Nature activities for the drive to school

he first quarter of the school year is already over!

Though the past nine weeks have flown, most parents will agree that the time spent driving kiddos to and from school does not go as fast as one would hope.

When parents are just getting their first sips of morning caffeine, children in the back seat are already in hyper-chatty mode.

An essential tool for commute survival is a “Backseat Box” with quiet, solo activities that the kids can do while the parents keep their eyes on the road. While common Backseat Box items are books, coloring and activity books, and crayons or washable markers, just a few easy additions can turn the daily drive into a nature safari!

Encourage kids to lift their eyes from their handheld electronic games long enough to notice the incredible sights outside the car windows by creating nature scavenger hunts! Simply print out a few free nature scavenger hunt pages (or create your own) and put them on a clip board for your student commuter.

The scavenger hunt pages described below have been a hit with kids ages three to thirteen, and all are attached as printable documents at the Nature Notes blog, simply follow the hot links associated with each.

• Nature’s Colors – the challenge here is to attune the eye to the many colors of the natural world. Kids and grownups alike get used to thinking of trees as green and skies as blue, but if you pay attention, the whole spectrum of colors – from crimson to lavender and all of their tints and shades in between are visible every day of the year. Either create or print this page of color blocks and let your younger student write what they saw in its corresponding color block. For a challenge or for older children, cut up paint swatch cards from the local home improvement store and keep them in a bag by the front door. Then, each passenger can blindly choose a paint color before the ride begins. The first to find their color on something in nature wins the competition! Scavenger Hunt – Colors
• Outdoor Alphabet – With a page full of letters and blank lines, kids can spend the car ride finding something in nature that starts with each letter. Here in the deep south, the unfortunate road-crossing habits of armadillos will often provide kids with an easy answer for A right by the side of the road. (And giggles to go with it.) Depending on age and skill level, kids might find that B is for blue sky or blue jay or buckeye butterfly or basswood tree. Their creativity will really blossom when they get to Q, X, and Z! Scavenger Hunt – Alphabet
• Nature’s Treasures - This page can be used as a scavenger hunt or cut into cards to be pulled from a “treasure box” (or treasure hat, or treasure cloth bag). Its clear visuals are great for even the youngest children to start honing their observation and identification skills by matching pictures to what they see out the window. Backyard Treasure Hunt Cards
• Shapes of the Wild – For the very youngest of nature lovers, this page teaches shape recognition. The moon in the early morning sky will match the crescent. The shining sun can be their circle. Seeing nature through these simple shapes will also translate to improved drawing skills by helping child and parent alike translate plants and animals into assemblies of simpler shapes! Scavenger Hunt – shapes

With any luck, their eyes will be glued to the windows and their pencils busy on the page, so your eyes can stay stuck on the road and your hands on the wheel. Well, at least one hand on the wheel, and one wrapped around that warm coffee mug!

Northshore nature attractions for fun fall weekends

Autumn in Southeast Louisiana is prime time for outdoor activities. The weather is cooler (though not yet actually cool!), the sun is shining, and wildlife and wildflowers that had been hiding from the summer heat are coming back out for one last hurrah before winter.

Today Big Branch Marsh Wildlife Refuge hosted "Wild Things" an interactive festival and showcase of some of the region's best nature destinations and wildlife organizations in the area, plus great crafts and attractions for the whole family.

For those that didn't make it to today's festival to scope out future day trips and weekend adventures, however, here are a few local family fun favorites:

