Dec5

Mass Audubon: Holidays, Naturally!

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Mass Audubon: Holidays, Naturally!

I just finished a new release for Mass Audubon, this time highlighting their upcoming “Holidays, Naturally” workshop.  This one took me longer to write (and longer to research) than the others;  I’m not a newbie to crafting, but I still have too many thumbs and not enough imagination, and my handicrafts never end up looking as beautiful/fun/funky as I think they will.  I think that feeling of predictive disappointment I always have when working on crafts transferred over to my feelings about this release, so I didn’t have as much enthusiasm for this project as for the last couple. 

Got first comments back from the sanctuary crew a few minutes ago – thankfully my ambivalence for the project didn’t seem to affect my writing.  At least not in the final version (there were a LOT of edits to the first draft!).  It’s so nice to get positive feedback.   

From sanctuary Property Manager Lauren Miller-Donnelly:  “I love the article and I think you hit the nail on the head!!!! It’s a really a great article!”

Yeah!!

On Friday I dragged my mom out to Bay Farm to help me harvest some of the plants they’ll be using at the workshop this weekend;  I started on a couple of crafting projects over the weekend and will finish them up over the next couple of days.  Then I’m planning on writing a longer-form article from a more personal perspective about crafting holiday decorations from nature.  I’ll include pics, and hopefully I can get it published somewhere (need to do some research on where to submit) under my own byline.  Excited!!

Oh, and here’s another nice little bit of back-patting from the same conversation with Lauren, “You’d be pleased to know that we have had full owl prowls both nights of the event, and I attribute it to in part your amazing article!  Good Work!” 

:D

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 5, 2011
1280 Horseneck Road
Westport, MA  02790
Contact:  Lauren Miller-Donnelly
laurenmiller@massaudubon.org
(508) 636-2437

 

Holidays, Naturally!
Craft festive decorations from nature at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary

Nothing symbolizes a traditional holiday season quite as much as evergreen boughs and sprigs of holly.  Whether you’re a handicraft whiz or an all-thumbs newbie, the naturalists at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary invite you celebrate the season by bringing the outdoors in with festive decorations crafted from nature.  Join Allens Pond educators for their “Holidays, Naturally” workshop on Sunday, December 11th and not only create natural arrangements and beautiful seasonal displays for your home, but also harvest the materials yourself while learning what – and what not – to use in your holiday decorating. 

“Holidays, Naturally” begins at 1:00 pm with a short hike where program leaders will help you choose the best natural materials to use for your creations and point out those that should be avoided.  “The most popular plants we’ll gather are Red Cedar, American Holly, Bayberry and Virginia Rose,” said sanctuary Property Manager Lauren Miller-Donnelly.  “We’ll also be careful to avoid using invasive species such as Oriental Bittersweet, Privet, Multiflora Rose and Honeysuckle.  In fact, Oriental Bittersweet and Multiflora Rose are so harmful to our natural ecosystem that it is illegal to import or sell them in any form (plants or cuttings) in Massachusetts; when these species are pruned, moved, dumped and/or composted the seeds are easily spread, compounding the problem and further endangering our native plant life.”

After everyone has gathered their supplies, the group will head back to the field station to assemble their crafts.  They’ll be projects for all ages and ability levels, including an annual favorite, swags.  According to Miller-Donnelly, “We started this program a few years back with an idea for holiday swags, and these continue to be a favorite because they can be tailored to fit anyone’s personal taste.  You tie all the greens together using wire and then embellish with a pine cone or a holly sprig.  We also have the beach – embellishing with seashells can add coastal flair.  And since swags can be made in any length, they can bring holiday cheer to every corner of your house – drape over an entranceway, affix to the newel posts of your stairway or simply set one out as a centerpiece for your coffee table.”

The workshop will feature additional examples of natural decorative crafts, including holiday sculptures, no-melt suet pinecones and holiday garlands.  This year, Lauren-Miller is looking forward to debuting a new idea – recycling old holiday cards with enhancements from nature … but you’ll have to wait for the workshop to get all those details!  “With such an assortment of natural materials to choose from,” said Miller-Donnelly, “the only limits to your decorations are your own imagination.  I’ve seen people create miniature models and entire imaginary worlds using lichen, berries, pine cones and pieces of evergreens.” 

“Holidays, Naturally” will be held at the Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary’s Field Station on December 11th from 1 – 3 pm.  The station is located at 1280 Horseneck Road, Westport, MA.  Registration is required; register with a credit card by phone at (508) 636-2437 or download the registration form at http://www.massaudubon.org/PDF/sanctuaries/RegistrationForm.pdf to register by mail.  Cost is the same for adults and children – $10.00 for members and $12.00 for non-members – and includes crafting supplies.   

