Category Archives: The Landscape

The Give and Take of Indian Pipe

Yesterday, a visitor spent long hours in the morning hiking the trails of Menokin. She shared this photograph of Indian Pipe that she found growing along the trail.

Indian Pipe (photo by Beth Sanders)

I did a little research and found out some interesting facts about Indian Pipe.

  • Indian Pipe doesn’t have chlorophyll, the stuff that makes plants green. It is a waxy, whitish color (though this plant is a lovely shade of pink). It turns black when it gets old.
  • Indian Pipe is usually seen from June to September. It grows in shady woods with rich soil and decaying plant matter. This plant is often found near dead stumps.
  • Since Indian Pipe has no chlorophyl, it can’t make its own food like most plants. Therefore, it has to “borrow” nutrients, either from decaying plant matter, or from another organism, such as a fungus.
  • Meanwhile, the fungus itself has another relationship going on with a tree. The fungus’s mycelia also tap into the tree’s roots. Many fungi and trees have this type of relationship — it’s called a “mycorrhizal relationship.” The fungus gives nutrients to the tree and the tree gives nutrients to the fungus. Both organisms help each other out.
  • Even though Indian Pipe gives nothing back to the fungus or the tree, it is a food source for small bumble bees, which visit flowers for nectar. The bees return the favor by pollinating the Indian Pipe. 

You are probably already humming the “Circle of Life” Lion King theme song in your head or out loud by now. Hope you have enjoyed this little nature lesson. Share your own photos of Indian Pipe if you have them.

“Come Into My Parlor…”

…said the spider to the fly.

Cool nights and warm mornings generated a dense fog this morning that painted the spiderwebs at Menokin with drops of silver. Not one to let a Kodak moment pass, I had to record the beauty to share with the world.Image

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Go Wild!

Over half of the Menokin Foundation’s 500 acre property is part of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The extremely active and dedicated Rappahannock Wildlife Refuge Friends would like to invite you to participate in their annual Go Wild! event on Sunday, October 14th1-5 p.m.

This year’s event celebrates the 16th Anniversary of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge with the Rappahannock Wildlife Refuge FRIENDS. 

The event takes place at the Hutchinson Tract, 1.5 mi. north of Tappahannock off Highway 17N, and includes numerous activities including a silent auction, kayak trips, a guided eagle tour, beach jewelry, pistol lessons from Romi Klear, signed prints, rain barrels, books, and more! Please note: the silent auction closes at 4 p.m.

Events:  Kids “Birds and BinocularImages” scavenger hunt, adults and young adults scavenger hunt, nature walks, arts and crafts, storytelling, wildlife painting, build a birdhouse, free raffles.  Music by Ben Eberline.

FREE LUNCH!  Hot dogs, baked beans, cookies, cider and lemonade.

For more information, call 804-366-6851.

Sunday, October 14th, 10 a.m. – 12 noon – Guided kayak/canoe tour led by Gordon Page at the Mt. Landing Creek kayak/canoe launch on the Hutchinson tract of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 1.5 mi. north of Tappahannock off Highway 17N. Bring your own kayak or canoe.  Must wear life vest.  For more information, call 804-366-6851.

Suppertime at the Menokin Butterfly Garden

"THESE Tourists, heaven preserve us! needs must live
      A profitable life: some glance along,
      Rapid and gay, as if the earth were air,
      And they were butterflies to wheel about
      Long as the summer lasted..."

                            William Wordsworth

Monarchs, tiger swallowtails, dragonflies and hummingbird moths all came to feast on the beautiful flowers in the Menokin Butterfly Garden.

Planted by a local Boy Scout as his Eagle Scout Project, and maintained by a local chapter of the Master Naturalists, the garden has provided pleasure for the staff, visitors and wildlife of Menokin all season.

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Calling All Photographers.

The Menokin Foundation invites you to visit our site and show us Menokin through your lens. This photo contest includes three categories: Wildlife, Landscape and Architecture. The contest will conclude in November with a salon style exhibit and reception at the Menokin Visitor’s Center.

At least three images from each category will be printed, framed and displayed at the exhibit. All other works entered will be displayed in a slide show.

The show will be judged by Richmond photographer, Hullihen Williams Moore, who studied with Ansel Adams. The University of Virginia Press published a book of Hullie’s images, Shenandoah: Views of Our National Park, and his work is part of the permanent collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

AUGUST 1st: Entry submission begins

OCTOBER 15th: Entry deadline

NOVEMBER 2: Exhibition and reception

Rules and Guidelines: (Delivery information is listed at bottom of page)

1) All photos must be submitted digitally no later than midnight of October 15, 2012.

2) Emailed photos must not be larger than 3MB. Larger files will be accepted on CD or DVD via mail and hand delivery.

3) Only three images per applicant will be accepted. They may be in any category of your choosing: Wildlife, Landscape or Architecture.

4) Registrants must complete an application and submit with their entries. Applications are available at the Visitor’s Center in Warsaw and on our website. (http://www.menokin.org/pdf/events/Photo%20Contest%20Flyer.pdf )

5) Prizes will be awarded as follows: 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in each category and one Best In Show. A prize will also be awarded to the Best In Show winner – an afternoon of photography at Menokin with Hullie Moore.

Menokin is located at 4037 Menokin Road in Warsaw, VA. Call us at 804-333-1776, visit online at menokin.org, or email us at menokin@menokin.org.

Trees of Menokin

Are you sad the cherry blossoms are no longer in bloom? Do you still need that tree fix?! At Menokin, there are an abundance of tree species to see. In fact, you can download our tree guide and learn about over 30 species of trees while enjoying a nice walk on our nature trail. Bring some friends and your dog and experience these natural wonders!

First, let’s test your tree knowledge! Do you know what tree this is? (Hint: it is the Virginia state tree)

It’s a flowering dogwood tree (Cornus Florida)! Actually, the white or pink “flowers” of the flowing dogwood tree are bracts, or specialized leaves, that surround a cluster of tiny yellowish flowers. The dogwood tree is beautiful all year round.  The white or pink “flowers” that bloom in the spring give way to bright, red leaves in the fall. The flowering dogwood is abundant in the Eastern United States. [1]

Can you name this tree?

It’s a Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron Tulipfera)! The tulip poplar is one of the largest of the native trees to the Eastern seaboard. Native Americans and colonists used these trees to make canoes.  It could be that the Rappahannocks, who lived on Cat Point Creek, could have used some of Menokin’s tulip poplars to build some canoes! [2]

Another tree you can see at Menokin is a Devil’s Walkingstick. Can you tell us how this tree got such a spooky name?!

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Notes:
[1] “State Trees and State Flowers,” The United States National Arboretum
[2] “Tulip-tree, Tuliptree Magnolia, Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar,” The Floral Genome Project