The Elusive Cazenovia Bank Beaver, Part Two

Baby Garden Spiders Hatching

Wabbit Season! Duck Season! Nope, It’s Tick Season! ©

 

A sign posted in Letchworth State Park, near the Mt. Morris Dam overlook, photograph by the author.

Do you remember Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck saying, “Duck Season!  Wabbit Season!” to Elmer Fudd?  What they should have been saying is “Tick Season”!

Tick season is any time temperatures get over freezing, with ticks becoming active at 45^o Fahrenheit (approximately 7^o Celsius).  The New York State Department of Health, notes that juvenile Deer ticks are active from the middle of May to the middle of August and adult deer ticks are the most active from March to the middle of May and then from the middle of August through November¹. 

“Well,” you say, “since it is almost July and it is over 45^o Fahrenheit (or 7^o Celsius) everywhere in North America, what ticks do I have to watch out for the most, how do I keep from getting bit and what do I do if I do get bit?”

Excellent questions!  So, let’s take them one at a time.

 

An excerpt from “Ticks”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The three ticks that most commonly bite humans are the Deer or Black-legged tick, (ixodes scapularis), the American Dog tick, (dermacentor variablis), and the Lone-star tick, (amblyomma americanum), which was originally was found mostly in the southern parts of the United States, but now is becoming more common in the northern states as well.

 

An excerpt from “Ticks”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Part of the sign posted in Letchworth State Park, near the Mt. Morris Dam overlook, photograph by the author.

Okay, nobody wants to get bit by a tick, so what do you do to prevent an icky, nasty tick from crawling on you and biting you?  To avoid getting a tick on you, you should do the following:

  

·       Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants and wear light colored clothing, so that ticks can easily be spotted.  Also, tuck your pants into your socks or boots.  

·       Check your clothing and any exposed skin frequently and always check when you come inside after being outdoors.  Remember, ticks can crawl up your clothes and get bite your head or neck, so check these areas too.

·       Avoid tick infested areas like dense woods, brushy areas and the edge area between woods and lawns and walk in the center of trails.

·       Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stones.

·       Use a repellent, like DEET, or treat your clothes with Permethrin (for more on Permethrin, read “Why Permethrin?...Mosquitos, Ticks and Flies…Oh My! ©”, HERE, or for a video go HERE).

·       Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming inside.

 

A Lone Star tick on the author’s leg, photograph by the author.

Oh no!  You got bit by a tick, now what do you do?  First off don’t panic!  There are several different tick removal devices for sale, but a simple fine-tipped set of tweezers works well.  The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests pulling the tick off with fine-tipped tweezers or tick removal tools and they discourage using old folklore methods, such as smearing the tick with petroleum jelly, painting it with nail polish, or applying something hot to it, because you don’t want to wait for it to detach on its own, the key is to remove the tick as soon as possible!  The sooner you remove the tick the better, since your chance of contracting a disease from a tick is low if you remove it within 36 hours². 

 

An excerpt from “Tick Bite: What To Do”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are the CDC’s instructions on how to remove a tick³.

  

·       Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.

·       Pull upward with steady, even pressure.  Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin.  If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers.  If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.

·       After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

·       Never crush a tick with your fingers.  Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.

 

The site of a Lone Star tick bite on the author’s leg, photograph by the author.

Personally, if I pick up a tick, I always take a picture of the tick, just before I remove it.  After I remove the tick and wash the area, I circle the bite location, with a permanent magic marker, that way I can continue to watch the bite site for signs of a rash or infection. 

If you do develop a fever, fatigue, headache, muscle ache, joint swelling and pain or a rash, within the first three to four weeks, about 30 days, see a doctor.  If you develop an infection or bullseye like rash, which is white, then black and then red around the bite-site, in the first several days, contact your doctor.  Be sure to tell your doctor when you were bitten and where you think that you picked up the tick.

 

An excerpt from “Tick Removal Card”, New York State Department of Health.

·       Adult ticks are about the size of sesame seeds and nymphs are the size of poppy seeds⁴.

·       Ticks live in shady, moist areas

·       Ticks crawl, they cannot fly or jump, and per the New York State Department of Health, they do not drop onto passing people⁵.

·       Ticks will cling to grass or other plants by their lower legs, usually no more than 18 to 24” off the ground.  They hold their upper pair of legs outstretched, waiting to climb onto a passing host.  They then crawl upwards to find a suitable, protected place to bite and feed upon the host⁶.

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹ “Be Tick Free - A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease”, New York State Department of Health

² “Tick Bite: What To Do”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

³ “Tick Removal”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

⁴ “Be Tick Free - A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease”, New York State Department of Health

⁵ “Ticks & Lyme Disease - A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease”, New York State Department of Health

⁶ Ibid.

