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Gene Stratton-Porter and Neltje Blanchan DeGraff Doubleday

3/27/2016

 
By Terri Gorney

Gene Stratton-Porter met interesting people throughout her life. Some became dear friends 
besides business associates. Gene’s second book “Freckles” was published in 1904 by 
Doubleday, Page & Company. Gene would become close to the Doubleday family. 

Neltje Blanchan DeGraff was born into a prominent Chicago family in 1865. She was of the 
same generation as Gene. Both woman would marry in 1886. Neltje married Frank Doubleday 
who would found the publishing dynasty that would remain in the family until the 1980s. Frank and Neltje were often written about in the Society columns in New York. They owned a home in Manhattan and one on Oyster Bay. 

Neltje and Gene were kindred spirits in nature. Neltje wrote under the pen name of Neltje 
Blanchan. She was the author of eleven books with a focus on birds and wildflowers. One can 
imagine the lively conversations these two women had with one another. Gene thought highly of Neltje and referred to her books as “invaluable.”

Gene and Neltje visited each other several times. In 1911, Frank and Neltje visited the 
Limberlost Cabin in Geneva. Gene’s cook, Mary, was in England visiting family. Gene and her 
secretary, Lorene Miller, worked together to make their guests feel welcomed. By all accounts it was an enjoyable week. 

In the fall of 1916, Gene visited the Doubledays. Neltje questioned Gene about some of her 
unusual experienced with birds. Gene told her some of her stories. She suggested that Gene write about her birding experiences. Gene did in her book “Homing with the Birds” which was 
dedicated to “Dorothy and Nelson.” These were Frank and Neltje’s two children. 

Neltje was involved in philanthropic work. Neltje, like Gene, was a great supporter of the 
American Red Cross. Neltje made trips on behalf of the American Red Cross. It was on one such trip to China in 1918 that she died suddenly at the age of 52. It was devastating to Gene to lose this dear friend. In a letter that Gene wrote to a friend, she stated that she was upset with Frank for marrying so soon after Neltje’s death and she would have to get over it before she would visit him in New York again.

Her granddaughter, Neltje Doubleday Kings, created the Neltje Blanchan Literary Award in 
2010. It is now called the Blanchan Doubleday Writing Award.  A nice tribute to the 
grandmother she never knew but was named in her honor.

Tree Swallow

3/20/2016

 
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"The swallows have the air for their province. On tireless wings, with open mouths, they sieve the air, taking millions of tiny gnats, mosquitoes, and flies, that would make life altogether unbearable for us were we compelled to live and breathe among them in their unchecked development" - Gene Stratton-Porter, Homing with the Birds. 

Tree Swallows have long been admired by authors, and they have been a favorite subject of scientists. There have been more scientific studies published on the Tree Swallow than on cardinals, chickadees, bluebirds and robins combined! Since 1980, over 500 professional journal articles focused on Tree Swallows, so if you look in the right place, you can find tons of information about ornithology, ecology, environmental science, conservation, and a host of other subjects thanks to the Tree Swallow. A 40-year study has made a possible link between climate change and the significant change in laying dates, a 30-year study is investigating the relationship between weather, food supply and reproductive success, and box nesting allowed scientists to determine the effect of parasites on nestling growth and survival. 


One study conducted by the United States Geological Survey focused on environmental contaminants which are byproducts of industry and agriculture. Tree Swallows usually nest near water and eat emergent aquatic insects. Contaminants found in the water are absorbed by the insects and when eaten by a swallow, the contaminants remain in the swallow and have harmful effects. Scientists determine the extent and type of contaminants found in the water by examining the eggs and other tissues. They also study the survival rates of the young, and they measure the percentage of banded adults that return to a contaminated nest site each year versus a clean nest site.

Cornell scientist David Winkler regularly studies a set of over 400 nest boxes, 60% of them occupied, near experimental ponds. Winkler has been studying the birds for over 20 years and has written dozens of papers. He is currently trying to develop a swallow network of scientists across the globe for the Golondrinas de las Americas project. He hopes the comparative studies will help us better understand the life history of the swallows and ways in which birds respond to climate change. On his website, Winkler says that he enjoys working with Tree Swallows because "they have a ton of gumption and a lot of character. They are tough birds, and they don't hold a grudge. They don't abandon their nests. You can just pick them like fruit. You can create your own populations."


