Fall, glorious fall! A report from the October 20 Soup 'n Walk

Today's Soup 'n Walk was held on a glorious fall day. The leaves were just starting to change, and enough had fallen on the trails that we could swish through the leaves. The meadow was still showing some color, a few goldenrods, Maryland asters, and dogbane were still in bloom, and there were many beautiful seedheads. On entering the forest, we were struck by the beautiful red and orange foliage. There were many bright red berries on the dogwood, and the poison ivy was in full color! It was good to see water in the creek again, and we noted that the ferns were not as lush as in past years due to the drought. There were beautiful yellow tulip tree leaves on the trails, which led to a discussion of remembering to look up into the tall trees to see their color. We were able to find several hearts-a-bursting still with their seedheads, and we discussed the green stems that stay evergreen, along with the greenbriar. Julianna noted some rattlesnake orchid leaves just as a small snake slithered by! Fun! The moss was lovely in the sunlight, and we noted the small round spores on them that looked like mushrooms. It was a good day to see beauty all around us.

By Mary Jo Kubeluis
Arboretum Docent Naturalist

We really did luck out on the weather today. Yesterday was very rainy, but today the sun was shining and the temperature was in the 60s. It was perfect weather for a fall walk in the woods. Mary Jo K did the color walk, and Bill T. did his mushroom walk. We had 29 paying guests who divided into two groups.

The fall color really popped out during the past week with the change in hours of daylight. The sassafras, tupelo, and dogwood were sporting different shades of red at the edge of the woods. The tulip trees and hickories were a brilliant gold color. Sweet gum trees ranged from yellow to red to purple. We were treated to our fall fern, the cutleaf grape fern, on the Blockston Branch Trail. Since it had rained the day before, plenty of mushrooms were also spotted along the trail.

Everyone enjoyed the carrot and ginger soup (some with dried mushrooms from Bill), the salad with red peppers, barley oat bread with orange ricotta or apple butter, and lastly, a luscious apple pie with crumb crust and red apple cranberry sauce. Many said they planned to try the delicious and nutritious recipes that they took home. Mickey decorated with colorful bouquets. Other helpers were Zaida W., Pat B., Pat R., Shirley B., Kelli M., and Diana at the desk. Many busy hands helped set the tables and clean up afterward. Thank you to everyone for making this a successful Soup 'n Walk.

By Julianna Pax
Arboretum Docent Naturalist

Remarks for a remarkable event

On Saturday, September 29, 2012, more than 200 Arboretum supporters gathered in the Arboretum's South Meadow under a tent to enjoy themselves and help raise money to support the Arboretum's operating budget. To welcome these close friends and supporters, I thanked key supporters and immediately turned to briefly remind them why we had gathered on a stunning Indian summer evening. 

Ellie Altman
Executive Director

Thank you, thank you. Good evening.

To all of our guests, your presence is a confirmation that the good work of Adkins Arboretum is valued and appreciated. So thank you for spending this evening with us. We take it personally. You have full lives and many places to be, so we are honored that you have chosen to be here.

So what is the cause that brings us together tonight?

There are five:

1.      To keep the Arboretum’s doors open every day,

2.      Accessible to everyone,

3.      To enjoy the beauty, the wonder, and the magic of the natural world,

4.      To find at the Arboretum a respite,

5.      To find the resources to become better stewards of our land.

Thank you for your interest in this cause and for being here tonight to help underwrite the costs of the Arboretum’s gardening, nature, and art programs for all ages.

Celebrating today

Celebration: recognition that something is special.  So I am choosing to celebrate today by taking a walk in the woods at Adkins.

Just as when returning home from the Western Shore, as I reach the midpoint of the Bay Bridge, I find that I can take a deep breath and loosen my white knuckle grip on the steering wheel. I get a similar feeling at Adkins. Like I’m finally home….and I like it.

As I take off on my walk, I go from feeling the warm sun on my back to admiring the ferns growing in the deep shade, in just a few feet. It’s so peaceful here with only the birds’ songs to remind me that I really am not totally alone.

On to Paw Paw Playground, where I sit for awhile. For some reason I find myself thinking about the people who lived here a hundred years ago. How did they make their living? Were they happy? Were they concerned about being happy, or did making a living consume all their time? Did they have time to celebrate just because it was a beautiful day?

Small red berries on the path give away the location of a sweetbay magnolia. The berries and cones of a magnolia are so distinctive. I love to see them in bloom. There’s something about their leathery leaves and smooth creamy white blossoms.

What is it about lichen and moss that attracts my attention? Is it the color? That elusive blue-green found on lichens or the bright green on the moss? Or is it the textures? Or is it that the appearance of lichens tell us the air quality is good at the Arboretum? I’m going to think more about that.