1. The Tammany Trace - This 28-mile long, no-charge paved trail stretches along a scenic route from Covington to Slidell. Goldenrod, asters, and other fall wildflowers decorate both sides of the trail, inviting lovely fluttering butterflies to come and sip. Also, the surrounding forest provides excellent opportunities for bird watching. There are also more than a dozen stream crossings that allow a great vantage point to stop and see turtles, water snakes, and other wetland wildlife from a safe distance. Whether you prefer to walk, run, bicycle, or ride a horse, the Tammany Trace is not to be missed! Plan your Tammany Trace trip at their website.
2. The Northlake Nature Center - Known as St. Tammany Parish's secret garden. With mixed pine forest, a beaver pond, and Bayou Castine, the opportunities to see wildlife here are endless! Come dressed in comfy shoes, ready to stroll down one of three loop trails. At .75, 1.2, and 1.75 miles, respectively, these trails can be completed even with preschoolers. The 400 acre nature center is open from dawn to dusk daily and there is no entry fee. On November 6, 2010, the autumn installment of their Walk in the Woods Nature series will start at 8 a.m. However, if for those more in the mood to visit freestyle, but who want to sneak in some extra education for the kiddos, print free nature activities right from the Northlake Nature Center website.
3. Pearl River Wildlife Management Area - This is the section of the Pearl River where the swamp tours companies run their boats. Though the tours are not free, local residents can usually get a significant discount simply. Whether you're local or visiting, the swamp tours are a must-do. While water temperatures stay above 70 degrees, you're likely to see both small and large alligators on the tour, which may visit the boat to get a little snack from the captain. (They get their snacks from the captain, and only the captain. Feeding gators is not encouraged for anyone else. There's a fine line in the gator's mind between providing a snack and becoming a snack.) Even after waters cool to below gator-active temperatures, swamp tours regularly see egrets and herons, osprey, nutria, and lots of other swamp denizens. The captains are extremely knowledgeable about swamp ecology, swamp culture and history, and how wetlands are both affected by and protect people from the ravages of hurricanes. Two of the more popular swamp tour companies are Cajun Encounters Swamp Tours and Pearl River Eco-Tours.

So, if your Sunday isn't already swamped, get out there and swamp it . . .or trace it, or center it around nature!

This piece was originally written for Examiner.com.

Don't Forget: Orionid Meteor Showers this Week!

Bundle up and get outside each night this week to see the Orionid meteor showers!

The best night will be Wednesday, the 21st, and the best viewing times are 2am-5am, but I doubt I'll be up and out that early (unless I have to wake up to pee in the middle of the night).

You should be able to see shooting stars from dusk on, particularly in the eastern sky. (They're called the Orionids because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Orion.)

Maximum rates are expected to be 20-30 per hour and since it's a crescent moon, that will make the sky dark and the meteors extra-visible.

Okay, I'm off to the store to stock up on jugs of apple cider to mull with cinnamon and take out with us when we go shooting star watching tonight.

Be sure to respond to this post and let me know how the shooting star show goes where you are!


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Nature Quote - September 16, 2009

“Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere” - Blaise Pascal

This quote reminds me of one of my mother's many wisdoms:

In discussing the photography that we both enjoy (why she doesn't sell hers, I don't know) she remarked at the infinite possibilities for shots. One subject could be shot from an infinite sphere of angles and distances, and each position could be shot infinite times because the light (and wind, and interaction with the universe) change every second of every day.

So, now I both blame her and credit her for the fact that during our recent visit to Virginia, I shot over 300 frames and am now sifting through them all to pick the very best.

Three. . .hundred. . .frames.

Thanks, Ma!

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Nature Quote - September 15, 2009

A little ego boost from the Universe, itself:

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and
the stars; you have a right to be here.
- Desiderata


Of course, this also means that the trees and stars and ants and birds have just the same right, too. And aren't we lucky that they do?

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Nature Quote - September 11, 2009

Even eight years later, when I hear the stories of those lost on this day, my eyes still well up with tears.

Though I was lucky enough not to lose anyone on this tragic day, I remember the grief of our nation and feel it still like a hole going straight through my chest and out my back. An emptiness in my heart and between my shoulder blades.

There is no quote that can soften the sadness of this day with the healing power of nature - though time in nature is perhaps one of the most healing things there is, for me, at least.

What I have found are these; words that help me to take a deep breath, and then to take another.

To recognize that we owe those who have left this life too soon our full attention to enjoying the planet while we're still here.


