Newsletters
December 2015 -FFSR No Respect, Blue Flag, Opossum
WELCOME TO GREEN FUTURES !
DECEMBER, 2015
“Don't ever give up. Don't ever give in. Don't ever stop trying. Don't ever sell out. And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off. But never, ever, ever give up.” -Richelle E. Goodrich “It always seems impossible until it's done.” The Rodney Dangerfield State Forest, located in an economically and educationally disadvantaged area of the state, gets no respect from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Come on DCR. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0 Here are 10 “No Respect” Photos from the Rodney Dangerfield State Forest. “Another one bites the dust - Queen Carol Sanchez was appointed to the position only 7 months ago. Why, exactly, was she chosen for that position? Do you see anything related to forests, conservation, environment in her background? “Sanchez has held numerous positions at large, multinational companies. She has received awards for her volunteer work on behalf of women and minorities.” http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20150416/NEWS/150416720 http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/11/former_dcr_commissioner_jack_m.html We like this comment from an October 30 news article in the “Greenfield Recorder.” Michael Pill, a Shutesbury attorney representing Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, which is tracking the Article 97 issue because dozens of protected parcels are along the route through Massachusetts, said of Murray’s role, “Even if it’s legal, it’s morally disgraceful and reprehensible. What the man is clearly doing is trading the knowledge and connections he’s made in the public sector. Kinder Morgan thinks they have an inside man ... They need some kind of political insider who hopefully for them will dampen the widespread public outrage” over the pipeline project. These are patronage jobs. One would think the Governor would at least search for a supporter, friend, sycophant or whatever that had some interest and experience in the state agency they are going to be appointed to head. New England's bats are dying from an alien fungal infection. Are our snakes next? Frankenfish arrives. http://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-approves-genetically-modified-salmon-1447946835 Some neat photos of mushrooms. http://www.lostateminor.com/2014/09/30/users-pay-tribute-wonderful-world-mushrooms/ Monarchs are in trouble. They need more milkweed where they breed and spend their summers.http://www.saveourmonarchs.org/store/p17/Milkweed_Seeds.html Greenland's glaciers are melting away. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/11/12/scientists-say-greenland-just-opened-up-a-major-new-floodgate-of-ice-into-the-ocean/ Climate denial. http://www.wired.com/2015/11/congress-chief-climate-denier-and-noaa-are-at-war/ Hess caught again. http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2015/11/03/hess-to-pay-mass-millions-for-illega.html Exxon-Mobil caught too. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/science/exxon-mobil-under-investigation-in-new-york-over-climate-statements.html?_r=0j Do you want your endocrine system disrupted? We don't https://theintercept.com/2015/11/03/epa-used-monsanto-funded-research/ The only North American marsupial is the Virginia opossum. Marsupials are mammals that give birth to tiny,undeveloped young. Baby marsupials, called joeys, complete their development in their mother's warm and secure abdominal pouch. The word “marsupial” comes from the Latin “marsupium,” meaning pouch. Our opossum, commonly just called “possum”, is found from Central America north to the mid-western and eastern half of the United States up to extreme southern Canada. Opossums were released in California as a food source during the Great Depression of the 1930s. They now range, on the West Coast, from Baja California north to British Columbia. Adult opossums vary greatly in size, from 20 inches to 36 inches in length, including tail. Weights range from 4 to 14 pounds. Opossums are covered in beautiful silver-gray fur, lighter on the head, darker on the body. In the winter the fur is particularly thick and lush. They have pointed snouts with long white whiskers for guiding them through narrow passages and into hollow trees on pitch-black nights. Their eyes are also pitch-black. They have 50 teeth, more than any other North American mammal. On top of their heads they have rounded naked ears, black at the base and white at the tips. They also have a naked prehensile tail and each foot, fore and hind, has 5 pink, naked toes. Opossums have a neat opposable thumb, just like we do, except it is on their hind feet Opossums are nocturnal. They den wherever early morning finds them. In winter they seek more permanent den sites as do females when about to give birth. Favorite permanent den sites are hollow trees and logs. They will also den in brush, wood and rock piles. They do not dig ground dens, but will use burrows dug by woodchucks and other burrowing animals. Our local opossums breed from February through August. During breeding season males have scent glands which give off a musky odor to