What's out there?

It's Story Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 22:37:00 +0000

Yup, for many of us it is wintertime, unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere of course. First, sorry for the gap in postings. I have been a little busy. Last summer I was working at two summer camps in CA and then after summer, I got a new job and Jen and I moved to CO. So now I get to learn all about a new ecoregion here in the Front Range of the Rockies. And I am no longer living in the woods, we have moved into an actual neighborhood. It is kinda strange. And I will get to explore a whole new area that is much more impacted by people. Anyway, it is winter, and for many of you in the United States you have been getting an amazing amount of snow this year! As you can see from the photo above, our half-husky Shasta is very happy to be in snow again.
Where I grew up in New England the Indigenous people who lived there had a wonderful tradition in the winter. It was sometimes called the "time of the longhouse", because with the winter months bringing cold weather and snow many of the local native people spent a good amount of time inside their longhouses in community. It was a time to work together on making new clothes, tools, and weapons. And one of the most anticipated events during this time at least for children, and I would suspect adults, was the telling of stories. In some New England tribes stories were not told until after the first great frost so that the animals would not be distracted from gathering food for the winter because they wanted to hear the stories. Being indoors a lot more in the winter makes a perfect setting for stories.
Sharing stories with family members and friends can be a wonderful experience. And there are plenty of resources to use that also allow you to inspire young and old alike about the natural world around us. A couple of great resources for nature based stories to share together are:
Earth Child-games, stories, activities, experiments & ideas about living lightly on Planet Earth. By Kathryn Sheehan.
Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth. By Lee Welles.
Keepers of the Earth. By Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchac.
My Side of the Mountain. By Jean Craighead George.
While reading stories to kids and adults is a great way to spend time together and even learning some things about nature, making your own stories can be even better. Create some stories about what animals do during the winter, a child wandering in the woods in winter (like in My side of the Mountain), a story about a group of migrating geese, or anything that catches your interest while on a walk outside.
Another great way to experience stories is through song. Listen to some fun music and listen to the stories that are told in them. I had a WONDERFUL experience hearing a talk by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary last month at a conference and he talked about the power of song to build community. Here are a few musicians who have some great nature based music to listen to on a cold day while drinking hot coco!
Banana Slug String Band.
Steve Schuch.
Bill Oliver.
I hope you are getting to be outside just a little this winter. And there are times when enough is enough of the snow! As my friend Jessica who lives near Boston said, going outside with 4' of snow being covered in ice pellets is a little much today. But what a great time to stay inside and listen to some good nature music and tell stories. Until next time, keep exploring the world around you.

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A Treasure Hunt! What's Out There?

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:28:00 +0000

( A great tree treasure )

First, sorry to be gone for so long. The good thing is that I have been outside and traveling. I got to be in Maine for a week running a ropes course training for summer camp staff. The camp is in Denmark Maine, and a wonderful place. Here is the view of Moose Lake which is a home to many Loons! Yeah it was tough.

Anyway, before I went out there, I was up in the city with my some friends of ours and we were walking in a park in the Berkeley hills with their kids. Before we headed out I was talking to Lucy, the oldest at almost 4, and asked her what we should look for on our hike. She responded, "treasures"! I was going to suggest that we should on a scavenger hunt. Lucy's response of treasures, got me thinking why go on a scavenger hunt, when you can go on a Treasure Hunt. Treasure hunting sounds much more fun then scavenging. We ended up collecting acorns and rocks. It was a good day.
So, let's go on a Treasure Hunt. If you want another hunt to go on, check out this previous posting. This hunt is a little more of a challenge perhaps then the previous one, but have a blast exploring!

-- Find a plant shading a second plant while being shaded by a third plant.

How did so many plants get into such small area?

-- Find objects that are the following shapes: square, circle, triangle, heart, etc. What is the oddest shape you can find?

-- Find something that is turning into soil. Find as many animals and plants that are helping.

-- Find two plants growing on another plant, and two plants growing on a non-living thing.

How do they hang on?

-- Find five different shades of brown.

-- Find three trees with evidence of animals. What have the animals been doing?

