Winter Hike

Well, more like a short winter wandering. As I searched unsuccessfully for M or W? I thought of a somewhat recent post over at the Handbook of Nature Study blog -- Winter Color Walk. My younger kids and I have noticed the color of bark in last few months. It's not brown, the color we are trained to use as young children. Without the undergrowth to deal with, I was able to get a really good shot of only bark. We've always noticed texture; we're now noticing that the color of bark is difficult to give a name to since there are so many kinds of brown, tan, red, gray, etc. What about gray-tan? And the sun causes the same tree to appear different colors at different times.

With much of the vegetation gone this time of year, I recalled a challenge from back in Sept. '08 on Weeds. Here is a "weed remnant" that I found. I just received my copy of _Discover Nature in Winter_, by Elizabeth P. Lawlor today. I am hoping that it will serve as an identification guide for winter. I'm super-hoping that it provides aid for non-tree ID. I have a winter tree ID book that works pretty well for me.

Geocaching provides a great endpoint for nature walks, and the Nature Study Blog provides material for the way there. Happy cache hunting to you all!

Snow Shoeing

The younger half of GAIN went snow shoeing with a naturalist from the county today. (Hat tip to Daila -- thank you!) I waded through the snow without snow shoes. My objective was to see how snow shoes worked with smaller amounts of snow. Our previous experience was that a LOT of snow (24" base) made snow shoeing very hard, but easier than hiking with no snow shoes. Today, with snow coated with ice (from yesterday's thaw), the consensus in the van afterward was that snow shoes weren't a huge advantage unless there was a lot of powdery snow. The crust of ice just held our weight when we took the snow shoes off (no one wore them by the end).

I also wondered if snow shoes would make geocaches more accessible during winter. Winter is great for hunting in that there is no thick underbrush to deal with. (It also means ice, which definitely held me up yesterday in my quest to find three geocaches. I found one urban cache, the other two are lost to me at this time). After today in the woods, I conclude that snow shoes are great for hunting geocaches that do not require moving over steep slopes. Also, you may want to remove snow shoes if you are hunting for ground zero in a tight area. Otherwise, I see snow shoes as an advantage in lots of powder (like the ten inches we got a couple weekends ago). Going over fallen trees and walking around things are not a problem in snow shoes. I love the quiet of winter hikes, seeing the scat piles, the evidence left behind from mammals browsing for food (pictures later), and matted down areas left from sleeping deer.

Blog Award

Maria bestowed an award to me. You can see more at my crafting blog.

What is your Everest?

Last night, 3/4 of GAIN and I had a chance to listen to Charlie Wittmack talk about climbing to the summit of Mount Everest. Everyone was speechless. If you get an opportunity to hear him, take it.

Cast your vote

Iowa Outdoors

Iowa Department of Natural Resources

www.iowadnr.gov

Editor: Mick Klemesrud, 515/281-8653

mick.klemesrud@dnr.iowa.gov

Jan. 13, 2009

Reconnect Iowa ’s Children with Nature

Looking for a great way to spend quality time with your children in a relaxed environment far away from television and other household distractions? Get Outside! Exploring Iowa ’s wonderful natural resources is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and create wonderful memories.

Iowans (especially kids) spend less time outdoors now than any other time in history. What fundamental experiences do you believe children in Iowa should have in order to develop a healthy, active lifestyle? Cast you vote today - www.iowadnr.gov/education/index.html. Voting has been extended to January 16th to allow our partners to share with their networks.

Results obtained from the survey will be used to guide creation of an “Iowa Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.” This document will list the activities that Iowans recognize as invaluable experiences for our young people to have while growing up, along with a mission statement and goals for its use. If you don’t see an activity listed that you would like to see included, please add your item under “other” when casting your vote.

We invite Iowans of all ages to cast their vote. Please share with your Iowa colleagues, family and friends.

For more information, contact the DNR’s Aquatic Education Program: AquaticEd_Info@dnr.iowa.gov; (641) 747-2200.

January

photo taken near the Raccoon River on a too-short January day
GC103MD Race to the River II


January
by John Updike

The days are short,
The sun a spark
Hung thin between
The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footsteps
Track the floor.
Milk bottles burst
Outside the door.

The river is
A frozen place
Held still beneath
The trees of lace.

The sky is low.
The wind is gray.
The radiator
Purrs all day.

99 Outdoor Sorts of Things to Do

In this picture, I am near some great virtual caches in Sequoia National Park. I just crossed a stream full of chilly snow melt. Getting outdoors is key in geocaching. Barb, Harmony Art Mom, also runs a "blog accompaniment" for Anna Comstock's _Handbook of Nature Study_ here. It includes an Outdoor Hour Challenge, similar to a movement called No Child Left Inside.

She writes:

My husband and I were inspired by another meme to make up own of our own. We sat under a blanket one cold morning over the winter break and compiled a list of:

99 Outdoor Sorts of Things to Do. It was fun to randomly list 99 things we have done or would like to do. We decided to narrow the list to things to do in the United States so feel free to use our list or come up with one of your own! We have not done or experienced all the things on the list *yet* but it is fun to think about how we could check some of the items off the list in the future. If you take the list and post it on your blog, please leave me a comment so I can come and see which things you have completed. We marked our completed items with a star.
--
I think the list is perfect. I am filling out the list for the times I've been out in nature, not a zoo (fake nature, I call it -- re: sea lion, bats, etc.). The list would be filled out differently for each member of my household. Take a look, then challenge yourself to get all the items done. It may take me time, but I aim to do all of these fantastic things. My completed items will be in blue.

