The Things You Find at Skytop

Today, I taught a New Paltz 6th grade program, Water: Concerns & Solutions. This program is pretty awesome as the class hikes around the Mohonk Mountain House property and tests pH levels from various water sources. The program samples at the lake and up at the Skytop Reservoir. A highlight of the program is to hike up to Skytop, not via the Lemonsqueeze, but up some pretty steep stairs on Sky Top Path. Once at the top, the students are able to enjoy lunch and explore the Skytop tower. During their exploration, a Katydid greeted us! So I snapped a photo of it, of course posting it to Instagram, and later on today, the Mohonk Mountain House reposted it! I really love the Instagram social media platform. The Preserve uses my photos and reposts my photos all the time, so having my posts reposted elsewhere is pretty awesome! Love being a local photo celebrity! Just kidding.

Repost of my photo of a Katydid on top of Skytop by the Mohonk Mountain House

Baby Garter vs. Spider Web

There are times where I love my job more than usual: this is one time. So I was sitting at my desk and my co-worker comes up to me and plops a piece of paper on my desk. On that paper, was the tiniest snake I had ever seen. Our Associate Director of Facilities & Grounds was sweeping the floors and discovered this little guy caught in a spider's web! He rescued it and gave it to me to take care of it! Haha. I find it quite amusing that I am the go-to person to be given such tasks. But I'll take it! So we used some tweezers to remove the cob webs and placed it in a specimen jar to calm down from its terrifying series of events. Before we let it go, we had to take a picture of it next to a quarter. It was that tiny!

It really got me thinking, could a spider really eat a snake? Maybe a tiny, tiny snake? Herp friends, help me out! Is it possible?

theChristyBel

The Tiniest Garter Snake Ever Found

Guess the Warbler

Besides teaching, part of my job is to draw flora and fauna of the Preserve. These images can be used in our programs, advertisements, curriculum, and exhibits. We are considering an event in the next year or so, and I was asked to create some images for a potential logo. I am starting to draw three different warblers for this logo. Going detailed first and once they go into Photoshop, we'll make them a less-detailed and more logo-friendly. In the meantime, can you guess which Warbler I am drawing?

Hint 1: the Sketch

Hint 2: Begin the Pen & Ink

Hint 3: Finished

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a Black and White Warbler!

(kind of easy as there was no color to this one)

The Petting Zoo with Amanda & Ev

Having Marc leave for the week is pretty hard for me. I get super lonely when it's just me in the apartment with Ted. Marc just left for a 2-week work trip to visit and work with his mother out of her Phoenix-Home Office! Having time away from Marc is sometimes nice, but it gets pretty boring and lonely without him. I have a small list of friends that I hang out with up here, so it does help fight that lonely feeling. This afternoon, my officemate, Amanda, texted me asking if I'd like to join her and her son, Ev, to an afternoon at the petting zoo. I happily accepted. It was super fun. The petting zoo is the Goodnow Family Farm right near our work on Rte. 44/55. It's tiny, but for $5 you can visit with some goats, llamas, cows, pigs, chickens, a donkey, a few horses, and sheep. Oh, there were also a bunch of kitties! Ev, Amanda, and I had a great time feeding and petting ALL the animals! Afterwards, we taste-tested the new ice cream parlor on Rte. 44/55. Ev really approved of the chocolate ice cream. The store was also giving away a whole bunch of CD's; he even picked me out one. Watch out Marc, Ev is moving in by sending me mixed tapes! Haha!

theChristyBel

Llama, Llama, Are You My Mama?

Feeding Goats

Ev is a Little Hesitant of the Goats

He Liked the Bunnies

But Really Loved the Cats!

Who Doesn't Love Cats?

Hanging with My Other Boyfriend!

Love = Mixed Tapes

Pond Keepers Poster Redesign

I have been coordinating the Pond Keepers program for the Preserve for about 2.5 school years now. Pam, the former Pond Keepers Coordinator, did a phenomenal job getting this program up and running. After some time, I finally decided to retire Pam's Poster drawing and add a bit of theChristyBel into the program. So, I began to redesign a new Pond Poster that each program will get to color in and add a bunch of pond creatures to as they learn about the Pond!

