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Photo: Kellen McCluskey

Thursday, January 9

The threat of more snow on Saturday has caused us to reschedule the art reception.

The reception for Bridget Z. Sullivan's show, Within Our Reach, has moved to Saturday, January 18. Join us from 2 to 4 p.m. to meet the artist and learn about her work. On view through February 28, this show celebrates nature with mixed media photographs and offers an evocative exploration of the natural world and its interconnectedness with human perception.

Bridget Z. Sullivan, "Lost and Saved"

Our calendar for January–June is now live online and will soon be followed by our print calendar. In the meantime, check out these select offerings for January.

Saturday, January 18, join Diane DuBois Mullaly for Crochet Mandalas. The workshop is perfect for those looking to refine their crochet skills or try something new. Learn how to create intricate and colorful patterns using worsted yarn. The class is from 10 to 2, free for members and $10 for non-members. Click here for registration and a list of materials.

If you've had a significant relationship end in divorce, death, or a traumatic breakup, nature can help! In Embracing Nature's Healing in Winter, on Sunday, January 19, divorce coach and educator Jodie Schram will lead you through a reflective retreat toward peace and healing. Click here to register.

Bird enthusiasts will love Winter Birds at Adkins on Saturday, January 25. Jim Wilson will spend an hour indoors reviewing the birds at Adkins during the winter and how they survive. The second hour will be a walk around the Arboretum to see what birds we can find. We'll enjoy listening and watching as we learn some handy winter birding tips. This class takes place from 10 to noon and is free for members and $10 for non-members. Register here.

You can see our full lineup for January to June here.

Yarnstorming is a form of public art that employs the use of yarn and fiber instead of paint or chalk. Sponsored in partnership with the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore, the Arboretum's Yarnstorming exhibit invites fiber artists or teams of artists to wrap dormant trees in colorful fiber creations.

The exhibit will be on view March 2 through April 6. Trees will be judged and prizes will be awarded! Visit here for more information and for how you can participate.

It's that time again! We are seeking submissions for the annual Juried Art Competition show to exhibit in March and April 2025. The theme of the show, Discovering the Native Landscapes of Maryland's Eastern Shore, celebrates the Arboretum's mission of conservation. The Leon Andrus Awards, given in honor of the Arboretum's first benefactor, will be given for first and second places.

The show is open to original two- and three-dimensional fine arts in all mediums, including outdoor sculpture and installations. This year's juror is Jason Patterson. His work focuses on African American history and centers on the Black history of Maryland's Eastern Shore. His work consists of portraiture, the recreation of historic texts and documents, and the designing and building of ornate, period-appropriate wood frames for his portraits and documents. Visit his Instagram to see his studio practice.

The deadline for submissions is January 17. Visit here for more information.

Irene Pantelis, "Of Water Too are the Grasses," sumi ink and colored pencil on vellum,

first-prize winner of the 2024 Juried Art Show.

On Tuesday, December 24, President Biden signed a bill to officially make the Bald Eagle the "national bird." For hundreds of years, the Bald Eagle and the American flag have been common symbols of our country, but it took legislation and an act of Congress for the Bald Eagle to become the national bird. The Eagle is embedded in our culture in everything from clothing, sports teams, movies, and the name of the Apollo 11 moon lander—"The Eagle has landed!"

The Bald Eagle has a prominent location on America’s Great Seal. Beginning on July 4, 1776 and over six years, three different committees worked to design a seal—all were unsuccessful. Finally, possibly realizing that committees were not the way to go, Congress turned to Clarence Thomson, who designed a seal and got it accepted in three months.

The Great Seal: Obverse (with eagle) and reverse of the Great Seal, courtesy of Wikipedia.

This brings me to the myth that Ben Franklin preferred that a turkey be on the Great Seal and not the Bald Eagle. Dear Ben’s famous quote about the turkey being a better choice for the seal is in a letter to his daughter in 1784, two years after the Great Seal was accepted. In making a long story shorter, Ben was complaining about the Eagle on The Order of Cincinnati's Seal looking like a turkey and about this organization being a hereditary club, which he considered un-American. You can read the entire explanation here. 

Part of the Order of Cincinnati Seal that Franklin thought looked like a turkey.

Courtesy of Course of Human Events.

At 7 a.m. on Monday morning, the morning of the dreaded snow, I counted 21 Cardinals at my feeders. At 7:30 they were joined by hundreds of Common Grackles that pushed out the Cardinals. 

I had been watching a plague of about 5,000 Grackles circulate through my neighborhood for a week. One day just before I turned into my driveway, I stopped to watch them feed in the neighbor's yard. They marched across the yard playing 'leapfrog'—the ones in the back would fly to the front and feed in the grass that the birds had not fed in yet. This leapfrog motion continued as they went across the lawn. 

As I watched, a Cooper's Hawk barreled in trying to catch a snack. The birds frantically took flight but did not go far. The hawk landed in a tree, empty taloned, in front of me, and the Grackles settled in the same tree as the hawk and others went back to feeding. The Grackles knew that a sitting Cooper's Hawk was no danger. 

Taking the time to stop and pay attention to nature often results in unexpected moments of awe. I urge you to give it a try.

Please contact me with any questions at wlsngang@verizon.net.

Jeobirdy Answer: This term of venery (a noun of assembly) describes a gathering of Grackles. Note: read more about the origin of terms of venery here.  

Jeobirdy Question: What is a plague of Grackles?

Jeobirdy Answer: This term of venery describes a gathering of Turkeys.

Jeobirdy Question: What is a rafter of Turkeys? You are also correct if you answered with any of these words: flock, gaggle, gang, posse, or brood.

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