How do you know?

-- Find a tree the same height as you.
-- Find a leaf the same size as your hand.
-- Find a tree too big for you to reach around.

Of course you can add as many other things to find! Keep exploring! A fun challenge could be to see how many of these things you can find within 100' or so of your house. And how many items on your list did you have to go somewhere else to find?

Website to explore:
http://wildobs.com/ Wildlife Observations is a web site dedicated to sharing your nature observations with others around the country. It is easy to join and fun to explore.

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The Linking Trail

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:40:00 +0000

(A trail in the redwoods)

A little backstory on this posting. This weekend I was standing on my porch and looking down at the ground cover just below the deck and I noticed that there were strawberries growing down there. Now, I have never planted strawberries down there and they were not there last spring. Now I do have a small planter on the deck that does have strawberries in it. The strawberries on the ground are growing in a semi-circle just below the strawberries on the deck. I began thinking about how they got there. I know I did not drop strawberries down there, but something did. As I began thinking about the birds and animals I have seen on the deck recently, I began thinking about an activity I had done several years ago. It is called linking.

This activity can be done with kids at any age and you can start anywhere. Simply find something that attracts your children's attention. It could be a rock, a plant, an animal, a flower, etc. Then sit there for a second and look for something that is "linked" to the first thing you were looking at. Then, look for a link to that second thing, and then continue linking one thing to another. Do not be too attached to where you are heading, simply allow the links to show themselves.

If you want to be more intentional in this activity, pick an object and then look for things that could or should be linked ecologically or logically. For example, if you are standing in the shade of a tree looking at the grass or clover that is growing there, you might look for signs of rabbits or squirrels that might be eating the grass or clover there. Then, follow the small trail you might see that goes into the small bushes nearby. Chances are is that small consumers that might eat the clover will approach from the closest area of cover, so by looking there, you will find a link. Then peer inside and see if you can find the trails those animals might use. Also look at the ground under the clover/ grass and see if there are consumer trails there such as those of voles or even insect trails that are under the cover of the grass. You are finding links that are ecologically and logically connected to the grass or clover.

You could also begin with the Sun and then follow it anywhere! Or start with a producer and follow it through the food chain to a decomposer. Look nearby a tree and see what is going on below the tree with new growth, decomposition, predators and prey living under there. Pick a starting point and follow the linked trial! Enjoy the exploration!

Websites to checkout:

http://www.groundproductions.com/playagain/gallery.php A site for a new short movie about getting kids reconnected with nature!

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One of the trees seen in Jurassic Park!

Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Sat, 08 May 2010 19:07:00 +0000

( One of Nature's ways of saying "Do not touch"!)

In a previous post on the Three Sisters of Itch, I mentioned that Jon Young strongly suggests becoming knowledgeable about the plants and animals in your area that pose a hazard to you. It is a wonderful suggestion for at least two reasons; first, it is good to know what can hurt you, and second there are fewer things out there that are hazardous then are benign or helpful. So in this posting we are going to explore a little about some of the things in our environments that we should be aware of while exploring what is out there. This is by no means an exhaustive list, it is a primer of some of the more common, and potentially harmful plants and animals that you might encounter outside.

Let's start with the animals. A general concept is that most of the animals you see in the wild are just that, wild. Just because they are cute, does not mean that they star in a Walt Disney movie. Megafauna like Deer, Coyote, Elk, Moose, Bison, Raccoons, Porcupines, Bears, Armadillos, Horses, Cattle, and Mountain Lions, to name a few, should be treated with great respect and caution. They are wonderful animals that should be viewed from a distance and not annoyed. Ever year people are mauled or killed by some of these animals because the people wanted to get close to animals that are wild. As a result, most of the "offending" animals are killed by authorities for the actions of the people injured.

First a bit on terminology. Animals-snakes, spiders, and many insects have venom, and are venomous. Plants can be poisonous. Now onto some of the wee-beasties that might cause you some harm. But first a quick side note, Shorttail and Common Shrews like the unknown number of insectivorous mammals are venomous. It is in their saliva, but the concentration is not strong enough to be a concern for humans. and Armadillos have been known to carry leprosy on their skin. So, do not pet the Armadillos!

