Honey, What's a "Skolithos"?

In my travels throughout the Park, I'll sometimes hear a reference to the geology of the areas I'm visiting - I've even posted on that topic from time to time when I learn something new.  I'd often heard about this variety of "trace fossil" - the skolithos, and finally had a chance during the Wildcat/RipRap hike to learn how to identify them.

Referring to the website for Shenandoah National Park, there is a good article on Park geology at this link:
http://www.nps.gov/shen/naturescience/chilhowee.htm.  Quoting from that, here is the reference to skolithos:

"...the one observable fossil can be seen in the Erwin Formation, a preserved worm burrow known as skolithos, which appears as long, straight tubes within the white quartzite."

The quartzite, shown in the two photos, is a sedimentary rock that dates from 500 million years ago, an era  before any of Earth's complex life forms had appeared.  Wikipedia (search on skolithos) goes on to describe this particular type of fossil as being "usually associated with high-energy environments close to the shoreline."

As we walked through these areas, Dan mentioned that we were walking along an ancient beach, adding to the adventure of that day's hike.

The Toro: an Intro to Buddhist Cosmology

For the last couple of days I have been noticing the lanterns that decorate the base, including these two Japanese toro lanterns that mark the parking lot to the PX. Of course, back at HC we have a corny little knock-off one that we got from Home Depot, but the ones I am seeing here are quite a bit more elaborate. I’m told they are often Eagle Scout projects for the kids around here, which is a nice bit of lore; but seeing these two inspired me to do some background reading on Wikipedia and what I found was quite interesting.


They are called toro, a word that has come to mean that the lantern is constructed of heavy, long-lasting material. Because of their traditional appearance, they often decorate Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and Japanese gardens. Learning about their traditional five-part construction was what I found most interesting, however: the five components represent the five elements of Buddhist cosmology.

They are:

• The base or foundation, the kiso, which touches the ground. It represents chi, the earth.

• The next section represents sui, or water. I guess this is the post, or legs – called the sao.

• Then we have ka, or fire, which is represented by the section where the light or flame is. The Hibukuro is the firebox where the flame is lit.

• The last two are fu and ku, air and spirit or void, respectively, which are represented by the last two sections – the kasa, and hoju. The kasa is the little roof or umbrella that covers the flame, and hoju is the finial, which is traditionally shaped like an onion. Apparently the word hoju means “jewel”.

Buddhism is a very practical and respectful system of beliefs. The segments of the lantern express the idea that after death our physical bodies will go back to their original, elemental form.

There are a couple of other toro on post, but these are the most elaborate I’ve seen so far. And Wikipedia adds a reassuring note that some or most of the five parts may be missing. Our little toro back at HC is only two-parts but incorporates four of the elements, with the exception of a base or foundation – it still touches the earth, however, so chi is represented.

The Search for Trillium

“…in May look for the red-purple trillium, Trillium erectum, starting about a quarter mile from the Drive; it’s rare elsewhere in the Park.” – From Heatwole’s Guide to Shenandoah National Park


As I set out on my hike to the Hightop summit on Sunday morning, there were two things I had in the back of my mind – one of them was the hope of seeing some Trillium flowers, even though it is late in the season for them, and the other was to keep an eye out for the flower “Pink Lady Slipper” although I knew this one was unlikely since it is already late spring.

I wasn’t disappointed in my search for Trillium, and even though the flowers I saw ranged in colors from pink to red, it would be hard for me to say which variety I saw – the typical variety you hear about in the Park is white, but a fter it peaks, it blushes to pink before it fades. I think I may have seen both varieties - the Trillium erectum were too far off the trail to get a good phone cam shot.

I also saw hardy geraniums (a favorite), violets, mountain azaleas at the peak, and glades of ferns and blackberries.

Here are two Wikipedia links on the main flowers I was looking for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypripedium_acaule

And don’t forget, the invaluable Heatwole guide is now available as a web-based reference:

http://www.guidetosnp.com/web/

More thoughts on Fibrowatt impacts

Following up on the discussion of potential emissions from a power plant in the Valley, today I wanted to think about some different supporting infrastructure that will need to be constructed. The starting point for this analysis is Homeland Renewable Energy’s website, Fibrowatt’s parent company, specifically the technical data sheet about the Minnesota plant, which is the first reference link at the end of the post.

There are two points to call out specifically, both of which will require specialized infrastructure: (1) the stack height of 300 feet, and (2) the voltage that power generated at the plant is delivered to the grid – 115kV.

Starting with the stack height, it’s hard to get a perspective on how tall 300 feet is in Page County, since the Valley is surrounded by two mountain ridges. The nearby peaks in Shenandoah National Park, notably Stonyman and Hawksbill, are 4,000 feet tall. Two easily identifiable peaks in the shorter Masssanutten ridge are Kennedy peak and Duncan Knob, at between 2,500 and 2,800 feet tall.

There are numerous photographs of panaoramic views from these summits on the Hiking Upward site (www.hikingupward.com) or from Google Earth. From those heights, tall constructed objects are visible, but for the time being there are none over 150 feet tall, these being cell towers. As I drove through Luray last weekend I made a mental inventory or a few of them – the Tannery stack, at about 50 feet, the Luray Caverns Bell Tower, also about 50 feet tall, the cell tower on the ridge above downtown about 100 feet, and the tower near Wal-Mart, about 120 feet tall.  There are also water towers in Luray and Stanley, both of which are well below 100 feet.