Sources

“Ticks”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; January 10, 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/, accessed 6/22/20

“Tick Removal”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; January 10, 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html, accessed 6/25/20

“Tick Bite: What To Do”, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; January 10, 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/pdfs/FS_TickBite-508.pdf, accessed 6/25/20

Stafford, Kirby C., III; “Managing Exposure to Ticks on Your Property”, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, [New haven, CT, 2014 ] https://www.co.monmouth.nj.us/documents/61/CAES%20Managing%20Ticks%20on%20Your%20Propery.pdf, accessed 6/22/20

“Ticks & Lyme Disease - A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease”, New York State Department of Health, https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2813/#:~:text=The%20three%20most%20common%20ticks,babesiosis%20and%20human%20granulocytic%20anaplasmosis., accessed 6/22/20

“Be Tick Free - A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease”, New York State Department of Health, https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2825/#:~:text=Adult%20ticks%2C%20which%20are%20approximately,found%20throughout%20New%20York%20State., accessed 6/22/20

“Tick Removal Card”, New York State Department of Health, https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/docs/tick_removal_card.pdf, accessed 6/25/20

Schlanger, Zoe; “Lyme Disease Season Is Here”, The New York Times as reprinted by The Buffalo News, June 20, 2020, page 6-7

Letchworth State Park, The Grand Canyon of the East ©

 

Letchworth State Park, near Wolf Creek, photograph by the author.

Another COVID-19, social isolation, phase-two, leading into phase-three weekend in Western New York, so what do you do and where do you go to get out of the house and out into nature?  Well, how about going to Letchworth State Park, the Grand Canyon of the East?

“Letchworth, Grand Canyon of the East”, you ask, “what is that”?

 

Letchworth State Park Official Map & Guide, photograph by the author.

 

Letchworth State Park, near Wolf Creek, photograph by the author.

First off, Letchworth State Park was listed by USA Today in 2015, as the “#1 State Park in USA” and as the “Best New York State Attraction”, in 2017.  It is only 57 miles (92 kilometers) south east from Buffalo, New York and 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Rochester, New York.

Letchworth State Park covers 14,350 acres (5,807 hectares) in a strip along both sides of the Genesee River gorge, a strip that is almost 1-1/2 miles wide by 17 miles long (2.4 by 27.4 km), and surrounds three water falls, the Upper, Middle and Lower Falls, which cascade through the gorge as the river runs north to Lake Ontario.  The deepest part of the gorge, which the river has cut through the hills, is 590 to 600 feet (180 to 183 meters) and Upper Falls is 70 feet tall (21 meters), the Middle Falls is 107 feet tall (33 meters) and the Lower Falls is also 70 feet tall (21 meters) ¹.

 

Letchworth State Park Official Map & Guide, photograph by the author.

 

Letchworth State Park, near the Gardeau Overlook, photograph by the author.

Originally, this part of the Genesee River valley was home to a portion of the Seneca People, who were the Keepers of the Western Door, and are a part of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois League, and who had three villages in this part of the valley, which they called "Sehgahunda", which means the "vale of three falls"². 

 

Letchworth State Park, near the St. Helena Picnic Area, photograph by the author.

Later, this valley was the home of William Pryor Letchworth, who was born in Brownsville, NY on May 26, 1823.  He became a successful businessman in Buffalo, New York, before he visited the Genesee river valley and the three falls.  He became so entranced with the valley and that he eventually acquired 1,000 acres on which he built Glen Iris, his estate.  In 1906 he gifted his property to the State of New York, to protect it from developers and Letchworth State Park was born!³

 

Letchworth State Park, near the Gardeau Overlook, looking towards the area of the Big Sycamore Tree, photograph by the author.

Today, Letchworth State Park has beautiful views and overlooks, picnic grounds, forests, a museum, the Glen Iris Hotel, the Humphrey Nature Center, campsites, almost 74 miles (almost 119 kilometers) of trails to hike along, white-water rafting and kayaking and hot-air balloon rides! 

 

Letchworth State Park, the Hogsback Overlook, photograph by the author.

 

Letchworth State Park, a trail near the Hogsback Overlook, photograph by the author.

So, if you are looking for a place to go, in this world of COVID-19, to get out into nature and still stay six feet away from the nearest human, go to Letchworth State Park!

 

Mount Morris Dam, in Letchworth State Park, photograph by the author.

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹ From the Letchworth State Park Official Map & Guide, which is given out when you visit.

² The three villages were, “Deowesta”, which was the most southern village and was located on the hill east of Portage Bridge, “Gadaho” located near today’s Gardeau Flats, and “Deyuitga'oh” or "where the valley widens”, which is the most northern of the villages and was located near today’s Mount Morris entrance to the Park. 

 

The Gardeau Tract, photograph by the author.

 

Nancy Jemison’s Cabin, today located near the Glen Iris Hotel, photograph by the author.

 

Plaque on the side of Nancy Jemison’s cabin, photograph by the author.

Gadaho village was home to Dehgewanus, or "Two Falling Voices", who is also known as Mary Jemison or the “White Women of the Genesee”.  She was of Scotch-Irish descent, having been born during the voyage across the Atlantic, to the New World, in 1743, and was captured in 1758,at the age of 15, by a raiding party of French and Shawnee warriors during the French and Indian War, or as it is called in Europe, The Seven Years War, which lasted from 1754 to 1763.  She was sold by the Shawnee to a party of Senecas, who were returning to their homes along the Ohio River.  Later she would move with her first husband, a Delaware, to his home in the Genesee Valley, where she would live most of the rest of her life, only leaving the Genesee Valley for the Buffalo Creek Reservation in 1831, before dying, in what is today, Buffalo, New York, in 1833.