Reptiles:

The Reticulate and Banded Gila Monsters. These lizards, along with the Mexican Beaded Lizard, are the only venomous lizards in the world. The venom from these lizards is very potent. There are very few recorded attacks by these lizards in the wild. The recorded ones are from lizards kept in captivity, and up to 25% of those bites have been fatal. There is no commercial antivenin available.

I found 26 species of Rattlesnakes in doing research for this posting! While all the species are venomous, many will not cause death in humans. The bites will really hurt and medical attention should be sought. The Eastern Diamondback is considered to be the most dangerous rattlesnake in North America and considered potentially lethal. Rattlesnakes do NOT always rattle before they strike. Learn if they are in your area, and learn about their habits.

There are three species of Cottonmouths, or water moccasins, in America. They are the Eastern, Florida, and Western Cottonmouths. The venom of the cottonmouths is very destructive and has caused limbs to be amputated. A good general rule is to avoid all unknown water snakes within the geographic ranges of the Cottonmouths. Seek medical attention if you are bitten by a Cottonmouth.

I found 5 species of Copperheads that you might encounter and they are the Southern, Northern, Osage, Broad-Banded, and Trans-Pecos Copperheads. There are no reported deaths of healthy adults from Copperhead bites. Young children, adults with weak hearts, and the elderly have been killed by Copperhead bites, but these are rare. The bites are painful, and Copperheads can be aggressive. You should seek medical attention if bitten by a Copperhead.

There are 4 species of Coral Snakes in America. The Eastern, South Florida, Texas, and Arizona Coral Snake. They are venomous, and medical attention should be sought if bitten. Having said that, the only recorded Coral Snake bites have come from people handling the snakes. The Scarlet Kingsnake, and other sub-species of Milk Snake, can be confused with Coral Snakes because of the similar colors. The phrase "Red on yellow kills a fellow. Red on black, venom lack" is a way to remember to help determine if the snake you are looking at is a Coral Snake or a Milk (King) Snake.

Insects:

Virtually all spiders have venom. That is how they kill their prey. But the Black Widow is the most venomous spider in the world, and we have it here in North America. They tend to live in dark areas and under debris. If you are bitten by one seek medical attention as there is an antivenin.

The Brown Recluse spider is a wide spread spider which can be found in houses. The bites are rarely fatal. The bites are painful and can develop into a large, deep area of dead skin cell tissue. The wound may take months to heal and can leave a scar.

There are about 1500 known Scorpion species in the world, with only 25 having lethal venom. Here in the states we have about 70 species of Scorpions. The Sculptured Scorpion of Arizona is one of the Scorpions that does have potentially lethal venom. So seek medical attention if you are bitten by a Sculpted Scorpion.

Many insects like the Saddleback and Io Moth Caterpillars have a mild venom in the hairs on their bodies which produces an irritation or itchy area if you contact them. Similarly, bees, wasps, and hornets have venom but are usually non-fatal unless the person being stung is allergic to "bee" stings. It can be a life threatening situation for someone who is allergic.

Plants:

There are many plants out there that will cause you stomach ailments if you eat parts of them. Many are benign, many have medicinal properties. All grasses are edible. They may not taste great but they are edible. Here are some common plants that can cause some harm, or death to humans. Plants can be tricky. Some poisonous species look very similar to species that are really tasty. So, exert caution if you get into using wild edible plants.

Pokeweed is a tall , stout, large rooted perennial which has gorgeous purple-black berries that are inedible. While children have died from eating the berries, it is actual the roots that are the most poisonous.

"I drank what?", are the last words Socrates is reported to have uttered after being poisoned by drinking hemlock according to Plato. Both Poison and Water Hemlock are poisonous, especially the roots and seeds. Poison Hemlock root can resemble wild carrots and Water Hemlock can resemble wild parsnip. In both cases one bite of the roots can kill an adult. If you have these it in your area, learn what it looks like. It is actually rather pretty and delicate. The Hemlock plants are very different from the Hemlock Tree whose needles can be brewed into a vitamin C rich tea.

