Frogging

My youngest and I went "frogging" (her term) last Friday. Our quest to see a chorus frog is everlasting. How sneaky do you have to be to see one? Spring peepers, too.

We left with photos of flowers -- they hold still! We knew there had to be trees and flowers blooming since our bees' pollen sacs are full whenever we spot one.



Son #1 (N of GAIN Academy) and I saw two more commas in the urban woods last week. You can look at the Butterfly Forecast and see Harlan's challenge for finding small butterflies. This link is the one he recommends. We'll study it and see what we can see.

Spring Pt. II

We (re)visited Raccoon River Park Friday to present a geocaching class. Before we headed to the soccer side of the park, we went to the nature lodge to pick up our reserved "Life in a Pond" Park Pack. This is a backpack filled with picture books, identification books, games, magnifiers, etc. for different ages. The naturalist was very friendly and let us into the classroom to see all the animals living at the lodge.

My kids played in the nearby marsh, ready to collect anything that crossed their paths, clad in rubber boots and armed with seining nets and tubs. They came back with a chorus frog and a small snake. We have now come full circle -- hearing some frogs two and three weeks ago, seeing (bullfrog) tadpoles in various stages at the Reiman Gardens one week ago, and now catching a frog to view up close. We really like _The Salamanders and Frogs of Iowa_ and an audio cassette of frog calls from our Park Pack to help us learn more about the animals we're discovering.

The families who met us at the park for class added to our animal count: an owl, a red-sided garter snake, Canadian geese, and mallards. And Cole and Gabe loved that people had trouble finding the container (HS4) that they hid in the rocks.

Spring arrives

How do I know that spring is here? Well, Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines is LOUD. That is, the call of chorus frogs is almost deafening.

The girls and I went to confirm our waypoints for an upcoming geocaching class -- we're presenting the class -- and in the parking lot, we hear constant, short creaking noises. The noise is pitched and paced somewhat like a cricket, and shorter than a bull frog croak. The closer you get to the marsh behind the parking lot, the louder the noise. A county naturalist explained it as running your thumb over a comb, and I would say that is pretty close.

After checking the waypoints (business first, of course), we explore the marsh. Without the right footwear, we give up. It was frustrating. If we were at Engeldinger Marsh, I would not hesitate to go barefoot. Here is photo from Engeldinger -- "the only marsh I [Cole] ever liked." However, the trash level at this park is rather high. I fear broken glass and metal. I've seen this marsh when it is dry. Now, to find some hip waders for rent....

On a high note, all three of us girls saw something odd on our way out of the marsh. Alex thought it looked like a strange, swollen brain. I thought it looked like a weird, yellow, plastic box. Only Ella was curious enough to call me to investigate. When she asked about it, I flipped it over with a stick. It was an old turtle shell! Later identified as an Eastern box turtle, Gabe affirmed his little sister, "That is a good find." It now resides on our front porch in our display area.