Three hundred feet is pretty hard to quantify in Page County, because there is simply nothing that tall here – roughly equivalent to a 30 story building. This stack is five or six times as tall as the tannery stack, and nearly three times as tall as the tower near Wal-Mart. A smoke stack of that height would immediately draw attention from all of the panoramic vistas along the Shenandoah National Park ridge, including several of the historic overlooks on Skyline Drive. Hikers on the Appalachian Trail, when they are on the west side of the ridge, would see it from a few miles south of Big Meadow all the way up to the Rileyville area, perhaps as far as Compton Peak – four or five hiking days.

Down to earth, in the Valley, this smokestack would easily be visible from the Luray Caverns parking lot, where 500,000 tourists a year would take in the view. And families and kids at the Hawksbill Recreation Center in Stanley, which is very close to the proposed location at Project Clover, would also have a very clear perspective on the stack. The bike crowd in for state qualifiers – about a thousand of them, would see the stack from all along their route, and it would surely be a topic of conversation for the thousand-plus tri-athletes in June and August, putting an end to these emergent tourist activities.

The second infrastructure issue that draws my attention is the electrical transmission equipment that will be required. The voltage that will be delivered to the grid – 115kV, is considered high voltage and will require high voltage transmission lines. The Valley already has a few of these – but none running through the center area at Project Clover.

A Google search for pictures of high voltage towers to me to a Minnesota state permitting site, which is linked below. There are photos with a couple of examples like this one, and there are some images of big open country towers in the Wikipedia article cited in the references. A string of these (smaller ones!) will be needed to transmit the power to the national grid and to the end customer – a quick note here that that customer could be anywhere in the United States that is connected to Fibrowatt’s entry grid.

As indicated by this simple graphic from the Department of Energy (also found on Wikipedia), there will also need to be a substation, or transformer, built in proximity or on the grounds of the power plant. There's a photograph of a typical transformer station below.  While altitude won’t be significant here, the necessary towers will begin from there, radiating out through the Valley. I suspect that the transmission line will impact the Massanutten Ridge in some form, as I doubt that clearing space for this construction would be allowed in the Park. On the other hand, there are lines in Thornton Gap, so this may be the point of entry for the power to the grid.

In the research I’ve been doing, I have tried to keep an open mind to Fibrowatt and the opportunity to have a biomass plant in Page Valley. The proposed location, as I understand it, at Project Clover is my major point of concern. It is dead center in the Valley with prevailing winds to the northeast and southwest, which means any emission particulate matter will fall on the neighboring towns of Stanley and Luray. The height of the building and smokestack will be visible from throughout the Valley, including prime tourist attractions.

I’ve always been against the use of the Project Clover land for any industrial use, but I am against it even more when that use will require obtrusive construction such as this. If the plant were to come to the Valley in a location with less impact, I might support it – but since the Page County EDA has pushed this site into consideration, I have to make a stand against it.

At this point, I’ve done enough research on Fibrowatt to have an opinion. I foresee devastating economic impacts to the tourism and agriculture industries in the Valley, and the potential for significant environmental degradation. To put it simply: I’d rather not see a plant here.

http://homelandrenewableenergy.us/pdf/fibrominn-tech-data.pdf

http://www.mnpower.com/regulatory_matters/transmission/tower_fact_sheet.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pylon

When I first became aware of Fibrowatt, one of the questions a friend raised was this one: “You would be removing thousands of tons of poultry litter from the ground that might otherwise have found its way into the Chesapeake Bay. What is the effect of poultry litter on the Chesapeake Bay? More importantly, what is the effect of poultry litter in the more immediate area of disposal?” So I thought I might take a few minutes and look into this further.


Another friend wrote me about the impact of chicken litter as fertilizer, and why its use is regulated:

“The whole reason that litter is being regulated is the P (Phosphorus). P binds to negatively-charged soil particles and thus becomes unavailable for plant uptake. This is why our soil levels are high in P – it is not mobile, and litter in general is high in P. Farmers are using the litter as a cheap source for N, but the problem is the buildup of P. When we get heavy rains and soil erosion, the soil, laden with P, flows into the river and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.”

High level scans of a few Wikipedia articles on pollution in the Chesapeake Bay reference Phosporus as a major component. This issue is also referenced in a Washington Post article I found about a potential Fibrowatt plant on the Eastern Shore (link at the end of the blog post):

“If successful, the project also will help reduce a source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Although the raw waste has long been recognized as a top-notch fertilizer, if applied too heavily, it can flush into waterways and eventually the bay. That has led to severe restrictions on its use.”

My friend closed his message with a thought about using the litter ash as fertilizer: “…the idea that the farmer is going to buy the P back is doubtful, since that is the exact nutrient that is causing all of the problems.”

Another source of information on these impacts can be found on the Yadkin River Keeper website (link below), where the organization has taken an aggressive approach to inform the public about Fibrowatt’s combustion processes and other impacts. Noteworthy is a white paper document that can be found on their site (by scrolling to the bottom and clicking on “APPENDIX” – I could not get this link to work from my blog), which lists a wide range of chemical emissions, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid. The Yadkin River Keeper document cites a number of sources for this work, specifically permitting documents that outline how and when these emissions can occur.

Another point of interest from the Yadkin group is the requirement for water to operate the plant. The town of Elkin, where one of the NC locations is proposed to be located, had agreed to provide approximately 300,000 gallons of water per day for plant operations. This is a requirement and an impact that Page County will need to examine in further detail, both from a supply standpoint and a waste discharge standpoint.