Stinging Nettle has turned many a romp through the woods and fields into a painful and itchy experience. Stinging Nettle often grows in disturbed soils and moist thickets. The stinging usually last about an hour, but can last for days, and is not deadly. Nettle tea is actual very nice to drink and the fresh leaves can be collected and steamed like spinach. The cooking makes the chemical mixture that causes the itching to become inert. It is very tasty.

Make sure you can identify the Three Sisters of Itch in your area! Poison Sumac, Ivy, and Oak can cause a great deal of misery for folks who react to the oils on these plants. Also never burn any of the three sisters as the burning releases the oils into the smoke and then you can inhale the oils into your airway and lungs.

Mushrooms are a whole other deal. Many mushrooms are wonderful to eat. Others will kill you with one bite. Collecting mushrooms is a huge cultural tradition around the world. Here in California the arrival of the winter rains means that the woods will soon be full of dedicated mushroom hunters looking for a variety of edible fungi. And every year there are deaths around the country from people eating misidentified mushrooms. The Death Cap (Cup) Amanita phalloides is responsible for the majority of deaths from eating mushrooms in the United States and is often called the deadliest mushroom in the world. The Death Cup is a rather attractive white mushroom that looks very innocent. Eating one however can kill you in a few days. It does this by shutting down your kidneys in 2-3 days. So, when it comes to eating mushrooms, you NEED to be 1000% sure of what you are going to put into your mouth. I suggest stick to cultivated mushrooms unless you really dedicate some time into learning about mushroom identification.

So, that is it for a crash course on some of the things out there that can cause us harm, pain, or even death. I write this posting not to discourage you from your continued exploration and enjoyment of the natural world, but rather to inform you about what is out there. By learning about the things out there that can cause us harm, you are giving yourself and your children knowledge. With this knowledge, you can explore the natural world and keep yourself safe at the same time. The knowledge will also help dispel fear about the "unknown" things out there. It is a great way to help fight Nature Deficit Disorder. Have a blast learning more about our amazing world out there!

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I Like to move it move it!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:26:00 +0000

( Many animals touch the ground daily)

I was watching the Discovery Channel series LIFE last weekend and I was totally enthralled with watching how primates move! I always enjoy watching animals move in their natural habitat regardless if it is in person or in a video, especially primates and large cats! Every species has their own method of moving that suits them best for where they live. So for this posting we are going to explore moving like animals. So put on your comfy clothes and shoes, do some stretching, and head outside!

You can approach this topic in a couple of ways: inside or outside. If you are inside and you have access to videos of animals moving, you can all sit down and try moving like various animals. Now of course you do not need videos. You could simply pick various animals and try to move like them. I would recommend trying to move like walking animals and not animals charging around at full speed indoors!

Doing this activity outdoors allows you to negotiate uneven ground, and allows you to incorporate aspects of the natural world like trees, water, high grass, sand, etc. Try and explore a wide range of animals: birds, snakes, mammals, and reptiles. By having kids try and imitate animals they can begin to develop a greater understanding and perhaps empathy for the animals they mimic. In later posts we will explore several games that allow you to "become" various animals or explore animal adaptations.

I would encourage you to visit a local park or zoo to see how a variety of animals move, and see if you can mimic their movements. Here is another link that provides you with a whole bunch of animal tracks you can use to work on animal behavior and movement. I would also encourage you to make the noises of the animals you are mimicking, it adds a little spice, and might make people around you giggle!

That's it for today! Short and sweet. I hope you had a good Earth day today. And remember, that if we can make everyday Earth day, we can ensure that our great grandchildren have a better world then we have! Have fun moving around!

Let's go Clubbing!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:20:00 +0000

(A redwood that has had a few issues)

So spring is in full approach in many parts of the country with spring rain, snow, pollen, and warmer temps. It is also a great time to get outside and explore! It's really always a good time to get outdoors! And while you are outside try some Clubbing! Yes, it is time to go Clubbing! No not dancing, but Nature Clubbing! Nature Clubbing is about going out with people and seeing how many clubs you can join. The outdoor education program I work with has a whole bunch of clubs the kids can join during the week.

