Through the Woods and to the River

Numbers 2 and 4 accompanied me this afternoon. We went off-trail most of the way to the river -- there were just so many people with the warm weather that we wanted more isolated space.

Frog and Toad Survey

I have waited 15 years to become a Frog and Toad survey volunteer, and I have to say that I have loved every minute of it. I finished my third of three surveys this year. I highly recommend the training even if you don't move on to volunteerism. You can learn the frog and toad calls here at the PWRC website -- taking the quiz is helpful.

I learned about the survey back when we were homeschooling and had a county conservation board class. We learned three frog calls, and I wanted to learn more. There are 17, maybe 18 total, in Iowa, and I have counted up to 7 species on my route.

Find #256 GC5GART

In honor of area Eagle Projects, a geocache was placed near an invasive species removal project. I found the cache (what was left of it), and these nice specimens. I find many fungi, slime molds, and jellies when out on nature walks. They are so diverse and I know so little about them that I have hundreds of photographs of unidentified species. My hope is to some day learn many of them.