Dear readers,

For the past week, I have been studying (cramming) for my CS 10 final exam in the stacks of Baker library. Sustaining myself on a diet of goldfish crackers and Novak sandwiches, I have rarely ventured far from my cell-like cubicle. The few times I excused myself from drawing red-black trees or practicing backtracking algorithms were for bathroom breaks and much needed sleep. In short, this past week has been grim and depressing, and I longed for “real” food and warm rays of sunshine instead of refrigerated sandwiches and artificial lighting.

Thus, when I exited Kemeny Hall after handing in my exam, I was elated to finally be outside again, stretching my arms wide to absorb some sorely missed vitamin D from the rays of sun shining brightly down at me. I headed towards the Hop, salivating at the thought of a freshly grilled, juicy burger. Yet, as I passed this breathtaking sight (see below) on the lower steps of the Hop, I couldn’t help but pull out my nature observation journal to sketch the scene before me:

I approached a little oasis of green by the Hopkins Center

The view from another angle

Burgers after all could wait in the presence of this beautiful oasis of green which surrounded a small water fountain. From the densely-packed emerald green shrubbery sprouted white and pastel-pink flowers. Some had blossomed completely, opening up their beautiful petals for the world to see while others had only started to bloom, their petals still partially shut.

Some flowers had blossomed fully while others were only beginning to reveal their petals.

To some extent, I saw myself as these flowers that had only started to blossom. Through the things I have learned and experienced since coming to Dartmouth, I have gained a broader perspective of the world around me, opening myself up to new ideas and knowledge. Perhaps one day, I too may fully bloom like these flowers, showcasing all that I have learned to the world.

Curious as to what type of flower they were, I gently plucked a flower from its stem to observe more closely. five broad, delicate petals with ten stamens poking out from the center. The leaves were broad, smooth, and wavy with a waxy feel. Though the white and pastel pink flowers differed in terms of the color of their petals, the structure/ shape of their petals and their leaves appeared to be more or less the same.

A closer look

After comparing my observations to a flower identification resource guide (http://www.avasflowers.net/preview/flower-identification-resource-guide), I believe that the flowers I observed are of the genus Chaenomeles and known more commonly as the flowering quince. A popular plant appreciated for their colorful, showy flowers, the flowering quince’s flowers have been known to be red, orange, pink, or white, which explains why despite the differently colored flowers, the plants I observed looked structurally the same.

More than just being aesthetically pleasing, this little oasis of green put me more at ease. The stress that I had felt for the past week slowly melted away as I headed into the Hop to order my burger.

So, dear readers, I urge you to go and visit this little oasis while the flowers are in bloom to take in their beauty whenever you too are feeling stressed.

Best,

Leo L.

Greetings nature appreciators,

I wanted to share a little story about one of the nature observations I did with my dear friend Lauren Archer. We were both in need of some pleasant nature observations, as it had been raining and dreary most of the week, so we decided to walk down to the river near where we did our bird walk and do some observations there.

All was well at first, as we sat on the rickety picnic table doing our observation. About 5 minutes in, I noticed lots of ripples down on the river, and a few seconds later, saw some droplets of rain splatter onto my field journal. Lauren and I exchanged a horrified look – all we wanted was to avoid the rain long enough to do some nature observations!

Before we decided to pack it up and leave, Lauren had the good idea to try to do our observation from under the bridge – hurray! We could still observe our surroundings and record what we noticed without being drenched by the pouring rain.

At first, not much exciting happened, besides a pigeon and his mate doing some type of dance/hopping routine together, following each other around.

After some patience, Lauren noticed a slender, dark brown animal peeking its head out from some of the rocks. Unfortunately, it moved too fast for her to get a picture or much of a good look at it, but we moved over to where she first noticed it in hopes of getting another look. All of a sudden, we saw a dark brown flash and the animal was all the way up the bank, under the fence, and into the bushes a little ways up. We got another quick glance of its face before it disappeared back to safety, but again not a very good look.

Excited but disappointed we hadn’t seen it for longer, we started researching what it could have been. My first thought was a ferret or muskrat, but wasn’t sure if either of those lived in the area. After doing some research, Lauren and I decided we thought it was an American mink, which is shown below.