 Mass Audubon, the largest conservation organization in New England, works to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife. Together with more than 100,000 members, we care for 34,000 acres of conservation land, provide educational programs for 225,000 children and adults annually, and advocate for sound environmental policies at local, state, and federal levels.  Protecting nearly 1000 acres and a diverse variety of habitats including a coastal salt pond, saltmarsh, heath, scrub and forested uplands and early-successional agricultural habitats,  Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary offers more than six miles of hiking trails and provides important nesting habitat for rare species including piping plovers and terns.

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Nov30

A Day at the Beach

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A Day at the Beach

Dogs and Starfish on Duxbury BeachI have a whole bunch of projects I need to work on, but I just wasn’t getting anything done yesterday.  Been in a bit of a funk since Thanksgiving.  So instead I gave up even pretending to work and took the dogs down to the beach.  I figured a nice long walk to clear my head and rejuvenate my spirits was just what I needed.   

Walked a few miles.  Snapped a few pics.  Came home and got in a couple productive hours at the computer.  Objective achieved. 

A long walk on the beach – the cure for all that ails you.

Nov7

Mass Audubon: Early Winter Owl Prowls

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Mass Audubon: Early Winter Owl Prowls

Just finished final edits on my second release for Mass Audubon, this one publicizing their upcoming owl prowls. I’ve been wondering if I can do anything with these releases (other than use them in my portfolio), and I’ve come up with a couple of ideas.

With just a little work, I can turn them from press releases to articles, and then see if I can get them published somewhere: a guest piece on a wildlife or conservation blog, or maybe an online publication that isn’t already on the sanctuary’s press list. I’ll have to do some research and find some publications that take articles of this nature.

And of course there’s always examiner.com – now that I have a couple articles under my belt, I might see about setting up a page with them. I’ve seen their ads about a gazillion times, but I haven’t looked very closely to see how they actually work.

I’m also thinking about setting up my own wildlife/conservation blog … but that definitely requires some more thought. I’m just not sure that I want to spend the time to create and/or find enough content to run a blog like that full-time.

And then all these thoughts have led to another – perhaps I could develop this into a full-fledged career as a freelance writer. Very much a goal I could get behind!

But before I get too far ahead of myself, here’s my latest press release for Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary. Makes you want to go on an Owl Prowl this winter, doesn’t it? :)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 7, 2011
1280 Horseneck Road
Westport, MA 02790
Contact: Lauren Miller-Donnelly
laurenmiller@massaudubon.org
(508) 636-2437

WHOOOO Do You Hear?
- Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary to Host Two Owl Prowls this Fall -

          With darkness lasting longer than daylight and leaves fallen and scattered on the wind, early winter marks one of the best times of the year to explore the woods at night and possibly catch a glimpse of one of Massachusetts’ fiercest nocturnal predators – the Great Horned Owl. Join the naturalists at Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on a twilight Owl Prowl this fall; you’ll test your night vision and auditory acumen as you attempt to locate and identify two of our more common species of owl – the Great Horned and the Screech – by their unique (and slightly spooky!) calls.

          “At this time of year, Great Horned and Screech Owls are establishing their breeding territory,” reports Allens Pond Property Manager Lauren Miller-Donnelly. “The Great Horned is calling, looking for a mate, and the Screech will call out, responding to what it perceives as ‘intruders’”.

          Great Horned Owls begin calling for a mate in October; by December, the owls will have paired and their calls become duets. These raptors – also known as Hoot Owls, Cat Owls or the Winged Tiger (the last two because of their large feathered tufts that resemble cat ears) – can be identified by their distinctive three to five note low-octave hoot. They can be heard most often in the early evening or pre-dawn, on nights with plenty of moonlight and little to no wind.

          Screech Owls breed a little later than Great Horned Owls and call both to pair bond with their mates and to protect their territory; Screech Owls are the most common owl in Massachusetts, but they are also prey to the Great Horned and need to be vigilant in areas where their territory overlaps. Contrary to popular supposition, the Screech Owl’s call is not a screech – the male’s most common song (its A-song) is a repeating mellow, muted trill. Its B-song is a descending whinny and most often used in courtship. A dueting pair will combine both A and B songs.

          While it may be easiest to find and identify an owl by its call, there are other signs to look for as well. Owlers can look for whitewash (dried, whitish excrement) on tree trunks and branches and for owl pellets (the undigested fur, feathers, bone and/or teeth of its prey that an owl has regurgitated), which can be found on the ground under an owl’s roosting spot.

          And right now, in the case of the Great Horned, you can also look for the results of one of the bird’s more gruesome courtship rituals. According to Miller-Donnelly, “To attract a mate, a male Great Horned Owl will present a female with his night’s catch – and almost every time the prey has been beheaded! At one of the Allens Pond’s Junior Bird Club meetings last year, we investigated a raptor with no head and determined it was actually a Long-eared Owl that had been beheaded by a Great Horned Owl. Long-eared Owls aren’t often seen here, so it was a depressing as well as macabre discovery, but it was also a great exercise in identification!”

