Explore Outdoors ~ Squirrel Snacks

 

I've read that rosehips make great winter snacks for rabbits and squirrels. Bears, too, though I don't expect we'll see any down at the County Courthouse gardens!

Rosehips are full of vitamin C, and they may be a great source of food when other stuff is scarce. But getting to them ... that's a prickly proposition.

If there are any rosehips in your neighborhood, do you ever see squirrels or birds eating them?

Two by Blue Dot Kids

 Every now and then I run across a couple of books that incorporate STEM elements in an imaginative way. Today I’m sharing two new picture books recently released by Blue Dot Kids Press.

theme: nature, imagination, global connection

Moon Sailors

by Naomi Woodward; illus by Rachel Gregg 

32 pages; ages 3-6

Bed sheets billow in solar winds, as we cast our boat adrift…

As a fan of “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” I was captivated by the idea of “moon sailors in search of treasure…” In this imaginary journey, two children – and their cat – sail off to follow the trails of celestial snails, wake up cockles and crabs, and meet a curious cephalopod. 

What I like about this book: This is a perfect lullaby read-aloud, with a gentle, put-you-to-sleep rhythm. There are wonderful words tucked in: iridescent, tentacles… Presented as an ocean-meets-the-moon adventure, the creatures of sand and sea are anything but imaginary. If you have an opportunity to explore a sea shore or a tide pool, you may meet many of these creatures.

Together, Right Now

by Olga Fadeeva

40 pages; ages 3-7

Right now, you are reading this book. Right now, someone is eating breakfast. Right now, someone is falling asleep.

As you go about your day, doing the things you do, animals and people around the world are doing the things they do. But where they are it might be night, where you have day. They might be planting gardens while you shovel snow. 

What I like about this book: The language is lovely and invites readers to look closely at the place where they live – and then look more broadly at how others are living, from deserts to islands. I like the global connection: eight billion people and millions of species of plants and animals are all breathing and living together on this unique planet. And I like the diversity of color and texture in the artwork.

Beyond the Books:

Listen to the poem “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” and let your imagination sail with them on their journey. Draw a picture of what you might see on a journey in the night sky.

Visit an aquarium or tide pool to see some of the creatures that the moon sailors might have seen. If you can’t get to a tide pool or aquarium, you can learn about tide pool creatures at Crystal Cove State Park, California, or go on a longer (25 minute) video tour with a marine biologist.

What is it like where you live right now? Is it daytime? Night time? Summer? Winter? And what do you see when you look out a window? 

Find where you are on a globe. Now find a spot on the other side of the Earth – and look for the nearest landmass. Find out who and what lives there. If you were there right now, would it be daytime or night? Warm or cold? What would you see?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Going on a Flea hunt ...

 ... snow fleas, that is. Monday it was so warm (40oF) that I decided to check out the old oak log behind my garden. It’s covered with moss and lichens, and on Monday the snow below it was covered with snow fleas!

Seen from a couple feet away, snow fleas look like specks of pepper. 

Up close, they look like bigger specks of pepper! Unless you have a hand lens, and then you can see their legs. They have six, but they aren’t insects. And they aren’t even fleas. They’re teensy arthropods called Collembola, or springtails. They’re a whopping 1/8 inch long and have two tail-like structures that are tucked under their belly – until they release and catapult the snow flea into the air, flinging them up to 100 body lengths away. It’s a great ride with one problem – the snow fleas have no control over where they land. 

Turns out snow fleas have been around a long time, at least 400 million years. By comparison, the first dinosaur didn’t show up until 240 million years ago, writes Judy Rosovsky. Check out her article at VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.

Snow fleas have been found on Mt. Everest, so finding them in my backyard isn’t unusual. They’ve got a protein that acts as an anti-freeze to keep their cells from freezing, says Judy. And they don’t bite people – or pets. Instead, these tiny-but-mighty jumpers subsist on leaf litter, decaying plants, and fungi. 

This week, if you’ve got snow and a warm day, go on a snow flea hunt!