This data suggests that significant work needs to be done on negotiating the prospect for a Fibrowatt plant here, and raise the same issues that a number of blog readers have commented on:

• Can these emissions be managed so that they don’t impact Page County’s primary industry – tourism (both for the Caverns and other private stakeholders as well as for the Shenandoah National Park)?

• Can the county and neighboring towns afford to make the infrastructure investments that are needed to support a plant like this?

• How will the proposed plant impact the agricultural sector, including growers, poultry farms, and supporting industry?

These are just a few of the questions the information in today’s post brings to mind. My next step is to review the citizens’ council records in Minnesota and North Carolina to see how the company and communities engaged these issues – that will help shed some light on what might happen in Page County.

On a closing note, I mentioned yesterday that my purpose is not to advocate one way or another on the prospect of a Fibrowatt plant in Page County. I’m going to stand by that statement and want the blog to be a source of information for due diligence on the question. But there is one opinion that I still hold, and want to repeat, regarding Project Clover as a destination for industrial use.

From the information above, it is clear once again that the real estate at Project Clover is not suited for industrial use – Fibrowatt or otherwise. For one thing, the potential for visible emissions in the center of the Valley is an unacceptable impact to the area’s natural beauty. The land there is in the “viewshed” of the National Park, visible from Big Meadow Lodge and Skyland Lodge, as well as several important summits (Hawksbill, Stonyman, and Miller’s Head) and historically significant overlooks on Skyline Drive.

The infrastructure is not present at Clover to support these uses. The roadways cannot sustain increased vehicular traffic and loads. The geology may enhance the risk of negative environmental impacts. It’s much better to see this kind of development elsewhere in the county, closer to highways that can handle truck traffic and where power and water infrastructure likely already exist.

I’d note again that this is a general statement of my opinion, not specific to the Fibrowatt plant, although if the issues cannot be resolved, it makes additional industrial development in the county unfeasible.

References today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042003284.html
http://www.yadkinriverkeeper.org/fibrowatt

Is biomass energy really green energy?

A few days ago, in one of the early posts about the potential of Fibrowatt coming to the Shenandoah Valley, I wrote that it would be exciting to have those “green energy” jobs here. It got me thinking about whether biomass energy is really a sustainable form. This question may be the basis of some of the community resistance to Fibrowatt in North Carolina (I am gathering info for a future post on this), so I thought I would it would be a good idea to look into it further.


First quote here is from the Energy Information Agency (EIA), which is part of the Department of Energy. There is a reference URL at the end of this post.

“Biomass is organic material made from plants and animals. Biomass contains stored energy from the sun. Plants absorb the sun's energy in a process called photosynthesis. The chemical energy in plants gets passed on to animals and people that eat them.

“Biomass is a renewable energy source because we can always grow more trees and crops, and waste will always exist. Some examples of biomass fuels are wood, crops, manure, and some garbage.

“When burned, the chemical energy in biomass is released as heat. If you have a fireplace, the wood you burn in it is a biomass fuel. Wood waste or garbage can be burned to produce steam for making electricity, or to provide heat to industries and homes.”

So the federal government considers biomass to be green energy because it is a renewable source. The process involved at Fibrowatt (graphic to the left), burning the biomass, is one of several methods that can be used to produce energy from biomass – in their case, poultry litter sometimes supplemented with other materials. For example (sourced from the second reference URL at the end of the post):

Alcohol Fermentation – conversion of organic starches into sugar by heating, the fermenting with yeast, for the production of ethyl or grain alcohol – “ethanol.” After distillation, ethanol is usually blended with another fuel, as with “gasohol.” This process uses fossil fuels in production of the alternative fuels, so it’s inefficient and is not exactly sustainable.

Anaerobic Digestion – converting biomass, especially human, animal, and agricultural waste, into methane and carbon dioxide. The biomass is mixed with water and stored in an airtight tank, where a natural process does its work – this is considered a costly but efficient process for biomass energy production.

Pyrolysis – this process heats biomass in sealed containers without oxygen, producing gas and charcoal from the decomposition of the materials. While the process reduces carbon dioxide output, which is one of the side effects of the other processes, it requires the biomass to be heated to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit – a process that requires significant amounts of energy in its own right.

So, while there are pros and cons related to the material – chicken litter, and the process – combustion, this review doesn’t indicate why the environmental reaction in NC is so strong. So, I went in a bit further, this time to Wikipedia, about the combustion process to see if I could find the reasons for the resistance. As with the others, there is a reference link at the end of the post.


It turns out that all of the resources I reviewed for today’s post mention the potential for gas and particulate emissions from the biomass combustion process – greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, and particulates and hydrocarbons that contribute to effects such as acid rain. Modern combustion technologies are designed to improve management of these byproducts, so that the effects are reduced or even eliminated. In any case, the biomass process is much cleaner than fossil fuel combustion, including coal-fired electrical generation. As noted in the Wikipedia article:

“A problem with the combustion of raw biomass is that it emits considerable amounts of pollutants…even modern pellet boilers generate much more pollutants than oil or natural gas boilers. Pellets made from agricultural residues are usually worse than wood pellets…” However, “…numerous studies have shown that biomass fuels have significantly less impact on the environment than fossil based fuels.”

The article goes on to summarize the findings of a Department of Energy study on the matter, which discusses the effects of sequestering the green house gases output during the process. While this creates inefficiencies and costs in the firing process, over the life-cycle of the plant there is a significant positive impact on what’s called GWP or Global Warming Potential.

Let’s summarize the pros and cons based on this review of the biomass combustion process.

