Classroom preparation

BRDC High School Birding Presentations

On May 23

rd

, Eric Harrold, with assistance from Scott Jackson-Ricketts, gave a brief introduction to bird identification and field guide use to five high school classes at Galax City High School.

All presentations were organized by Ms. Emily Brown and held in her classroom.

88 young people participated.

Eric had the kids use the Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, by showing them slides of certain species for them to find in the guide.

While the kids thumbed through the field guide, he pointed out the basics of field identification, including plumage, silhouette, habitat, behavior and other clues to sorting out one bird from the next.

Contained in the slide show was a live connection to Cornell’s Lab or Ornithology website, allowing the kids to hear bird songs and make further comparisons.

This, especially, caught their attention…listening to the wide variety of bird noises.

This effort was all in preparation for a field trip slated for the next day, in Grayson Highlands State Park, where a select group would try out their new found skills.

(See previous post.)

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Spring Fish Bugs Outing

Project Fish Bugs Strikes Again

April 18

th

, 2013

The temperature of Wilson Creek’s rushing waters topped out at 52F degrees at 9AM this somewhat cloudy and breezy day.

Rock Bottom Cabins was today’s venue, where we have hosted other Fish Bugs programs over the last two years.

Rosemary Young’s advanced biology class students (Grayson County High School) were the chosen ones, all 17 of them.

Aaron Floyd (program director) and I arrived at 8 to set up our work station, and just before the big yellow bus arrived, he caught a brown trout for dissection purposes.

While that enterprise was underway, I noted a lone Louisiana waterthrush grazing on the moss covered rocks across the creek, one hop at a time, feasting on the very macro-invertebrates we were there to investigate.

Eventually another showed up, and for the rest of the day, these two waterthrushes

chased each other through the rhododendron thickets singing their male territorial songs above the constant chorus of the stream’s drumming bass notes.

We pointed out the association of these birds within the ecological balance of their habitat, and the importance of the food chain.

We provided wading boots and seine nets for collecting live macro-invertebrates for our on-site 

investigation.

Once the net was properly positioned in the ripples, we counted out 40 seconds of collecting, with two net handlers and at least one substrate disturber upstream, turning over and rubbing the rocks.

We then brought the nets to the field tables containing ice cube trays, and the sorting began.

It is commonly understood that some critters are good indicators of the health of the stream.

A preponderance of snails or mosquito larvae is not necessarily a good sign.

This day’s harvest was abundant with May and stone flies…good indicators.

And we had plenty to count.

Among the special bugs discovered today were two net-winged midges and an armored mayfly larva.

The mayflies had the numbers, well over 100, with stoneflies coming in second.

We also counted many common fly larvae such as crane and black flies.

In our first sampling, taken in rapid riffle waters, we found but one caddisfly, most of which species are known for their ability to construct protective coverings from local materials.

Depending on what’s at hand, some make their cases with small pebbles or sand, some with leaves and sticks.

Free-living caddisflies also exist without cases.

When Aaron dissected the trout’s stomach, it revealed an exclusive diet of pebble-encased caddisflies, so our second sampling was moved upstream and in somewhat calmer waters near where he caught the trout, and of course, we collected quite a few of the encased caddis.

Other finds included crayfish, a minnow, one snail, one salamander, a water-strider, a couple of dragonfly larva and a hatching mayfly.

It is not our point to describe these animals to the species level, but even managing to categorize to family gives us enough of a challenge at times.

We utilize field microscopes to gain that obvious advantage and bring the discovery process closer to the moment.

After the morning‘s schedule of data gathering and assimilation, we regrouped after lunch to document through illustration some of our finds.

Every student was given the opportunity to pick a subject and instructed to take their time with pad and pencil.

Again, it is BRDC’s strong advocacy to include this documentation component within the field experience, thus expanding the connection potential of a day in the outdoors.

Ms. Young’s class provided us with a great group of kids, and we thank them all.

Fish Bugs is funded entirely by the Harris and Frances Block Foundation, without whom, we would not be able to offer this fun, learning by doing, experience.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Blue Ridge Discovery Center's Butterfly Poster

On April 10

th

, BRDC presented the Butterflies of Sullivan Swamp poster to Doris Halsey’s art class at Grayson County High School.

