C h a p t e r N e w s...2021/03/03 · T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t –C r a d l e o f...
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Texas Master Naturalist Program Cradle of Texas Chapter Chapter News – March 2021 Chapter News is published by Texas Master Naturalist Cradle of Texas Chapter. Contact us at: Texas A&M AgriLIFE Brazoria County Office 21017 County Road 171 Angleton, TX 77515-8903 979-864-1558 (Angleton) 979-388-1558 (Brazosport) 281-756-1558 (Alvin) 979-388-1566 (Fax) https://txmn.org/tmncot/ [email protected] The Texas Master Naturalist program is coordinated by Texas A&M AgriLIFE Ext. Svce. and Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. TMN programs serve all people without regard to socio-economic level, race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin. Masthead photo by Charles Jesse Miller Jr. CONTENTS Page 1 President’s Message Page 2 Upcoming General Meeting Page 3 Membership Data Report; COT and Adopt-a-Loop Page 4 President’s Message, contd.; Where Do Members Live? Page 5 A Note From the Chapter Librarian Page 6 Brazoria County History: Surfside Mudflats and Salt Marshes (reprint from December 2014 issue) Page 7 March #TMNTuesdays https://facebook.com/TMN.COT Mickey Dufilho is the president of the Cradle of Texas Chapter. She can be reached at [email protected]. . REMINDERS • Pay your 2021 dues if you have not done so already. • Consider donating a book to the COT library ! A Message from the President T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t – C r a d l e o f T e x a s C h a p t e r March 2 0 2 1 March – “In like a lion, out like a lamb.” As I thought of this centuries-old saying, I wondered about its history. My research led me to a naturalist, John Ray (1627–1705), who wrote, “March hack ham [hackande = annoying] comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.” This is published in the “Catalogue of English Proverbs” in 1670. The phrase “March came in like a lion” shows up in Ames Almanac in 1740. The Farmers’ Almanac states the proverb stems from ancient beliefs in balance, meaning weather at the start of the month was bad, like a roaring lion, but will end with good weather, gentle, like a lamb. A favorite theory (which fits the Almanac) is that the proverb is based on astronomy and the positions of the constellations. At the beginning of the year, we have Leo the Lion (eastern horizon); by the end of March, it is Aries the Ram (western horizon). Of course, the Almanac has many other March proverbs in its archives. Here are a couple that have lasted through the ages: • So many mists in March you see, so many frosts in May will be. • March comes in with adders’ heads and goes out with peacocks’ tails. Even though our horrible weather occurred toward the end of February, I am hopeful that March will transition into a long and warm spring. Virtual Volunteer Fair The Master Naturalist State Office hosted the 2 nd Virtual Volunteer Fair, February 3 rd and 4 th , to assist Master Naturalists with volunteer hours due to limited opportunities during the pandemic. This was an excellent C h a p t e r N e w s event designed for our partner conservation organizations to pre- sent volunteer service projects that need volunteers from a dis- tance or virtually. If you were unable to attend, you can review all the videos of the presentations on the State Master Naturalist website. There is a wide variety of volunteer activities, and perhaps you might find something that fits your interests, skills and timeframe. In addition, you can get volunteer hours by reviewing the recorded presentations. Check it out at https://tinyurl.com/feb2021volunteerfair 2020 Certification, Recertification and Milestone Pins All 2020 pins will be delivered/picked up as soon as pins are received from the State Office. The chart on page 4 lists City Czars responsible for contacting recipients either for delivery or to set up a pickup point and time. Below is a 2020 milestone summary. Continued on page 4 2020 Hours # of Recipients 250 8 500 7 1000 4 2500 2 4000 2 5000 1 10,000 0 15,000 1
Transcript of C h a p t e r N e w s...2021/03/03 · T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t –C r a d l e o f...