"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." ~From a headstone in Ireland

"As long as I can I will look at this world for both of us. As long as I can I will laugh with the birds, I will sing with the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us." ~Sascha, as posted on motivateus.com

Nature Quote - September 10, 2009

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful.”
- Alice Walker

Alice Walker says here exactly what I've always believed: imperfection is perfect and perfection is, well, boring.

It's not always easy to remember, as we strive for excellence, strive to be better, but it is our imperfections that make us the most interesting!

The same goes for photography. You'll find in my collection of photographs that none of the specimens are perfect - always a bug here or a burnt spot there. Symmetry just slightly askew. (If that isn't a metaphor for life, I don't know what is.)

Rather than focusing solely on a subject's flaw(s), I try to consider it an interesting part of the flower's "face" - a mark of being real, living and growing in an imperfect world.

And then they become even more beautiful.

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Nature Quote - September 8, 2009

Something appropriate for the first day of school:

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." - Frank Lloyd Wright

The lessons in nature are too many to count, the peace there too great to measure. Both are good for students of all ages.

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When You've Got It, Flaunt It

~ An article written for the June issue of Moonshine online magazine.~

A few mornings ago I took my daughter on our third blueberry-picking trip of the season. Less than ten minutes from our house is Lundy’s Blueberry Patch, a little plot of heaven on earth where Doc Lundy (a retired veterinarian) offers beautiful blueberries to the picking public from late May through mid-July.

“The blueberries are waning now,” Doc Lundy warned us, “but I think I saw some good ones out on row 57 and 58.”

I smiled at Doc – knowing how blueberry spoiled he is – and said we’d take what we could get.

Ha.

Ha, ha, ha!

Rows 57 and 58 may have been “waning”, but the bushes were still heavy with ripe, blue fruit. Hundreds of gleaming indigo orbs smiled at us as their juice-filled weight pulled branches down toward my pre-schooler’s eager little hands.

Abbey and I picked till our fingers were blue and our tongues deep purple. (Doc encourages his customers to “sample” while they pick, and we wouldn’t want to be rude . . . so we “sample” with abandon.)

Each bush had dozens of ripe berries on it because folks never remember to grab the berries from the shady center of the bush, where they grow extra fat and sweet. I don’t blame them for this, though, because a) there are so many berries on the outside of the bush to keep you busy picking and b) that means other folks leave the center berries for me.

I try to pick each bush thoroughly before moving on to the next, but most often a particularly rotund little sapphire will catch my eye on a neighboring plant and off I’ll go like a butterfly – fluttering blissfully and hungrily to the next pretty flower.

My daughter and I compete for who can find the biggest berry, all the while I’m smiling to myself between popping berries into my mouth, savoring the sweetness of the sun and fresh air, the trill of birdsong, and joy good company. (Abbey, though not quite three, has been known to pick over a pound of berries all on her own.)

Then, on the way out, my pink-cheeked and glistening little girl will turn the parental tables on me – it’s her turn to cajole “Let’s go! Hurry, hurry!” because I’m going slow, trying in vain to pick all of the berries I missed on our way to the end of the row.

The prices at Lundy’s are incredibly low and I always feel we should have picked more, even though blueberries and countless other gorgeous fruits and vegetables are available at rock-bottom prices at our weekly farmer’s market.

But that’s not what gets me. The part of the whole experience that really gets me is this: abundance.

Blueberry bushes are the definition of abundance.

Nature’s abundance is, perhaps, her greatest gift to us in summer. An abundance of flowers, of fruit, of vegetables, of animals, and, most profoundly, of light and color.

Summer is the time when Mother Nature is showing us that she’s got it and she ain’t afraid to flaunt it.

I say we use those extra summer hours of light to capture and reflect this glorious abundance, fullness, and ripeness. Though I remain the tree-hugging, reduce-reuse-recycle conservationist, I say that now is the time to use more paint and bolder colors. Take more photographs, create more sculpture.