Outdoor Hour Challenge
99 Outdoor Sorts of Things to Do
United States Version

1. Make maple syrup.
2. Stand under a redwood/sequoia.
3. Ski down a mountain.
4. See a saguaro cactus.
5. See an alligator in the wild.
6. Find a shell on a beach.
7. Skip a rock on a lake.
8. See a sunrise.
9. Pick an apple from a tree.
10. Grow a sunflower.
11. Sleep under the stars in a sleeping bag.*
12. Find the Big Dipper.
13. Climb a sand dune.
14. Walk in the rain with or without an umbrella.
15. Find a fossil.
16. Take a photo of the Grand Canyon.
17. Go to the lowest point of North America-Badwater, CA *
18. See a raptor fly.
19. Be able to identify ten birds.
20. See a mushroom.
21. Visit a tide pool.
22. Visit a volcano.
23. Feel an earthquake.
24. See a tornado.
25. Experience a hurricane.
26. Catch snow on your tongue.
27. See a deer in the wild.
28. Touch a dolphin.
29. Go ice skating on a pond.
30. Go fishing.
31. Go snorkeling.
32. Whittle a stick.
33. Gather chicken eggs.
34. Milk a cow or a goat.
35. Ride a horse.
36. See a moose.
37. Gather acorns.
38. Pick berries and eat some.
39. Watch a lightning storm.
40. Build a campfire.
41 Press a flower.
42. Use binoculars to spot a bird.
43. Identify five wildflowers.
44. Take a photo of Half Dome.
45. Find a piece of obsidian.
46. See a tumbleweed.
47. See a wild snake.
48. Watch a spider spin a web.
49. Climb a tree.
50. Get lost on a hike.
51. Watch ants in a colony.
52. Hatch a butterfly.
53. Climb a rock.
54. See the Continental Divide.
55. See the Northern Lights.
56. See a bear in the wild.
57. Dig for worms.
58. Grow a vegetable and then eat it.
59. See a bat flying
60. Feel a sea star.
61. Swim in the ocean. juliecache notes that she has waded in both Pacific and Atlantic, but it's always been too cold to swim.
62. See a geyser erupt.
63. Walk in the fog.
64. Observe a bee.
65. Find a bird’s nest.
66. See a beaver’s den.
67. Go whale watching.
68. See a banana slug.
69. Stand on the edge of a cliff.
70. Blow a dandelion.
71. Throw a snowball and build a snowman.
72. Cook an egg on the sidewalk...can you actually do that?
73. See a lightning bug. Or do you call it a firefly?
74. Visit a cave.
75. Make a sandcastle.
76. Hear a cricket.
77. Catch a frog.
78. Watch for the first star in the evening.
79. Smell a skunk.
80. Feel pine sap.
81. Feed a duck.
82. Learn to use a compass or GPS.
83. See a buffalo. juliecache's note: we call it bison.
84. Get wet in a waterfall.
85. Swim in a lake.
86. Walk on a log.
87. Feel moss.
88. Jump in a pile of leaves.
89. Fly a kite.
90. Walk barefoot in the mud.
91. Hear a sea lion bark.
92. Hear a coyote.
93. Pan for gold.
94. Crack open a nut.
95. Go snowshoeing.
96. Feel a cattail.
97. Smell a pine forest.
98. Sit under a palm tree.
99. Walk across a stream on rocks.

Lichen

(Wish I had a photo handy in my archives.) I have previously shared that the partnering of environmental science and geocaching occurs frequently with me -- personally for my own education, and as a family when I have my children along. Heck, sometimes the two mix when we have group activities with our homeschool groups. Ledges State Park now has a Lichen Trail for us to walk. This time of year lets the bright contrasting color of some of the lichens shine. I am very excited to take this trail and learn more about lichens. If you click here, you can find information and directions under the Trails heading (in bold). Once the ice goes away (will it ever?), I'm looking forward to taking my time among the rocks and tree trunks.

100 Species Challenge -- Species #34

Specimen #34 -- Hedge Bindweed
Convolvulus sepium

Photo by me, August 2008
Wisconsin Lake Region

Found while searching for a geocache, GCM3XQ. (DNF by the way. Darn rocks. But I saw a mink, so big thumbs up on the experience.)

This may be the first Hedge Bindweed I have ever seen. It is much larger than the Field Bindweed I am familiar with (1.5 vs. 0.5 inches across). I looked here to assist in the ID since my field guide didn't help me differentiate between Morning Glories and Bindweeds. (Same family.) A big difference seems to be the leaves (heart vs. spear shape).

Convolvulus sounds like 'convoluted,' meaning 'twisted,' which is exactly the nature of this plant. I am not sure I ever got a good shot of the leaves because the stem twists and vines up the stems of the other plants, which hides the leaves.

Geocaching really lends itself to nature study. I believe that all of my kids have retained their sense of wonder and awe and attention to small detail (Montessori typically attributes this characteristic to ages 2 - 4.5 years) because of nature study. For example, this flower has a strong pentagonal shape (five fused petals). My younger two children noticed this fall that almost all of the flowers we find in the wild have five petals. I think my youngest noticed this first. She also noticed that her favorite oranges have ten segments (2 x 5). What an observation! My husband asks what benefit five petals gives a plant. I ask, how did the kids make the connection about five petals when we don't do nature sketches and notebooks? It must be the sheer amount of time they spend outside. I have decided to keep a tally of flowers with petals numbering five and non-five.