Texas Master Naturalist Program
Cradle of Texas Chapter
Chapter News – March 2021
Chapter News is published by Texas Master Naturalist Cradle of Texas Chapter. Contact us at:
Texas A&M AgriLIFEBrazoria County Office21017 County Road 171Angleton, TX 77515-8903979-864-1558 (Angleton)979-388-1558 (Brazosport)281-756-1558 (Alvin)979-388-1566 (Fax)https://txmn.org/tmncot/[email protected]
The Texas Master Naturalist program is coordinated by Texas A&M AgriLIFE Ext. Svce. and Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. TMN programs serve all people without regard to socio-economic level, race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin.
Masthead photo by Charles Jesse Miller Jr.
C O N T E N T SPage 1President’s Message
Page 2Upcoming General Meeting
Page 3Membership Data Report; COT and Adopt-a-Loop
Page 4President’s Message, contd.;Where Do Members Live?
Page 5A Note From the ChapterLibrarian
Page 6Brazoria County History: SurfsideMudflats and Salt Marshes (reprintfrom December 2014 issue)
Page 7March #TMNTuesdays
https://facebook.com/TMN.COT
Mickey Dufilho is the president of the Cradle of Texas Chapter. She can be reached at [email protected]..
R E M I N D E R S
• Pay your 2021 dues if you have not done so already.• Consider donating a book to the COT library!
A M e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t
T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t – C r a d l e o f T e x a s C h a p t e r
M a r c h 2 0 2 1
March – “In like a lion, out like a lamb.”
As I thought of this centuries-old saying, I
wondered about its history. My research led
me to a naturalist, John Ray (1627–1705),
who wrote, “March hack ham [hackande =
annoying] comes in like a lion, goes out like
a lamb.” This is published in the “Catalogue
of English Proverbs” in 1670. The phrase
“March came in like a lion” shows up in Ames Almanac in 1740.
The Farmers’ Almanac states the proverb
stems from ancient beliefs in balance,
meaning weather at the start of the month
was bad, like a roaring lion, but will end with
good weather, gentle, like a lamb. A
favorite theory (which fits the Almanac) is
that the proverb is based on astronomy and
the positions of the constellations. At the
beginning of the year, we have Leo the
Lion (eastern horizon); by the end of March, it is Aries the Ram (western horizon).
Of course, the Almanac has many other
March proverbs in its archives. Here are a couple that have lasted through the ages:
• So many mists in March you see, so
many frosts in May will be.
• March comes in with adders’ heads and
goes out with peacocks’ tails.
Even though our horrible weather
occurred toward the end of February, I am
hopeful that March will transition into a long and warm spring.
Virtual Volunteer Fair
The Master Naturalist State Office hosted
the 2nd Virtual Volunteer Fair, February 3rd
and 4th, to assist Master Naturalists with
volunteer hours due to limited opportunities
during the pandemic. This was an excellent
C h a p t e r N e w sevent designed for ourpartner conservation organizations to pre-sent volunteer service projects that need volunteers from a dis-tance or virtually. If you were unable to attend, you can review all the videos of the presentations on the State Master Naturalist website. There is a wide variety of volunteer activities, and perhaps you might find something that fits your interests, skills and timeframe. In addition, you can get volunteer hours by reviewing the recorded presentations. Check it out at https://tinyurl.com/feb2021volunteerfair
2020 Certification, Recertification and Milestone Pins
All 2020 pins will be delivered/picked up as soon as pins are received from the State Office. The chart on page 4 lists City Czars responsible for contacting recipients either for delivery or to set up a pickup point and time. Below is a 2020 milestone summary.
Continued on page 4
2020 Hours # of Recipients
250 8
500 7
1000 4
2500 2
4000 2
5000 1
10,000 0
15,000 1
Texas Master Naturalist Program—Cradle of Texas Chapter
General Meeting and Advanced Training
Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 9 AMVia email meeting invite to Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service’s
Microsoft Teams Meeting license
NOTES:
• Stay tuned for information and instructions via email in order
to “attend” the March virtual General Meeting.
• Missing meetings because of trouble logging in? We miss you
too! Contact John O’Connell at [email protected].
