Public presentations; the Lyme Disease factor; some retirement projects

 I almost deviated from my initial plan for this next post, as I keep coming up with myriad thoughts and inspirations that I want to move on to. But they will have to wait a bit longer.

During my career, I gave many presentations on some aspect of natural history to a variety of groups.  They included:

 -quite a few featuring various aspects of Rondeau's natural history, both on the job at the park as well as to a few naturalist clubs across southwestern Ontario and even an occasional school setting;

-the Role of Fire in Southwestern Ontario, especially as it pertained to prairie and savanna. These were given to different groups within OMNR as well as a separate fire group;

-Endangered Species, a Quarry and an OMB, mainly given to internal OMNR audiences;

-Walpole Island natural history, to a WIFN community group;

-Natural History on Pelee Island, mainly to OMNR audiences; 

-Birds of Rondeau, to what formerly was the Sydenham Field Naturalists

-Natural Areas of Chatham-Kent, given to the general public at the Chatham Library.

 

In retirement, I kept getting a few more requests for presentations, and while I did a couple, I was a bit fatigued. I had contracted Lyme Disease on at least 5 occasions beginning in 1976 and fatigue is a frequent result. If I gave a presentation, I wanted to be at my best, and since as time went on, it was never a guarantee, I became more hesitant in accepting these requests, some of which were quite a distance from home. So I began to decline all requests, but decided to continue on with my sharing of the wonders of nature via my Nature Nuggets blog, beginning in 2014. To date, I have made over 740 posts, with over 12300 photos. It has been a lot of work, but it is something I can do on my own time, and if fatigue is a factor, it can wait for another day. It also gets me out with camera and binoculars regularly, on a sometimes long walk, so it is good exercise as well. I can do a little natural history interpretation when I meet folks on the trails or wherever. And of course I continued to gather material for both of the books I produced.

I did keep busy with various natural history field projects that I was asked to take on in retirement. Some of them included:

-doing butterfly surveys in several places where the Rural Lambton Stewardship Network/Ontario Nativescape had established tallgrass prairie sites over several years. These were fun, and it also meant that Marie could join me, as she always had a certain interest in butterflies. We were able to do these surveys over a three year period in the summer. Some of the butterflies we documented were:

Black Swallowtail

Great Spangled Fritillary

Marie, my butterfly survey companion

Monarch

Painted Lady

-I worked with the natural heritage staff of Walpole Island FN on several projects, to examine and provide recommendations to manage some of the best savanna habitat for some endangered species, including the White Prairie Gentian (Gentiana alba). No question that some of the best habitat for tallgrass prairie and oak savanna in Ontario, arguably Canada, is on Walpole Island.

 -I was contracted to help inventory an abandoned railway, as it was being considered to be turned into a publicly accessible hiking/biking trail across most of Chatham-Kent. There were some quite interesting sections, featuring some tallgrass prairie remnants with some endangered plant species. This first photo shows the general nature of the trail...

 ...and this next photo shows a fairly wide section made up mostly of tallgrass prairie type vegetation. It was initially an unknown section for this habitat, so it was rewarding to find this and several more sections like it. The trail has been open for hiking/biking for several years now.

Another project was to update some natural history features of the Bickford Oak Woods, which I had a role in preserving while still in my OMNR career, as described in an earlier post. One of the main targets for this project was to add to the database of tallgrass prairie, an overview shown first...

...and also some of the forested wetlands that were a major part of the site.

-there was also some project work done with the Fingal Wildlife Management area, not far from St. Thomas. I worked with a couple of others to focus on some overall values, but in particular the breeding birds.

 

-Another birding project that I volunteered with, was the Colonial Shorebird Surveys, and I had two areas to focus on: the Blenheim Sewage Lagoons and the Tilbury Sewage Lagoons. The main times were during spring and autumn migration periods. There were often some interesting shorebirds to document, but one of the more intriguing finds was this American White Pelican, which decided to settle down at Tilbury for awhile. While pelicans are generally increasing in numbers, and even nesting in southwestern Ontario now, during the time I was doing the surveys, they were almost impossible to see anywhere in the southwest especially.

 In addition to some of these field projects, which were quite rewarding, Marie and I managed to get out just to explore familiar places, such as birding at Rondeau. This next photo shows Marie along the Spicebush Trail, along with my mother, Helen, looking up some information about a bird they were investigating.