Want to learn more about Tree Swallows? Or are you looking for a particular case study? Check out this lengthy Tree Swallow Research Bibliography: http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/bibliog.html

Fiber Fest

3/13/2016

 
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  By Kayleen Reusser

Having been raised on a farm, I am acquainted with cows and horses, but not sheep. We never had one ‘baa’ in our barnyard.

Maybe that’s why I find sheep fascinating. References in the Bible about them are not complimentary (‘all we like sheep have gone astray’), but I love to see them with long, furry coats, knowing that furry stuff will eventually be shorn and made into clothing and other warm items.

The how-to’s for taking the wooly stuff from long hair to felted caps, socks and scarves will be available at this weekend at the Jay Co Fiber Festival / Spin-In in Portland, Indiana. Portland is located about one hour north of Muncie and 1.5 hours south of Fort Wayne.

Everything yarn-related from a multitude of animals is represented at the fair.

On Thurs, Friday and Saturday, March 10-12, crafters will show visitors how to take raw fibers straight from a sheep’s back and process it into yarn. Hint: Having seen the demo I’ll admit there were more steps involved than could be imagined!

Visitors can watch a sheep shearing – it’s amazing how the sheep stands still for this, but I always wonder how the shearers keep from nicking the animal’s ears!

Spinning wheels have always fascinated me and the festival will be filled with experts offering hands-on classes in spinning, quilting, knitting, needle felting, and something called ‘rigid-heddle weaving’.
I’m tempted to sign up for a class on Navajo Spindling. Just like the name, Navajo spinning is a method of making yarn on a type of spindle native to the Americans. It is supposedly an easy form of spinning and low-impact since it can be done while sitting down. This is the real ‘spinning’ that can’t be found in a work-out room!

Another temptation for me is the Needle Felt Alpaca Hat class. As a lover of British TV series like Miss Marple, I would love to make my own warm, soft hat and look like I belong to that era! Having it made from alpaca fiber would make it even more fun! All of the materials needed to create a hat are included in the cost of the class.

A guest lecturer, Susan McFarland from Wisconsin will talk about how she has become one of the few breeders of Teeswater sheep in the US. Teeswater is a rare breed from the UK. Their wool can be used for doll hair and Santa beards and silky yarn.

Vendors selling all things fiber will be on hand, as well as food booths. The festival has grown in popularity so it fills two buildings. The cost should not keep visitors away—only $1.00 per day!

Note from the editor: Limberlost thanks everyone who visited our booth, staffed by Curt Burnette, at Fiber Fest!
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Albinism vs. Leucism vs. Dilution vs. Progressive Greying

3/7/2016

 
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By Alexandra Forsythe

​Is this hummingbird an albino? Or is it suffering from leucism? Or perhaps it is displaying signs of dilution? Or maybe it has a condition causing progressive greying? The answer might depend on whom you ask. 


There has been some confusion and disagreement in the scientific community about the exact nature of each of these conditions. For example, is leucism caused by a lack of pigment? Or by a significant reduction in the amount of pigment deposited in the feathers? We aren’t completely certain. However, the basic cause and definition of each condition is generally agreed upon. 

Albinism is caused by a genetic mutation that results in a complete absence of tyrosinase in pigment cells. Tyrosinase is an enzyme that is located in melanocytes. Melanocytes produce melanin, which is the substance that gives your skin, hair and eyes their color, and it gives color to a bird’s feathers. With no tyrosinase, no melanin is produced, so a bird’s feathers will appear white, and the eyes will appear pink. Albinism also affects the bird’s eyesight, causing the bird to have difficulty spotting predators and shortening its lifespan. Since albinism is an all-or-nothing condition, there is no such thing as “partially albino”. 

Leucism is a reduction, rather than a complete lack, of pigment. Birds with leucism may have a few white feathers (partially leucistic), or be predominantly white, depending on the extent of the condition. Leucism is inherited, but it usually displays differently in the parents than in the offspring. A parent may have white feathers on the wings, while the offspring has white feathers on the tail, for example. It is an inherited trait, but it is recessive so it can skip generations. 

Dilution is a condition that causes the feathers to appear more pale than normal. The bird may appear to have been sprayed with a fine mist of white paint and look washed out. In these birds, the melanin is present, but the cells are not producing as much pigment as normal birds. 

Progressive greying or vitiligo results in white feathers, but the change occurs over time. The bird may have normal coloring when young, but the bird turns whiter as it ages. It is caused by the progressive loss of pigment cells with age. 

​So which condition does this hummingbird have? I’ll let you be the judge! 

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