As the kids go through the week, they can join the clubs they want to, and even create new clubs. The kids love seeing how many clubs they can join and then asking their friends in other groups how many they have joined. Some of the clubs are easier to join than others. For example, to join the "Dirty Butt Club" all you have to do is sit on the ground. Now for some folks that can be a challenge, but overall pretty easy. The "Duff Shower Club", which involves letting someone hold a big handful of forest duff over your head and let it go giving the person a "shower", can be more of a challenge for people.

As you get outside this spring, and really anytime, see how many clubs you can join. By looking for clubs to join, you will also find yourselves exploring new areas and hopefully having some fun! So here are some Nature Clubs you and your kids can join in your area:

- The Mud Club: Get some mud on your face.

- The Scat Club: Find as many different scat samples as you can.

- The Phenology Club: See if you can find two plants that are the same that are in different stages of spring growth.

- The FBI Club: Find and keep track of as many Fungi, Bacteria, and Invertebrates as possible.

- Belly Up Club: Find a tree and hug it and look up for a cool view.

- Burnt Out Club: See if you can find charcoal left from a natural fire.

- Tracking Club: See if you can find 6 different animal tracks.

- Bush Head: Carefully stick your head into a bush and see what is in there.

- Wet Head Club: Find a clean body of water and dunk your head. The colder the better.

- Dirty Feet Club: Find a nice area and spend some time walking barefoot outside.

- What Good Are Bugs Club: Try and find some bugs doing their work.

- The Hard Core Club: If you have an apple snack, eat the whole apple except the stem and seeds.

- Funky Tree Club: See if you can find trees, like the one above, that have something unique about them.

You get the point. Have fun exploring and racking up your club memberships. I also encourage you to create your own clubs either before you head out, or on the spot. Also share your club list with other folks and see how many clubs you as a group can join! Have fun out there!

Nature Nugget:

Last week I was watching the Discovery show LIFE and they had an incredibly cool animal. Actually the whole show was cool. The animal they showed is a Pipa Pipa. A toad from Surinam. When the Pipa Pipa mate the eggs are brought to the back of the female by the male and then the female grows a layer of skin over the eggs to protect them! The eggs actually develop into full baby toads under the skin then they emerge. Check out some more info on these cool toads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_toad

A different perspective.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:24:00 +0000

(A new way to view a flower)

I have been thinking about perspective lately for two reasons. The first is that I got to spend 5 days helping to rebuild some ropes course elements about 2 weeks ago. It was a great time with most of my days being spent 30-60' in the air working in Douglas Fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii). And the second is that I am still watching the remains of the mountain lion kill near where I live. Very different perspectives.
So talking about perspectives, being in the trees for 5 days was a cool experience and something I have not gotten to do since July of last year. Being 5 stories up in the air does give you a very different perspective to be sure. But the event that had an impact on me was one afternoon I was sitting in a tree about 60' up waiting for a cable to get cut on the ground. As I sat/hung there I started hearing bird calls all around me. A slight chirping chorus all around me. I saw one of the little birds land nearby me. At first I though it was a chickadee. It looked like it had a black cap, and black and white colors on it's body. Then the little one flew into the sunlight and it turned yellow! The shade had dulled out it's yellow color and once it was in the sunlight, it's full color came out! It was a very cool optical trick on my eyes. Talk about a change in perspective! I am not sure about the species, I am still looking in some bird books, but I think based on my look at it for a brief few seconds at about 25' away, that it was a Townsend's Warbler. So for this posting, I am going to send you on a "photo" journey to look for different perspectives.

You will need at least 2 people for this activity. One person is going to be a "camera" and the other is the photographer. This activity is called Camera and is one of my favorite classic outdoor education activities from the New Games Foundation and Joseph Cornell. This activity is a great game to play when you are on a walk or simply in your back yard. It is also a great game to play in and around your anchor spot.

