Recent Articles from BRMC Newsletters

Trail Talk

With the coming of the summer solstice and the break of chilly weather, I'm coming around to enjoying my nice cool stone floors. The black rat snakes in the rafters have gone away and the spiders and a plethora of other insects are making their return in and around the Mountain House. At night outside the back kitchen window, I am able to enjoy my living lepidopteron collection. Behind the fence of the backyard we witnessed a doe with her fawn. At the head of East End Trail, a single wild turkey the height of a small toddler stood still for a rare closeup, and off Ridge Loop Trail, a chubby beaver wobbled his way through the leaves. Recently there was a sighting of two black bears, with the hikers claiming the small bear weighed 150 to 200 pounds. The summer and fall calendar are loaded with events like Summer Nature Camp, and several bird watching events. As I look around the preserve and ponder the awesome display of nature, I am left with one very disturbing question: What will I be for the Halloween Safari? I know this event is nearly four months away, but unfortunately for me I wasn't gifted with creative costume making skills or decisiveness.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Halloween Safari, this is an annual event held on the Friday and Saturday prior to Halloween. Visitors to the preserve are taken on a guided tour through the preserve where they meet native species who perform natural history skits. Our goal is to have new species every year. The species from Halloween Safari pasts include; a rabbit, bear, moth, mushroom, skunk, squirrel, an all too cute raccoon, a possum, and an owl… just to name a few. There are several important factors in selecting a costume; such as ease of donning, whether it is comfortable enough to wear for three hours, whether it is easily identifiable by the participants, whether the creature is entertaining enough to perform a fiveminute skit, and most importantly, whether it is actually possible to make the costume. One of my less promising ideas was to be moss. That's right, I said moss. The advantages: comfortable costume, easy to put on, easy to make, and most likely be easy to identify. Unfortunately the potential disadvantages are pretty severe–how much can be said about moss that would entertain a crowd of people for five minutes? The thought of the research involved has caused me to put this idea on the back burner, for emergency use only. These are the deep issues I ponder while I mow the lawn.

As for trail use, with the exception of our recent hot weather, we've seen a significant increase in new users. Surprising to me, many users I talk to are coming from D.C. and Maryland; I guess the people arriving from the influx of new housing in Haymarket have not yet discovered us. These hikers are discovering what the conservancy offers, many are amazed at the volume and diversity of wildlife these 800 acres contain.

I'd like to thank our new visitors who have made a commitment by becoming members. We appreciate your support and enjoy seeing you on the trails. As a caretaker, nothing is more rewarding than to see people hiking the trails and enjoying nature, on this mini-oasis we know as Bull Run Mountains Conservancy.