Explore Outdoors ~ a foggy morning walk

 Some mornings the fog rolls in and sticks around for a couple of hours. It's still cool, and the perfect time for a nature walk. Not only that, water droplets in the air stick to spider webs and make them stand out.

 

 

What cool things do you find on an early morning walk? 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ Logan Hill Nature Preserve

 

 

 

This past Sunday, Mothers Day, was perfect weather for a walk. So we headed to the Logan Hill Nature Preserve, a Finger Lakes Land Trust preserve located in Candor, NY.

 

 

 

 

The preserve is a mix of field and woods, with vernal pools and a pond. It's perfect habitat for bobolinks and woodcocks. On Sunday we heard  a medley of birdsong: hermit thrush, robins, sparrows of all kinds. We also heard the low humming of bumble bees and carpenter bees checking out the flowers.

 

Speaking of flowers...

 

 

 The overwhelming color this time of year was green ~ with highlights of muddy brown.

 

 Fortunately, there were stones across the muddy spots. Even they were part of the natural wonder! Who can resist stopping to look at fossilized brachiopods in the path? 

 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ another day, another salt marsh...

 A couple weeks ago we walked along the trail of a salt marsh at Caddy Memorial Park in Quincy, MA. It sits where Blacks Creek empties into Quincy Bay (part of the larger Massachusetts Bay).

Join us for a nature walk...

The salt marsh is flooded each day by salt water. Not only do the plants have to be adapted to that, but they need to be sturdy enough to endure the push and pull of the tides. Salt-resistant marsh grasses (Spartina) grow here and, in the fall, were cut and dried by colonists, and used for bedding and fodder for their horses and cattle.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the salt marsh is edged with oak, cedar, elm, sumac, and pitch pine trees. We saw many red-winged blackbirds and bluejays, an osprey nest, and a horseshoe crab. Apparently the crabs use salt marshes for spawning and will show up even in daylight.

Explore Outdoors ~ a tree museum

 Last week a friend invited us to stroll through the Arnold Arboretum. It's Harvard University's "tree museum" and botanical research facility, and filled with birds and blooms that change with the season. In early April, our friend warned, we shouldn't expect to see a lot of flowers. Because it's still cold (indeed, it snowed for a few minutes that morning) and spring was still trying to wake up! But here, enough talk - come with us for a short walk...

Many of the trees in bloom were from China, Japan, South Korea - places where flowers are adapted to chilly spring weather. But, as we discovered, there's more to trees than their blossoms... 

Bark has wonderful texture, as do the sweetgum seedpods and the mosses and lichens growing on tree limbs.

Even so, the maples and magnolias were blooming (though the magnolias looked the worse for wear!)

And then, of course I just couldn't resist this splash of yellow!

This week, notice the trees where you walk.

Explore Outdoors ~ a salt marsh

 One of the things I try to do wherever I am is to find a bit of wild. Even if - especially if - I'm in an urban area. So the other day we drove down the shore drive to a small natural area in Quincy, MA: Passanageset Park at the Broad Meadows Marsh.

 

Passanageset Park boasts flat trails to and around the marsh, and signs that tell of the history of the Massachusett people who lived there long before European settlers arrived. Others describe the ecology and wildlife ... but on a windy day in late March there weren't any birds clinging to tall stems and calling.

A salt marsh is a coastal wetland that is flooded and drained by the tides. We were clearly there at low tide. 

 

 

 

This week find a piece of the wild where you are. 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ After Rain

 I love exploring the world after rain has stopped. Drops still cling to blossoms and stems, sometimes reflecting light and glinting like jewels. Other times they act as lenses, reflecting the world they see.

 

 What do You discover After Rain?

 

 

Two Books for Exploring Summer

Greystone Kids has a couple books that are perfect for young nature explorers. 

Themes: fungi, nature, hands-on activities

Mushrooms Know: Wisdom From Our Friends the Fungi 

by Kallie George; illus. by Sara Gillingham 

40 pages; ages 4-8

‎Greystone Kids, 2024   

Mushrooms always wear their thinking caps. They know so many things.

For example, they know that there is more beneath the surface than what you see. That being unique is awesome. And that small can be mighty. They also know that it’s important to take care of your neighborhood, your friends, and yourself. Most of all, they know how important it is to stay connected.

What I like about this book: This is a wonderful book on so many levels. There’s the simple text about what mushrooms know, that ranges from ecological understanding to SEL. Sidebars provide another layer that dives deeper into the science of mushrooms. That’s where you’ll find cool info about how fungi send messages to plants, how they glow in the dark, and where you might find them growing. I also love the cute expressions on the mushroom caps. Plus there is back matter! That’s where you’ll find even more information about what mushrooms are, how they’re used to clean up oil spills, and the cool way bird’s nest mushrooms use raindrops to spread spores.