The photographer guides their “camera” around in search of specific things to photograph. The person being the camera keeps their eyes closed most of the time until the photographer “takes” a picture. When the photographer finds their subject, they position the camera’s lens (eyes) at the object. Then the photographer taps a shoulder of the camera to open the shutter (eyes) and then taps the shoulder again to close the shutter. It might help for the photographer to say “open” and “close” when taking the pictures. Then the pair moves to the next subject. It is important that the camera keeps their eyes closed between pictures so that the 2-5 second “exposures” will have more impact and be a surprise for the camera. Sometimes it is neat to keep talking to a minimum until you both have had a turn and let the "pictures" speak for themselves.

The traditional way of doing this activity is for the pairs to take photos of whatever catches the eyes of the photographer. This is a wonderful way of doing this activity, and you can also try and look for specific things to photograph. Here are some examples you might try:

Parts of trees, specific trees, the 6 plant parts, rocks, producers, consumers, decomposers, portions of the water cycle, proof of decomposition, tracks.

You can also practice taking close up shots and also big vista shots. It can really create a neat feeling to go back and forth between the two. Or do a series of mirco-close up shots, and then a whole series of marco-wide angle shots. Another great thing to do is to bring a real camera with you and take shots of the pictures you take. Have a blast exploring with your new camera! I also encourage you to seek out natural things to photograph in your house.

Nature Nugget:

(Photos by Liesl Pimentel)

So, to touch base a little with the other event that caught my attention around perspective, lets talk about mountain lions, pumas, rock cats, and cougars! Yeah they are all the same animal. I will preface this section by saying that the puma is perhaps my favorite mega-fauna of all time! I have always loved big cats, and since the mountian lion is the only really big cat here in North America, I fell in love with it early in life.

Anyhow, here is some general info about these amazing animals:
Length-
Males- 1020-1540mm or 3'3"-5' without the tail up to 6'+ with the tail.
Females- 860-1310mm or 2'8"-4'3"without the tail and up to 6' with the tail.

Weight-
Males- 36-120kg or 80-265 pounds.
Females- 29-64kg or 64-140 pounds.

Their weight and length depend a good deal on their habitat and available food supply. The recent sightings in my area place the lion at about 140-150 pounds, most likely a male. They tend to eat ungulates but will go for smaller animals like rabbits, raccoons, etc.

The adults are solitary animals except for the brief period of mating period in December through March in the northern latitudes. A female will have on average 3-4 cubs which are born blind and will stay with their mother for an average of 15 months before separating and finding their own home territory. A home territory ranges in size from and average for females of about 60 square miles and about 100 square miles for males.

There is great concern among many people about being attacked by a mountain lion. The odds are pretty good in your favor. In 13 years-from 1991-2003- there were 73 attacks in the U.S. and Canada with 10 of those resulting in death. 7 of those attacks were in California and 2 of the deaths. Having said that, one piece of advice I can give folks in general about going outdoors, learn about the things that will hurt or kill you. There are fewer of them, it gives you knowledge about where you are going, and it will help keep you safe.

http://www.eol.org/pages/311910 - A wealth of info from the Encyclopedia of Life.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountain-lion/

http://www.totalwildlifecontrol.com/mountain-lion-facts-habitat.html

http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks.html A site that has good info on pumas and details recorded attacks and deaths.

And now you know!

As always you can email me with questions, comments, or ideas at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

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If you like this blog, please pass it on to others. Thanks!

Clues left on the ground.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:13:00 +0000

(A coyote track in mud)

I live in a fairly wild part of the bay area. There are bobcats, coyotes, various raptors, and mountain lions sharing the land where I live. Yes, mountain lions. This point has been brought up recently with three staff seeing mountain lions in the past two weeks. About a week and a half ago two of the naturalists had fairly close encounters with a puma. They had found a very fresh deer kill on property. And by fresh I mean within 5-6 hours. 1 of the staff was walking by and saw the lion sitting with its kill and it stared him down. Another naturalist saw the animal loping away. They estimate that the animal was between 130-150 pounds. My partner Jen saw a cat run across the road on the way home from a meeting late one afternoon. I have not seen one yet.

