Ferns Ferns Everywhere

Sensitive ferns

We returned from a two and a half week vacation the beginning of June. When we had left in May, Spring had barely started, but while we were away the plants really took off. The most noticeable growth was with the ferns. I love these feathery plants, but not want them taking over my perennial beds.

I recently purchased a pocket guide to ferns of the Northeast, Identifying Ferns the Easy Way by Lynn Levine.  The ferns in our yard provided me with a good opportunity to practice these identification techniques. The photo above shows a group of Sensitive Ferns (Onoclea sensibilis) in one of my planting beds. Their name is derived from the fact that they are sensitive to the first frost. The plants will turn brown later in the season. They prefer partial shade and wet soils, and the plants are often used as shelter by frogs and salamanders. This area where they are growing is not particularly wet, but it does receive some shade from a crabapple and white pine trees.  

Hay-scented ferns (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)

In another perennial bed, Hay-scented ferns have taken over. The Hay-scented ferns are great for adding to a bouquet of flowers. They grow individually and seem to grow anywhere. Here they enjoy partial shade under an oak and choke cherry tree. They are easy to pull up, so I am constantly thinning them over the summer. The book reads that Hay-scented ferns can interfere with the regeneration of hardwood forests and looking at the photo above, it is easy to see why. 

The Hay-scented fern can sometimes be confused with Lady fern, latin name Athyrium angustum (above.) There are a couple key differences. Instead of fronds growing individually, they grow in clusters. This cluster next to our foundation comes back every year. Another unique feature is that the stalk of the Lady fern it will be covered with dark long scales as in the photo below.

  

Ferns are a resilient and amazing plant in that they first appeared on earth 400 million years ago and have survived several mass extinctions. Ferns come in all shapes and sizes. While hiking in the White Mountains this past weekend, we observed this ferns on a large glacial erratic boulder. It was only about three inches long. I never cease to be awed by the variety and uniqueness of species in the natural world, and now, but learning a little more about them, I have an even greater appreciation of  ferns.

Wheat Berry and Lentil Salad

A nice side dish or serve as a main course.

Ingredients:
2/3 - 3/4 cup wheat berries
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup lentils
2-3 carrots diced
Juice squeezed from 1/2 lemon
1 Tablespoon Sriricha or hot sauce of choice
1/4 cup shaved almonds
3 Tablespoons olive oil 
Cherry tomatoes halved for garnish
2 springs of fresh Parsley chopped 


Bring wheat berries and 5 cups of water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 1 hour, or until berries are cooked, but still chewy. Drain and cool. Mix olive oil, lemon juice and hot sauce and set aside. Bring lentils, carrots and 3 cups of water to a boil; simmer until tender 20 - 25 minutes. Cool in water for 15 minutes. Drain lentils and mix with cooked wheatberries. Stir in dressing and almonds. Garnish with parsley and cherry tomatoes. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

If there are morels, it must be spring!

Freshly picked morels

The saying, "April showers brings May" flowers has never rang more true than this year, at least the rainy part. Cool, wet weather, without sunshine has delayed many spring flowers, but this combination has been perfect for the early emergency of morels. Since discovering them nearby, they have become my second favorite food of spring, next to asparagus.

You don't have to be a mycologist to confidently be able to identify morels in the wild. A great book for assistance is Mushrooming with Confidence, A Guide to Collecting Edible and Tasty Mushrooms, by Alexander Schwab. It comes with many colorful photographs and a positive ID checklist.  Fortunately, morels are very unique in appearance with a pitted cap and a completely hollow stem and cap. Remember though, when in doubt leave it alone.

Morels have both a hollow cap and stem

Fresh vegetable stir-fry with morels

It was such a treat to find these outside this evening, and to add them to stir-fried vegetables for dinner. 

Bats and Birds in Texas

This past week, we flew to Texas to attend our niece's wedding in Bryan, and then to spend a few days in Austin. I have only been to the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, so it was nice to see a different part of this big state. In a span of five days we experienced weather extremes from sixty degrees with rain and a threat of tornadoes to sunny and a near record high of 91. Since it snowed back here in New Hampshire while we were away, it was nice to enjoy summer-like temperatures.

