Birders have had a great month at Crossroads at Big Creek because the late spring has meant a late “leaf out.”  So migrating songbirds have not been obscured by foliage. But by this weekend, which in Canada is called Victoria Day Weekend or May Long Weekend, the maple leaves should be opening, and the tender maple leaves may be almost as red as the leaf on Canada’s flag.

The leaves of many trees seem to be reddish at budbreak. A leaf must have both sunlight and warmth for the chlorophyll to kick in.

In the wonderful magazine, Northern Woodlands, Michael Snyder wrote: “ If those newly emerged leaves are greeted by a cold snap or prolonged cloud cover, they cannot make chlorophyll and will remain reddish for an extended period.

“This red color in spring leaves is due to the same pigments responsible for the brilliant reds of autumn, the anthocyanins. Scientists studying the physiology of fall foliage have suggested that the anthocyanins responsible for red color in leaves – in fall or spring – may help them withstand cold and screen them from damaging ultraviolet rays, air pollution, and various other assaults”

Mary Holland suggests another theoryIn her book Naturally Curious, : “While there is not a complete understanding of this phenomenon, studies have shown that young  leaves have less damage from herbivores (plant eaters). It is possible that the pigment anthocyanin, which produces the red color, makes red leaves less discernible to some insect herbivores, or makes insect herbivores more discernible to predators.”

We predict our maples will be reddish  on Victoria Day, which in Canada is  (in the milder provinces, at least)  considered the unofficial start of summer.  Most Canadians take advantage of their three day weekend start working on their lawns and gardens—a pursuit which is taken very seriously by our neighbors to the north.

It is fitting that on Victoria Day,   Crossroads will re-screen the film that inspired the Safe Lawn in Door County movement.” A Chemical Reaction” is a 70 minute feature documentary movie” that tells the story of a powerful and effective community initiative which began in a small town in Canada  with one lone voice in 1984.  Dr. June Irwin, a dermatologist, noticed a connection between her patients’ health conditions and their exposure to chemical pesticides and herbicides.  With relentless persistence she brought her concerns to town meetings to warn her fellow citizens that the chemicals they were putting on their lawns posed severe health risks and had unknown side effects on the environment.”

Described and the “most effective tool ever created for advocates of pesticide reduction,” the Emmy nominated documentary film was produced by Paul Tukey, who recently spoke at Crossroads and the Door County Sustainability Fair. We will show the film Monday May 20 at  3:00 and 7:00 for those who missed earlier showings and for those who, after meeting Paul Tukey, want to see it again.

On Wednesday, May 22, at 7:0 The Door County Environmental Council presents the lecture: “Antibiotics Increasing in our Groundwater Supply.”  Andrew Werthmann,  Wisconsin organizer for the PEW Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Agriculture a part of the PEW Charitable Trusts  from Eau Claire will be speaking on the research of antibiotic use on livestock farms.  The overuse of antibiotics for healthy farm animals  is causing  detrimental residue in our water supply. Andrew will be giving factual statistics on over-use of antibiotics in all agriculture with animal waste spreading and runoff and the resultant impact these abuses are having on our groundwater now and far into the future.

During our annual EGGstravaganza, one of the children asked, “When a mother bird lays an egg,  how long will it be before it hatches?” As in most nature questions, the answer begins with “It depends.”

Some baby birds such as chicks and ducklings are fully developed when they hatch. Within hours after  emerging from their eggshells, they are cute and fluffy, and able to see, walk, and feed themselves. These precocial birds require about three or four weeks to develop before hatching.

In contrast, many of our songbirds are blind, naked, and helpless when they hatch. These scrawy pink infants must remain in the nest, cared for by the parents. Almost like premature human babies, these birds are born before they are fully developed. It make sense—and it turns out to be the case—that the birds which are born helpless have a shorter incubation time and smaller eggs.

But unlike human babies, which develop in the mother’s body, bird embryos do  their growing in the egg, and for development to take place, an egg must be warm—somewhere in the neighborhood of 104 degrees

If a mother bird lays an egg and does not sit on it, the unborn chick does not start to develop. Does this happen in nature? Absolutely.