Anyway, once I heard that a mountain lion was around, and that there was a kill site nearby, I needed to go explore. I have not been able to see a kill that new before, and the thought of finding more tracks was exciting. About a week earlier a naturalist had found three really nice prints when she was out with her field group. I spent about 30 minutes making notes and measurements of the track and imagining what the animal looked like as it moved up the hill.

The kill site was pretty amazing. Don't worry, no photos here. If you would like to see them, email me. It is amazing what a large cat can do. Unfortunately the area around the kill was mostly covered in a thick leaf and twig covering, and with people coming to check out the site, I could only find hints of prints and animal trials. After a little while chatting with two other naturalists about the lion, I headed out to an area where I had seen lion tracks before to see if I could find any new ones. No luck, but I did find some good coyote tracks-like the one above, and some neat deer tracks-See below.

The last photo is not a deer, it is a pair of worm tracks! I found no new mountain lion tracks, but I did have a great time being outside and finding other signs of animals. I also got to see and hear a great many birds. Anyway, as I walked home I spent a good deal of time thinking about tracks. I love seeing footprints left by people, birds, and animals. It is a brief glimpse into the movement of an animal on its daily rounds. Now you can get very obsessed with finding and following tracks. My goal is to give you some basics. The great thing about tracking or becoming track aware, is that you and your kids will begin to re-pattern your brain with how to see patterns in nature. Tracks are simply a different pattern left in the ground than what is usually there.

So in general tracking requires you to notice things that are out of place or are creating patterns. A depression in the Earth, grass shinning or dull, sticks broken, sharp angles, and recurring patterns. As you notice from the pictures above -especially the deer prints- tracks can come in different shapes even from the same species.

Here are some general tips for tracking:
- Try and keep tracks between you and the Sun. Lighting can make a HUGE difference in how you see tracks.
- Cat tracks tend to be rounder than dogs and rarely show claws.
- Canine tracks tend to be oval in shape and often show claws.
- Deer tracks tend to look heart shaped and have a pointed end.
- Birds that live and hunt mostly on the ground will usually walk, while birds that hunt and live in the trees more will usually hop.

You might notice that I used the terms "usually" and "tend" in these tips. There are trends in tracking, and nature provides us with a wide range of variety. There are some other tips you can use especially when you are just beginning to spot tracks:
- Mud provides a great medium for tracks.
- So does snow.
- If you live in a area with sand, you can find many more tracks than those of us in wooded areas.
- Bodies of water are great areas to look for tracks-animals need water.
- Animals have routines just like us and tend to take the same trails on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

A fun game to play with kids around where you live is to see if you can determine whose shoes left what tracks around your house. Using shoes is great because so many of them have unique patterns on the bottoms. Play around with making tracks in different soils and mediums.

Websites to visit for tracks:
http://www.bear-tracker.com/ A website by a tracking friend of mine here in California.

http://42explore.com/animaltracks.htm A good site with several good links.

Nature Nugget:
Another sign that animals have been around is that they leave scat. Scat is the scientific term for poop. So to follow that fact, I am going to try and answer the question one of my camp staff asked me years ago: "Why is poop brown"? So here we go:

Scientists have been pondering the question "why is poop brown" for centuries and still have not quite figured out why. As it turns out, and you may have noticed, not all scat is brown. Sometimes scat can be green, yellow or nearly black. On occasion there are pieces of plant matter, fur, bones, etc in it too. We are talking about animal scat here, not human.

Some animals like rodents, rabbits, and shrews have two types of scat. One is the typical kind -- waste that is left behind. The other, however, is dark and rich in vitamins. Just like cows regurgitate and chew cud to get more nutrients from their hard-to-digest diet, some animals eat this special scat. Now isn't that a tasty thought!

The color of scat can help determine the animal's diet. Dark scat means lots of meat for carnivores, and moist plants for herbivores. White scat is often dried out. Blue scat means berries, whereas grey carnivore scat usually indicates the presence of fur. Grey, and the presence of actual fur helps too!

