HIKES AND NATURE WALKS, 2025

Please join me on my wacky wildflower hike.  Normally wildflower hikes are about a mile long.  Ours is 10 miles along the Potomac River and C&O Canal.  AND we see one of Frank Lloyd Wright's few buildings in the Mid-Atlantic.  Registration required. 

Wildflowers and Frank Lloyd Wright

Northern Virginia Hiking Club, March, 30, 2025

https://www.meetup.com/nvhc-hiking/events/306165836/ 

 

2025 High-quality Wildlife Wall Calendar available!

 

CONTACT: bar b 22 03 0@ Ya H oo DoT co M

 ( Please omit the spaces and use .com )

SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP!

 

SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP! 

 https://marylandnature.wildapricot.org/event-5904374

PLEASE JOIN US AT MUSEUM STORE SUNDAY FOR YOUR NATURE-THEMED HOLIDAY GIFTS!

Dec. 1, 2024, 10 am - 3 pm

The Natural History Society of Maryland joins more than 2,100 museum stores, across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 25 countries, and five continents, participating in Museum Store Sunday. The museum will be open. Come explore, exercise your curiosity muscle, then pick up some great gifts that can be found nowhere else. Seriously.

To make the event even more memorable,  NHSM has invited some special guests to join for the day.

• Barbara Saffir, an award-winning wildlife photographer.
• Paul Nevin, the leading authority on the rock art of the lower Susquehanna River has just published, A Guide to the Safe Harbor Petroglyphs. Paul will be on hand to read from the book and have books for sale and signature.
• Sue Fierston, nature printmaker.
• April Downey, with Charm City Craftworks.
• Jani Hileman with Jord’s Hoard ceramics.
• More local artists and authors goods for sale within the gift shop.

We will also have hoards of minerals and fossils and books available.

On Museum Store Sunday, shoppers will not only find quality gifts filled with inspiration and educational value, but through their purchases will also directly support NHSM as proceeds at museum stores directly support the educational missions and programs of the parent institution.

Admission to the museum is free. Free 300-million-year-old fossils with purchase. Please help us plan by RSVPing.

The Natural History Society of Maryland is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and contributions are tax-deductible.

The mission of the Natural History Society of Maryland is to foster stewardship of Maryland’s natural heritage by conserving its natural history collections, educating its citizenry, and inspiring its youth to pursue careers in the natural sciences.

PHOTOS FOR SALE

BEAUTIFUL BIRDS, BLOOMS, & BEASTS TO GO

Looking for framed paper print photos, metal or canvas photos, or photos to turn into blank or personalized greeting cards, calendars, t-shirts, or more?  Some images are almost guaranteed to make you smile!

Here are some of my favorite images: 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/olympusbjs/7DG0Xz

Please contact me at barb22030 @ YAhoOdoTCOm for more photos and/or more info. Thanks.

HOLIDAY SHOPPING!

 NOVEMBER IS HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIME!

 

The Friends of Patuxent Research Refuge and the Natural History Society of Maryland (NHSM) are holding holiday sales in November.  I'll be selling photos, photo cards, tote bags, calendars, & more.

 

Patuxent's Holiday Bazaar is Nov. 4 at the South Tract from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  You can buy goodies from 35 vendors and meet a kestrel hawk and cutie-pie screech owl up close.  Maybe you'll even win a door prize.  For details, please visit: https://friendsofpatuxent.org/event-5425689

 

NHSM's Museum Store sales event is Nov. 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Please click here for more info: https://marylandnature.wildapricot.org/event-5444729

Due to a water leak, the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge’s new visitor center is closed for the foreseeable future, so my “Loveable Birds & Beasts”exhibit will need to be removed in mid-November, 2023.  I hope everyone was able to enjoy it.   I will continue to post here about future exhibits. 

Please visit “Loveable Birds & Beasts at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge” in Woodbridge, VA.  Seventeen of my photos of Virginia natives — from an indiGLOW bunting to amorous snakes — are on loan to the fabulous refuge’s new visitor center.  

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/occoquan-bay

 

 BEWITCHING 

BIRDS, BLOOMS, & BEASTS 

EXHIBIT CAN HELP 

CHANGE THE WORLD

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Barbara Saffir, 571-449-0445, Barb22030@yahoo.com

https://www.NaturePhotographyDcMdVa.com

 

Group wildlife and nature photography exhibit 

to benefit historic Green Spring Gardens. 

 

"Nature photos can help change the world," says wildlife photographer Barbara J. Saffir, founder of Nature Photography DC/MD/VA.  "I hope that the images in our group wildlife conservation photography exhibit will inspire countless others –  including lawmakers – to fall fervently in love with earth's finite treasures so they'll work passionately to protect them."