During their nesting season, most songbird mothers lay an egg every day or so. For example, it might take four or five days for a robin to lay four eggs. Yet all four baby birds hatch on the same day, usually simultaneously, or at least between minutes of each other.   And this is important. It would be next to impossible for a mother bird to keep some eggs warm while trying to feed hungry hatchlings.

So the mother bird does not begin incubating the eggs until she has laid all of the eggs she is going to lay. This is not true of all birds, but apparently many  species of birds have a specific number—a “clutch size”–that seems just right. This is more complicated than it sounds, because clutch size varies depending on the age of the mother bird, the time of year, and whether she is working on her first or second brood of the season.

A mother bird just keeps laying eggs.-one a day until she instictively knows that enough is enough. Then, and only then, does she start incubating the clutch. Because of this behavior, all of the eggs are warmed the same length of time, even though they have been laid days apart.

Nesting seems to be late this year, probably due to the cold weather, and  spring green up is late too, but on Mother’s Day, there will be flowers at Crossroads. This will be my first Mother’s Day since the death of my mother, and my most cherished memories of her involve  tramping through the spring woods searching for wildflowers. We invite families to join us at 3:00 Sunday for a gentle ramble down to the creek and through the woodlands. Moms deserve  flowers on Mother’s Day.

If you enjoy searching for wildflowers, you might want to participate in the wildflower inventory of Crossroads. Every few years, we record the locations and blooming dates of the flowers of Crossroads. We hope to establish a long term record of weather and habitat changes. No experience is necessary, though shoes that can get wet are a good idea.

Saturday night, the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society will hold a Viewing Night at our Astronomy Campus. Starting around 8:00 if there are clear skies, members of DPAS will share the wonders of the night sky.  Views of Saturn should be spectacular this month. Viewin nights are free and open to the public.

Friends of Crossroads’ Meeting

Monday May 6, 2013

6:30 Meeting

Collins Learning Center

The Mission of the Friends of Crossroads at Big Creek is to promote and assist with programs

through gifts of time, talent and financial resources for the benefit of Crossroads at Big Creek Inc.

President:Gretchen Schmelzer, VP: TBA,  Secretary: Barb Graul

Treasurer: Jane Guthrie, Membership Chairman: Nelson Whyatt, Work Crew Coordinator: TBA

AGENDA

Call Meeting to Order

Motion to Accept Agenda

Motion to Accept Minutes of April 1, 2013

Treasure’s Report

Old Business

Walk When the Moon is Full!   Saturday April 27, 8:00 pm date was postponed due to the late moon rise! Choose new date with workable moonrise.

Friends council fire ring utensils  UPDATE:

• Grill baskets, popcorn      baskets.
• 8 gal water tank in      stainless ($259.95)

Planting Trees: Update

• Evergreen nursery      sponsoring 500 trees for just $500. Building and Grounds will let us know      of the work date and conditions for planting party.
• Post the dates onVolunteerDoorCounty

Vice President and Work Crew Nominations

• Nominations needed for      Vice President
• Work Crew- passed it back      to Buildings and Grounds.

Running Green for Crossroads Update:

• Stencil Name on Tents
• Packet Assembly, Wednesday       June 19,  6:00 till done
• Volunteer Meeting Mandatory, Thursday June 21, 6:00-7:00

New Business

Volunteer Needs for May/June

Gretchen will not be available for June 3^rd meeting.  Any one willing to chair?

Door Prize Drawing 

Adjournment

Next Friends Meeting: June 3, 2013 at 6:30, John Collins Learning Center

Friends of Crossroads’ Minutes

Monday April 1, 2013 6: 30 Collins Learning Center

Pres: Gretchen Schmelzer, VP: Patsy Stierna, Sec: Barb Graul  Treas: Jane Guthrie, Member Chair: Nelson Whyatt, Wk Crew Coord: needed

Members present: Ray Stonecipher, Maddie Ostrand, Arliss Everson, Jane Guthrie, John Munch, Gretchen Schmelzer, Coggin, Barb Graul