The poster is a culmination of efforts by these students to accurately represent butterflies documented last summer in Sullivan Swamp by other teams of kids through BRDC’s SiteSection program.

This is BRDC’s second poster collaboration with GCHS, last year’s being aquatic invertebrates of Wilson Creek, with our Fish Bugs program.

BRDC believes that through careful documentation, such as is found within the proud tradition of natural history illustration, participants gain insight and a closer connection to the targeted subjects, such as butterflies and stone flies.

We also believe that publishing their work helps bring attention and legitimacy to the wider community, while at the same time offering an educational tool that can be shared.

To that end, BRDC funds a support program called Blue Ridge Illustrated, designed and directed by Aaron Floyd, who brought this project to Doris Halsey.

Doris, in turn, provided a team of talented students and her classroom for exploration through art.

The students who participated are as follows:

Morgan Hall, Maria Rodriguez, Skyler Osborne, Nicole Campanella, Elijah Day, Ray Hale, Dylan Brannon (misspelled on the poster and our apologies), Jonah Smith (not mentioned on the poster, again our apologies), and Cameron Cox.

Back-up graphic support was provided by Aaron Floyd, Devin Floyd and Doris Halsey.

We wish to thank SiteSection survey groups from the Oak Hill Academy Boy Scout Troop, Grayson County High School’s ECO Club, the Southwest Virginia Home Educators and especially Devin Floyd as creator and director of SiteSection.

We also wish to thank the Harris and Frances Block Foundation and MUSE (Musicians United to Sustain the Environment) for their generous support.

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Director, BRDC

Avian Adventures in the classroom

On Wednesday, February 13th, the day after our BRDC led field trip to Burkes Garden, Eric and I spent the entire day in Emily Brown's classroom introducing BRDC and birding through Avian Adventures to all five classes.  (Refer to previous post.)

We used Sam Starkey's (a supporting science teacher also from Galax High School) photos for the focus of our presentation.  In the picture above, we have from left to right:  Bill Sturgill, Eric, and Emily...along with rapt students.  Eric referred to the target birds we discovered on Tuesday, and extrapolated from there to discuss behavior, plumage, feeding strategies, habitat, migratory events, and associated land use practices within the garden.

We engaged the students by taking questions...many of which were quite sophisticated...and attempted to answer them.  Emily instructed each student to respond on paper how interested they were in becoming involved in this program, who would be willing to make time for field trips, and who among them might be available for supporting an art component. 

Eric and I are convinced that we have in Emily, Sam and the school staff, a enthusiastic group through which to work.  We are honored to be invited into the Galax City School system, and look forward to more field trips and related programs.

Below are two more pictures from the field trip day...rolling along!

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

BUTTERFLIES OF SULLIVAN SWAMP, GRAYSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK

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Our 2012 collaboration finished up in January of 2013.  This project was a partnership with the Grayson County High School 2nd year art class and BRDC’s Project SiteSection.  With this poster we will be helping to spotlight the globally unique habit that is Sullivan Swamp by illustrating the full list of butterflies documented by the SiteSection program.  The illustrations were originally attempted as wood block prints but we decided to ultimately pursue colored pencil illustrations.  We also used a combination of staff and student illustrations in order to complete a comprehensive poster of the butterflies documented at Sullivan Swamp. The final poster consists of over 20 illustrations and has been printed on 18x24 and is now available through BRDC and other outlets.

Project Fish Bugs Launches the 2012 season

5-19-12

Five young men with Oak Hill Academy’s Boy Scout Troop #5, accompanied by one parent, Marci Hart, and one of their hardy leaders, Buddy Halsey, headed up the Cabin Creek Trail (Grayson Highlands State Park) for a morning survey.  This amazing, oft described as pristine, stream begins in the Mount Rogers NRA, and is known to hold endangered native brook trout, protected in the park.  We owe a lot to the Department of Conservation and Recreation as well as the park for giving BRDC permission to survey.  And hats off to Kevin Kelley once again for facilitating our programs in GHSP.  

We chose the pools below the most dramatic falls for our survey, situated in a gorge full of tumbled rocks and moss covered banks.  Aaron Floyd, this year’s program director, is a seasoned fly fisherman, and has added that dimension to the Fish Bugs program.  Though we did not find many macro-invertebrates this day, we did catch enough in both the larval and adult stages to make the comparisons between living forms and the art of fly tying.  

