Spring Signals

Even though it doesn't seem like it, Spring is just around the corner. The weather doesn't know it, but Robins do. The arrival of the American Robin en masse is one of our first signals that Spring is coming. They don't overwinter here because they are omnivorous- eating earthworms and grubs but also berries. Obviously the ground is too frozen all winter for them to collect worms, and berries can be abundant, but they can't thrive on just berries for too long. So, in the fall, they travel to points South- from Virginia to Florida and Texas, and some go as far as South and Central America.

When Spring is on its way, male robins begin to arrive back up here. They show up about the time that the average daily temperature is 37 degrees (following the 37 degree isotherm). Most likely the Robins we are just seeing now are males. Females show up a few days to a couple of weeks later, when both worms and mud are easy to find. After the girls arrive, Spring is really close- they will start building nests and we can look forward to at least a few days of warmer air. Look for the ladies- they are the ones with lighter colored-chests and the look of Spring in their eyes!

In Search of...The Snow Flea

There is a certain Tanglewood supporter and former Board Member, who I'll call "Doc" that wanders in every once in awhile with something interesting to talk about. Today it was Snow Fleas. He said they are out and wondered if we wanted any. I said, "Of course". I remembered him talking about them last year, telling me they were "out there" on top of the snow on sunny days and that I might not notice them unless I really looked hard. And then I said, "What IS a snow flea ?" He said they are a type of springtail, not actually a flea. He left and came back less than 15 minutes later with a coffee jar full of them. Fascinating! I did a little research on these guys and here's what I found out:

They are arthropods in the insect order Collembola. They are ancient, having been around 400+ million years, here even before the dinosaurs. They are only about 1/8 of an inch long and they jump, well actually, they "spring" to get from place to place. They have two "tail" segments that are held under their abdomen with little hooks that, when released, launch the little guy from place to place. Sounds fun, but the problem is, they can't control the direction they go and often land in the same spot they started from. They eat decaying plant material and fungi as well as plant sap. They can attach to the underlayer of leaves or other surfaces with an appendage called a ventral tube. The ventral tube is how Collembola were named, combining the Greek words "coll," or glue, and "embol," meaning wedge. This ventral tube serves triple duty because it is also used for drinking and breathing. Scientists are still trying to figure out if this tube is also their excretory tube....uh, yuck.

There are thousands of species (over 6,000) of Collembola. They are a very successful group and for the most part are harmless because they help to break down dead plants and control bacteria and fungi, although one species from New Zealand and Australia is considered a pest because it likes to eat alfalfa.

Collembola generally prefer moist, cool conditions (even cold, some are in the Antartic), although they can tolerate hot conditions too as some are found in Hawaiian volcanoes.

Another local Collembola is the black-colored species named Willowsia negiomaculata. They are the little guys you might see rushing across the page of a book.

Take a walk outside on a sunny day in the winter and look for the Snow Flea, a gift on a winter day.

Want to make a memory?

I have been thinking about my own post awhile back about what I do every day for a living and why I do it. Today, inexplicably, listening to Bon Jovi of all things spurred a "thing" in my heart that really sums it up. Not about someone I am in love with, about someTHING I am in love with. Our Earth. I love this place we live and I'm not at all ashamed or embarrased to say it. It is spectacular! From the colors of the sky that change from minute to minute to the creatures, big and small that roam it. Take a minute to think about the vastness of the Earth and the incomprehensible variety of life here. How many different kinds of everything there is. Flowers, insects, even types of grass! Then there's the non-living stuff- rocks, minerals, soil, bodies of water, the stuff that air is made of. All of it working together to make the ball we live on habitable and interesting. There is not one day that goes by that I don't think about how lucky we are to have the gift of Earth. There is not one day that goes by that I am not aware of my natural surroundings. Can you say the same?

A memory to me is something lasting, a legacy of sorts. I spend my days working where I do because I want to make a memory on Earth. I don't want the memory I make to be one of destruction or of pollution of course, but I also don't want it to be one of neglect or taking things for granted. I want to share with people what I spend my days being amazed by and thankful for. I want my memory to be one that, when I am gone, says, "she appreciated and nurtured our Planet by sharing her (hopefully) infectious enthusiasm for it." I will never be a radical environmentalist, I will never have millions of dollars to support environmental causes, so all I can do from where I am and with who I am is to make a memory in my little part of the World.