During the late 18^th century the name of the northern most village changed from Deyuitga'oh to “Squawkie Hill” or “Squakie Hill”, a name by which this village was known to the American pioneers during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.  This is because, early in 1780 a group of the Fox people, who were also called the Meskwahki-haki or Squawki-how, and who had come to what is today, Western New York, either as captives or refugees, a half century earlier, settled in Deyuitga'oh. These people gave their name, Squawki-how, to the old village of Deyuitga'oh.  

The last Seneca, Buffalo Tom, left the area that is today’s Letchworth State Park in 1828: the other Senecas had left the area after the Treaty of Buffalo Creek, in 1826, and had moved to the Tonawanda, Buffalo Creek, Cattaraugus, or Allegany Reservations.

From Tom Breslin & Tom Cook’s; “Exploring Letchworth Park History”, http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/senecavill.html, and http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/jem.html.

³ From Tom Breslin & Tom Cook’s; “Exploring Letchworth Park History”, http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/glimpse1.html

Sources

Breslin, Tom & Cook, Tom; “Exploring Letchworth Park History”, May 2000, http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/table.html, accessed June 14, 2020

“Letchworth State Park”, https://parks.ny.gov/parks/letchworth, accessed June 14, 2020

Nope, It Isn’t Poison Ivy, It’s... ©

 

It isn’t poison ivy, but people mistake it for poison ivy, sometimes, photograph by the author.

Because of COVID-19 and the schools being closed, Boy Scout Troops can’t meet, and so for my readers who are Boy Scouts in the United States, this article can help you with the plant identification requirements for First Class.  For other plant identification articles go HERE – Author’s Note

“What has glossy, green leaves, which turn bright red in the Fall, sometimes grows along the ground and sometimes as a vine up and around trees”?  “Do you know”?

“I know what you are thinking, but nope, it isn’t poison ivy, it’s virginia creeper”!

“Virginia creeper”, you say, “what’s that”?

 

Virginia creeper, photograph by the author.

Virginia creeper is a perennial, fast-growing, native woody vine, whose scientific name is “parthenocissus quinquefolia, (L.) Planch”, it is also known as woodbind or woodbine, false grapes, five leaves, American ivy, five leaved ivy and thicket ivy.  The berries of this plant are eaten mainly by birds, however many animals, such as mice, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, deer, and cattle will eat the leaves, stems, and berries of this ivy.

 

The range of eastern poison ivy, from an excerpt from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Eastern Poison Ivy”.

 

The range of virginia creeper, from an excerpt from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Virginia creeper”.

Virginia creeper, photograph by the author.

Many people confuse virginia creeper with eastern poison ivy.  And while virginia creeper does have some similarities to poison ivy, in that it has a similar range and just like poison ivy it likes to grow in moist shady spots on the edges of woodlands, although, again just like poison ivy, it can also grow in full sunlight; what sets it apart from poison ivy is its five saw-toothed leaves¹, its hairless roots and its blue-black berries.

 

An old saying that can help you identify poison ivy, graphics by the author.

Remember the old saying “Leaves of three, let it be”, well virginia creeper has compound leaves made up of five saw-toothed leaflets, which are two to six (5 to 15 cm).  Also, virginia creeper has ¼ inch (64 mm) in diameter bluish-black berries, and its roots have cup-like adhesive tips, instead of hairs like poison ivy.  For more on how to identify poison ivy read, “Poison Ivy: “Leaves of Three, Let It Be” ©”, HERE

 

Graphic by the author.

Another difference between virginia creeper and poison ivy, is that unlike eastern poison ivy, which according to Michigan State University, up to 90% of the population is allergic to², virginia creeper is pretty harmless, although the USDA reports that the “berries are highly toxic to humans and may be fatal if eaten” and they also report that the “sap can also cause skin irritation in some people”³. 

So the next time you are wandering through the woods and you see an ivy, creeping along the ground and up a tree, before you get nervous, count the leaves – if there are five leaves, you can relax, it is only virginia creeper!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹ According to the article “Virginia creeper”, by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, virginia creeper usually has five leaves, but occasionally it will have three.

² Michigan State University, “Poison ivy: Frequently Asked Questions”

³ According to the article “Virginia creeper”, by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, the sap of the virginia creeper contains oxalate crystals, which can cause rashes and skin irritation in some people.

Sources

Michigan State University, “Poison ivy: Frequently Asked Questions”, https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/poison_ivy_frequently_asked_questions#:~:text=It%20thrives%20in%20full%20sun,wood's%20edge%20type%20of%20plant., accessed June 4, 2020

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Eastern Poison Ivy”, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=TORA2, accessed May 27, 2020

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Virginia creeper”, https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=paqu2, accessed June 4, 2020