Upon arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport we were greeted by the sounds and displays of Great-tailed Grackles. Larger than the Common Grackle, these birds are not shy of humans and enjoy making a display of themselves. Their iridescent black color and yellow eyes are quite striking.

Great-tailed Grackle

Although Texas has some great opportunities for viewing spring migratory birds, we did not have time to do any serious birding. We did, however make a point of walking underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin to see the bats come out at dusk. The bridge, which crosses the impounded Colorado River, aka Lake Bird Lake, now hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world. When the bridge was redesigned in 1980, the crevices that were created provided prime nesting spots for the Mexican free-tailed bats that migrate to central Texas each spring. After construction, the bats immediately started arriving by the thousands. Irrational fears from the public, led to proposals for eliminating the bat population, including illuminating the bridge. At that time, Bat Conservation International moved their headquarters to Austin and educated city officials on the benefits of bats including the fact that each bat can consume of thousands of insect pests per night. Thankfully, the City listened, and viewing the bats from spring until fall has become a popular tourist attraction.


From the viewing platform underneath the bridge and on the water, visitors await the emergence of the bats.

While we were waiting for the bats to come out, birds were putting on their own show. Behind us, dozens of grackles congregated and made quite a racket before they settled down for the night. Then, across the river, hundreds of egrets landed in a single tree. Due to the distance I could not tell whether they were Snowy or Cattle egrets. Interestingly, both species of egrets and the Great-tailed Grackle are listed among six species of birds that have been identified as having "nuisance" heronries (nesting areas of colonial water birds) in Texas according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife publication Nuisance Heronries in Texas Characteristics and Management. Dealing with large populations of birds is another example of the challenges that occur when the human populated landscape intersects with wildlife. Although most people enjoy and are inspired by the beauty of seeing wildlife, they do not want wildlife to interfere with their daily existence. From the extreme of being a danger to air traffic at airports, to the nuisance of excrement falling on the family car, large congregations of birds may not be well tolerated by society. However, as scientists continue to learn how closely interconnected all species and how disruptions to one species can sometimes cause irreparable harm to entire ecosystems, we need to be careful how we address these issues. As a reminder, the theme for this year's Earth Day is "Protect Our Species." We all must act to curb the massive rate of plant and animal extinction that is occurring across the globe

Flock of Egrets along Lady Bird Lake

Thankfully, for the bats in Texas, organizations such as Bat Conservation International and Austin Bat Refuge are educating the public on how to enjoy and live with bats to help preserve their populations.

After the sun set, the bats began to emerging from underneath the Congress Street Bridge. My small camera was inadequate to capture a good photo, but seeing them in person was a sight to behold.  According to the Austin Bat Refuge, 814,000 bats took flight that evening. In August, that number may double when the pups join the air with the adults. It was surreal to look up in the sky and see a large black cloud, knowing that it contained tens of thousands of bats. It's an experience I will not forget.

It is difficult to see, but those black specks are all bats in the sky

References:
1. Bat Conservation International, http://www.batcon.org/index.php/our-work/regions/usa-canada/protect-mega-populations/cab-intro

2.  Sustainable Food Center, https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/latest/gardening/austins-bat-history-and-the-benefits-of-bats-to-food-gardeners

3. Texas Parks and Wildlife, Nuisance Heronries in Texas Characteristcs and Management, Second Edition, Ray C. Telfair II, Bruce C. Thompson, and Linda Tschirhard
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0134.pdf 

4. Austin Bat Refuge, https://austinbatrefuge.org/congress-ave-bridge/


  

Happy Spring and Third Super Moon of 2019

If the skies are clear tonight you will be able to witness another Super Moon, that is when the full moon is at its closest point to the earth in its elliptical orbit. This is the third consecutive Super Moon of the year, and will be the last.