          Allens Pond Sanctuary will be hosting two Owl Prowls this fall: from 4:30 – 6:30 PM on both Friday, November 18th and Saturday, December 3rd, meeting at Stone Barn Farm, 786 Horseneck Road, Dartmouth, MA. Cost is $4 for Mass Audubon Society members and $6 for non-members. Registration is required and can be made by phone with a credit card at (508) 636-2437 or by mail: the program registration form can be downloaded at http://www.massaudubon.org/PDF/sanctuaries/RegistrationForm.pdf. Dress for an outdoor, twilight walk and join us as night falls over New England and our nocturnal wildlife awakens.

          Mass Audubon, the largest conservation organization in New England, works to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife. Together with more than 100,000 members, we care for 34,000 acres of conservation land, provide educational programs for 225,000 children and adults annually, and advocate for sound environmental policies at local, state, and federal levels. Protecting nearly 1000 acres and a diverse variety of habitats including a coastal salt pond, saltmarsh, heath, scrub and forested uplands and early-successional agricultural habitats, Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary offers more than six miles of hiking trails and provides important nesting habitat for rare species including piping plovers and terns.

# # #

Oct14

PICS: Monarch Tagging Workshop at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary

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PICS: Monarch Tagging Workshop at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary

Property manager Lauren Miller-Donnelly leads a Monarch tagging workshop October 5th at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Westport, MA.

Oct12

Walking Cape Cod Canal

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Walking Cape Cod Canal

Finished my work early today and decided to get the dogs out for a long walk before the rain hits tomorrow.  After flipping through my copy of Doggin’ Massachusetts, I decided to check out the walk along the Cape Cod Canal.  Only 20 minutes from home!

Temps in the mid 60s, overcast and rainy. I brought gloves & a hat with me – yup, I’m a sissy :) There were a bunch of cars in the parking lot, but I didn’t pass that many people on the canal. I think most of them were just hanging out in their cars watching the water on their lunch breaks. I had just walked down to the path from the parking lot when several people got out of their cars and started pointing down at the water and asking each other (and me) if anyone else had seen the shark’s fin?!? Since several were asking, I’d guess they all saw it! I didn’t see a damn thing – I was too busy starting the SportyPal app on my phone :(

I walked the three miles between the Sagamore and the Bourne bridges and back. Hiked a little bit of an interpretive trail above the canal for part of the route. Took some cool photos. Much better than sitting in front of the computer all day! The dogs thought so too – Turbo even ate his first crab (well, crab pieces he found in the grass and then spit right back out).

Sep28

Wrote my first piece for Mass Audubon

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Wrote my first piece for Mass Audubon

I met with Jen Costa, the volunteer coordinator at Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Sanctuary, at the beginning of September.  After my references and background check came back positive (I was a little surprised by all the forms I had to fill out for a volunteer position!), she gave me my first assignment – to write an article on the Monarch migration.  Allens Pond’s expert on all things butterfly, Lauren Miller-Donnelly, gave me a couple of websites for background research and I was off and running. 

A dozen or so websites and several questions to Lauren later, and I’ve written my first piece for Mass Audubon!  I wasn’t sure exactly what they were looking for (the direction in that area was a little hazy), but since I’m their “publicity volunteer”, I wrote it up as a press release. 

Got kudos and content approval back today and my little release is on its way to their media contacts :)   Yeah!! 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
1280 Horseneck Road
Westport, MA  02790
Contact:  Lauren Miller-Donnelly
laurenmiller@massaudubon.org
(508) 636-2437
 

As the Cold Weather Approaches, Our Monarchs are Moving to Mexico!
Volunteers at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Tag Butterflies
and Assist in Monarch Migration Study

Maybe you’re leaving for work early one morning this week and happen to spot a group of butterflies roosting in a pine tree next to the driveway.  Or you’re out tending your fall blooms and see a lone Monarch streaking across your lawn.  You’re watching Monarchs on a mission – their annual fall migration.  These tiny travelers have started their long flight from the U.S. and southern Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains, to their overwintering roosts up to 3,000 miles away in the Transvolcanic Mountains of central Mexico. 

How does a creature so small and seemingly fragile travel so far to a place it’s never been before?   That’s a question scientists and butterfly enthusiasts have been asking since 1976 when the phenomenon of Monarch migration was discovered, and even today there are many unanswered questions.  This is where Monarch Watch, a program run out of the University of Kansas, and a network of hundreds of volunteers – including those of Mass Audubon’s Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary along the southern coast of Massachusetts – comes into play. 