Melanie Hollenshead is a retired
Chemical Engineer from the Hoechst
Celanese Corporation. She
specialized in long-term employee
health and safety. Melanie has
always loved creatures of all
kinds. She was for a decade a Texas
Permitted Wildlife Rehabilitator
specializing in bats, opossums,
squirrels and other small
mammals. Currently, she is happily
studying spiders and leading the
Citizen’s Science project, “A
Comprehensive Survey of the
Spiders of Brazoria County, Texas.”
Melanie has been a TMN-COT
member since 2019.
A Student Guide for Melanie’s
presentation has been posted to the
COT website at Student Notes for Spider Presentation
Melanie Hollenshead
9:00 AM – 9:10 AM Welcome and Meeting Participation Notes
9:10 AM – 9:30 AM
Nature Notes
Speaker: Bob Whitmarsh
Topic: “Side Oats Grama”
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM Advanced Training
Speaker: Melanie Hollenshead, COT member
Topic: “Basic Spider Biology”[Hours for Advanced Training (AT) TBD at close of meeting]
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM General Membership Meeting
[Hours for Volunteer Time (VT) TBD at close of meeting]
T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t – C r a d l e o f T e x a s —C h a p t e r N e w s
M a r c h 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 2
In 1940, Gertsch and Muliak
published the first list of spiders
in Texas. They described 17
new species in nine families and
provided distributions in select
families.
Bea Vogel published a
“Bibliography of Texas Spiders”
in 1970 based on literature
records. Her list included 582
species but underestimated the
diversity of Texas spiders.
David Allen Dean’s 2016
“Catalogue of Texas Spiders”
lists 1,084 species in 311 genera
from 53 families and is based on
Vogel’s 1970 work.
Many taxonomic revisions
have since been published.
Hopefully, COT members can
contribute via Hollenshead’s “A
Comprehensive Survey of the
Spiders of Brazoria County.”
Source:
https://tinyurl.com/spiders-NCBI
Congratulations to those achieving recertification and milestones as of February 28, 2021:
Impact Data YTD—28 February 2021
169 Adults 43 Youth 212 Total
Hours Totals YTD—28 February 2021
2,168 Hours VT 534 Hours AT
MEMBERSHIP DATA REPORT by Dave Brandes, Data Manager
COT TO PARTICIPATE IN TPWD’S ADOPT-A-LOOP
2020 Recertifications
John Boettiger Vicki Kirby
Dave Brandes Lisa Myers
Melanie Hollenshead Debbie Nance
Larry Kirby Larry Peterson
Adopt-a-Loop is an ongoing project of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Great Texas Wildlife Trails
(GTWT). The GTWT consists of nine trails in five regions of Texas, and the nine trails consist of 124 trail loops
with 920 viewing sites.
Brazoria County has 26 sites on 5 loops: Bluewater Loop; Brazoria Loop; Clear Lake Loop; Coastal Plains
Loop; and San Bernard Loop.
The Bluewater Loop, Coastal Plains Loop, and the San Bernard Loop are all completely within Brazoria
County. The Clear Lake Loop has sites that are within the boundaries of the Galveston/Bay Area and the Gulf
Coast Chapters. The Brazoria Loop has sites that are within the boundaries of the Ft. Bend Chapter.
There are three ways that chapter members can participate in Adopt-a-Loop:
(1) Using the computer and phone, chapter members can verify that the information on the website is
correct. This can be done for some of the sites.
(2) Most of the sites will require in-person site visits. We are asked to make sure signs are still posted and
that the site itself is still usable. We are also asked to report any other details we may observe while at
the site.
(3) There is a citizen science element to Adopt-a-Loop. The coordinator, Joshua Lee, would like us to make
seasonal surveys of each site four times a year using iNaturalist and eBird to submit observations about
wildlife at each site. For that purpose, there is now an iNaturalist Adopt-a-Loop Project where
observations can be submitted.