Its body seemed like the right length, it was definitely a darkish brown/gray color, and its face looked exactly like the one shown in the picture. After doing some research, we hoped to see it again. After probably 20 more minutes, we saw it watching us from behind the rocks again! We got a better look at it this time in order to get a good drawing, but neither of us could move fast enough to get a picture. I tried to follow where it went to see if i could find its home/nest/burrow, but had no such luck – and almost fell in the river a few times thanks to some loose rocks!

Although we didn’t find its home and only were able to see it for a few brief moments, it was still a really cool experience that we would not have had were it not for this class/the nature observations.

Here is a picture that i took of where i thought its home might be, but not sure exactly where:

Until next time,

Lauren (Sapone)

P.S. If you are so inclined, please enjoy the slo-mo clip linked below of me and Lauren making wishes on some dandelions at the end of our observation. 🙂

dandelion slo mo

Hello readers!

Happy end of finals!

If I have to pick something to share among the brilliant species I observed this term, it has to be birds. Birds are my favorite group of creatures on campus but observing birds is not an easy task. I’ve lost count of how many times I only had the luck to look at a lovely bird for 3 second before it flew off briskly. Sometimes things got worse and I could only listen to a bird’s beautiful warbling songs without even seeing it. I’m sure you all have similar bitter-sweet experiences with birds.

But the bird I met on May 7th was an exception.  I was walking to Mclaughlin when this bird appeared on the lawn next to the sidewalk. Its body was overall gray with shades of green and brown and white dots on the back. The only parts that brightened things up a little bit were the conspicuous yellow beak and pinkish/reddish claws with three front toes and one hallux. My later research told me that what I had observed was a European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris.

The starling walked around on the grass, constantly bending down to poke the soil. The European starlings like to forage in open areas with short vegetation such as lawns like this. It was probably trying to find its personal favorite food. We don’t know what that was since this species has an extremely diverse diet that varies geographically, with the age of individuals, and with season.

As I excitedly approached it to observe more and take photos, it didn’t look frightened at all and only walked a little away from me. It didn’t fly away even when I was so close as about one meter from it. Pleasantly surprised, I followed it around as it leisurely waddled across the sideway to another part of the lawn.

Was this bird just an exception among all the shy and easily-frightened birds? It turned out that European starlings are generally insensitive to disturbance of any kind. Even if there is any initial response, it disappears quickly after repeated exposure to the disturbance. I haven’t found out the reason behind this but maybe they are just adaptable to urban environment.

Sadly, I was in a rush so I had to fail this approachable bird and left after 2 minutes of observation.

However, now we have all the time in the world to go outside and immerse yourself in the beauty of nature! So no more missing chances!

Until next time,

Olivia

Source:

Cabe, Paul R. (1993). European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/eursta. DOI: 10.2173/bna.48

Hey again. Last time I talked about the long, difficult walk up to Nunnemacher. The walk down from there was a little more pleasant.

The way back down the following morning contrasted severely with the arduous trek up the trail. Maybe it was the downward slope, but the walking felt easier and liberating. The morning light enhanced the whole experience. The surrounding fauna stood out more because of the morning sun.

The tall grass looked greener and the mud felt marshier; all aspects of the surrounding nature felt stronger.

There was a great variety of plant-life along the path down that I hadn’t seen the previous day.

Fiddleheads poked up in small bunches amidst the sea of tall grass.

Despite the mud that got in my shoes and my fear that I had picked up a tick at some point during the walk, I enjoyed the hike down the Dartmouth Skiway. Without snow, the Dartmouth Skiway provided a challenging yet fulfilling hike. It brought me, by force, closer to nature.

-Ryan

Hey, all. I just wanted to express how nice it is to venture into the wilderness without care, blindly following vague directions from a low-quality printed screen-shot of a map application to an area in a forest. The hike to Nunnemacher Cabin supposedly spans just under a mile in length along the Dartmouth Skiway. Somehow, my group of friends turned that into a two-hour long adventure and race against the setting sun.