Pros – offers an alternative method for disposing of poultry waste, instead of spreading it or landfilling it. It has a reduced environmental impact when compared to the combustion of other fuels. Poultry litter, as an industrial-agricultural by-product, is readily available.

Cons – there is the potential for particulate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion process. Due to transport and other requirements, it is not the most efficient energy production methodology, and therefore, it is likely to be more expensive energy than other processes.

Going back to the “Thinkquest” article cited below, biomass provides about four percent of the energy used in the US. Fibrowatt’s technology is one of quite a few that explore, and implement, the use of this fuel, with the expected impact that there may be an overall reduction in particulate pollution and greenhouse gas emission.

I still have a few posts to get through on the potential of a Fibrowatt plant in Page County. But I want to take a moment here to say thanks to loyal readers who have made it through this long and technical post on the biomass combustion process. I’ll look forward to gathering data for the next one – and your comments and questions are welcome!

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=biomass_home-basics
http://library.thinkquest.org/20331/types/biomass/advant.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass_energy

Luray's Chinquapin Oak - on the Hawksbill Greenway

One of the landmarks along the Hawksbill Greenway in Luray is a little sign that points out a large Chinquapin Oak, or Chestnut Oak, that sits on a bluff overlooking the area. The oak is about 60 feet above the path and on private property, so you can't really go visit it, but it is definitely significant enough to merit this recognition.

The tree is at least 250 years old - at least 50 years older than the town of Luray itself, which was chartered in 1812, as you can read on the sign, which also describes the size of the tree. From the vantage point of this sign on the trail, you can just see the tree above. It is more or less in the center of this photo, not appearing as the tallest of the trees, but more in the background - the one set back from the edge, with the branches that spread out more, forming the trademark crown of this species.

I thought I might look a bit more into the tree variety on Wikipedia, and found three items of particular interest (the entry there used a variant on the spelling, also, possibly due to the geography the author writes from, Chinquapin sounds to me like it is derived from a Mid-Atlantic Native American word, and the spelling would be typical in this area)

• Chinkapin oak is generally found on well-drained upland soils derived from limestone or where limestone outcrops occur. Occasionally it is found on well-drained limestone soils along streams.
• The Chinkapin Oak is especially known for its sweet acorns. The acorns are sweet and palatable. Indeed, the nuts contained inside of the thin shell are among the sweetest of any oak; they taste excellent even when eaten raw. These acorns provide an excellent source of food for both wildlife and people. The acorns are eaten by squirrels, mice, voles, chipmunks, deer, turkey, and other birds.
• Like the other members of the white oak family, the wood of the Chinkapin oak is a durable hardwood prized for many types of construction.

Most of the oaks on the Hawksbill Cabin property are white oaks, and I am pretty sure we likely have one or two of these somewhere in the area - maybe on the back lots along the ridge. I'll check it out, and when I do, maybe I'll test the acorns.

Vineyard Trips Preview

As a preview to some posts I will put up over the next couple of days about trips the family and I took to local vineyards last weekend (the photo here is of Mary and me in the fields at Wisteria - http://wisteriavineyard.com – near the Hawksbill Cabin), I wanted to make a note about some grape varieties that are grown here in Virginia.

Here are four of the more uncommon ones, with summarized information from their respective Wikipedia articles.

Reds

Petit Verdot-this late ripening red wine grape is typical of French Bordeaux blends, where it is used for tannin, color and flavor. Apparently it is regarded as unreliable in France and has fallen out of flavor there, but it can be used in the US reliably, even as its own varietal wine. It is sometimes used to bolster some Cabernet Sauvignon blends.

Norton-I first came across this varietal at Wisteria, but it is also the “cornerstone of the Missouri wine industry.” It’s often described as America’s native grape, but according to the Wisteria article, there are suspicions that it is actually a hybrid of European ancestry.

Whites

Seyval Blanc-A hybrid white wine grape that is popular at several Virginia wineries, including Linden Vineyards on the other side of the Shenandoah ridge from us. It is also grown in New York (which is likely how it came to Virginia) England and Canada.

Viognier-The final grape of our lesson today, a white variety that originates from the Rhone Valley. It’s origin is unknown but it has gained in popularity since the 1990’s, especially in California and Australia. It is well suited to Virginia’s “Monticello” growing region because of the mild climate there.
Tomorrow’s post will recount the trips we made to North Mountain Vineyard in Mauertown and our return visit to Wisteria in Stanley.

Heritage Festival Wrap Up

Following up on Wednesday's post about the Heritage Festival...

According to the brochure, this year's festival featured:

• local crafts and homemade goodies
• antique tractor, steam and gas engine show
• exhibitions of wheat thrashing, log sawing, large steam engine, corn chopper, corn husker, and feed grinding
• antique cars
• blacksmiths
• spinning wheel
• white oak baskets
• garden club
• cider, apples, and apple butter
• pottery making
• Shenandoah National Park history
  
  
  

The antique tractors are always placed right at the entrance to the fairground, so you see them on the way in and out. This year some of the exhibits were rearranged and so there was a continuous driving display on a circuit throughout the grounds - a few of these photos are of tractors taken when they were on the loop.

Two distinctive brands that I always see well represented at this festival are Allis-Chalmers and Deere, so I looked them up on Wikipedia. Here’s a summary of their stories:

Allis-Chalmers first entered the manufacturing business in Milwaukee as E.P. Allis in the 1840s. They made waterwheel, sawmill and grindstones. While originally incorporated in Delaware, the company soon became a major manufacturer of steam engines and industrial equipment in the Milwaukee area after merging with other firms—Fraser & Chalmers were a large steel and mining retort manufacturer. Allis-Chalmers entered into the farm equipment business in 1914 at about the time of WWI, and played a role in WWII with equipment for uranium separation for the Manhattan Project, submarine motors, and steam engines for the Liberty ships.