And one of my all time favourites is this next photo. We had been walking along the Tulip Tree Trail and I wanted a photo of her beside the trio of Tulip Trees. With a smiley, somewhat mischievous look, she gave the tree a hug and I captured it! I have this on a 12" X 12" canvas print to look at every day.
 

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Old Growth Forests, scars

 Most readers will be very aware of my love for forests and the trees that make them up. And of course, prairies and wetlands as well. But perhaps trees and forests have been the most impactful. Growing up in extreme southwestern Ontario where agriculture was a principal industry, the majority of forests had been cleared by the time I arrived. I recall reading parts of what the early visitors described, and in particular Anna Jameson, who described the area between Morpeth and Blenheim in her book Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada, published in 1838 following her travels here. She referred to that area as “the ten-mile bush” at what is now Hwy 3/Talbot Trail where the trail was faint but passable through a very dense forest. 

The farm that I grew up on was about mid-way between Morpeth and Blenheim and fronted on that trail. Of course settlement resulted in the majority of woodland being cleared for agriculture especially over the century since Jameson passed through. Our family planted trees in various places while I was living there, and even afterwards, and today as you drive past it, you can barely see the large brick house, pond and other buildings due to the trees.

 One of my early summer jobs while a student at university was as a seasonal naturalist at Rondeau, and after graduation it became a full-time job for about ten years, before that changed. I have discussed this time and the transition in a previous blog post.

 But I was always interested in trees. While I was in my next career, as the District Ecologist, I tried to promote a focus within OMNR on old growth forest, and had a bit of interest from my colleagues in other districts, but it didn’t progress as I had hoped, as there were too many things we were all involved in.

 After I retired, I took it upon myself to document as many trees of various species in Rondeau that I felt would qualify as ‘old growth’. And so after many trips to Rondeau in the leafless season over about a three year period, accessing part of the park that I could easily get to along the existing roads and trails, I assembled a data base of more than 300 trees of more than a dozen species. I included the species name, the diameter at breast height (dbh, the standard in the forestry industry of 4.5’ above ground), GPS coordinates, and a few photos. A book that inspired me to some extent was one called Ontario’s Old Growth Forests, by Michael Hendry and Peter Quinby, and it includes Rondeau’s forest as an example of quality old growth.

 One of my thoughts at that time was to write a pamphlet, or even a booklet, featuring old growth forest in overall terms, and emphasizing what was at Rondeau. It was one of several topics I planned to write about regarding natural history, and of course I did produce the two books in my retirement “Life On A Sandspit” and “Natural Treasures of Chatham-Kent”. I have a first draft completed of a third book featuring the Prothonotary Warbler, as it was first discovered nesting in Canada at Rondeau back in 1929, and Rondeau is still arguably the stronghold for this endangered species nesting location. But due to Marie’s declining health and eventual passing, that book and others have been on the back burner. Fortunately I did cover some of the more important aspects of old growth forest in both of those two books.

 Here are some of the largest trees I documented at Rondeau that certainly qualify as old growth.

Sugar Maple, 107 c, dbh

This next one is the largest tree I have come across to date. It is an Eastern Cottonwood, at about 158 cm dbh. The vines growing up the trunk made it a challenge to get a fairly accurate diameter.

Next is a Red Oak, 135 cm, dbh.

Silver Maple, 130 cm dbh

Next is another Red Oak, 134 cm dbh.

Silver Maple, 122 cm dbh

 Next is a fairly large Tulip Tree, at 102 cm dbh. Note the balding at the base of the trunk, which is typical of older growth Tulip Trees. Okay the person beside the tree is showing some balding as well, but maybe he is as old as the tree??

And finally for now, this is the largest diameter Tulip Tree I have found, at 125 cm dbh.

 But what is it about trees?

God loves trees, no question! He created them! I even read recently that God loves them to the point of giving each one a ring on its birthday :-). Trees, and parts of trees are mentioned in abundance throughout the Bible. There are thousands of references, beginning in the first chapter of Genesis to the end of Revelation. They are featured as a fully grown tree as well as fruit, buds, a rod such as the one that Moses used to part the Red Sea and perform many other things resulting in the Israelites being able to leave Egypt, a vine, branches, shade, many things made of the wood of trees, and of course the cross that Jesus was crucified on.

