Tracking 101

Sweetie and I went out for a weekend experience with the Master Naturalist program.

We were involved with how to discern animal tracking.

The snow for certain help.

So here ar home, where we KNOW what critters abound, we learn to look and with that learn more.

This one was a GIVEN...

The critter that made the tracks is picture # 2 on this post.

TUNA the cat ;)

She walked with me, for sure wondering what in the world I was doing!

Deer

Nope it did not follow me ;)

Wisp of a wing impression from a bird taking off

Small bird tracks, might have been the same bird, but then this was around the bird feeder.

Hoar- Frost

With the sub zero temperature here there was no doubt the high probability of seeing Hoar frost.

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I wanted to take more pictures, but it was toooooooooooooooooooooo cold. I would aim at the object then my glasses would fog up and I couldn’t see what I was aiming at, HA. Then I would take the glasses off, but first had to take off my gloves, then by the time I was ready to AIM my hands were too numb to click. HA

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This day the low was minus 4, not sure what it was with the wind chill factor But Tell ya what it was mighty cold. The HIGH this day was a BALMY PLUS 9

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Oh well ;)

Hoar-frost first turns up in written English in 1290 as hore frost. Strictly speaking, hoar-frost is the kind of frost that turns everything it forms upon white or gray. Due to the fact that hair turns gray with age, things that are white or gray are often associated with old age and this is the original sense of hoar. Old English har and Old High German her both meant "old" or, as a secondary meaning, "venerable, august". According to Dictionary.com, the Online Etymology Dictionary says the word 'hoar', as it pertains to frost, "It is recorded in O.E. (hoar-frost is c.1290), expressing the resemblance of the white feathers of frost to an old man's beard." The word itself came from the Proto-Germanic (P.Gmc) word har meaning "grey, venerable, old". The Germans still retain this word in the form of Herr, which is a title of respect.

Under clear frosty nights in winter soft ice crystals might form on vegetation or any object that has been chilled below freezing point by radiation cooling. This deposit of ice crystals is known as hoar frost and may sometimes be so thick that it might look like snow. The interlocking ice crystals become attached to branches of trees, leafs, hedgerows and grass blades and are one of the most prominent features of a typical 'winter wonderland' day. However, the fine 'feathers', 'needles' and 'spines' might also be found on any other object that is exposed to supersaturated air below freezing temperature.

This weekend

Check out the classroom

Some time ago a Person donated these animals to WVU. The Long Horn was an aside as the story goes…still one awesome animal for sure.

Did you hear that? We are not forgotten…we continue to TEACH! Did you catch that odor? Ummmmmmmm wonder what it is, be back soon I am going to check it out.

UMM think it is dinner, let’s GO

Check my eyelashes, do they not look attractive?

DANG there is some dead bug on me ewwie!

Hold still I will Get it HONK HONK

My eyes are lovely don’t you agree?

ICK my tongue feels ODD…tastes like dirty socks yuk

Heyya It looks like my antlers are CLAPPING, Totally KEWL

MOOVING to be sure

Let’s see the dimensions for curtains should be about this wide

WINK WINK

I ROCK!

Wonderful information… I learned lots…and even felt good I knew lots! Always a good thing…

Learning is Wonderful.

So far all 4 session have been fabulous… people in their fields sharing their knowledge is SUPER! Topic this session was Wildlife Habitat Improvement William N. Grafton

He is the gentleman on the plaid shirt. Extension Specialist and Associate Professor

He was our Instructor. William N. Grafton, son of a West Virginia logger, was born in Fayette County, W.Va., November 20, 1938. He attended West Virginia University (WVU), earning a B.S. in forestry and wildlife management. After serving with the U.S. Army, he earned a M.S. in forest management at WVU.

Mr. Grafton then joined the WVU Extension Service as a forestry specialist in Beckley, W.Va.; later serving as director for an 11-county area in southern West Virginia. He worked closely with forest and wood industries, concentrating on forest fire prevention and helping produce “Time Is Running Out,” an award-winning film on fire prevention.

While in Beckley, he discovered the location in West Virginia of the endangered plant, “running buffalo clover.” He has become a recognized authority on the flora of West Virginia, especially in the New River Gorge area.

Throughout his Extension career, Mr. Grafton has given of his time to promote forest management education to all citizens in the state. He has been a major contributor to youth education in West Virginia, helping to organize the Youth Science Camp in Wyoming and Raleigh Counties. He has been an annual instructor at the Forest Industries Camp for high school students. Since his return to Morgantown as a wildlife specialist in the 1980s, he has worked extensively on deer herd management. He has worked with farmers, foresters and politicians, trying to find reasonable and sustainable recommendations on deer herd management in West Virginia.

Mr. Grafton has held leadership positions with the Society of American Foresters, and has been recognized by many organizations for his contributions to forest management in West Virginia. In 1993, he was enshrined as an honorary member of the West Virginia FFA. In 1994, he was honored with a faculty award by Gamma Sigma Delta, the Honors Society for Agriculture.

He has been an officer and leader in the Nature Conservancy, which promotes the protection of unique ecological sites. He has also been an officer and leader in the West Virginia Plant Society. For over 20 years, he has been a forest management instructor at the Conservation Education Camp for teachers in Webster County. He also provides information and organizational input for a similar camp held each summer at Blackwater Falls State Park.

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back." -Henry David Thoreau journal

We built bluebird houses

Sound Song a rich warbling whistle broken into short phrases: "Tu-wheet-tudu." Also a dry chatter. »listen to songs of this species