What is it Wednesday: January 6, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

January 6, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

These are the catkins of an alder shrub along the edge of Miller Lake.

Catkins are types of flowers that form on some trees. The elongated catkins in the background of this photo are the male catkins/flowers, and the rounder shorter ones in the front are the female catkins/flowers. In alders, the female catkins are sometimes referred to as cones because of their shape and woody texture.

Other common trees in our area that develop catkins are oaks (male only, female flower a different shape) and birches (male and female catkins). Pussy willows are also catkins.

Alders are commonly found near streams, rivers, and wetlands, and are a pioneer shrub that moves readily into disturbed ground. They also have a symbiotic fungus in their root systems that brings nitrogen from the air and fixes it in the soil (similar to how beans do this in gardens), meaning alders add nutrients to the soil they grow in. Smooth alder and speckled alder are native to eastern north America, and naturalized European or black alder is also common. Black alder is more tree-like than shrub-like, and the female catkins of speckled alder droop, meaning this is probably smooth alder in this photo.

Catkins like the ones that stay on alders are more noticeable this time of year, when deciduous trees are bare of leaves and there aren’t many “flashy” sights to catch our eyes in nature. Take a look around this winter and see what you can spot in nature in this season!

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday archive: May 2, 2018

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

May 2, 2018. 

And the answer is....

This beautiful tree is a redbud in bloom, near Wallace Hall at Lutherlyn. 

Redbuds are native to Western Pennsylvania, and are one of the earliest trees to bloom in the spring, providing a welcome burst of color when much of the natural world still looks brown and gray. The redbud’s heart-shaped leaves develop after the flowers are finished blooming.

Hundreds of students visiting Lutherlyn during spring field trips get to see this beautiful tree in bloom every year (and thousands more will visit each spring after it is done blooming). To learn more about LEEP field trip opportunities check out http://lutherlyn.com/ee.

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: April 29, 2020

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

April 29, 2020. 

And the answer is....

This is the blossom of a flowering dogwood, just beginning to open. Soon this blossom will transform into the familiar four-petaled white flower that makes the flowering dogwood tree such a beautiful part of springtime.

One neat thing about this picture is that the dogwood twigs are visible as well as the blossom. Dogwood twigs are distinctive for a couple of reasons. The branches of the twigs grow directly across from each other – this is known as opposite branching pattern and very few tree species in our area grow like this. Maples and ashes are the most common in addition to dogwoods.

You can also see from a close look at dogwood twigs that this is a very slow-growing tree. The small lines that encircle the twig mark the ends of a year’s growth – on dogwood twigs these lines are very close together, showing that they grow only about an inch a year, sometimes less.

Getting to know your natural surroundings can mean learning what the flora and fauna look like in all their life stages, not just the dominant or most familiar ones. Watch a plant up close for a whole year and see what surprising things you notice!  

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday archive: April 18, 2018

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on. 

And the answer is....

It is amazing that this little bud, about an inch or two long, contains the beginnings of an entire strand of wisteria blossoms. 

They can be stunningly beautiful, but unfortunately they are problematic as well. Wisteria is a highly invasive vine, and it if becomes established in a forested area, over time it will twine itself tightly over all the trees and choke out the native forest. Because there are so many flowers in each blossom, it makes many seeds and spreads quickly. 

Please don’t plant wisteria, and this is a rare case where cutting or picking wildflowers – all of them, if you like! – will actually be helpful to the environment by slowing the spread of the wisteria vine. Feel free to enjoy the beauty of wisteria when you see it (a section of Lutherlyn’s Cherry Trail is stunning in late April when the wisteria blooms), but try not to add to the amount of it growing where it doesn’t belong.

To learn more about the complex and beautiful natural world all around us with LEEP, check out http://lutherlyn.com/ee, 

And to learn more about invasive plants and how to control them, visit

http://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/WildPlants/InvasivePlants/InvasivePlantFactSheets/Pages/default.aspx 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: March 18, 2020

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

March 18, 2020.

And the answer is....

This is the opening blossom of a red maple tree. 

Red maples are one of the first trees to blossom in the early spring in our area. (Silver maples are often a few weeks earlier, sugar maples a little later.)

The opening of maples blossoms also signals the end of maple sugaring season. 

Once the blossoms begin to open, the trees release additional chemicals into the sap which makes the flavor of syrup made from that sap bitter. (It is sometimes referred to as “buddy” syrup.) So to avoid this bitter syrup, maple producers pull their taps when they see that the buds have opened on their maple trees. Exactly when this happens varies from year to year and location to location. Here at Lutherlyn, we tap red maple trees, so when the red maples blossom, our season season is over. 

Of course, other things can end maple season too – running out of firewood; running out of time for hauling, boiling, filtering, and cleaning up; sap stops flowing because it stayed warm; etc. 

On Monday we noticed the buds opening on some of the maple trees in our sugarbush (the area of forest where the trees are tapped) – so maple season 2020 is over at Lutherlyn! We are now into maple cleanup – finishing boiling the last of the sap into syrup, pulling the taps and buckets from the trees, sanitizing all the buckets, lids, spiles, hoses, and other equipment, cleaning the evaporator, and storing it all away for next year.

Holly with sap buckets, lids, and containers, sanitized and drying in the dining hall kitchen

Maybe next time you are at Lutherlyn you will get to taste some of our syrup – check out www.Lutherlyn.com for info about summer camp, retreats, overnight field trips, and other events that could include a pancake breakfast!

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!