Now taking the North Tuckahoe Trail. I think there’s a tree down across the trail. What better way to get up close and inspect a tree top without risking life and limb? Sadly, it looks like I have waited too long and the tree(s) has been removed.

A squirrel runs across the path ahead of me. Boy, can they make a racket. It sounds more like a couple of deer running in the woods then a squirrel. Next time I am going to bring my binoculars. There are so many birds calling and I don’t recognize many of them. What a great place for bird watching.

Taking Nancy’s Meadow Cut takes me from deep woods right out into meadow in just a few steps. This is where the shining sumac tree is just starting to take on fall color. All too soon, I find myself back at the Visitor’s Center. Taking the time to enjoy the day is always a good idea. For now it’s off to work for me. But I know the paths at Adkins will beckon me back soon.

by Diana Beall

Assistant Receptionist

Touring the backyard hobby farm

September's Backyard Garden Farm tour was a great way to celebrate the first day of fall. Over 20 of us started the day with coffee, juice, and delicious cinnamon rolls from the local farmer's market. I began the tour showing how periwinkle volunteered to grow in my yard and tried to take over. I also showed how my neighbor’s Japanese maple has a 6’ volunteer in my yard and how I continually pull out other volunteers. We toured the yard with mostly natives of river birch, dogwood, red bud, sweetbay magnolia, arrow wood, winterberry, blueberries, beautyberry, native ferns, Joe Pye, coneflower, phlox, NY Ironweed, and turtlehead.

Our mature willow oaks stole the garden show, and the group admired that our neighborhood had been developed around the native trees, which is why we love living here. We discussed the importance of native plants, not just because they are easy to care for or are drought tolerant but because they are important to our native wildlife populations to sustain the circle of life.

Then we watched little Madison (Michelle’s niece) feed bread to the hens as they walked about. They looked funny because they are starting to molt due to the shortening of daylight hours. I showed the group the size difference in a mature hen egg and a young hen egg. Hard to believe they are from the same breed, but age makes the difference in size.

We enjoyed finding a small corn snake in the hydrangea bush and a large black snake slithering by the goats' area. He has been a regular, trying to snag a few of the small eggs from the young hens. In my potted plants that included some parsley, we found black swallowtail larvae feasting and growing. David, a volunteer here at Adkins, asked if he could open my hive and gave everyone an up-close view. The group was glad we were not too quick to collect honey this year since the hive is only a year old. I shared how the bees line up on the bird bath for a drink of water and how interesting it is to watch.

We discussed the small area it takes to raise dwarf goats and how much fun they give. Madison shared a treat of graham crackers with the goats, and I discussed their care, food needs, and how someday I hope to get milk and make goat cheese. Everyone went home with a fresh half dozen free range eggs, and they were inspired to start a new sustainable landscape practice. I have already received a phone call from one young lady from Washington College who attended and got a goat and asked where I got my small hay rack!  

by Robyn Affron
Visitor Services Coordinator and Certified Professional Horticulturist

Photos by Robyn Affron and Michelle Smith, Arboretum Bookkeeper

Bees, biomimcry, and butterflies

You know that buzz - that buzz when you walk into a room and the party is in full swing? I heard that buzz recently while stepping onto the bridge over the Arboretum wetland. It made me stop and look for the party. The groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia) was in full bloom, hosting the most diverse party of pollinators I've seen in awhile. Many species of butterflies, moths, flies, bees, and wasps, visiting each flower, all very busy collecting nectar and pollen. So busy they didn't even notice the humans walking by!

This busy lady has been visiting long enough to pack her pollen baskets full of tasty, nutritious groundsel pollen. I can hear you - bees carrying baskets full of pollen - this lady is a big fanciful, I think. Well, if you can see the bright orange-yellow circle in the center of the picture, that is actually a pollen basket, a structure bees have on their legs made specifically to hold the collected pollen for the flight back to the hive.

This is an interesting visitor because at first glance you might say it was a bee of some sort when, in fact, it is a fly masquerading as a bee! The telltale in this case is the presence of only one set of wings, which is a characteristic of flies. Bees and most other insects have two sets of wings. Demonstrating an excellent use of biomimicry strategy, these flies gain protection from predators by using a disguise of an insect known to have formidable defenses without having to go to the physical cost of maintaining the venom and stingers of their models, the bees.

For a nice discussion of bees, bee mimics, and how to identify them, you can visit
http://beespotter.mste.illinois.edu/topics/mimics/

I included this last picture because who doesn't like a butterfly picture?

Listen for the party buzz the next time you come to the Adkins Arboretum and see if you can spot a bee mimic while you are here.

Post and photos by Arboretum docent Michelle Dolan Lawrence