attract mates. Males will fight each other, snarling and hissing, over receptive females. Male opossums have a bifurcated penis which corresponds to the females' two vaginae. After mating they go their separate ways. Pregnant females seek a permanent den and line it with dried leaves and grass. Joeys are born 12 to 14 days after mating and are very tiny, the size of a small bean. They immediately squirm their way up to their mother's pouch, crawl inside and latch on to one of her 13 nipples that are arranged in a U-shaped pattern. The joeys stay attached to the nipple they first grasped until almost two months old and their eyes have opened. For the next month they follow their mother about, or ride on her back holding-on by grasping her fur with their tail. At the end of that month the young become independent and separate from the family. Well fed females may have two litters a season. Opossums are omnivores. They eat fruits and vegetables, birds and their eggs, mice, baby rabbits, frogs, snakes, fish, insects, earthworms, other invertebrates and carrion. Many opossums unfortunately end up as road-kill while eating road-kill. Coyotes, foxes, fishers and bobcats will eat opossums, but sometimes lose interest in their meal when it “plays possum.” When caught and mauled, opossums “short-out.” They go into a catatonic state falling over on their side as if dead. Their eyes glaze over, mouth open and tongue hanging out. An unpleasant smelling greenishdischarge is emitted from anal glands. Most predators back off and leave in search of something “alive” and less stinky. When the threat is gone, the opossum recovers and ambles off. The blue flag likes its feet wet and can be found growing in rich organic muck in meadow brooks, along river edges and in marshes and other wetlands in full sun. A wild member of the iris family its showy blue to purple flowers resemble those of the domestic iris found in many New England flower gardens. Blue flag's range includes the eastern united States from Minnesota and Wisconsin east to the Atlantic coast and from Virginia and Illinois north. In Canada blue flags can be found from Manitoba east to the Maritimes. Blue flags grow from thick rhizomes and fibrous roots that anchor the plant in the wet soil. The leaves are dark green blades, flat and grass-like, growing to a height of two to three feet. In spring the flower stems emerge from the rhizomes and may reach three feet in height. The blossoms open from late May through June and occasionally into early July. Flowers are 3 to 3½ inches across consisting of 6 petals and sepals. Deer and most other mammals and birds avoid eating blue flags. The blue flag plant contains iridin, a toxic isoflavone. Not seeming to mind the blue flag's toxic defenses are a small number of butterfly and moth species whose caterpillars rely on this plant for food. Various species of thrips also feed on the foliage and rhizomes. Following pollination by forest bees and other nectar loving insects a green three-celled seed capsule forms. Once ripe, the now brown capsules split open and release three dozen or so flat brown seeds. The seeds float away to start new blue flag colonies. Click here to see what's on our Calendar. Here are some fun outdoor winter activities that you can do by yourself or with others. Take a walk in the winter woods. Too much snow to walk? Cross-country ski in the winter woods or snowshoe in the winter woods. See how many different animal tracks you can identify. Photograph tracks. Get a sled and slide down a hill. Build an igloo. Feed the birds. Make a list of birds you only see in the winter. Make wreaths out of pine, spruce and fir cones. Go ice fishing. Go skating on “real” ice. Learn to identify local trees in winter. Photograph winter scenes. Draw and/or paint outdoors on sunny winter days. Check out the snowflakes and see if you can find two identical ones. Got a medium to large dog friend? Go skijoring. Visit a nature center or natural history museum. “I heard a bird sing In the dark of December A magical thing And sweet to remember. We are nearer to spring Than we were in September, I heard a bird sing In the dark of December.”-Nelson Mandela
ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE – Environmental injustice occurs in the context of extreme inequalities in income, wealth and power.
AND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust “
Another apparently unqualified commissioner quits the dysfunctional agency.
AND ANOTHER ONE GETS A “ROYAL BLUE POLO SHIRT”
INCOMING EMAIL OF INTEREST FROM READERS
BIORESERVE FAUNA OF THE MONTH – Virginia Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis)
Some humans also enjoy eating opossums, especially in the south, provided the anal glands are removed carefully while cleaning and preparing the opossum for the table. A fat opossum is all white meat and very tasty. You can find some recipes here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,opossum,FF.html
Photo - Courtesy Bill Peterson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
BIORESERVE FLORA OF THE MONTH – Northern Blue Flag (Iris versicolor)
DECEMBER – Short “days” ...but only until December 22
- Oliver Herford
<Back
Social