Sketching Out the Design

Begin to Add the Plants and Bottom of the Pond

Pond Poster Finished Before Labels and Creatures

An Example of a Pond Poster When Finished (Minus the Coloring)

Bike Ride with Marc

After a sweaty bike ride, it's always nice to cool off with a lake swim!
Saying Hello on a Hot Day at Lake Awosting!

Kerhonkson Thank You Gift

The Perks of Being an Educator: the Thank You Cards

One of Kerhonkson's 1st grade classes sent me a "Caddisfly Thank You Book" for teaching their class about the Forest and Stream! It is beyond amazing!

Check out some of the pages! They are adorable, hilarious, and cute!

theChristyBel

The Cover

Love Mrs. Eck's Classes!

Nature Bingo is always fun to play!

Another Nature Bingo Fan!

Salamander Catching!

Quick! Pose Like Ted

Marc will probably kill me for posting this, but I caught them on the bed laying like each other!

"Like Father, Like Fur-Child"

theChristyBel

They Look Alike!

 

A Rainy Hike at Minnewaska State Park

Decided to take a hike around Minnewaska State Park and Preserve while I waited for Marc to return home. It was a little misty from the rain, but its a great time to find things along the trail. Check out some of the finds from my hike!

theChristyBel

Dew-Outlines on Spider's Webs

Reflective Foggy Lake Side Views

Foggy, Creepy Trails
(Also completely all mine!)

The Start to the Mountain Laurel Bloom

Honey Suckle?

Tiny Sheep Laurel Blooms

Striped Maple Leaves the Size of My Hand

Striped Maple Samaras About to Ripen

Purple Columbine

A Spider Playing Camouflage on the Quartz Conglomerate

Wild Turkeys "Hiding" in the Fog

Summer Houses that have No Lake to View

Mohonk Preserve Auction

Although, I did not attend the Mohonk Preserve's Annual Auction, I was sent photos of my work being a hit at the Silent Auction. I am thrilled that there were several bids on my drawing! And the winner was one of my volunteers from the Daniel Smiley Research Center! I am super glad it is going to a home that I know appreciates art and will take care of it!

theChristyBel

The Spring Peeper

On Display with My Biography at the Auction
Photo Credit: Wendy Toman

New Home Sunset

My Backyard is SOOO Much Better Than Yours
(well at least in Hudson Valley)
The REAL Million Dollar View in Hudson Valley

Program Finds: Forest & Field (Kerhonkson Elementary)

Reporting on some Nature Nerd Finds my 1st Grade Students from Mrs. Eck's Class of Kerhonkson Elementary found today in their Stream & Forest Program at the Coxing Kill. 

Enjoy.

TheChristyBel

Juvenile Northern Water Snake

Carrion Beetle

Juvenile Northern Red Salamander

Juvenile Northern Red Salamander

Educator Gifts

This morning, received the most adorable THANK YOU card from Kerhonkson Elementary
for coming to their class for Pond Keepers!

Kerhonkson Elementary, you will always be one of my favorites!

Thank YOU!
TheChristyBel

Summer Camp Prep: Young Explorers Crafts

Since field studies and Pond Keepers have died down for the school year, the Education staff is slowly transitioning into camp mode. I am SUPER EXCITED for summer camp this year - because I get to work with little ones! And you know what that means...CRAFTS! Cathy Shiga-Gattullo, the educator who created the curriculum for the Young Explorers (ages 4-6) camp, gave me the challenge of coming up with some new crafts for the 4-weeks of camp. CHALLENGE excepted. Here is one that I just finished creating the craft sample: LED Candlelight Fireflies for Insects Week!

TheChristyBel

FIREFLIES!

Hiking to Lake Awosting

After several weeks of being stressed from work and this move, I needed some ChristyBel time. With that, a hike was is in order. So I hiked over to one of my favorite places on the Ridge - Lake Awosting. It's a good 4.3 miles from the Lake Minnewaska parking lot (one way). So hiking out my angst, negative energy, and stress on a 8.6-mile hike was the perfect medicine to getting me back to feeling like TheChristyBel. Since it was super cloudy and chances of rain, there were not many people on the trail. So it was great having the area to my self. :) 

TheChristyBel

Enjoy some of the pictures I took of some pretty cool nature finds:

A FOUR-Flower Star Flower

High Bush Blueberry in Bloom

Orange Hawkweed

More Pink Lady Slippers

A Lightning Struck Tree?

A Vacant Lake Awosting

Gorgeous Views of the Catskills