maybe getting a photo of a hummingbird in my garden . The bird photos here were all taken at the hummingbird feeders in Fort Washington State Park. My empty feeder looks lonely.

Greenworks Philadelphia wins national honor | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/14/2010

Greenworks Philadelphia wins national honor | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/14/2010

This article was on the front page of the business section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Top, front and center. How great is that?

Hometown Philly won the Siemens Sustainable Community Award beating out Dallas and Atlanta.

My hometown is a doing good thing in sustainability. I know that Philadelphia can be a walkable, livable, sustainable palace to live.

Of the goals for the city is creating park and recreation resources within 10 minutes of 75 percent of city residents. I am sure they crunched the numbers and figured out this do-able. If it wasn't it probably wouldn't be the goal.

I am looking forward to recreation center in my neighborhood being renovated and a beautiful destination place filled with native plants, butterflies and birds.

Philadelphia, my beautiful home.

The Dawn Chorus

For the past two weeks, I have opened my eyes, well before the alarm, and listened to a symphony of bird songs.

Before the sun has completely lightened the sky, the neighborhood birds are singing. This is the Dawn Chorus and it is truly magical.

The Dawn Chorus is sung by male songbirds, (often called the passerines or perching birds).

This musical performance happens only during the breeding season. The male birds are singing “ Come, be my mate”. Some mornings it can be quite loud. And with all the species singing at once it is hard to tell the songs apart. If I listen closely I can pick out a House Sparrow or a Robin.

The singing is most intense at dawn. Scientifically, sound travels clearer and farther in the cool morning air. There is seldom wind at dawn to distort the songs and diminish the range.

The singing starts while it is still dark. As the sky lightens, more birds join in. It continues for about 1/2 hour. It starts earlier on moonlight nights when the sky is bright all night into morning. The singing starts later when the morning sky is overcast and the weather dull.

By the time the sun is fully up, the chorus dies down.

This Chorus happens in the temperate parts of the world, namely in Europe and North America. I can imagine how the chorus sounds differently where the local combinations of birds sing their songs. How much fun would it be to travel around the world and wake each morning to the sounds of the local male songbirds singing their hearts out?

Today is Beltane and Summer Begins.

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia), originally uploaded by donnallong.

Today is Beltane the traditional first day of summer in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

I think of it as the first day of summer here in Philadelphia, too. It just makes sense. Think about it.

The Summer Solstice occurs on June 21 or 22nd. By then the weather is already warm. The Solstice itself is the longest day of the year and after it the days have less daylight each day until the Winter Solstice, December 21 or 22 when the days grow longer.

So, the Summer Solstice is not the the beginning of summer but the mid-point. It is the apex of summer.

To me the the idea that summer begins at the Solstice is a symptom of the disconnect with the natural rhythms of the land and the Earth.

Have a Happy Summer!

Photo: Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)

May 05 collage

May 05 collage, originally uploaded by donnallong.

I created this collage from photos of flowers (and a bird) that I took this afternoon in my garden.

The Blue Flag (Iris veriscolor) is a native plant of the wet areas of the Philadelphia area. It is naturally found along waterways and wetlands.

The rose (bottom left) is "Mary Rose", a David Austin English Rose. It will come down with Blackspot like it does every year. The blossoms are young and spotless right now. The rose can't take the humidity of our Philadelphia summers.

The Oakleaf Foamflower - Tiarella cordifolia var. Collina Oakleaf - (bottom right), blooms from May through September. The blooms are a delicate light pink.

The Mourning Dove eats the sunflower seeds in the platform feeder.  The Mourning Dove has muted and subdued elegant colors. It is not a flashy bird but is colorful just the same.

Removing English Ivy (Hedera helix L.)

On Saturday, we ripped out some problems at the local library garden. I belong to the garden friends. For the last two years we have eradicated invasive plants and planted native ones. 


We were joined on Saturday by thirty teenagers on a community service project. They did a fantastic job getting rid of the problem plant, English Ivy.


English Ivy was bought to North America by European settlers as a ornamental plant. It's native range includes Europe, western Asia and Northern Africa


It is invasive because it rapidly grows covering forest floors. By covering the floor, the plant blocks native species from growing. By this it disrupts ecosystems. 


English Ivy can also grow vertically and wind its way up through trees. It covers branches and smothers the trees, slowly killing the them.


When I was a little girl English Ivy covered the front of our house. Birds used to nest in the thick tendrils. I remember the smell. It was an unpleasant sharp smell, that rubbed off on your hands it you handled it. 


In a way I miss the Ivy. I liked the way the birds flew in and out of it.