C R O S S T I M B E R S C H A P T E R N E W S L E T T E R V O L U M E 2 N U M B E R 5 O C T - D E C 2 0 1 3 AUTUMN. One of my favorite words. After a very long and hot summer of many outdoor adventures, I often relieve my sun soaked brain by contemplating what it will feel like to enjoy those first wispy cooling breezes that will come wafting across the parched landscape. Albert Camus once said that “Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower”. We may not get the most fabulous displays of fall color, but we do get a changing of hues and that change is one that I am always eagerly awaiting. So whatever the autumn brings for you I hope that you get out often and enjoy it as I do. Best wishes to all for the rest of 2013. We’ll chat again in 2014!! Chad Etheridge Cross Timbers Chapter Vice-President [email protected] A Sense of Place HESTER SHWARZER Although many writers and speakers have put their spin on the words in this title I wish to consider only one quote from the Wikipedia website. "It (this phrase) is often used in relation to those CHAD ETHERIDGE characteristics that make a place special or unique, as well as to those that foster a sense of authentic human attachment and belonging." ALICE MOFFIT My early sense of place was a primal bond with the mysterious Grinnell Lake bottom lands of far northeast Texas. On rare occasions panther could still be heard. But there was no fear, only SANDY FOUNTAIN the wish to see a big cat as I often sat in an open bedroom window watching the moonlight play through the giant white oak trees. This was my sense of place. It was a place of freedom and caution, of RICK SHEPHERD beauty and tiring chores, of dreaming and becoming. In western Colorado our family found another strong sense of place in a spectacular aspen grove by Maroon Lake at the base of Maroon BILL SHAW Bells where we spent countless hours hiking, picnicking and just sitting as we soaked in the beauty. Later in Pueblo, Colorado I searched for something special for months before I fell in love with the vast openness of the flat prairie GINGER BASON-BOWDEN east of the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range. As never before I started to closely observe the play of clouds in the sky. Just like the author, Byrd Baylor in her book, “I’m in Charge of GEORGE MCBRIDE Celebrations” I watched “dust devils” dance across the open spaces and wished to move with them. The prairie grabbed me in a way no other landscape ever has and I will always harbor fond memories of KIM STEVENS-GUNNLAUGSSON that special sense of place. Now to Arlington, Texas and a current sense of place. I thought CHAD ETHERIDGE about it last evening as I sat in a darkened yard listening to a nearby screech owl and watching a couple of bats as they cleared the post oaks and passed over the roof. Except for the sound of traffic on Highway 30 and the neighbors' outdoor lights I could have been in the historic post oak woodlands of the Cross Timbers. One thing I’d like to change about the places I’ve come to love is the “placelessness” of yards in every location. The sameness of mowed green carpets, trimmed hedges and similar plantings takes away the specialness of this great, diverse land. Some brave souls have begun to landscape with the plants that carpeted the landscape the native Americans and early settlers knew. I applaud each of you. What a difference if each of us could bring home a little bit of nature into our unique space. As we work to enhance the public areas where we volunteer our time it would be well to remember Aldo Leopold’s statement, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” Master Naturalists have a challenge to keep and improve and enlarge our wild places and educate our communities about the possibilities in their own backyards. Let’s make it happen! Hester Schwarzer President- Cross timbers Master Naturalists Greetings from volat, aka Bill Shaw. A big Howdy and Welcome to the 2013 Fall Master Naturalist Class. I hope you are l enjoying the classes and field trips and the program is living up to your expectations. All should be receiving notices from me concerning both Volunteer and Advance Training opportunities. On occasion I also send out notices of programs or activities that I feel might be of interest, but may not qualify for either Volunteer or AT. I always add the caveat if the activity does not qualify for hours reporting. When I send out the notices, most often I am forwarding information sent by other organizations or individuals involved with a given group. If you need additional information, please contact the person listed in the forward. I will not always have answers to your questions concerning the forward’s. For those of you who may not be aware, there is an extensive list of pre-approved Volunteer and Advanced Training programs on the CTMN web site. Type in this address to go directly to the site. NOTE the link is not live, so you will have to type it in. The list is not up to date, but we are working to get a revised list as time allows. However, most of the lists are still accurate but may be lacking some pre-approved activities. Please note that even though the various groups are listed, it is possible that not every program or activity offered by the source will necessarily be OK for reportable hours. For instance, a program at BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) on Fauna of the Rain Forests or Mammals of the Arctic would not qualify. I don’t think we have rain forests in the Cross Timbers nor any Arctic mammals. Another example would be a conference of Master Gardner’s where the topic is vegetable gardening and How to Grow Giant Tomatoes. Sorry, but not a native plant. However, if the topic was organic gardening with an emphasis on soil amendments, composting, and a discussion on beneficial organisms that live in the soil, it would be OK for AT. I cannot emphasize enough, that all programs for a given group will always be acceptable for hours reporting. Another example is the many programs at River Legacy in Arlington. Alma Pohler is the director at River Legacy and also a CTMN member. Alma is aware of our policies on volunteer hours and does her best to be sure that CTMN volunteers are put into positions that will qualify. However, if Alma needs help in areas that do not qualify for hours reporting, please do not be hesitant to help out anyway. If you have an area of special interest that may not qualify for reportable Vol or AT, do not hesitate to follow your heart and learn or share your interest with others. You are always encouraged to be better informed and to improve yourself. Keep up the good work and e-mail me with any questions. I will do my best to respond as soon as possible. Best regards. [email protected] I WONDER IF THAT COUNTS??? You’ve been out working hard. Putting in those tiring, but oh so rewarding volunteer hours or attending a captivating lecture that has really inspired you and suddenly you wonder, “Can I count this for CTMN? If so, how do I record it. Travel time or no?”. Well worry no longer! Along with the info that Bill Shaw (VOLAT) provided, Rick Shepherd, our fabulous records keeper has put together an intriguing little paper that will put all those annoying questions to rest. “Activities Reporting 101” will give you the nuts and bolts of the what, where, when, and how of getting your hours properly recorded, reported, and counted. Rick developed this for the newest CTMN class, but we thought everyone might like a review so we included it in this newsletter. Use this to aid you in completing your Activity Reports and most importantly, TURN THEM IN!! These hours are extremely important for our chapter and the state. Thanks and keep up the great work! 1. Graduation requires that trainees attend all classes and field trips. Missed ses- sions must be made up by attendance at either the following year’s CTMN Fall Class or by making arrangements with one of the other area Cross Timbers eco- system chapters [North Texas MN-Dallas, Elm Fork MN-Denton or Rio Brazos MN-Cleburne/Somervell]. 2. First-year Certification status is achieved by participating in and reporting forty [40] hours of volunteer [VOL] and eight [8] hours of advanced training [AT] hours. 3. Trainees may and are encouraged to begin participating in volunteer activities during the training classes. The first 40 hours of VOL must be generated by par- ticipation in activities in the chapter’s home counties [Tarrant or Parker]. Activ- ities outside these counties are not reportable for credit. [Exception: If attending the Annual Statewide TMN Conference, VOL activities are reportable during the 1st 40 hours accumulation period. After completing logging the first 40 hours of VOL, activities in other Cross Timbers ecosystem counties are reportable for credit.