Call Meeting to Order at 6:30

Motion to Accept Agenda as amended under new business by Barb, 2nd Ray

Motion to Accept Minutes of  March 4, 2013 with corrections by Coggin, 2nd Jane

Treasure’s Report                    March 1 balance          $2330.03

Deposits (3 Memb)            25,00

Dispursements                   23.74

April 1 2013 balance   $2331.29    accepted Ray, 2nd Maddie

Old Business

Walk When the Moon is Full!   Saturday April 27, 8:00 pm  Coggin will publicize

Friends council fire ring utensils

• Reviewed prices for grill      baskets, pie irons, popcorn baskets, marshmallow sticks, etc. LL Bean best      quality.  We already have 20 forks      for marshmallows and hotdogs.  Will      buy 2/4 qt stainless popcorn baskets and wait to buy pie irons until we      see response by fire pit users—do they use our equipment? 
• Crossroads will pay for      the 8 gal in stainless water backpack, Friends will have access to this      equipment. ($259.95)

Planting Trees

• Building and Grounds is      ready for the $500 to buy trees, Evergreen is offering mixed culls in      quart containers at $1 each.  Greg      Meisner will help determine planting sites.
• Planting Party:  it was decided to ask Building and      Grounds to organize the planting party, with friends providing the      labor.  Possible date: Day of      Caring, May 11
• Post the dates onVolunteerDoorCounty:  Coggin

Vice President and Work Crew Nominations

• Nominations needed for      Vice President
• Work Crew- passing it back      to Buildings and Grounds—-see planting trees above

Running Green for Crossroads   on Eddy Allen’s program in March and will be again in April

• Sponsorships going strong, ahead of last year
• Stencil Name on Tents and empty sand bags–grauls
• Packet Assembly, Wednesday June 19, 6:00 till done
• Volunteer Meeting Mandatory, Thursday June 21, 6:00-7:00

New Business

Volunteer Needs for April/May

            Day of Caring May 11

Week of April 22 to deep clean before Safe Lawns presentation

Lower level space need matching funds to apply for space planning grant, anonymous board member will donate $1000, moved by Maddie, 2nd by Jane that Friends give $500.

Need to design wastebasket that encompasses both recycling and garbage

Door Prize Drawing  Coggin won 1 dozen organic eggs from Gretchen’s chickens

Adjournment

Next Friends Meeting: May 6, 2013 at 6:30, John Collins Learning Center

Finally, peeping can be heard  at Crossroads at Big Creek. Near Hauser Pond, the evening are becoming quite noisy.

The extremely loud sounds are coming from tiny frogs…which, for fairly obvious reasons, are call Spring Peepers. About an inch from snout to vent, these frogs are for many, the herald of spring. …the signal that the forests are coming alive.

All winter, adult peepers hibernated underground in the forest, often far from ponds.  Strange as it sounds, their little bodies actually freeze solid, but their cells do not rupture and once they thaw, they come to life and seem compelled to find mates. Instinctively, they know that eggs must be laid in water….a pond or a spring woodland puddle.  It just has to be deep enough for tadpole development.

Once they find their pond, the males climb up on a piece of grass or emergent vegetation or even low hanging tree limbs. The are able to stick onto plant parts thanks to sticky pads on their toes. And from this perch, they sing to attract  mates.  And when the mating occurs, the eggs drop directly  into the water.

A male peeper sings by blowing up what appears to be bubble gum, but what actually is his throat. A Peepers puffs up his  throats to almost equal his body size. Vocal chords are located in the throat.

To sing, (and the song  is music to my ears, and irresistible to female peepers)   the frog forces air between his mouth and lungs. The air produces sound which  is amplified by the puffed up throat.

Even amplified, the peep of one peeper is not very loud. But the sound of one tiny frog is amplified to enormous volumes by the sheer number of frogs in a pond.

Volunteerism is like that. One volunteer, working  with total heart and energy, can only do so much. But one person’s efforts, amplified by sheer number, can do amazing things. Our  group is called Friends of Crossroads. This group of volunteers meet the first Monday of each month at 6:30 to plan events, to organize tasks, and to serve as a focus group for Crossroads. This month, the group will be planning summer project and programs and they would welcome more new members.