Be a Nature Explorer!: Outdoor Activities and Adventures 

by Peter Wohlleben; illus. by Belle Wuthrich & translated by Jane Billinghurst  

100 pages; ages 6-10

Greystone Kids, 2024 

This book is filled with 52 activities for the curious young naturalist. Peter Wohlleben invites kids to explore what’s outside around them. Record the plants and animals in your own nature notebook, he tells readers – that way you’ll have a book filled with your own discoveries. In addition to taking a pencil and notebook, he suggests a few other things to take along on your outdoors adventures: plastic containers to collect things for further study, a hand lens or magnifying glass, binoculars for observing animals and birds without bothering them, a cell phone to take photos – and maybe a nature app to help identify plants, insects, and other cool discoveries.

The activities are listed in a table of contents, in no particular order. The idea, Peter says, is to browse through and find something that interests you. They range from listening to a tree talk, to following slugs and snails, to mapping plants that move. It’s a great way to beat the “nothing to do” blahs of late summer

Beyond the Books:

Go on a fungus foray. Late summer and into the fall is the perfect time to look for mushrooms and other fungi. Draw what you see – feel free to give them faces, even entire personalities. What wisdom do they have for you?

You’ll find 30+ activities to explore fungi in my book, Funky Fungi: 30 Activities for Exploring Molds, Mushrooms, Lichens & More (co-authored with Alisha Gabriel). Plus there’s more over at Patricia Newman’s LitLinks.

Label some pages in your nature notebook and start some lists of all the birds, trees, wildflowers, insects, and mammals you see in your neighborhood. Share with a friend and ask what they have discovered in their neighborhood. Hint: the more you look, the more you’ll see.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Spittlebug Caught in the Act!

 Every now and then I see Cool Things Happening in my garden. Like a couple weeks ago when I discovered a spittlebug in the act of creating a foam dome so they could hide from the sun. And predators - because who wants a mouthful of foamy spit?

Spittlebugs are plant-suckers. They stick their short pointy beaks into stems and then suck up the sap. But they are messy eaters! As they spill sap down their bodies, they add some air and make bubbles. Lots of bubbles. Turns out they can make 80 spit bubbles in a minute.

This week keep your eye open for spittlebugs. 

• If you see a spittlebug starting its foamy dome, stay and watch a while. How long does it take until they are covered?
• What kind of plants do you see spittlebug foam on? And where on the plant do you find it?  Do they hang out at the tips of plants? The base? On stems or leaves? In leaf axils (where leaves meet the stems)?
• How many foam homes do you find on plants? Are they close together or far apart?

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Ways of Looking at a Tree

Usually when we look at trees we notice the leaves, or the pattern on the bark. But what about the things that cling to trees? This month I've shared my Five Ways of Looking at a Tree. What ways have you discovered to look at the trees around you?

DECORATED

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Ways of Looking at a Tree

Usually when we look at trees we notice the leaves, or the pattern on the bark. But what about looking inside a tree? Or through a tree? This month I'm sharing Five Ways of Looking at a Tree. Head out and look at some trees in your neighborhood, a local park or wherever you wander this week.

INSIDE

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Ways of Looking at a Tree

Do you need to look at trees to see them? This month I'm sharing Five Ways of Looking at a Tree. Head out and look at some trees in your neighborhood, a local park or wherever you wander this week.

SHADOWS

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Ways of Looking at a Tree

The leaves on the trees behind my house are turning. Scarlet, tangerine, gold, bronze! So many colors that it's sometimes easy to forget about the whole tree. So this month I'm sharing Five Ways of Looking at a Tree. Head out and look at some trees in your neighborhood or local park or wherever you wander this week.

REFLECTED

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Ways of Looking at a Tree

Every year people flock to our neck of the woods to peep at the turning leaves. And yes, those scarlet,  tangerine, gold, and bronze leaves fill our hills with color. But there are many ways of looking at the trees. So this month I'm sharing Five Ways of Looking at a Tree. Head out and look at some trees in your neighborhood or local park or wherever you wander this week

UP

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Web Walk

The best time to go looking for spiderwebs is early morning, particularly as the fog lifts. That way droplets of water still cling to the spider silk, making webs easier to see.

We find webs everywhere: in the grass, between flower stems, between wires of a fence ... anywhere there's a place to anchor a line is a good place for a web.

Go on a Web Walk.

Grab your camera or sketchbook and pencil, and look for different types of spider webs. Orb webs look like wheels with spokes. Look closely - you might even see a spider sitting in the middle, waiting for breakfast to fly in.

Things to note: 

1. where do you find the web - is it attached to plants, and what kind?
2.  how big is it? bigger than your handspan? as wide as your longest finger?
3. what time of day, and other weather notes.
4. the habitat around you - is it a roadside? a garden? mowed lawn? an alfalfa field?
5. draw a picture (or take a photo) of the web.

 Orb webs aren't the only kind of webs you'll find. This one looks like a hammock slung between chicory plants. Look closer and you might find another layer spun beneath.

Other webs you might find are sheet webs along the ground (spun by funnel-web weavers) and cobby tangled webs.

You can download a guide to spider webs here.

University of Kentucky has a cool spider ID chart here.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Flower Field Trip

Flowers are blooming everywhere - in the garden, in the yard, on the side of the road, down by the river side. Grab your sketch journal or camera and head out on a flower field trip. What do you see?

