Call me Pollyanna, but it is the best energy I’ve seen since being most fortunate to join this team in October 2009.  We have an amazing and talented team of people who have really hit their stride working together, and it shows.

On January 31, we launched our lineup for an exciting year of programs, summer camps and events.  All of these support the real reason we’re here, which is to connect kids (people, for that matter) with nature and expand their boundaries.  Our mission is technically to enhance the understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the Ozark natural environment, but our real reason for existence is a bit harder to put into words.

Recently, someone pointed out to me that we essentially “interrupt peoples’ norms,” and I love that.  It’s true – at ONSC, we disrupt normal patterns and habits and have the opportunity to help people deeply examine their relationship with the natural world and their role providing stewardship of it.  In fact, we shake up every routine – from how much food an individual may consume (or waste) to their health and not so healthy choices in life.  That’s a pretty hefty responsibility we are charged with, and we feel fortunate to be in such a position.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore some of that great vibe that’s exuding from our little place in the Ozarks.  There are wonderful naturalist notes and musings from our team here on the ONSC blog and all sorts of adult and family programs planned for this spring (such as wilderness first aid courses, a family-friendly waterfalls and wildflowers weekend, and a relaxing women’s yoga retreat).

Some of the best energy out here may be coming from our team’s unfettered excitement over 2012 summer camps at ONSC!  We have a full, exciting lineup ranging from science and naturalist oriented camps to river and backpacking excursions, art and eco-restoration.  It’s going to be a great summer!  Best of all, the costs of our camps are lower and we have many scholarships available, and the enthusiasm of our staff alone is going to make it a summer not to be missed.  We hope you’ll join us in the Bear Hollow Natural Area!

Read more about Monday Muse, Naturalist Notes and Wordless Wednesday features.

Feb 16th: While hiking high on the mountain behind the science center, we spotted a black vulture. This huge bird has a five foot wing span but is smaller than his more commonly seen cousin the turkey vulture. The black vulture is a scavanger but it is more agressive than its larger cousins and will chase other birds away from a carcass. They have also been known to attack weak or wounded animals. I think that the black vulture is a more handsome bird than the turkey vulture; nevertheless, its habits of vomiting the rotten meat it has been eating for its young is  unappetizing. Vultures also vomit when they feel threatened and urinate on themselves to stay clean and cool. Even though these scavanger have disgusting habits, they are very necessary for the environmnet. They clean up dead and decaying meat, keeping highways cleaner and better smelling. This also keeps certain diseases from spreading. It is not a job I would want to do, so I am thankful for scavangers.

Read more about Monday Muse, Naturalist Notes and Wordless Wednesday features.

Feb. 8th – Back in December a wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) was found cold and immobile near the science center. One of our teacher/naturalist brought the wheel bug into the staff room to show others, thinking the insect was dead. The wheel bug was later found crawling on a staff member’s hat, once it had been warmed by the heated room. It was then discovered that the bug had laid eggs on a sheet of orange paper that had been sitting out on the staff room table. This week, the eggs began to hatch! The tiny nymphs look much different from the adults; they have long legs, a red abdomen that stands up erect, and no wheel on their back. Wheel bugs eat caterpillars (even large ones such as the horn worm), Japanese beetle larva, and other pesky insects; therefore, they are a friend to farmers everywhere. The wheel bug, like other assassin bugs, keep insect populations in check so they are very important to the ecosystem. The sticky hairs on their front legs help them grab insects and their powerful bite contains toxins which kills their victims in seconds. Wheel bugs have been known to bite humans if handled carelessly. Their bite leaves a welt that is reportedly worst than a bee sting. They are beneficial insects but must be respected.

Feb 10th – The Ozark Witch Hazel or vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis veralis) is now blooming. Earlier in the year the more common Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) was bloomed and some of its yellow flowers can still be seen. It is one of the few flowers that blooms in winter. It grows on rock slopes and river banks. Dowsers, people who use a forked stick to search for underground water, claim that witch hazel is one of the best types of wood to use as “witching sticks” in their practice.  Witch comes from the Old English word “wych” meaning pliable branches and hazel comes from the look of the plants leaves which are remarkable similar to hazel nut leaves. Both species of which hazels have small white berries that are edible and contain two tiny black seeds which explode ( improving their dispersal range) as they are heated by spring’s warm air. Witch hazel leaves, twigs, and bark has so many medicinal properties that I can not even begin to list all of them here; but it is especially good for the skin since it is astringent and feels great on bites or rashes. Learn more about the history and medicinal properties if witch hazel here.

We come across a number of inspiring quotes from great naturalists and inspirational sayings related to the natural world and want to let you enjoy some of those thoughts along with us.  Without further ado, our first Monday Muse:

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.  (Gertrude S. Wister)

• January 19th: A tick!
• January 27th: Staff has been spotting tadpoles in the pond, especially salamander tadpoles, hopefully from the Ringed Salamanders we saw last fall. (Read more about them here.)
• Creek Critter water samples from Pine Creek have had inmature salamanders in them.
• The Chickadees started singing their mating song, which they only sing in spring.
• Bald Eagle season had been upon us for weeks, they might not stay much longer if spring comes early, so get out and view the nation’s bird if you haven’t already.

• February 2nd: Today, it felt like spring. We saw a male fence lizard (the males have bright blue bellies) and a red bellied snake. Both of these reptiles are usually not see until March but the sunny warm weather woke them from hibernation
• Under logs the zig zag salamander has been spotted. Also a cave salamander was seen in the bluff shelter near the science center.
• Spring peeper frogs have been heard just a few times.
• We also notice hupatica and spring beauty blooming for the first time. Daffodils are blooming as well.

Feel free to leave your own observations as a comment below! Watch for more Naturalist Notes next week, but until tell, get outside and observe the natural world!