 Trees continue to be an important part of God’s creation. At least some of the countries that are in dire straits economically are largely treeless. Planting trees has so many benefits, from providing shade, enriching the soil, retaining important water sources, purifying water, protecting soil from erosion, etc.

As I wander through places like Rondeau, or Clear Creek Forest Prov Park, I am always reminded that trees are a lot like people. Even though there is, in this part of the world, quite a diversity of species, no two trees are alike, even within the same species. Trees undergo their own challenges for survival. The older a tree gets, the more scars it likely shows. Some are external, such as the scrape of a fallen branch, or a cluster of lichens that scar the trunk, or the workings of a woodpecker. Other impacts are internal, such as the Emerald Ash borer that works beneath the outer covering and eventually kills the tree. Not sure what caused this next, unusual tree trunk, looking somewhat like a pig’s snout on an American Beech tree!

Lichen mix

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker holes

 We all have scars of one sort or another. And sometimes the scars stay with us for a long time, and perhaps contribute to our demise. Such was the case for Marie, my wife and best friend, who was scarred at a very young age, and I intend to discuss that in more detail in a future post. This next photo shows a Pileated Woodpecker beginning to chisel out a hole in a White Pine, presumably to feast on the insects it could detect inside. I took this photo in February of 1995. The following photo shows the same tree, which I photographed in January, 2023, and of course the scar is still there. What this second photo doesn’t show is that about a metre above this spot, the trunk has broken off and the tree is dead. Scars can eventually kill.

 

 

Sometimes a tree has what appears to be a twin. It isn’t certain that the two Red Oak trees in the following photo are genetically twins, but they seem to be growing from the same source and are somewhat the same size. But even identical twin trees likely have some differences, depending on what they have been exposed to in growth. Maybe one gets more sunlight due to the angle it is growing at, so has different branching and leaf production.

Others seem to be growing from the same root stock, but in this next photo, the larger tree on the left is a Tulip Tree and the one on the right is a Red Oak. Perhaps they both sprouted at about the same time, and were so close at the beginning, they became best buddies growing together, but were clearly different. I have seen that happen in another pair, where the trunk of a Sugar Maple is almost entirely engulfed by the bark of a larger Red Oak.

So enjoy the trees, as an incredibly important part of God’s creation, but not likely as important as you are! God loves you with His perfect love!

 

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Blue Jays, God's cathedral and Black Sheep

 Well, the Blue Jays had a good run, didn’t they. In the end, one swing of the bat made a difference. Unfortunately the one swing resulted in a double play to end the series in favour of LA, rather than one swing over the fences which would have ended it for the Blue Jays to be winners. I must admit I have been an enthusiastic follower of sports over the years, especially in my youth, including hockey, baseball and football. Even as an adult. On occasion when we were still a family of three, Marie, Tim and I even went to Blue Jays games in Toronto, Detroit and Cleveland. 

 It was a fun time, to be sure. However in recent years, I have given sports a lot less attention, just as I have reduced my enthusiasm for trying for big day, month, year or even life lists for birds. When all is said and done, what does it really mean? Maybe some brief satisfaction but it really amounts to very little in the bigger picture. Maybe when the Olympics are on this winter it will be more satisfying and even somewhat inspirational, as the Olympians are not being paid hundreds of millions of dollars for doing what they do. So even though I have the TV on to keep up with some of the action, I often have it on mute and have the Christian radio station playing where there is more satisfaction and uplifting comment. On the TV, the constant chatter by commentators, as well as the barrage of nonsensical advertisements which are mostly for things that are relatively useless, is annoying. Years ago one never heard ads featuring gambling, but they seem to be one of the main ones these days, especially on sports channels. Christian music is so, so much more worthwhile to have coming into my brain! It was interesting to read in a recent The Word For You Today that there are so many things that keep us distracted from the important things, and that is exactly what the devil is doing, and quite successfully from all appearances. There is some upside of sports. It can be somewhat inspiring when in an after-game interview, an athlete gives thanks to God for His role in the person’s or team’s success, and puts some attention and thankfulness on God. Hopefully the many persons listening who normally give God very little thought, will take notice and give it some thought.