There was a man in Luray who had a large collection of bright orange A-C tractors that he built up over 30 years of collecting and restoring. Among his prized vehicles was a road grader, one of only six or seven known to have survived. He recently retired from collecting and auctioned off a number of his vehicles, you can now see them all over the Valley as the sudden access via the auction was very popular. So there were a few of them at the fest this year too.

Everybody knows about Deere & Company, brand name John Deere. It is a leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery, a Fortune 500 company, and there are always a number of the distinctive green and yellow tractors on display at the fest. They also make construction equipment, but I didn’t see any at the fest this year.

Skyline Drive, South District Views to the West

Here are a couple of phone cam photos I took in the South District over the weekend. These look west to Massanutten Mountain, and along with beautiful early fall weather and temperatures, we had a clear day.

These were taken from one of the overlooks, in this case, one that had a sign referencing the Spotswood expedition that crossed the mountain in the early 1700's, becoming the first Europeans to move into the Valley. Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_the_Golden_Horseshoe_Expedition

The view first includes the southern end of Massanutten Mountain, where the ski resort is, and this one is a look to the northwest, including Three-top Mountain and in the distance New Market gap.

Battle of the Species: Bugs, just bugs

I have a small collection of phone cam photos to post today, featuring some insects I have encountered recently.

First, there are these cicada shells. Two months ago, I observed a cicada emerging from its shell during the awards ceremony at the Luray Triathlon, I almost put my hand on it while I was leaning on a tree until an older woman said, “Do you see the cicada there?” and I recoiled.

Later, I heard their singing high in the trees for two or three weeks straight. I wondered if this was shoulder generation of “Brood X” we had around here a few years back, the 17-year cycle.

According to Wikipedia, there is also a 13-year variety in the American South…well that is as far as I care to go with the research. These husks were on Sally and Dan’s carport.

Next, a praying mantis who became close friends with me. I had a little fire going outside one night (we have a fire pit that I often sit beside on the brick terrace after cooking out). In the dark there, I felt something on my arm and then on my neck, then I saw it – I was being prowled by a mantis.

The next day it was still patrolling the brick terrace area so I caught this shot of it. I did not observe any successful hunts during this period of close proximity. I wondered if this could be the same one that I photographed a while back, but apparently the life span is usually less than 12 months, again according to Wikipedia.

Last, this walking stick insect I saw on a recent hike. It was high up on a rock outcropping with me – altitude of around 3,300 feet overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. I figure it has been twenty years or more since I have seen one, so I watched it for quite a while. I know it is hard to make out in the photo, best bet is to look for the shadow near the center of the picture.

Wikipedia says they make good pets. I’ll pass.

As you can see, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this post without exhaustive reference to Wikipedia, so here are the original links…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praying_mantis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_stick_insect

Some down time with Gracie and Sofie

It was a rare weekend not heading out to the Hawksbill Cabin, with me just getting back from being on business in San Antonio, and Mary headed up to NJ to visit some cousins preparing to relocate to Germany. Besides getting nine holes of golf in, and catching up on some reading (I’m currently reading Michael Perry’s Coop), I’ve been spending some quality time with Sofie and Gracie.

The girls were recently groomed. Because of the trauma bath time imparts, I haven’t given Gracie a bath in more than five years. We have a service that comes around twice a year in a converted RV, called “Bubble Buddies,” that actually specializes in older dogs, like our two. Gracie, the Border Collie, is 14 and a half; Sofie, the Chow mix we found as a stray in the DuPont Circle area of DC, is older than that. In fact, it has been about 13 years since Sofie joined our pack.

They don’t really get dirty and smelly like younger dogs anymore, so the twice a year schedule works out well for us. They actually seem to like it when the groomer hooks up the leash and leads them into the van – it’s an amazing difference from the “flat Gracie” routine I would experience when I tried to get her into the bathroom. Who knew a dog could actually expand to cover so much square footage, so that she couldn’t fit through a door?

When the groomer leaves, the dogs have been bathed and trimmed, and their nails are clipped. They get a special bandana, and they seem to like the extra attention we give them afterwards.

With Mary out of town, Sofie and Gracie have been hanging close by, mainly snoozing away as dogs at their age do. But at times, I still see glimpses of the old personalities. Sofie is mainly motivated by her tummy (or other bodily functions), so she is up and by my side any time I pass through the kitchen. Gracie has mainly been content to lie on the floor nearby, as she is now while I write this, but when I speak to her I can see the eyes darting around the room in search of a tennis ball or other toy.

Sofie is living proof that treating dogs the way you want them to behave makes them great pets. She’s smart, she has a great vocabulary, and with her, we’ve been through a lot. Almost 10 years ago she blew out a disk in her back, a fatal injury for dogs if they don’t receive medical attention. We got immediate emergency surgery for her (we had pet health insurance that helped). To this day, Mary and I both swear that the vet treating Sofie could operate on us; too, he was so well qualified and had such a great manner with his patients.

When our regular vet first met Sofie, she looked at her teeth and the Chow posture and said, “I like this dog. She has good hybrid vigor.” That inspired us to have Sofie’s DNA checked out: the Chow is definitely there, not just because of the purple tongue, but it gets hazy after that. The most significant other breed represented is Poodle. Who would have guessed?