 

"Birds, Blooms, & Beasts" features perky puffins, picturesque sunflowers, powerful elephants and nearly three dozen other images from DC, Maryland, Virginia, and around the globe by Saffir and seven jet-setting photographers from Nature Photography DC/MD/VA.  Sales will help benefit historic Green Spring Gardens, a "must-see" four-seasons Fairfax County, VA park.  All photos are for sale – just in time for the holidays! The Friends of Green Spring nonprofit receives 30 percent of each sale.

 

SHOW DATES:          Dec. 13, 2022 - Feb. 5, 2023 

                                     Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

                                     and Sunday, noon - 4:30 p.m.

 

RECEPTION DATE:   Dec. 18, 1 - 3 p.m., Meet the Photographers Reception  

 

WHERE:                       Green Spring Gardens Horticulture Center

                                        4603 Green Spring Rd., Alexandria, VA

                                        703-642-5173, 

                                        parkmail@fairfaxcounty.gov

                                        

    https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring/

    http://www.friendsofgreenspring.org/programs-a-events/art-shows

 

NOTE: Please call Green Spring at 703-642-5173 to be sure the exhibit is available for viewing because venues are sometimes unavailable due to other park activities.  Green Spring Gardens' "Art In The Garden" program is sponsored by the Friends of Green Spring.

 

###

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

* NOV. 1, 2022 to APRIL 30, 2023

BIRDS & BEASTS @ BROOKSIDE 

Eyeball a trio of colorful box turtles, a duo of lanky ratsnakes, and other beautiful beasts at Brookside Nature Center while enjoying some amazing print images of other beasts and birds by award-winning photographer and certified Virginia Master Naturalist Barbara Saffir. Eleven of her photos are on display from Nov. 1 to April 30 as part of Brookside's new program to exhibit work by local artists and photographers. Brookside Nature Center is adjacent to acclaimed Brookside Gardens in Wheaton Regional Park. 

Brookside Nature Center, 1400 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, MD, 301-962-1480.

Open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and weekends, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. https://montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/brookside-nature-center/ 

Wildlife Photographer Barbara Saffir

https://www.barbarajoansaffir.com

BIRD, BLOOMS, BEASTS, & THE BULL MOOSE: A Natural History Hike on Roosevelt Island

9/18/22 Please register online at Cultural Tourism, DC for this WalkingTown DC hike and other hikes. https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/walkingtown-dc

TWO UPCOMING PHOTO TALKS!

Summer's Bounty: Birds, Blooms, Beasts, & Babies -- When and where to spot them in the Mid-Atlantic

Discover when and where to find some of the Mid-Atlantic's summer nature bounty, including electric-blue birds atop crayon-yellow sunflowers; itsy-bitsy green treefrogs with racing stripes and sticky toes; bedazzling bugs; backyard squirrels that “fly;” and a sea of native lotus blossoms, worthy of Monet.

https://anshome.org/naturalist-hour/

7/14, 7 p.m. : AUDUBON NATURALIST SOCIETY (Zoom. Registration required. $10 benefits ANS.)

 

Nature and Wildlife Photography: How to Hunt with Your Camera

Wildlife photographer and Virginia Master Naturalist Barbara Saffir will show her stunning wildlife photographs and talk about how you can learn to capture amazing shots with your camera in the DMV. 

https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/9196262

8/2, 6:30-7:30: CHANTILLY REGIONAL LIBRARY (In person. No pre-registration required. Free.)

HOW TO HUNT -- WITH A CAMERA!

Please join wildlife photography safari leader and Virginia Master Naturalist, Barbara Saffir, to learn how to stalk your best wildlife photos at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary.  After a brief talk inside the visitor center, we’ll hike around Jug Bay to photograph birds, blooms, & beasts. Along the way, we’ll discuss some technical camera tips as well as tips for planning and executing your most productive — and fun — wildlife photography safaris. Learn what to wear, what to bring, what to do in advance, and methods to get the best photos along with some “dos and don’ts.”  All cameras are welcome, including cell phones, but long lenses are best for bird photography. Be prepared to walk 2-3 miles. Ages 16 and up, under 18 with a parent. $10 per person, includes park entrance fee. Current health guidelines and registration required. To register go to www.jugbay.org Event Calendar and click on the event.

Jun 25, 2022 9:30AM—12:30PM

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Visitor Center 1361 Wrighton Road Lothian, MD 20711

Cost $10 per person (Payable to and benefits Jug Bay.)

https://jugbay.org/inspire_events/how-to-hunt-with-a-camera/

Spring Spectacles: When & Where to Find Jaw-Dropping Birds, Blooms & Beasts in the Mid-Atlantic

Tuesday, March 15, 2022: 7 - 8 PM