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The Dog Walk

The Dog Walk is a series of personal accounts about Idlewild Park. It is written by I.S.M.E.C. instructor Jonelle Orridge as she records her observations as she routinely walk her dog.

Low Tide. As I walk along the path under the Cotton wood trees, I notice a mass of orange and black wings fluttering on a plot of yellow plants. It is about that time, that the newly hatched Monarch Butterflies prepare for their long journey to Mexico to hibernate.

The monarch butterfly begins its migration in September and travels for 30-45 days. Monarchs from NYC travel as much as 2,100 miles to reach their destination of the Oyamel fir trees (Abies religiosa) in the cool mountains of the Transvolcanic region in central Mexico. Here they hibernate for four months living off of fat reserves.

In March, the monarchs come out of hibernation and mate. After mating, they begin their northern journey to the southern United States, where they look for Milkweed plants on which to deposit their eggs. After approximately a month of feeding on the Milkweed leaves, the caterpillars pupate and metamorphose into adults. The adult monarchs continue the journey north and also lay eggs. By late June, the third generation of monarchs reaches New York City and by August, their offspring reach Canada. It is this fourth generation that spends its time storing energy from nectar so they can repeat the long expedition again.

Low tide. As I walk my dog, around 10:00 in the morning, I cannot help but notice iridescent lines weaving horizontal patterns along the sidewalk. Upon closer inspection, I begin to realize that they are actually several slime trails of snails, glistening in the morning sun. You can tell a slug trail from a snail trail by the fact that a slug’s trail is continuous where a snail’s trail is broken. The sidewalk is a concrete corridor between two patches of grass which the snails inhabit.

A snail’s body is characterized by a division in a soft body and a hard shell. In contrary to that of other mollusks, the snails’ shell is asymmetric as it is coiled to one side, either left or right. The snail’s musculous foot is its’ main locomotive organ. The foot is almost all of the snail's soft body visible outside the shell. On the foot’s sole side there are mucus glands that produce the slime snails crawl on. The snail’s slime trace reduces the friction between its foot sole and the ground. Snail’s slime also is used as protection against smaller enemies. The snail moves by making undulating movements of the foot sole.

As we neared the site of the canoe launch, a startled great blue heron emerged from the invasive phragmites and took an unwanted journey up Hook Creek Area. The Great Blue Heron inhabits lakes, ponds, rivers, and marshes. They feed on a variety of prey  which includes fish, frogs, mice, insects and even small birds.

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High tide. Today as I look out from the sidewalk behind the canoe launch site,  it is as if I can reach out and touch the water. This is because there was a full moon last night and for another couple of days. What does one have to do with the other? Actually everything. The Idlewild Park Salt Marsh is inundated by tides which vary day to day.  Tides are periodic rises and falls of large bodies of water that are caused by the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon. The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on the opposite side as well since the Earth is also being pulled toward the moon.  Since the earth is rotating while this is  happening, two tides occur each day (in some places only one).

There are two kinds of tides. Spring and Neap Tides.

Spring tides: These are especially strong tide which occur when the Earth, Sun and Moon are in line. It is during this time where we experience the highest tides and the lowest tides. This takes place during the Full and New phases of the moon.

Neap tides: These are especially week tides which occur when the gravitational forces of the moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another ( with respect to the earth). This takes place during the quarter phases of the moon.

High Tide. Today I saw something strange, which I knew did not belong in the natural scenery I pass everyday. A white rabbit with black ear tips. Why is this strange? In a background that is composed of the general earth tones of brown, green and tan, a bright white fluffy mass does not belong. This is because a white rabbit is not adapted to its present surroundings.

An adaptation is a special characteristic that can help an animal or plant live in a certain environment. As the environment changes, ex. changing seasons, so must the animals. This not only means changing its fur density, it mean changing its coloration to match its environment so that it is less detectable. Less detectable from who? The larger animals that would like to eat it as their meal. This is called camouflage. So you see, white fur, during the late summer, in a brown environment screams for attention.

So where did the bunny come from? It is a probably one of many pet animals who are released into the wild when their owners realize that they can no longer take care of them. This is not a local epidemic. It happens all over the world, most of the time with devastating results. Most of the time, a tame animal is not able to find food for itself and will eventually perish. Sometimes, however, an animal can become well adapted to the environment and proliferate, causing displacement of animals that were there before it. Eventually they become a nuisance to the community.

So what should the lesson be for today, if you can’t take care of your pets, do not let them loose in the nearest park. Bring them to a shelter where they can be taken care  of until someone who is able to provide for them accepts that responsibility.

The Monarch Butterfly                    Sept. 18th 2006

I can almost reach out and touch the water!           October 9th 2006

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What was that?                                                                         October 1st 2006

Where did the White bunny come from?          Sept. 25th 2006