Let your summer art be full and abundant, rich, bright, multi-hued and sparkling with the joy of nature’s annual promise fulfilled.

In fact, here’s a suggested color palette: Eggplant Purple, Rhubarb Magenta, Watermelon Pink, Strawberry Red, Georgia Peach, Bell Pepper Orange, Cantaloupe, Lemon Yellow, Banana Pepper Chartreuse, Cucumber Green and, of course, Blueberry Blue.


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Learning Curve

Today was the first day of environmental camp. I teach 8-12 year olds all about our excellent earth and our fabulous Florida ecosystems for six weeks every summer.

These are the best six weeks of my whole year!

This first camp started off particularly well - only five students, so I had lots of time to interact with each of them. They were smart, knowledgeable, kind, and eager to learn.

Pure bliss.

We discussed the elements of survival (air, water, food, shelter) and how to record data about wildlife in order to properly identify individuals (size, number of legs, body covering, activity, habitat, etc.) and all of the reasons WHY we want to "save the planet."

The best part, of course, was the time we spent outside. With little prompting from me, the kiddos were all over, finding damselflies and tadpoles and trumpet vine flowers and frogs and pill bugs and spiders and beetles and junebugs and all manner of wonderful things.

They turned over rocks, looked up at overhangs, poked at sap dripping out of the slash pines, and were absolutely psyched about it all.

Joy!

Their sense of wonder is a lesson in itself. More than I could teach, but something I am all to happy to foster.

So, here's to the beginning of a new adventure. A few quotes from the kids to revive your own sense of wonder:

Question: Why do we need lots of different kind of animals?
Answer: To eat them. (I loved this one. It was so authentic!)

"Oh, look! There's a mushroom!" "And there's a bug on it, too!"

"I think it's an American crow, because it was all black and it had a skinny beak." (He was comparing the crow to the raven in the bird identification book to try to figure out what he saw. And he was right, he had observed a crow.)

There are tons more, but my teacher brain and toddler-mommy brain are both terrifically tired and I must take myself for a time out.

Contented sigh.


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A Watched Egg Will Not Hatch

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Right now I'm waiting, wondering when the mourning doves' eggs will hatch. I wish I had been more observant and noticed when they first came to nest in the hanging basket on the porch. Was it more than 18 days ago (the gestation time for mourning dove eggs)?

Are they sitting on bad eggs, doomed to disappointment (and I with them)? Or will we have cheeping dove babies any minute?

The possibilities for either exultant joy or deep sorrow are staggering. So many of life's experiences are a waiting game of one sort or another yet, when I searched, I found no good quote on nature and waiting.

How is that possible?!

Well, I refuse to wait for one to appear, so I'll create one here:

"Waiting is like a jawbreaker - hard and sweet at the same time."

It's frustrating and, occasionally, painful, too. But, in the end, we find that it is better enjoyed slowly and fully - savoring each layer of anticipation as a new flavor. We must try to remember not to crunch through too quickly because we will miss the possibility when it's gone.

And now I'm gone, too - gone out to check on the doves and eggs just one more time. . .


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Nature Quote - May 18, 2009 - Spring Weather

I watched the weather this morning over a cup of fair-trade, organic dark roast coffee. The coffee was delicious, but the weather pattern over the U.S. was even more enticing.

While the poor southwest is baking at 100 degrees for its umpteenth straight day, a glorious cool front has moved in over the midwest and east.

Just when I had resigned myself to five months of Florida summer and days that break 80 degrees before 8:00 a.m., Mother Nature throws us a meteorological curve ball! (Yes, women can pitch. If you doubt it, check out your nearest softball game. Those women could pitch a fly off a fencepost fifty yards - both killing the fly and shattering the post.)

It's 62 degrees, grey, and breezy here in the Florida panhandle! I would write more about this lovely reminder that summer doesn't really start till June 21, but I've got to get away from this keyboard and out into the gorgeous weather.