“Anyone who can catch a Monarch safely and is able to put a sticker on a delicate insect’s wing without injuring it can tag Monarchs,” according to Lauren Miller-Donnelly, Allens Pond Property Manager.  The butterfly garden at Allens Pond has been registered as a Monarch ‘Way-station’ – where the insects can find everything they need for their migration including places to roost and that all-important nectar to keep them going on their long journey.  As such, it was a perfect location for the Monarch Tagging Workshops run by the sanctuary and led by Miller-Donnelly, who taught enthusiastic volunteers how to approach, net, tag and release these small, wary animals. 

Just how many butterflies will pass this way varies from year to year, according to Miller-Donnelly.  “The Monarchs use the coastline as their guide so we will get hundreds, often thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, passing through each early fall.  Usually the peak of migration happens the last week of September.  We usually have five to ten really good days when the sun is strong and the wind is out of the north or northeast.  Those are the best days.  I like to go at sunrise and see them catching the first rays of sun on their wings.”

Since the Monarch Watch tagging project started in 2002, more than 15,000 tagged butterflies have been recovered, and the data collected is helping Monarch experts answer some of the perplexing questions surrounding the migration:  do the butterflies take certain pathways across the continent, how does the weather influence the phenomenon, are there changes from year to year?  And maybe the most puzzling question of all – just how does a butterfly, born only weeks before, find its way to an ancestral roosting site 3,000 miles away? 

 Mass Audubon, the largest conservation organization in New England, works to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife. Together with more than 100,000 members, we care for 34,000 acres of conservation land, provide educational programs for 225,000 children and adults annually, and advocate for sound environmental policies at local, state, and federal levels.  With over 650 acres and a diverse variety of habitats including a coastal salt pond, saltmarsh, heath, scrub and forested uplands and early-successional agricultural habitats,  Allens Pond offers more than six miles of hiking trails and provides important nesting habitat for rare species including piping plovers and terns.

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Aug22

P90X – One Week Down

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P90X – One Week Down

I’ve completed my first week of P90X and I feel great – except for the butt muscle I pulled during the Yoga DVD. LOL.

I got on the scale this morning, though, and my spirits plummeted. How is it possible that I GAINED two pounds after a week of such intense workouts? (plus walking my dogs at least a couple miles every day).

SO FRUSTRATING!

I’m a very results-driven person, and when I don’t see results I tend to lose motivation. I’m going to keep with the P90X, but I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty disappointed today :(

Aug17

P90X Day 2 Recap

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P90X Day 2 Recap

Yesterday’s Cardio X was a good workout – I kept up with the class making it through the allotted time and reps for each exercise and it felt great. I’m sore today though! Especially my quads. I’m also sore through my upper back, shoulders and lower neck – I’m not sure what exercise would have used those muscle groups in the Cardio X, so I’m thinking it could have been a problem with my form in some of the sets. Going to have to have a good stretch before I hit tonight’s Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper.

In other news, Groggy is miraculously no longer limping. At all. In fact, when I took them out to pee this morning he was running all over the place, streaking through the backyard, jumping on Turbo. I’d say he feels better.

Which is good, because I just signed up for my first hike with the Random Group of Hikers meetup group! Its an intermediate hike of 11 miles in the southern Presidentials of NH, and dogs are welcome. We’re doing Jackson, Pierce and Ike – not that I know what that means! I assume those are the Mountains we’ll be hitting?? LOL. Guess I’ll find out :) Hiking at 8, which means I’ll need to leave here at 4:30 am. YIKES!

Aug16

P90X Day 1 Recap

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P90X Day 1 Recap

Turns out I was looking at the wrong plan for my exercise program last night. Chest & Back plus Ab Ripper is for the “Classic” plan. I’m going to follow the “Lean” plan. So last night I did the Core Synergistics DVD which focuses on the core but includes head to toe conditioning. Pretty darn tough!! I did as much of each exercise as I could (24 different ones). I’d say I moderately kept up with the class :) Lunges, squats, anything with the legs I was right there, but I failed miserably when anything required push-ups. Guess I know what I need to work on!! I did better with my Supermans than I did with my Planks, so it seems that my back is stronger than my stomach (doh). My quads and back are sore today.

Tonight’s routine is the Cardio X.

-=-=-=-

In other news, I didn’t walk the dogs this morning. Groggy came up lame last night (I’ve been watching too many Westerns!). He’s not putting any weight on his back left leg at all. I’ve examined the pad and the leg, and I can’t see anything wrong. No obvious cuts, nothing stuck in the soft spots between the pads. No cuts or swelling on the leg. I’m going to give it a few days and if he doesn’t start getting better I’ll take him to the vet. Which means I need to find a new vet. And spend money on a new vet :(

But, I’ve gotta take care of my hopalong puppy!

Instead of walking, I did some internet research on local volunteer opportunities. I’ve got a few that I’m going to check out in more depth: The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, The New England Wildlife Center, The Nature Conservancy: Rhode Island, and Mass Audubon. Its past time for me to step into that new life I left Arizona for.