Joshua Lee ([email protected]) will provide a window sign from TPWD for each volunteer. It is
expected that each site visit will take from 20-30 minutes to several hours (large state parks). Additional
information: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/gtwt-adopt-a-loop
If you would be interested in volunteering for one or more sites,
please contact Debbie Nance at [email protected] or
281-898-8540.
1000 VT Hours Milestone
Chip Sweet
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M a r c h 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 3
Factoid: Aspirin was
first derived from
willow bark during the
time of Hippocrates,
when individuals
chewed the bark to
reduce fever and
inflammation.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEContinued from Page 1
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M a r c h 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 4
WHERE DO COT MEMBERS LIVE?By John Boettiger and Dave Brandes
Photo by Ann McLain
City Czars for Distribution of 2020 Certification/Recertification and Milestone Pins
Congratulations to everyone!
CITY CZAR # OF 2020
RECERTIFICATIONS
CITIES IN BRAZORIA COUNTY
John Boettiger 15 Part of Lake Jackson and others
Oron Atkins 12 Part of Lake Jackson
Bob Whitmarsh 12 Part of Lake Jackson
Daveyon Edwards 3 Angleton
Kathy Pittman 11 Alvin and Rosharon
Mickey Dufilho 7 Brazoria, West Columbia & Sweeny
Mary Schwartz 4 plus 1 Freeport, Clute & Initial Certification
Larry Peterson 2 Manvel
Don Sabathier 1 Pearland
67 plus 1
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A NOTE FROM THE CHAPTER LIBRARIANBy Debbie Nance
The COT chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists has
a library. Right now, the entire collection consists of a few
small boxes of books. I have volunteered to reorganize
the library.
I’ve researched the libraries of other TMN chapters:
Books Read by the Galveston/Bay Area Heritage Book
Study Group; Good Water Chapter Library; East Texas
Chapter Library; Gulf Coast Chapter Library.
I’ve also researched what books about nature are good
works to have in a nature library: 80 Best Books for
Nature Lovers; Popular Nature Books on Goodreads; 69
Best Nature Books of All Time.
I have visited the library of the Galveston/ Bay Area
chapter. I will model our library after theirs.
Our Agri-Life adviser, John O’Connell, has generously
agreed to once again provide us with a convenient place
to shelve the library. I plan to inventory the current
collection after I receive my second vaccination in two
weeks. I will be creating a simple system to check out
and return books. I also plan to label all the books so
that it will be apparent that the books are part of the
library. I would love to obtain more books (and possibly
other forms of media) for our library.
Perhaps you have nature books in good condition that
you no longer want. These could be nature guides or
narrative nonfiction. All would be welcomed into our
library.
Perhaps you would be willing to buy a new book or
two for our library. These would also be welcomed into
our library.
As a school librarian, I had a very successful program
in which books were donated to the library in memory of
staff members and the family of staff who passed away.
A book is a lovely way to remember those who have
passed on. I would be happy to restart this tradition COT
had in the past.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Or, even better,
books you want to donate? Email me at
[email protected] or text at 281-898-8540.
CALLING ALL PRESENTERS!By Kristine Rivers
Calling all presenters! Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute (OLLI) in Angleton is again seeking instructors
for summer classes and workshops. OLLI presents
higher education opportunities for adults 55 years of
age and older, and our chapter has been partnering
with them to offer presentations on various topics
related to the environment and protecting our natural
resources within Brazoria County. Prior subjects
presented by our chapter members include birding,
geology, Brazoria County history, micro-shelling, and
more.
This is a unique opportunity to earn Volunteer Time
(VT) while sharing your passion with others!
Workshops are usually 1-2 hours in length, and
sessions are scheduled mid-day on weekdays. This
summer, presentations will be virtual via Zoom, allowing
OLLI members in both Angleton and Galveston to
participate. You are welcome to share an existing
presentation or to create a new one, and since this is for
the summer, you have a few months to prepare! You
can earn VT both for working on the presentation and
conducting the workshop.
If you have an idea for a topic, please reach out and
let me know and I will coordinate with OLLI to get you
on the schedule: [email protected].