Individuals of all ages and abilties are invited to volunteer at Crossorads as a part of the United Way Day of Caring.  Indoor and outdoor tasks ranging from organizating the kitchen to planting trees will be accomplished between 9:00-noon, and all volunteers will receive a complimentary breakfast, courtesy of McDonalds  and a great LIVE UNITED T-shirt.

Running Green for Crossroads, scheduled for June 22, is looking for volunteers. And organizers tell us that Run Volunteers are looking for early entry forms as well. It really helps the committee order shirts, prizes and refreshments when they have firm numbers, plus, pre-registration saves you  money. Those who register before June 12 receive a signifacnt price break. Visit http://www.crossroadsrun.com/ for information and registration forms.

Even the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society is looking for volunteers to help with summer astronomy outreach programs. This group will hold its May General Meeting at 7:00 May 7 at the Stonecipher Astronomy Center. DPAS invited vistors to enjoy a screening of Cosmos Episode #2 followed by a review by Professor Ray Stonecipher and a short progam about”Galileo’s Burial Site.” by Dave Luhrs.  Refreshments will be served.

Having grown up in the safety of a loving family, I was simply shocked..SHOCKED… that a grown-up would give a poison apple to a child.  Grownups were supposed to protect children from danger. Grownups kept children safe when they played and gave them healthy food to eat. Giving a child poison? Really?  No wonder they called the queen “evil.”

Today’s parents and grandparents, school and park officials, and  land managers no doubt care passionately  about the safety of children (and  of pets and wild birds)  and would probably never knowingly expose them to poison, but alas, they do that very thing when they apply certain chemicals to their lawns.

About a year ago, representatives from Door Property Owners, Sustain Door, and Wild Ones gathered at Crossroads to preview a film called  “A Chemical Reaction,”  In this award winning documentary,  spokesman Paul Tukey exposes the harmful consequences of the overuse of pesticides and profiles the experience of a small Canadian community’s successful battle with an industrial giant in stopping the nonessential use of lawn chemicals. The film examines  evidence that pesticides harm the environment and can be detrimental to human and animal health, leading to cancers, neurological damage and other autoimmune disorders.

Last August, I attended the Wisconsin Space Grant Conference at which an administrator from NASA gave the keynote address about the possibility of intelligent life on planets beyond our solar system. During the question and answer session, I got the courage to ask: “What definition does NASA use for intelligent life? ”

Without missing a beat, he replied, “Chipmunks and above.”

Chipmunks certainly are intelligent if the criteria is ”the ability to solve problems.”  At Crossroads, at home, and at my summer job at Interlochen, I feed birds, which is to say, I feed squirrels and chipmunks. These critters have no difficulty solving problems or outsmarting me.

Several years ago, I moved my supply of sunflower seeds inside the rustic nature museum where I work each summer. This wooden building is not airtight, nor is it rodent-tight, especially after a chipmunk gnawed a hole near the door. Understand that this chipmunk was not intending to eat. Instead, the petite striped creature was intent on collecting  and caching food for the winter.

He gnawed into the seed bag and quickly stuffed  his cheeks with seeds. Chipmunk cheeks expand, and according to my students (who conducted a little investigation),  a chipmunk can cram as many as fifty black oil seeds into his chubby cheeks. After stuffing his cheeks, he  scampers back to his borrow, stashes the seeds  and hurries back for another cheekful.

On one particular trip, the chipmunk must have been nearing  his capacity, for when he reached the hole by the door, cheeks protruding so much that he looked like he had the mumps, he couldn’t get out. He knew this immediately because when his cheeks are are fully extended,  touch-sensitive whiskers stick straight out and warn him if his head is wider than the opening. It was.

So, the chipmunk had a problem. What to do? Body language and tail flicking demonstrated frustration and puzzlement. But then, the chipmunk jettisoned  two seeds and tried the opening. Nope. Three? Four? Leaving five seeds inside the building , he was able to squeeze through the opening and run to his  burrow. In no time flat, he was back, nabbing the five seeds and returning to the burrow with the full load.

Chipmunks encounter problems, and they seem capable of solving them. Humans also encounter problems…. as soon as they get outside in the spring. How does one handle problems in the garden? with growing native plants? and with insect, disease and drought problems in a forest? Or for that matter, the shortage of good water throughout the world?

