Displaced wildlife beauty

I just got a new camera, and although it wasn't the expensive Canon I had wanted, it's still pretty good. Loaded with lots of features and a wide zoom lens, the camera was begging to be used. So I took it out today thinking I would hit some neglected beauty areas around the beltway. The wildflower fields planted on the side of Maryland's interstates are in full bloom now, especially the scarlet poppies. Finding this stuff always excites me, I feel like a kid when I see color and life on a road that's usually just filled with boring cars.


I got on 795 going north, hoping the fields were still in operation here. There have been years when the plantings in several spots have been missing in action, which created some very disappointing spring driving for many, including myself. As I continued on, I kept my eyes peeled in between the center of the highway, praying some brightness would show up soon. 795 is a fast stretch though, so I decided it would be better if I got in the slow lane. I drove about a 1/4 mile until I spotted something that stood out. It wasn't in the middle of the road though, and it wasn't flowers. A family of geese was congregating dangerously close to the highway on my right hand side. I couldn't stop in time so I continued up the road to turn around in order to chase them back into the woods. I eventually saw the gorgeous wildflowers up the road a ways, but when I did my excitement had been replaced with worry for the geese. I took some quick pics of cornflowers and poppies then swung back to go help them.


I parked a bit further up, so as not to distract them, which seemed funny when hundreds of cars were racing by--talk about a distraction. It was an entire family: Mom, Dad and four babies. Two of the goslings kept roaming off towards the cars, and I was getting really nervous. I slowly started walking in their direction and they quickened their speed as I approached. Cars and trucks were flying by, if they attempted to cross, it would create a life-threatening situation for the cars and the birds. What bothered me was that they were more afraid of me than the cars.


I looked through what was left of the woods, and saw a complex of newly built homes. If this was the area the geese knew as home, it had seen better days.... Mother Nature's own displaced by Baltimore's upwardly mobile. The thought sickened me.


While the natural habitat has been taken into consideration by creating a man-made pond in the area, it still must be confusing to the geese that leave for the winter thinking their spring and summer home will still be there. Not knowing how long it takes for a goose to grasp this makes me sad. This couple was probably confused and returns each year. What worse is that they could possibly be living here year round, so close to a major highway.


I did my best to get them back towards the trees, but they kept on walking down the side of the road, too close to the cars. Eventually they would be trapped with no where to turn but the highway. I called 911 when I realized there was not much else to be done. I pray a state trooper came to help out. It was torture to watch.


So what started out as a happy day taking pictures of flowers on the side of the road ended up with me feeling depressed, worrying about wildlife getting hit by traffic. As I drove home I thought that it isn't just on 795, it's everywhere, even in my neighborhood. We now have red foxes being spotted walking down the streets on a weekly basis, there's even a coyote that my neighbors keep warning me about. I live one mile from the city line and I am surrounded by beltway. What woods we have is not plentiful. The more homes and commercial buildings that are built, the more wild animals get shifted into our neighborhoods. It's unfair that they should suffer. And all I can do is wonder, where will the wild beauty run to next?

To learn more or help, go to:
http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.net/helpingwildlife.php
http://www.audubonportland.org/backyardwildlife/brochures/relocation

Weedy beauty (Frenemies)

Dandelions just can't seem to catch a break. As a gardener, you hate them. They appear in early spring before many of the "planted" flowers bloom, trying to trick you into thinking that they really are your daffodils, golden rananculus or some sweet buttercups. But you know they're not. You look closer to inspect them, praying a volunteer escaped onto your lawn... but lo and behold, it's them, ...dandelions...the insidious vultures of your well tended garden.


Well you know this is a blog about neglected beauty, so just wait... I'm going to sing a few praises about these golden nuisances.

Like many plants, their Latin name was derived from the Greek, Taraxacum officinale, which literally means altering or stirring up. That may make sense from a gardening point of view because they get you pretty agitated just looking at them. But Taraxacum officinale is a reference to stirring up your digestive tract. For example, dandelions roots have been used for centuries to remove toxins and poisons from the blood. They were quite popular in the Middle Ages for a treatment against jaundice.


Today, dandelion roots and extracts are still used and can be found in health food stores. Their use as a diuretic and a laxative is practiced by many homeopathic practitioners.


You can eat them too. Dandelions are high in vitamins A, B, and C. Their leaves are anti-oxidants that can be tossed in salads, soups, honey and jellies. Heck, you can can even drink them by adding the extract to make wines and coffee.


As far as a flower, well...sure. They will hold up for a day or so if you cut them and put them directly in water. They create a hippie-chic look if you use them individually without the "nicer" flowers that you actually planted.

Andy Goldsworthy's famous dandelion display

So when you yank them out of your lawn, please remember the stems and roots can be re-used as a dietary supplement. And recycling is good, even if it's a weed. Maybe when you are done, you can pick up a copy of Ray Bradbury's, Dandelion Wine and learn a little about wine making and Bradbury's life as a kid in small-town America.

Dandelions...they may just be our "frenemies" after all.

Other Interesting Facts about Dandelions:

*The word Dandelion comes from the French name for the plant, "dents de lion", or teeth of the lion, referring to the jagged edges of the leaf of the plant.

*The milk can be used as a repellent against warts.

*Centuries ago, it was considered good-luck to put 2-3 stems of dandelions in a bridal bouquet-- their flower meaning is faithfulness and happiness.

*Dandelion seeds are an important food to many small birds.

*The dandelion first came from Asia but it now calls the entire planet home!

*The dandelion was one of more than 2000 herbs that were used when the settlers came from England.