Beyond the parentage, we get a glimpse of her life before she joined us whenever we meet an “intact” male dog on a walk. Even at the advanced dog age of at least 15 (person) years old, these encounters involve a lot of squealing, spinning around, and boxing the male dog. She seems to know what she is doing, but the male dogs are left puzzled by all this, standing there perplexed, worriedly checking with their masters about whether this (spayed) old lady is going to hurt them or not. She probably had a litter of fuzzy little Chow mix puppies somewhere along the way, and she has probably outlived them.

Sofie has slowed down some, but she is still in great health and full of good spirits. Her sister, Gracie, on the other hand, is not in the best of health. Still, she is doing well, in good spirits, and holding her own for now. Having been diagnosed in January with final stage canine renal failure, she is on a full regimen of prescriptions, and she gets a half liter of subcutaneously administered IV fluids every other day. She has lost most of her hearing, although she can hear a loud whistle, or one of her vocabulary words, when spoken directly to her in a loud voice.

Border Collies are widely considered one of the most intelligent dog breeds, and they were very popular around the time of Gracie’s birth, which was when the movie Babe came out. Our relatives had taken Gracie, but seemed to be finding the four-month old pup to be a whole lot of dog, so we offered to adopt her. Or maybe she adopted us, as I do remember the first weekend we met I spent eight or nine hours learning that border collies (1) love to fetch; (2) have incredible stamina, even at the age of four-months; and (3) upon first meeting a new human, have a wily ability to keep the human busy paying attention to them. Even now, despite her health and age, whenever we have visitors, there is a big production that we call the “Border Collie Parade of Toys. “

A few years ago, there was a story about a German border collie, named Rico, who knew the names of something like 200 dog toys. There is a Wikipedia article about Rico here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rico_(Border_Collie). Rico could retrieve articles he’d never seen before, and that he did not know the name of, using a deductive reasoning approach called “canine fast mapping.” There is a second Wikipedia article about a border collie named Betsy who is said to know 340 words, and I like to think that Gracie has a vocabulary around that size.

Sometime during the first year we had her, we took Gracie out for a ride in the Valley. While Mary and I had a picnic on the lawn at North Mountain Vineyard, we played fetch with Gracie. Later, she napped while we drove with the windows down the Old Valley Pike to Shenandoah Vineyard. There were sheep farms in the area, and the scent of the pastures eventually woke her up, at first just enough to raise her nose to the lowered window to sniff.

Slowly, the Border Collie genes took over, and she stood up in the back seat to have a look. When she finally figured out that there were animals over there in the pastures, she let out a long “Aooo-ooo-ooo” and watched the sheep carefully as we drove by.

We’ve had these girls a long time, but it had been a while since I have had to chance to sit with them at home, without the stress (for them) of the drive out to the cabin, and just enjoy them for what they have become as “senior” dogs. I know we may not have much time left with each other, especially compared to the time we’ve had together. But the character of their company is rich with experience and warmth, and there seems to be an innate understanding of all thoughts – verbal and nonverbal – between us as we hang out in the house. And this weekend, that’s been as good a time as I could have asked for.

Post publication clarification, from Mary: "...Thought the blog was good today, but, as I recall, I was also involved in those baths and actually tried to bathe them a few times once you had given up on the process... Also, I'm now trying to get them groomed more often, about quarterly. It's less stressful since the hair doesn't mat so much and it's a less painful process. Sofie also can't groom herself in the rear area any more due to her arthritis so the groomer shaves her back there. No more pantaloons on the Chow-Dalmation-Springer Spaniel-poodle mix."

Fear the Snappin' Turtle

On Monday morning, as we were getting up to start the rainy holiday morning, Mary happened to look outside and saw something she couldn't quite make out in the front yard. It turned out to be a Snapping Turtle that had crawled up into the yard to lay eggs.

Remembering from my Florida days to be careful not to disturb her, I kept my distance to take a few pictures - here she is while laying, then another photo of her moving back down the hill when she was done.

There may have been a second nesting site, or she may have started in one place and finished in another. We put up wood stakes to keep the mowers out of the area until the little ones are hatched and gone.

A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that her trip up the hill is not unusual for turtles laying eggs - it says they lay from 35 to 80 in a batch, once per year. The incubation runs from 9 to 18 weeks, depending on temperature (I imagine the Virginia summer means a shorter period).

She is of average size (10 t0 18 inch shell diameter). Their lifespan in the wild is around 30 years, although they have been kept up to 47 years in captivity.

Here's a photo looking downhill to Beaver Run - the beaver pond is just to the north across the road. This is a little area of the stream where the water widens out and is fairly placid. Not much sun in there, but that's where I guess she went.

Where to go for a show (in the old days)

A few months back, I posted on my Elvis Costello poster from the show in November 1983, which was held at the Metropol night club at Nollendorfplatz. I’ve recently gotten back in touch with other friends from that time and it set me to thinking I might do some web searching on this venue, where I also saw the Stray Cats, Lloyd Cole, Grand Master Flash, Talk Talk, Icicle Works and Billy Bragg, and the Bangles – probably among others I can’t remember anymore.

Here is the official Wikipedia entry on the building, along with a vintage photo of the interior outfitted as an ice rink, and one more recent as the Goya.
The Neues Schauspielhaus (English: New Theatre), on Nollendorfplatz in Berlin, was built in 1905 as a theatre in the then-fashionable Art Nouveau style. In 1927, Erwin Piscator opened his "Theater am Nollendorfplatz" in the building, and in 1951 it was renamed "Metropol“. Since 1977 it has been used as a discothèque. It was the location of the KitKatClub in 2000, and in 2005 the architect Hans Kollhoff remodeled the interior as the exclusive night club Goya.