Watch video on the full moon of the 2019 Spring Equinox, also called the Worm Moon.

With Daylight Savings Time in effect and longer daylight, coupled with a few days with temps in the fifties, it is apparent that gardening days are not too far away. 

This past Saturday was the NOFA New Hampshire Winter Conference. Although it was almost Spring, the day still felt very much like winter with cold blustery winds. From 8:30 AM - 7:00 PM farmers, backyard gardeners and conservationists listened to a variety of speakers, enjoyed delicious healthy food and shopped at a Green Market Fair.

Rather than focus on a particular theme, I selected four workshops that were all different from one another. In the morning, Cat Buxton of Thetford, Vermont, spoke of Soil Health and In-Field Monitoring. Improving the health of our soils through minimizing disturbance, maximizing diversity and keeping the soil covered can all help absorb carbon from the atmosphere. There is tremendous potential there and scientists are only beginning to understand the potential of utilizing plants and life underground to address the current climate crisis that has been brought on by industrialization and the destruction of the Earth's natural vegetative cover.  

Cat Buxton describes different soil characteristics

The second session I attended was presented by Dr. John Zahina-Ramos who traveled from Illinois to

talk about his research projects on quantifying sustainability benefits of small-scale agricultural operations through experiments he has done as a single farmer on his own property. 

The NOFANH Winter Conference always has great vendors at their Green Market Fair and this year was no different. I can never pass by the books displayed without buying something. This year I purchased Consulting the Genius of the Place by Wes Jackson and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I have already started reading Braiding Sweetgrass which describes how all plants and animals as intrinsically connected and calls us to truly acknowledge the wonder of nature, thereby demanding our respect and appreciation. Musical entertainment at the fair was provided by American folk band Decatur Creek.

 
In the afternoon, I listened to the history of some of New Hampshire's heirloom and native plants through photos presented by John Forti of Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire. And, finally the last workshop session I attended was a virtual walk through the woods as poet Hannah Fries read from her book Forest Bathing Retreat: Find Wholeness in the Company of Trees. It was a relaxing way to end the afternoon before listening to the evening keynote "What's Wrong with Working 35 Hours Per Week? Using Lean Ideas to Cut Out Waste and Free up Your Time" by farmer and author Ben Hartman.

There was a lot of information to take in and now that Spring is officially here, I am looking forward to putting some of the ideas presented at the conference into practice. 

UPDATE: I just received an e-mail that I won the "guess how many eggs" in this container" contest put on by Pete and Gerry's organic free range eggs. A year's supply of eggs, thanks Pete and Gerry's for supporting this event! 

National Ag Day

How did I miss it? Today was National Ag Day. National Ag has been in place since 1973 to bring awareness of the vital role that agriculture plays in our society. Although often overlooked and underappreciated in today's society, none of us could survive without farms and the products that they produce. From the cereal or orange juice that you have in the morning, to the glass of wine or beer that you might have at the end of the day, everything we eat or drink is as a result of agriculture. And agriculture provides not just the food that we eat, but it supplies the materials for the clothes that we wear, and sometimes the fuel that powers our vehicles. We all should be thankful, not just today, but every day for the resources and benefits that farmers provide for ourselves, our community, and the world.

I am looking forward to this weekend and attending the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of New Hampshire's annual winter conference. It's always a fun event and a great opportunity to learn more about what is happening locally in the field of organic agriculture. I plan to share more about the workshops and speakers after I attend.

Sweet Potatoes with Wild Rice and Tomato Sauce

This recipe was adapted from the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. It is very easy to put together.

Ingredients:

1 cup wild rice
1 sweet potato 
1 small can crushed tomatoes
1 Tablespoon miso paste
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed basil

Cook wild rice.
Steam sweet potato in microwave. Place in a covered bowl with a small amount of water and cook on high until soft. Cool slightly before slicing.

Make sauce by combining the remaining ingredients and simmering on the stove for about 15 minutes. Serve sauce over potatoes and rice and service with a salad or your favorite green vegetable.