Well, a good start in problem solving would be to attend a program Crossroads.

Wild Ones of Door County is an organization dedicated to landscaping with native plants.  The  plant species found here have spent the ages adapting to this particular mix of temperature, moisture, soil, ph, etc. and are unique in the world. Over the millennia they’ve formed what Aldo Leopold called the “land organism.”  They’ve developed expertise; think of it as floristic wisdom… they know how to deal with these specific conditions.

On Saturday, April 13,  at 2:00 Wild Ones  invites the public to the free  program “Nurturing Biodiversity. Presenter Dale Goodner and his wife Mary  will  ”discuss modeling and structuring their  own backyard ecosystem (garden), in order to better fit in with this place.  While our landscape includes vegetables, and also features horticultural varieties of plants, they use native flora to better establish a sense of place, and also to better attract animals.”   The Goodners  moved to Algoma in May 2010, after 34 years in Peoria, IL, where Dale served as Chief Naturalist at Peoria Park District’s Forest Park Nature Center for some 20 years, and then was Supervisor of Interpretive Services, overseeing 5 facilities, including the George Luthy Botanical Garden, before retiring in 2009.   Mary is a professional horticulturist. The Goodners will report on decades of experience, illustrating the lecture with stunning photographs of Door County flowers and landscapes.

As spring begins, Door County Master Gardeners  are scouring seed catalogs, dreaming about this year’s garden, and making plans to correct the nagging problems that have faced their home gardens in the past.  At the same time they are budgeting for seed and plant purchases, they are also working to discover the best way to economically fix those things that went wrong last year.

On Tuesday, April 16  at 7:00 Master Gardeners invite fellow gardeners to join them for a program called  ”Garden Survival 101- Small Projects to Fix Big Problems”  designed to help Door County gardeners navigate the treacherous waters of home garden improvement projects.  The guest presenter is  Jason Feldman of Jason Feldman Landscapes, Sturgeon Bay.  Jason will discuss the wide range of problems gardeners typically face here and then focus on several of them in detail (for example, rainwater runoff issues) to show how down-to-earth common sense solutions can be found to correct them.  Utilizing common sense, gardeners can correct almost any problem they face, so understanding how the process works to provide down to earth solutions in specific examples gives the home gardener another tool he or she can use to fix the unique issues they face at their own homes without spending a fortune.

While gardeners worry about problems in the garden, members of DCIST, the Door County Invasive Species Team, are thinking about the problems in the forest.  On Wednesday  April 17, at 2:00, DCIST will present the program Insect and Disease Issues from 2012.  Linda Williams, a Forest Health Specialist from the Wisconsin DNR , will speak on last year’s weather events, specifically the drought and heat, and how it has impacted (and will continue to affect) our trees and forests.  The program will include a discussion on insect pests that caused problems last year, the impacts of weather on forest pests, and what we can expect in the future. Updates on emerald ash borer and beech bark disease also will be provided. This program is free and open to the public.

The Door County Environmental Council begins their 2013 educational series on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:00  with a  free screening of a powerful documentary “Last Call at the Oasis“. Because America has had ample water until now, we tend to be spoiled, blasé and unaware when it comes to the international water situation. Make no mistake, as the film says, water is about to become more valuable than oil — it’s the element the wars of the 21st century will be fought over. We are using too much water, and fouling what we use.

Though the crisis is global, “Last Call” for the most part focuses on situations in the U.S. with a case study of Las Vegas. The real problem is that the city has been allowed to grow more than it should given how little water it has. The city relies entirely on the massive Hoover Dam and enormous Lake Mead to provide water, but that lake is shrinking at an alarming rate, dropping 10 feet a year. The time is in sight where there will be so little water that the dam will stop producing electricity, a situation no one ever thought was possible.Water crusader Erin Brokovich,  family farm protector Lynn Henning,  Johnny Cash, Julia Roberts  and a host of other concerned activists convey the important water message in this powerful presentation. A short discussion will follow the film.

If we are intelligent life, perhaps we can work on ways to solve our problems.