And so I'll leave you now with a quote from a famous American writer, observer, and lover of life's curve balls, quirks, and all things smart and funny:

“In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” - Mark Twain

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Nature Quote - May 17, 2009 - The Gospel of Nature

There were bluejays in my worship service this morning. Mourning Doves singing there, too. A little girl thoroughly enjoying herself with only sand and sky and grass and water from the hose. Two dogs at peace, sharing good tidings with me in their furry way.

There in my own back yard, feet planted softly in the Earth, my gratitude for Creation was immeasurable. In the birdsong and the breeze I heard that clear benediction of my familiar Lutheran service: "Thanks be to God!"

I think Luther himself might have had this experience once or twice, too:

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars." ~Martin Luther

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Nature Quote - May 10, 2009 - Mothers

This one is for all of the mothers out there, who certainly deserve at least a week's holiday and praise instead of one day! It is, however, in honor of the little mourning dove mother-to-be who sat patient and quiet (and probably petrified) as my family and I made a royal ruckus gardening in and around the porch that holds the hanging basket which she has made a home. Like all mothers, she is brave, dedicated, and at least a little bit crazy.

"God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers." - Jewish proverb


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Nature Quote - May 8, 2009

The blythe breeze of a May day is both the delight and the demon of a nature photographer, even more so that of one specializing in close ups. Friday is my photography day (Monday is for Marketing, Wednesday is for Website Work) and it is just windy enough to keep the already high Gulf Coast temperature bearable. . .and just windy enough to make everything that I want to shoot dance, shimmy, and wave instead of holding still. So I took a break and came in to find an appropriate quote. Instead, I found two:

"Rough winds to shake the darling buds of May." - William Shakespeare
(Now, we all know that this is not a literal statement, but still, the Bard hit my dilemma right on the head.)

"A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache." - Catherine II

Now back out to indulge that imagination. A May breeze and a little time outside are also quite good for blowing indoor-office-induced cobwebs right out of your head.

http://www.worldofcolorphotography.com

Nature Quote - May 7, 2009

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature." - Anne Frank

An amazing quote made even more stunning by the fact that it was written by a young girl who could not go outside at all. Made me take a deep breath and say a prayer of thanks for the beauty I find every day right on my own doorstep, in my front yard, all over my small town and even beneath my feet.

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If

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." -- Siddhartha Buddha

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Harvesters in Spring

Enter the ant.

So, my daughter's doting grandmother (this would be my mom, Queen of Backyard Naturalists and Internet Shoppers) recently found out how much Abbey likes watching the fire ants that build mounds all over this great state. Abbey's been bitten more times than I can count by the little buggers, but still she loves to watch them. And, I must admit, I do, too. Though I probably spend more time watching her feet to make sure she doesn't get close and get bitten again.

Well, Grammy's aiding and abetting my daughter's nature study in the most wonderful way: she sent us an ant farm.

We never had an ant farm when I was a kid. (Mom says her naturalist tendencies have taken the last few decades to mature.) Now that we've had one for about 24 hours, I can say this:

It . . . is . . . AWESOME.

Abbey likes it. She looks at the industrious little insects whenever we remind her. (This is serious interest for a two year old.) I, however, am completely enthralled.

The fifty or so harvester ants in there have already dug two side tunnels half way down the eight inch mound and are carefully depositing each grain of sand that they move to a very precise location. They have a plan.

They also often fall down the outside of the domed "hill" but, protected by their hard exoskeletons, they quickly right themselves and start back up again. They are determined.

I must do more research to find out about these harvesters. All I know right now is that their bite is even more painful than a fire ant's bite, and I can tell you from experience that those are no fun. (I take breaks from studying the ants to check that the lid is still securely fastened at least a half dozen times a day.)

I want to learn more than the power of their bite, though. I know I'm not the first person to be intrigued by the seemingly utopian society of Antville, but where there's interest in the natural world, there's generally a good reason for it.