We speculated that perhaps the relative absence of larval mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies was the result of recent and frequent rains.  If enough water is forced through the gorge, both the volume and strong rush of the water could have dislodged our bugs, moving them downstream to calmer zones.  But, again, we are guessing.

Among our catch were a few each of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies, a midge, one dragonfly larva, two salamanders, and an itsy bitsy crayfish.  I find myself saying, often, that the absence of data

is

data, and in spite of our low numbers, the walk and visuals were thrilling.  Including the hike, our first Fish Bugs program lasted just under 4 hours.  

Scott Jackson-Ricketts

Project Fish Bugs Winter Survey 2.25.12

Finally, after rescheduling twice, a group of 14 hardy individuals gathered at Rock Bottom Cabins along Wilson Creek this morning for our winter aquatic invertebrate study, thus wrapping up our promise to take samples in all four seasons.With wind howling and snow swirling about our red faces, we took two large and several small samples, collecting a total of 84 organisms including one (so far) unidentified fish and two salamanders.The creek was in fast flow due to recent precipitation, air temperature was 35F and water temp holding at 36F.

Roach-like, giant, and winter stoneflies, flat-headed and other mayflies, net-spinning and case building caddis flies, water pennies, hellgrammites, midges, and true fly larvae were all collected with the stoneflies and mayflies by far most abundant.Because of the weather conditions, we were not able to conduct a more thorough inventory, but everyone had the opportunity to look at some of the smaller organisms and outstanding features under the microscopes, along with taking the time for some field sketching.

BRDC was represented by Eric Harrold, Aaron Floyd, and Scott Jackson-Ricketts.High school teachers Rebecca Absher and Deborah Grief brought students from Grayson County High School’s ECO Club, and Lisa Benish, local Scout leader, provided Boy Scouts.This was one of if not the best attended of all our surveys, with 9 young people present.Without exception, everyone applied themselves with surprising enthusiasm during the 2 ½ hours we gave to the effort.

THE AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES OF WILSON CREEK

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Conducted in 2011 this project was an enormously successful collaboration between Project Fishbugs, Blue Ridge Illustrated and the Grayson County High School art program.  Together we produced a poster featuring 23 Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of Wilson Creek.  It showcased the talent and dedicated effort 15 talented young artists.  The students used colored pencils as their original media and the poster was produced in full color to highlight each specimen’s uniqueness.  The poster is now available in 11x17 gloss format.

Exploring the Talus of Turk

Today the Explorer’s Club went on an expedition

in search of a rare tree. Nicolas, Julian, Luke, Keith and I set out to find the rare habitat that might harbor such a tree. We were looking for a true relic, a left over from a time that was much colder.

The trees we were after were:

• Mountain paper birch, Betula cordifolia

• Paper birch, Betula papyrifera

Both trees are rare in Virginia

and finding just one is a real discovery. The mountain paper birch is an Appalachian species related to the paper birch of the north. There are very limited populations of this cold climate tree, and it has very specific habitat requirements. The paper birch

(Betula

papyrifera)

is extremely rare in Virginia. In fact, its existence south of Pennsylvania has not been confirmed

(as far as I know).

Finding

B.

papyrifera

would be extraordinary, a true botanical treasure.

Before our journey began we met in the parking lot at Turk Mountain Gap. We covered basic safety guidelines, including black bear, yellow jacket, and timber rattlesnake avoidance. We also pondered the qualities that a habitat would need in order to harbor a cold climate tree, a tree of northern latitudes. The group decided that high elevation, north-facing slopes, and exposure were the primary important factors.

I introduced the term “scree”

to the group

(it was introduced to me by Chip Morgan)

: an accumulation of rock fragments at the base of mountain cliffs. "Talus" is another word used to describe heaps of rock at cliff bases, but it refers to bigger rocks. A talus slope is one with large rocks and boulders, and scree is typically used by geologists when describing slopes with smaller rock fragments, pebbles and sand.