Wednesday Explorers ~ Berries in the snow

Not everyone hibernates over winter. Birds, squirrels, and other animals head out to hunt for fruits, berries, tasty bark, and other yummy winter foods.

As you walk around this winter, be on the look-out for what berries and fruits you might find that could serve as food for animals. Around here there are always a few red multiflora rose hips, and sometimes dried grapes hanging on a vine.

What do you see in your neighborhood? Take your journal or camera along so you can draw a picture of the plant and berries - and then try to identify it later using a field guide.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ A Field Trip for Nuts!

This is the season to find all kinds of nuts: acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, beech nuts. The black walnuts are falling, now, on the road. They're huge, green balls nearly the size of tennis balls, though they tend to break apart if you kick them too hard. Finding hickory nuts is always a race with the squirrels and birds.

Go out an look for some nuts. Draw pictures of what you find (or take photos). Sit quietly and notice what animals come to investigate the nuts.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Scavenger Hunt

The season is tilting away from winter, but there's plenty of "winter" stuff to see outside. So head out on a scavenger hunt - but instead of collecting things, you'll be observing them, taking photos or drawing them, looking closer.... getting to know the winter-ish plants and animals around you.

Things to take on your hike:
a hand lens
a sketchbook and pencils
camera

Scavenger hunt list of things to look for and observe:

• icicle or frozen puddle
• cluster of needles
• a pine cone
• winter weeds
• animal tracks (what are they and where do they lead?) 
• clouds
• birds flying
• berries
• a nest (don't touch)
• dead leaves clinging to a tree
• snowfleas at the base of trees
• a cocoon on a twig or side of house, or beneath leaves

Leaflets three, let it be! Plus - author interview

Leaflets Three, Let it Be! The story of poison ivy
by Anita Sanchez; illus. by Robin Brickman
32 pages; ages 4 - 8
Boyds Mills Press, 2015

You've heard the warning: leaflets three, let it be. Poison ivy! Who wants to come back from a walk in the woods all itchy and scratchy? But poison ivy doesn't just grow in the woods. Around here, you can find it in people's back yards, and growing along roadsides.

Poison ivy. Yuck! Who needs it? Lots of animals, writes Anita Sanchez. Like a rabbit in springtime. He's thin and hungry, and there aren't many plants growing yet. But poison ivy leaflets are tender and tasty. But rabbits aren't the only ones who eat leaves.

In the summer, poison ivy flowers. Bees collect nectar to make honey and aphids suck plant juices. The petals fall off and fruit ripens for birds and squirrels. Are we the only ones bothered by the plant?

I love the way this book follows the plant through a yearful of seasons. I love the gorgeous art: painted paper (watercolors and acrylics) cut and shaped by hand. And I love the back matter where we learn what to do if we've come in contact with poison ivy and how to get rid of it in your back yard without harming animals and insects. There's a cool "poison ivy look-alike" challenge (hint: not all plants that have three leaflets are poison ivy).

Author Anita Sanchez worked for 25 years as a naturalist at a nature center. She's been noticing that kids are getting out into the woods less and less. So I asked her a bit about writing the book and she graciously answered Three Questions:

Archimedes: What inspired you to write about poison ivy - do you have it in your back yard?

Anita: One of the things kids are worried about is getting poison ivy, and they don't really know what it looks like. So I wrote the book as a way to help kids feel safe when they leave the sidewalk. Plus, yes, I have lots in my backyard. I get itchy every spring if I walk around without paying attention. Maybe that's poison ivy's purpose in this world: to get us to slow down and notice the green world around us. I read that when a Cherokee saw poison ivy in the woods, he or she would say, "Hello, my friend. I see you." Once you know what it looks like, you can stay out of it. (note: Anita wrote a wonderful post about poison ivy on her blog, Unmowed.)

Archimedes: What sort of research did you do?

Anita: My main reference was a book called American Wildlife and Plants: A guide to Wildlife Food Habits. It's just lists and lists of which animals eat different plants, and it was compiled over decades by hundreds of wildlife biologists who studied what animals eat by dissecting their poop. It's incredible how many animals use poison ivy for food and shelter. There are more than fifty different species of birds that eat the berries - including my favorite singers, mockingbirds.

Archimedes: Did you learn anything that surprised you?

Anita: Poison ivy affects lots of human victims, but the plant itself is the victim of relentless insect predation. There are hundreds of species of insects that eat or lay eggs on poison ivy. There's even an infinitesimal critter called the poison ivy leaf gall mite (Aculops rhois) which lays its eggs on the leaves, resulting in a horribly mottled red surface that looks - poetic justice! - exactly as though the poison ivy plant has contracted a nasty rash.

That sticky sap that oozes out of the plant evolved as a defense against insects. It's a mere accident of evolution that the sap happens to be a powerful allergen for most humans... we're just collateral damage.

Archimedes: OK, question 3 1/2. Got a project coming out soon?

Anita: Next year I have a picture book biography of Linnaeus coming out. It's called Karl, Get out of the Garden! Carolus Linnaeus and the naming of everything.

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources.  Review copy from publisher.