So, off to Google and Wikipedia and my stash of nature books and ID books I go. I'll be back with more info soon, but in the meantime, I think it's apropos for Earth Week to start thinking about these little sand movers: Each of us, doing just our little part, can make our home planet a more beautiful place.


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NEW Frame Style Examples

Zinnia in Technicolor

20x20"

Frame Style:  Black with Black Mat

Spring Daffodil

20x20"

Frame Style:  White with White Mat

Eucalyptus II

20x20"

Frame Style:  Oak with White Mat

Iris

20x20"

Frame Style:  Walnut with White Mat

Rainbow of Rocks

20x20"

Frame Style:  Chrome with Black Mat

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Curl Up with a Great Green Book

We are what we take in. We are the food we eat, the water we drink, the words we listen to, the sentences we read. Though the weather may be dreadful outside, you can still bring nature into your mind and into your self by curling up with a great green book. (You'll be too green for words if you get the book from the library or second hand - it's better for the environment and much better for your wallet!)  Here are a few of my very favorites to add to your reading list:

Fiction

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver - her description of my beloved Appalachian mountain ecosystems is lyrical and the characters and their stories are compelling.  Barbara Kingsolver has written a number of books and essays;  I highly recommend them all, especially her most recent book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. 

The full works of James Herriot - guaranteed feel-good reads about being a country vet.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London - a classic.

The poetry of Robert Frost - If you want to immerse yourself in the nature of New England or nature in general, Frost's poems will get you there.

Non-Fiction

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold - his thoughts on the history of a tree that he is currently sawing through leave me in awe every time I read them.

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey - I was never interested in the desert until I started reading this book.   Abbey's descriptions are vivid and his take is very rough, very real.  He also wrote a number of fiction pieces and other non-fiction.  I've loved everything of his that I've read.

The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson - Should be required reading for all parents.  For all people, come to think of it.  Best to read this short book when you can go outside immediately afterward, take a deep breath, look around, and let the ensuing wave of gratitude sweep you away.

Cradle to Cradle by Michael Braungart & William McDonough - The "cradle to cradle" concept is considered revolutionary, but it shouldn't be.  Of course we should design products this way - it's the slap-to-the-forehead simplicity of it that makes it genius.

The Foxfire Series edited by Eliot Wigginton - These collections of essays written by high schoolers on nature and tradition in the Appalachians are as good and straightforward an education in natural science as anyone could wish for.

A Country Year by Sue Hubbell - This one was a gift from my mother.  She loves books that take you to a wonderful, beautiful place and then tell you interesting stories.  Great mom, great taste, great book!

365 Ways to Save the Earth by Phillipe Bourseiller - A great book for any coffee table, it features stunning photography, amazing facts, and helpful suggestions on being green through small, feasible actions.  You can pick this book up at any time, flip through it, and learn something new.  Additionally, the pictures will inspire you to save the planet before all of the beauty in it disappears.

Essays  and One Man's Meat by E. B. White -  Writing this good doesn't come along every day, or every decade for that matter. 

Books for Children

Hoot by Carl Hiassen - They made this into a major motion picture but, as always, the book is better.

On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier - This book is a wonderful gift for new parents.

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss - A conservation classic, good for kids ages four through 104.

The Wump World by Bill Peet - I found this book when I was looking for something good to help explain air pollution to children.  It did the trick nicely.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein - Explains very nicely why we should ALL be tree huggers.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - Helps children understand that food isn't magically made at the grocery store in a gentle way.

Books for Parents

These books all have great information and/or fun, fast, and cheap activities that will help you introduce your child to the wonders of nature while having some serious fun yourself!

The Kids' Nature Book by Susan Milord

EcoArt!  by Laurie Carlson

The Handy Science Answer Book compiled by the Science and Technology Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

A Mother's Manual for Summer Survival by Kathy Peel and Joy Mahaffey

Well, that's a start, anyway.  I hope you'll check out these books and truly enjoy them.  If you've got a favorite green book (or two) that I've missed, please share your recommendations with us!

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