We quic

kly reviewed the geology of the mountain. Basically, it is beach sand that has been metamorphosed. It is a very weather resistant white quartzite. Much of it is quite glassy, and later in the hike we got to listen to the talus slope sing and echo as we traversed its singing rocks. The talus slopes at Turk Mountain are a deep and layered heap of quartzite boulders and flat rocks, all having moved, at some point, down slope. These gigantic boulders clearly have not moved in a long time, and must have been heaved by some freeze-thaw force not present today. I imagine that this landscape was shaped by freeze-thaw action during the last ice age.

Might the talus slopes harbor ice

into late spring, creating ideal microclimates for northern species? One hypothesis is that these slopes hold great amounts of frozen water in the winter. The talus slopes on north facing slopes may release moisture slowly from their complex web of cracks, nooks and crannies. This slowly melting ice may be responsible for creating the cool microclimate needed to harbor the paper birch. The cold air may creep down these slopes and meet the forest at the base of the talus. So, it is here that we should find paper birch...at the base of large north facing quartzite talus slopes. This predictive model has been very accurate for finding northern species (as demonstrated by the innumerable discoveries of Mo Stevens).

Would it help us on this outing? We would try. Off we went in search of a north facing, high elevation, quartzite talus slope.

Skolithos trace fossils (ancient worm holes made in what was once beach sand).

We made a quick climb to the summit

of Turk Mountain (2981 ft), passing through a fire impacted forest of mostly chestnut oak. On the crest we were welcomed by Canadian serviceberry, mountain holly, pitch pine and black gum. The rocks around us displayed magnificent trace fossils of the tubeworm Skolithos. It was easy to imagine beaches as the rocks were clearly composed of a bright white sand. It was more difficult to imagine the spot we were standing being lower, at sea level that is. The land was also turned so that today's east was south, and the spot we were standing on was south of the equator. I know, complicated. Check out this map for a visual (find Virginia if you can!):

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namPC550.jpg

Upon reaching the craggy summit

we climbed upon the highest protruding rocks for an astounding view. Wow, what a day. We could see, with ease, the Shenandoah Valley stretched out before us and the Allegheny front standing strong to the west.

Standing here at this summit two months ago, Chip Morgan shared his knowledge of how the paper birch trees could be found. He encouraged me to use binoculars to search for them at the base of the talus slopes, which I did. In complete amazement to both of us, I spotted what I thought was a paper birch tree. I did not get to investigate that tree on that occasion, as the talus slope that had to be traversed was much too challenging on a day that we were already planned to explore another site. It would have to wait.

This tree spotted in Chip’s binoculars

would be the first target of today’s outing. After refueling with water we climbed down the quartzite cliff and slowly made our way across the enormous boulder field. The sounds of the lichens on the rock combined with the crisp clinking echos from the bowels of the boulders created an auditory experience that can be repeated nowhere. We marveled at the endless deep and tiny caverns beneath us and imagined the multitude of timber rattlesnakes that must call that talus slope home.

After some swift but careful footwork, we found ourselves at the bottom of the talus slope.

It was there that Nicholas found a conspicuous piece of bark on the ground. There it was! A tree with papery white bark!Having confirmed the binocular sighting from earlier in the year, we began a thorough investigation of the habitat and the tree. We need to do two things:

Figure out which species it was

Document the plant community it was part of.

After examining several randomly selected leaves and scanning the upper reaches of the tree we concluded that this tree was Betula

cordifolia. The primary attributes that distinguish this tree from Betula

papyrifera are the number of veins in the leaf and the base of the leaf. In this tree the there were between 9-12 pairs of veins on each leaf. The vast majority of leaves had heart-shaped leaves. Botanists call this cordate, and you can see where this tree gets its scientific name (

B.

cordifolia…cordate foliage).

Having confirmed the species we began noting neighboring plants.

The plant community was quite sparse. Moving from the upper canopy down to the ground we observed: black gum, black birch, red maple, chestnut oak, Canadian serviceberry, American chestnut, mountain laurel, mountain holly, American witchhazel, False azalea, lowbush blueberry, and Virginia creeper. The slope of this habitat does not face due north. In fact, it faces 20 degrees West of North (magnetic).

After a successful inquiry at the mountain paper birch site

we decided to begin our hike back to the parking area. We took a route that traced the edge of the talus slope to increase our chances of encountering more rare birch trees. While walking that through the wooded talus slope, Keith caught a glimmer of bright white through the trees downslope. It was another separate quartzite boulder field. We made our way to its upper edge and noticed a bit of white in the branches hidden amongst the foliage of the forest at the bottom of the slope. So, we did it again, down hill across boulders and flat rocks that clink, sing, echo and dance beneath feet.