It was a disco pretty much the whole time I was there. Many of the shows were in the room shown as an ice rink above, but there was a smaller venue in there as well where they put on shows. Some of the acts I didn't manage to catch there included Tina Turner, who came through just before the “Tiny Dancer” comeback, the Pretenders - opened by the Waterboys (I was in Barcelona during that show); but The Cure, Simple Minds, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and any number of others will show up in a Google search.

The yellow subway cars in this photo remind me that there was an old fleamarket in the station that had been set up so that the old cars were the vendor booths. That was always worth a stop – you could find some pretty incredible stuff in there – but I always looked at the old uniform items, as well as pop culture items like buttons from pop groups and posters.

Here is a link back to the earlier post about the Elvis poster.
http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2008/10/vintage-elvis.html

Summer Flowers - Purple Cone Flowers and Black-eyed Susans

Here is a photo of a mixed planting in the cabin garden. Like just about all the plants there, these are legacies of the former owners – this year, we are mainly cataloging what’s there among the hostas and other plants, in order to get an idea of what grows well there and how we might improve things more to our liking.

Both of these plants – the purple cone flower and black-eyed Susan – thrive in the mid-Atlantic area, but I’ve seen them do better in sunlight that is more direct than what they are receiving in the garden. They are shaded by the tree canopy for the most part, except for two or three hours in the afternoon when they are getting direct sun. Then, they fall into the shadow of the apple tree, for the remainder of daylight.

Not much to report from a quick Wikipedia check on these…the cone flower is supposed to have medicinal qualities, preventing the common cold, but these are unverified. And of course, the black-eyed Susan is Maryland’s state flower. Another note from a recent hike, these were among the “wild plantings” that Mrs. Hoover wanted to have established around the Rapidan Camp up on the Shenandoah Ridge (I posted about a hike to this camp in July, check the index to the right for the postings).

One item of particular note in the Wikipedia stuff, though: Black-Eyed Susan is also the name of a cocktail which is the official drink of the Preakness horse race. The recipe: 2 parts Bourbon whiskey, 1 part citrus vodka, 3 parts sweet & sour mix, one part orange juice and garnished with orange and a cocktail cherry.

Now that’s worth a try next year.

Battle of the Species - Snakes, in a Pool!

As we were doing work around the pool Saturday morning (there is a new summer ritual that needs to begin – more in a future post) I noticed some movement over by the gate. Chris, who was visiting this weekend, went over to check it out, and found a little ringneck snake, shown here.

Last summer, right about this time, we were conducting the home inspection visit to the cabin, and when we opened up the trap door for the pool equipment, down inside there I found a 12-inch long one of these. Maybe it was a parent to this one, which, at about 5 inches long, is probably only a week or two old. In one of the photos, Chris's new Suunto altimeter watch (I still want a Casio) is shown next to the snake for scale.

There is not much on Wikipedia on this species, I had to go to HerpNet to find more details. But it is a small constrictor type that is harmless to humans. Its main defense from humans is to try and get away – not at all like the black rat snake I battled in the past.

There are 12 subspecies in the US, ours was probably a Southern Ringneck. The species can range up to 30+ inches long, but so far the ones I’ve seen are much smaller. It is against the law in Iowa to harm or kill them – an interesting finding.

Its markings include the distinctive orange or yellow band behind its head (the one I saw last year had a band that was uneven in thickness, which is a rare variation among individuals); the underside is the same color as the band; the underside may be spotted with black; and the tail end is usually red – which is exposed when the snake feels threatened.

The front yard of the cabin probably makes for an ideal habitat for them, with rotting wood, and moist rich soils. They eat bugs, amphibians, and even small rodents.

After we took a closer look at it, we encouraged it to go back into the yard…in the future we’ll no doubt find a few dead snakes in the pool skimmer, but I wanted this beneficial one back out there hunting rodents.

Now we are five for five on snakes – all that I have encountered in the yard (and in the house!) are harmless varieties. Knock on wood!

Limberlost, continued

If you check Wikipedia, the entry that comes up on Limberlost reveals information about a swamp in the Midwest. The story goes, that this area was named after a book about a forest by the wife of the developer responsible for the Skyland resort area in the Park. She purchased the evergreens that grew here in North Carolina and had them transplanted to this spot, finding inspiration in a book named Limberlost from the mid-1800’s.




The evergreens she planted are all dead now and many are down, but some are still standing, as shown in these pictures. Whenever I come here it reminds me of how the forest recovers – something will grow in to fill the vacant place. We see that in the yard at the cabin – it was a corn field, then a pine forest, and slowly, oaks are growing in after.








We also found this interesting rock formation on the trail, at the crossroads of Limberlost and White Oak Canyon trail. It reminds me of some of the formations in Joshua Tree, although the stone is different...the erosion is the same.

Mary and I finished the Limberlost trail and headed south on Skyline Drive to the Crescent Rock pull-off. We walked out to the namesake rock and took a look down into the Valley. Just to the left there you can see Nakedtop and Hawksbill Mountain, and to the right, the little hamlet of Ida, and Luray beyond. The mountains block Stanley from view, and our cabin is also hidden from this vantage point.