The hiking trail teemed with logs and rocks, which covered sod and puddles of murky water. Carrying camping supplies only made maintaining balance more difficult. They enhanced the danger of our hike across precarious boulders and unstable platforms. It didn’t help that we had no clue where we were going; the printed directions to the cabin meant nothing to our navigators. We aimlessly wandered about, pausing occasionally to look at the abundance of nature surrounding us: the chips of bark scattered on the forest floor was a marvel to see. The wide variety of trees impressed me.

This dark brown and white tree stood out amongst the rest. Its peeled away portions provided a rich brown color to an otherwise pale gray bunch of trees.

As night fell, so did our spirits: “Look guys! We’re almost halfway there!” said T, eyes smiling with delirium. We passed by several clearings referred to as “the clearing” and turned back more times than I would like to admit. After trudging through dry and wet terrain, caking our shoes with mud, and struggling to maintain a consistent walking pace, we found the cabin with just enough light out to see our hands in front of our faces.

The cabin lived up to expectations: a dusty little abode with an odd, antiquated charm. The only source of light sat in the center of the main living room: a small furnace with a finicky floo. Luckily, we had brought water jugs and powerful flashlights to illuminate the living room. Sadly, these resources went unused as everyone lacked the energy to stay awake, but we did get some fresh air on our hike.

-Ryan

During our in-class tree walk, my group and I were studying some of the trees on the northern part of the Green. I laid down in the shade of the maple to ~experience~ it, and when I sat up, I discovered a caterpillar in my hair!

Initial reaction to finding a caterpillar in my hair

Realizing how cool the caterpillar is (PC Leo L.)

What I observed was the eastern tent caterpillar larva. Though I thought it was the coolest thing ever, it is actually a pest to North America (as Prof. Smith said) because it eats the foliage of trees to increase the size of their silk nests.

The caterpillars that hatch together make these silken tents where branches come together on a tree. The tent serves as protection and a way for the social caterpillars to interact.

We begin seeing these caterpillars in late spring and early summer because they spend winter plus more time as eggs. The caterpillars mature in 4 to 6 weeks to a length of 2 to 2.5 inches and begin their solitary search for a safe place to make their cocoon. After three weeks, a reddish-brown moth emerges from the cocoon.

I must have intercepted my caterpillar on his way to find a home to spin. He was mainly black with many long brown hairs covering his entire body, and discernable ends that suggest a head and tail. The tail portion of his body was forked so that his body ended in two little parts. On each of the seven compartments making up the length of his body, there were a white oval and circle on the top of each. On both sides of his body, there were two yellow-orange stripes with a royal blue stripe in between them.

Source: https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef423

Do not fear the caterpillars,

Libby

Hello nature lovers,

So I have a story to tell about my last-ditch attempt to see a groundhog for my descriptive narrative and my field journal (because it was also my last-minute final journal entry).

Last Wedneday, a beautiful warm spring evening, I decided to take a stroll down to Occum Pond to try to spot some groundhogs. It was just before sunset, and the light was beautiful. I immediately noticed how much more everything was in bloom than the last time I saw Occum, just a week earlier. 

The grass had grown like crazy – some of it was up to my knees! The flowers were all blooming, and the trees had lots of young green leaves on them. As delighted as I was to see the brand new lush-ness of the vegetation around Occum, I also realized this meant it wouldn’t be as easy to spot groundhogs and their burrows.

I trudged through the tall grass over to where I had seen groundhog burrows before, and noticed some new ones! Now, there were 5 or 6 that i could see, instead of only 2 on this side of the pond like i had originally found. 

There seemed to be two burrow networks, because I could see two main entrances, and the rest were spy-holes or alternate entrances. If you remember from my presentation, groundhog burrows are complex and have different chambers/entrances for different purposes. 
 

There is always a main entrance and a spy-hole/alternate entrance, and usually at least two or three various chambers. The main entrances are usually built up a lot more with a large dirt pile, leaves, and other debris around them, while the spy-holes are much less conspicuous, dug more into the ground and usually don’t have much debris or dirt spread around them. The different chambers are usually used for nesting, sleeping, and getting rid of waste.