BRAZORIA COUNTY HISTORY: SURFSIDE MUD FLATS AND SALT MARSHESBy Peggy and Pete Romfh; reprinted from December 2014 Chapter News
From a satellite view, the mud flats along Bluewater Highway east of Surfside are nestled between the Intracoastal Waterway, Drum and Christmas Bays, and the Gulf of Mexico. From an on-the-ground view, what first appears as a flat wasteland of stunted plants, mud, and tidal pools explodes into a sea of color in fall and provides a smorgasbord for visiting bird and animal species. We enjoy photographing along the mud flats throughout the year, and there is always something new to see.
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M a r c h 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 6
Drum
Bay
Gulf of
Mexico
Mud flats near Kayak Launch Site,
Bluewater Highway East of Surfside.
Mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal
wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides near
bays and estuaries. High tides and storms, as well as
overspray, provide a salt concentration in the soil that
allows only halophiles (salt-loving) species to flourish.
Summer Wings on the Mud Flats, July 2013
The common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) lands on the
dry mud while the reddish egret (Egretta rufescens)
does his fishing dance at the edge of Drum Bay.
Fall Colors,
Texas StyleNovember 2014
Top Row: Turtleweed (Batis maritima), Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), Lavender Thrift (Limonium carolinianum). Bottom Row: Annual
Seepweed (Seablight, Suaeda linearis), Creeping Glasswort (Salicornia depressa), and Eastern Pygmy Blue (Brephidium pseudofea).
At right: Annual Glasswort (Salicornia bigelovii). Note that larva from the Pygmy Blue butterflies consume glasswort, saltbush and
other salt-tolerant plants that grow along the coast.
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M a r c h 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 7
Click here to register for the March #TMNTuesday
Cradle of Texas Chapter Board
Master Naturalist Email ListsTMN-COT Chapter list
• Instructions https://txmn.org/tmncot/organization/email-lists/
• Send messages to [email protected]
• Message Archive http://tinyurl.com/TMN-COT-Mail
• All messages are sent immediately.
State Master Naturalist list
• Instructions http://txmn.org/staying-connected/sign-up-for-tmn-listserv/
• Subscribe [email protected]
• All messages are held for moderation by the TMN State Coordinator.
Chapter News is published monthly on Monday before the General Meeting by the Texas
Master Naturalist Cradle of Texas Chapter. Submissions are welcome; submission deadline is
5:00 PM on Thursday before the General Meeting. Send submissions by email to Chapter News
Editor at [email protected]. Submissions may be edited for clarity and spacing.
Mickey Dufilho, Brazoria
Kathy Pittman, Rosharon
Lisa Myers, Lake Jackson
Donald Sabathier, Pearland
Connie Stolte, Palacios
Bill Ahlstrom, Angleton
Mary Schwartz, Clute
John Boettiger, Lake Jackson
Bob Whitmarsh, Lake Jackson
Oron Atkins, Lake Jackson
Ruby Lewis, Angleton
Rose Wagner, Sweeny
Larry Peterson, Manvel
Daveyon Edwards, Angleton
Kristine Rivers
Dave Brandes
John O’Connell, AgriLIFE Extension Service
Paul Cason, Sea Center Texas
Lisa Myers, Lake Jackson
Mickey Dufilho, Dave Brandes, John Boettiger,
Debbie Nance, P&P Romfh, Kristine Rivers
https://txmn.org/tmncot/
http://facebook.com/TMN-COT
https://twitter.com/tmncot
http://tinyurl.com/TMN-COT-Mail
President
Vice President/Programs
Secretary
Treasurer
State Representative
Immediate Past President
New Class Director
Membership Director
Advanced Training Director
Volunteer Service Director
Outreach Director
Chapter Host
Communications Director
Class of 2020 Representative
Non-voting positions:
Speakers Bureau Coordinator
Data Manager
Chapter Advisors
Newsletter Editor
Newsletter Contributors
Website
E-mail Listserv
T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t – C r a d l e o f T e x a s —C h a p t e r N e w s
M a r c h 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 8