To complete our plan, we walked back to the parking lot and then to the Betty’s Rock trailhead. Although the trail follows Skyline Drive too closely for my taste, the forest it goes through is very scenic.

As we turned a bend in the trail…

Remember in yesterday’s post, I mentioned the kids we ran into on the Limberlost Trail? The kids asking about the bear?

Up ahead, about 15 yards from us, a momma bear turned to look back at us while her two cubs scampered away. It took an astonished second or two to be sure of what we were looking at – three bears, just about face to face. I said to Mary, “Let’s just turn around and go back, we can come back another day for the view.”

About 10 feet into the walk back, I thought about going back for a photo. That would have tested an old saying I’ve become fond of, from The Big Lebowski: “Sometimes you eat the b’ar, and sometimes he eats you.” But then I thought better of it. I just didn't know what day it was.

Lots of bear sightings this year, so I am sure I will have a safer look somewhere down the line. And when I do get a phone cam shot, I’ll be sure to post it.

Summer Flowers - Crape Myrtle

This time of year, it's a favorite sight of mine to spot all the crape myrtles in bloom. I really enjoy seeing several trees of the same color massed together, brightening up the joint.

Seeing the tree in our Alexandria backyard blooming brings a couple of thoughts to mind: summer trips to the beach when I was a kid in Florida, a 20-foot tall specimen that my mother had in her backyard in Sanford, a patch of 10 lavender-colored ones blooming on the American University campus when Rosie came to visit, and the one Lee and Lori gave us for housewarming over on Linden Street - it's matured quite nicely.

This one was given to us by our Linden Street neighbors Odessa and Herb. Herb has a garden patch in the backyard as well, and they share squashes, peppers and tomatoes with us every year. Another botanical hobby he has is to buy clearance shrubs and plants from Walmart and Home Depot - once they've gone to seed, and there aren't many left, and nurse them into good health.

I thought I might do a Wikipedia search on crape myrtles. There we find that most of the cultivated varieties we see here come from China or Korea. They were introduced by a French botanist to Charleston, SC in the 1790's. And while most of them are medium-sized trees or shrubs, there is a species that grows to 100 feet tall!

That is actually the history of the big plant in Alexandria, and this small one, which Herb gave us this year. It will be making its way out to the cabin, where it will find a new home up on the hill, so that we can catch glimpses of color when it is in bloom from the clerestory windows.

The Great Cascade at Yosemite

Yesterday I mentioned the two waterfalls, Nevada and Vernal, at Yosemite, and their proximity on the hiking trail that leads to the Half Dome summit. Here is a photo I found on-line at Wikipedia, taken from Glacier Point, which overlooks this area of the Valley.

This area is also known as the Giant Staircase because of how the elevation change is measured in steps. This is a Spring photo based on the volume of water in the Merced.

There are a number of sites on the webs where folks have posted other views from Glacier Point. I believe it is accessible via automobile, with a short hike to get to the vistas.

Rapidan Camp Hike - Wrap

Continuing with our July 5 hike... After passing Big Rock Falls, it is only a short distance into Rapidan Camp. This historical site sits in a relatively flat area at the confluence of the Laurel and Mills Prongs, and is also where the Rapidan River starts.

The Hoovers chose this site based on three criteria: 1) the retreat needed to be within 100 miles of Washington, DC; 2) the minimum altitude was to be above 2,500 feet to eliminate mosquitoes; and 3) a trout stream had to be immediately accessible. They bought the land with their own money and paid for many of the improvements, augmented by the Marines who built some of the improvements as training.

We walked down to the “Brown House,” or Presidential Cabin, where we sat in these chairs, overlooking the rustic bridge, and had some sandwiches. The bridge is rebuilt, but there are pictures of Hoover posing on it. Also, the chairs are of the original design, and the publications say that Hoover often sat out on this deck enjoying the stream.

One other note about this spot, Roosevelt visited the camp as the Hoovers had dedicated it to successor Presidents. The camp was difficult for Roosevelt to get to, and get around in. But it is said that he sat in this spot to consider whether or not to use the site for his own retreats; he preferred Georgia, New York, and Maryland for this purpose and never returned.

The only President after Hoover to use the cabin was Jimmy Carter, in fact, who was here in 1979.

Over the four years of Hoover’s term, he spent most summer weekends here.

Notable visitors included the Prime Minister of England, who was on a state visit to discuss naval arms limitations. This cabin is known as the Prime Minister Cabin and includes excellent interpretive displays.

Also, as the Depression advanced, Hoover was very involved in arranging financing for bank rescues during his stays here.

Finally, the large outdoor fireplace here and in the first photo above was used for photographs and for gatherings in the evening. As luck would have it, my phone cam shot illustrates how the design of this fireplace was repeated in the cabins and other buildings. The camp was used during three seasons eventually, but it immediately fell into disuse at the end of the Hoover administration.

We bought a little history book at the Big Meadow ranger store and I read it Sunday. The camp had as many as 22 structures for guests at one time, but only three remain. There was an entire separate camp for the Marines who stayed in the Park while the Hoovers were there. Also, as they got to know some of the mountain people in the area, the Hoovers built a schoolhouse to educate them.

The property was eventually used by the Boy Scouts in the 1950’s, but without a swimming pool, it wasn’t as well used as some of the other properties they had access to, and the facility was eventually turned over to the National Park Service for management. Today there is a volunteer who resides on-site in “The Creel,” one of the original buildings.

There is a good review of the hike on Hiking Upward (http://www.hikingupward.com/ - search for Camp Hoover) and of course additional historical information at Wikipedia.