As exciting as it was to see all these different and new groundhog burrows, what i really wanted to see were some actual groundhogs. I had no such luck at these new burrows, so I decided to trek across to the other bank of Occum to see if i could spot any of the rodent-like brown mammals. On my walk over, I looked down to my legs (I was wearing shorts) and feet (clad in flip flops) see lots of shiny three-leafed plants that looked much too similar to poison ivy. Fear immediately swept over me, and my flight instinct kicked in – I started to run/hop/jump my way over to the other side of the bank, I guess all the while thinking that going faster through the poison ivy would give me a better chance of avoiding the oils from the leaves? Either way, once i finally past it through the tall itchy grass and pesky poison ivy, hunching over and breathing hard, I hoped i might at least see some groundhogs as compensation for my possible contraction of itchy bumps all over my legs. But, of course, I didn’t see any there, either.

Dejected and frustrated at my lack of proper leg/footwear, I walked back to my dorm quickly to run cold water all over my legs and feet in the hopes of maybe avoiding having red itchy bumps all over my legs during finals week, and alas – I saved myself from the dreaded poison ivy.

Until next time,

Lauren

p.s. i hope everyone takes this as a strong word of advice to never wear flip flops and shorts on nature observations/walks if you know you’re going to be walking through a lot of plants and vegetation :-/

Hello nature friends!

Yesterday, I stumbled upon an exciting discovery in my own backyard. Outside the Choates, at the foot of a tree, I found a large cluster of mushrooms! I must have passed these many times on my way to an from my dorm, but had never noticed them before.

My attempt at identifying this mushroom (out of the 5.1 million species of mushroom out there!) with my mediocre identification skills and the use of the internet led me to believe it is lactarius piperatus, otherwise known as Peppery Milkcap (on a sidenote, I highly recommend spending some time browsing the creative names people have come up with to name mushrooms–very entertaining.)

If my identification is correct, it seems that this mushroom is “semi-edible,” as in it can technically be eaten, but has a poor taste. It can, however, be used as seasoning when dried. When cut, the mushroom bleeds whitish, peppery-tasting milk.I definitely don’t plan on snacking on these mushrooms anytime soon, despite their convenience to my dorm.

The species is widely distributed in both Europe and eastern North America, and has been accidentally introduced to Australia as well.

Have any of you seen these mushrooms around campus? What do you think of my identification?

Until next time!!

Frances

Hello fellow nature lovers,

As some of you may know, the beloved squirrel that people often saw outside the Fays was recently run over 🙁 So I have decided to dedicate this post to a memorial of the life of that squirrel.

I believe I first encountered this squirrel outside the lawn of Dartmouth hall, sniffing around for a place to cache his nut. I was intrigued by him because of his uniquely long tail – it wasn’t bushy like other squirrels’ tails I had seen, it was more wiry and skinny. The squirrel still had the characteristic white stripe around its tail, and I never questioned if it was a grey squirrel – just why the tail was a different shape and length than usual. The squirrel was displaying typical caching behavior, and I believe he was looking for a place to cache his acorn. He eventually decided on a tree over by Thorton Hall, a good shady spot but not so smart with regards to pilferage avoidance.

first sighting

I started seeing this squirrel around more, and a couple of my next observations centered around him as well. I again saw him caching outside of Dartmouth Hall (re: my last post). Here is a photo from that sighting.

squirrel eating acorn

This time, the squirrel cached his acorn closer to Dartmouth Hall. As I’m thinking about it now, that might be an effective place to put an acorn as there’s typically a lot of foot traffic there and many squirrels might not think to dig around that area.

Another time I encountered this squirrel it was jumping across the lawn of Dartmouth Hall, very frantically. His characteristic long tail was moving all about as he sniffed the ground and patted some dirt. I wondered whether he was foraging or caching, but then saw him pause and start chewing on an acorn, as shown in the picture below.

squirrel eating another acorn

Sadly, I didn’t see the squirrel too much after this sighting, but I will always remember him by his uniquely long tail. Does anyone else have any photos or interesting stories about this squirrel? Comment below!

Best,

Sami