It was here, on a slope that faces more directly North, that we hit the jackpot.

There were two large multi-trunked paper bark trees in front of us.

Almost immediately we noticed a significant difference between the leaves of this tree and those of the Betula

cordifolia we found earlier. Its bark was chalky white, and none of its leaves were heart-shaped.

These leaves had truncate or cuneate bases, and upon closer inspection, the viens in the leaves occurred typically in pairs of 6-9. Betula

papyrifera! Another notable difference was that the new growth of stems and leaves on this tree was covered with fine hair (pubescence).

Indeed, I believe we have discovered Betula

papyrifera at this site. This site is the second I have seen this year in the Central Virginia Blue Ridge (the first being 3 miles to the northeast in a very similar habitat). How interesting to have both Betula

cordifolia and Betula

papyrifera

on the same mountain!

With this discovery under our belts, we continued east in an effort to intersect the Turk Mountain trail. We passed massive black birch trees rooted right in the middle of talus boulder fields. These trees must be very old. We contemplated the meanings of the words “Virgin Forest” and “Old Growth” and considered the fact that outcrops and talus slopes present habitats that are frequently “Virgin”, that is, they have not been severely impacted by humans. We pondered the eons through which many of the lichens and mosses nestled on and between the rocks must have lived. We considered the possibility of some of the gnarled black birch trees being old growth trees, as they surely would not have been harvested for their twisted wood! We passed several enormous chestnut oaks, also well healed among the talus. How old are these trees? Surely the exposed mountainside and the poor nutrient soils have stunted their growth. Surely these trees are ancient!? This is an inquiry that will have to wait until another visit.

We eventually found our path

and ate wild blueberries as we hiked back. We also found an area where owls were eating luna moths (wings on the ground). Just before exiting the woods we encountered a very excited family.

They had just seen black bear cubs. They pointed the way and sure enough, we were able to observe a black bear cub resting in a tree. Sounds from the thicket below made it clear that mama was there as well, so we moved on up the trail.

All in all, it was an amazing day of discovery. What a world it is up there on the top of that Blue Ridge!

Fishbugs goes to Grayson Highlands State Park

Fishbugs goes to Grayson Highlands State Park

July 10th, 2011

Though BRDC did not originally plan on a Fishbugs satellite program, through our friendship with Americorps intern, Kelly Servick and her association with the park's Chief Ranger, Kevin Kelley, we were invited to bring Fishbugs to the park.Kelly secured a summer position here as an educator and program director.She is simply too good for words. Below, Kelly and Justine.

We gathered by the side of Quebec Branch with tables and equipment, and began to turn over rocks and dip nets.Three kids and two moms joined us, along with park resident Andy Holland, whose help was significant.Justine Jackson-Ricketts, Aaron Floyd and Scott Jackson-Ricketts represented BRDC.

From 10:30 AM until 1:00 PM or so, we discovered, examined and listed the larval forms of mayflies, stoneflies, black flies, a variety of caddisflies, one dragonfly, at least two species of salamanders, and many crayfish.Note the two color morphs of the crayfish in this photograph.

Also we caught live adult forms of stone and may flies, one stonefly of a brilliant green.Absent were water pennies and snails, and all the stoneflies were slender and quite small.The black fly larvae were discovered ‘catching a ride’ on one of the crayfish, causing us to wonder if there were some kind of parasitic event occurring.

Because BRDC strongly believes in creative documentation, we once again encouraged the group to sketch what they had found.The kids (and adults) did not disappoint.So, here is our gallery from today.

Project Fishbugs, night survey

Fishbugs night time survey

June 25th, 2011

As planned, young people from all three participating groups gathered at 8:30PM near the confluence of Wilson Creek and the New River for a look at the adult forms of our aquatic invertebrate study subjects.Aaron Floyd and Scott Jackson-Ricketts prepared stretched sheets and lights for attracting the hatch, with special guest helper Justine Jackson-Ricketts.Inspection tables were set up with viewing boxes, Petri dishes, tweezers, flashlights, and drawing tools.Keying out the many insects flying around our faces took up most of the 2 ½ hours of our survey.