God's Cathedral  

It was June 22, 2014, and  I went to Rondeau on this late June morning. Here is what I wrote about the outing: It was quite sunny with calm winds……a joy to be out. The forest along Rondeau Road and Bennett Avenue has held a special place for me for quite some time, and today was no exception. The greens are so vivid and rich, the layering of colours and hues so extensive, extending as far as the eye can see. The shapes and lines of the trees forms are innumerable…..some aged and gnarled with bark sloughing off, some perfectly straight and in their prime.  The variable, but sometimes immense dark tree trunks are so tall and stately, especially of the Tuliptrees…..I am convinced I am in God’s great natural cathedral, and He is there with me.

The variety of greens, grays and blacks are extensive, with a few other colours in for variety. With the atmosphere being punctuated by melodious bird song, it might be expected to put one in sensory overload. Sometimes when I am in a human environment, a store for example, with myriad colours of so many things on the shelves, I do get into sensory overload mode, and I can't wait to leave. The intensity of colours in such settings clash severely. However in this majestic natural cathedral of God’s own making, even though the plethora of greens and grays with a few other colours mixed in, is as extensive as one could ever imagine. There is no feeling of sensory overload at all. Instead, the shades and colours are so complementary to each other, as they should be as per the Master Designer. What a blessing to be able to see and experience such wonderful creativity! On the one hand, one wants to get the camera out and capture it all, but my inner self is at least temporarily satisfied with just enjoying every hue of His majesty in this place. Anyway, how could man’s mere technology capture the fullness of God’s glory???

In other things. 

It has been a difficult last few days in some respects. I came across a few more of Marie’s journal notes, and they weren’t easy to get through. Most people who knew Marie will know her as a quiet, friendly, thoughtful, caring, individual, often smiling and she was all of that and much more, in a very positive sense. So supportive in many ways, and I am still amazed and so thankful that God had her available to be my best friend and wife, and I thank Him several times a day. But she didn’t often express some of the innermost thoughts she was dealing with. Even when we were first courting, and afterwards, she didn’t express a lot of those thoughts except on rare occasions, but a bit more so in later years. Instead, she expressed many of those thoughts in her journals, which she kept to herself. In the aftermath of her passing, I came across boxes of them, and was able to read many of them. There are still some that I have come across. Most have been shredded, as I read in one of her later journal messages that she wasn’t sure she wanted anyone reading the several boxes of journals that dated back even before I knew her. So far I have shredded two extra large garbage bags full, each of which were 121 L capacity, and were jam-packed with shredded journals. I will probably do more shredding. While I was becoming increasingly aware of some of her thoughts and struggles over the last couple of decades, I didn’t realize just how much until after reading so much. The principal thing she was struggling with was the sexual abuse she experienced as a young child, on several occasions, probably via more than one perpetrator, and over several years. There were other things along the way in her early family life, that added to her internal thoughts and struggles. Fortunately in her late teens, she asked Jesus to be her Saviour, and that had a huge positive influence in her life, of course, and I was blessed in so many ways with her as my wife. And I continue to be blessed in ways that I could not have imagined.

 My current plan is to get into some of these struggles in one or more future posts, and how the devil harassed her in subtle ways. As I mentioned earlier, most of these struggles were internal, and she didn’t exhibit their effects to most people, probably just the various counselors she dealt with over several decades. And when she couldn’t sleep, she would sometimes spend time writing about her thoughts and concerns. So when she finally left this earthly life as a result of the slow and steady decline, physically, mentally and spiritually, it took many of her friends, even fairly close ones, by surprise. Given what she was wrestling with, in spite of the fact that I miss her dearly, I thank God daily that He rescued her from the path she was going down, and now I am convinced that she is more beautiful and perfect than ever!

 Unrelated to the content of this post to this point, I have become increasingly aware of a song on UCB radio, that gets my attention. It is called ‘Black Sheep’, written and sung by Ben Fuller.  Ben has an intriguing background, having grown up on a dairy farm and being constantly under pressure to work harder, never getting the feeling even from his family members he was loved. As a result at the age of 16, he came very close to ending his life, but in the last few moments before pulling the trigger, didn’t. However he turned to alcohol, drugs and promiscuity, but never got caught doing anything illegal. His best friend died of fentanyl. He did learn to play guitar and sing, and after moving to Nashville several years later, was invited to church by a friend, where he gave his life to Jesus. Now he sings in various places, including in prisons, to encourage the inmates of Jesus’ love for them. While most of us haven’t gotten to the place where he was at, we have all been black sheep at some point and in various ways. This song is done in what I consider a minor key, and the lyrics are simple but direct, and causes one to reflect. Here is the link: Black Sheep

 

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