Buddy Halsey was accompanied by three Boy Scouts: Danny DeBord, and bothers Smith and Isaiah Hart. Todd Shaw brought his son, Jason, and Thomas Hart his daughter, Angela, with friend, Nikki Schultz (not home-schooled) representing the Southwest Virginia Home Educators (www.swvahe.webs.com).From the Eco Club, we had Mica Paluzzi and Allison Herrington, and along with Carolyn Spencer’s daughter, Raya, this group completed the Grayson County High School crowd.

Project Fishbugs is a program initially designed as a year-long survey of Wilson Creek’s macroinvertebrates intended to include these three groups of young folks in hands on science based inquiry.Familiarizing these individuals with what lives in our streams and rivers drives our purpose, but having fun while creating valuable documentation drives the interest.Blue Ridge Discover Center was gifted by a generous grant through the Harris and Frances Block Foundation:http://www.blockfound.org/ to support this project.

Before last light, a few of us went running through the riparian field, sweeping insect nets in hopes of catching, well, anything.Lots of lightning bugs, grasshoppers and various other insects were snagged, but the objects of our survey eluded us until dark.Then, as the lighted sheets began to work their intended magic, a few stoneflies arrived, soon followed by mayflies and midges galore.At times, we were literally breathing bugs.The ‘artists’ among us got busy sketching while the rest of us netted and examined our hatch catch. In total we keyed out adult forms of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies, alder flies, midges, crane flies, damsel flies and a plethora of moths.

After breaking down our work site, we stopped by the old post office in Mouth of Wilson to see what the street light brought in.There we found a giant mayfly as well as the much feared Dobson fly, or hellgrammite. In fact, there were two, who in their confusion, flew into an unprepared fellow, causing great excitement.These critters can bite.

For the exception of the scouts, Nikki and Raya, all the rest of our group had already examined the larval stages of what we discovered on our night survey.Ahead of us is one more specific day survey, with the scouts, and another full group oriented December study.We look forward to growing this program with greater inclusion and study habitats. (Look for more Fishbugs reports soon to be posted.)

Big bugs...big fish?

Yes, that's a stonefly!

Blue Ridge Discovery Center launches a new program next week called Project Fishbugs. Stay tuned to learn more about the fantastic invertebrates that lurk in the waters of the Blue Ridge highlands! For a schedule of this spring's Fishbugs activities, see BRDC's website:

http://blueridgediscoverycenter.org/events/

A Foggy Brown Thrasher & Other Fog Birds

Imagine this posting begins with a digital photo. It is a picture of fog freezing on tall sycamores, on scruffy box elders beside a boat landing in a city park. Pretend that you hear something slapping its wings on river water: four small ducks edging just above the muddy river surface, then vanishing because the fog is so thick.

I don't have a photo, and even if I had a camera, I think the scene would be a mere blur no matter how much I played with the image on photo shop. But I did hear the water scurry sound. And the ducks came back and wanted to hug against the shore. I wanted them to be Blue-winged Teal. They were not. They were three female Hooded Mergansers, close enough that I could see their rusty punk style head plumage. The other duck was a male Wood Duck.

I saw almost no other birds except a strange crowded flock of tree swallows huddled on an electric wire, and these would vanish and reappear frequently even though they didn't fly anywhere...the fog was swirling about them, sort of owning them.

But the real reason I went to Riverview Park this morning...to keep an annual appointment. I went there just before daylight to listen for a brown thrasher. One has always shown up out of nowhere around the 25th to 28th of March, right here some place in a patch of honeysuckle and berry brambles.

I wasn't disappointed. One brown thrasher cranked right up, first sound was more like a cough melting into a growl, and all of it as if wrenched through ice and cloud. Then the songs came, three full minutes nonstop. They were doublets of mimicry, one rendition a towhee's chewink call, another the pitter pitter of a titmouse. And right with the thrasher song at that point a titmouse sang several times. Then the thrasher sang a sort of squished up version of the song of a white-eyed vireo.

Imagine the brown thrasher there, singing, mostly hidden, wrapped in fog. The brambles are just starting to open their leaf buds. The leaf buds are coated in ice. I wish I had a picture for you. Hope you have one anyway.