Some animals, like deer, leave scat as they walk. But other species, particularly those with dens, have a latrine area so they can keep things tidy. Just like pet cats, wild cats try to bury their scat. And some animals, like mountain lions, use scat as territorial markings. I have found that coyotes tend to poop on a high point in a trial as a marking sign.

Birds, reptiles, and amphibians sometimes combine their scat and urine. A white nitrogenous deposit on scat means it didn't come from a mammal. However, just because there is no whitish layer on the scat doesn't mean it didn't come from a bird.

Bird pellets, also known as cough pellets or casting, aren't scat, but they are similar: pellets are the undigested remains of meals that birds regurgitate from their gizzards. Raptors like eagles and owls and corvids like ravens and crows, as well as other birds cast pellets, including herons, gulls, and kingfishers. Pellets are often found near roosting or nesting sites, though some birds will cast pellets were they ate. In them, you can find hair, bones, beaks, claws, and other clues as to what a bird’s last meal was. You can find owl pellets on-line to order for home science projects.

Now in people, our poop, you could call it scat if you want, is mostly shades of brown or yellow, but other colors can occur as well. I found two explanations of why scat is brownish in color. The first is that digestion is aided by bile and when bile is metabolized by bacteria in the large intestines, a byproduct called stercoblin is created, which gives poop a brown color. The second reason says that dead blood cells release iron that is then converted into bilirubin which gives our poop a brown color.

Now in people we can also have multi-colored poop. Some illnesses in babies gives them green or even blue-green poop. I found out on a backpacking trip with teenage boys, that freeze dried cobbler turns poop a very odd color of green. The kids were a little freaked out at first! In the front country, another source of blue poop in children is more innocent: it can come from eating a concentrated source of blue food coloring such as ice cream. Intense red food coloring can produce bright red poop. Sometimes brightly colored foods pass through the gut almost unchanged, and poop may be speckled with bright red fragments such as pimentos, or that favorite, bright yellow kernels of corn.

And now you know!

As always, feel free to leave a comment here, or email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

How do you know it is spring?

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:30:00 +0000

(In some places spring is coming!)

I hope you are doing well and getting out and enjoying the places around where you live. Even if you are still deep in winter, getting outside and exploring, even if it is for a short time, is a worthy pursuit. I have been busy getting ready for and going to few conferences so that is why I have not posted in the past few weeks. I was up at Lake Tahoe, on the Nevada side, in the middle of the month for a conference of Residential Outdoor Environmental Educators. A small gathering of 45 or so folks from all over including 3 Canadians! It was a wonderful venue overlooking Lake Tahoe from the eastern side. One of my fun moments was joining the Tahoe Tessie club one morning. The Tahoe Tessie club involves jumping in lake early in the morning. WOW was it cold; 38.9 degrees to be exact. Yes I had a water thermometer with me. It was also good to drive up and over the Sierra Range and to see a bunch of snow.

Anyway, one of the workshops I went to was called "How do you know it is spring?". It was a great workshop in which I learned about a great civil science project called Project Bud Burst. It is a great project where you get to help collect data for your area and send it to the project. I wanted to let folks know about the project because it can be a wonderful long term environmental project for you and your kids. Even if you do not officially get involved with the project, they provide you with some great tools to help you expand your awareness of plants progressing into spring. They also provide a whole host of resources for studying plants all around the country.

The main focus of the project is to look at Phenology. Phenology is the study of the timing of recurring biological phases, the causes of their timing with regard to biotic and abiotic forces. It also explores the interrelation among phases of same or different species. Phenology is an interesting study because the timing of plant growth, up to including fruiting, determines Food Supply, can affect the survival of plants and animals in their environment, and can provide you with yearly data changes in the plants around where you live. Phenology is also being used to help determine possible climate changes.

If you get involved with the project officially, thanks for providing useful data. If you do not, I encourage you to get involved in a more personal manner. Here are some suggestions on how you could do a plant phenology project of your own. Simply start observing the plants in your own yard or nearby park. Maybe even in your Anchor Spot. Keep a watch on plants that interest you and watch for the first buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits as spring progresses. You can use the tools on the Project Budburst site.

If you have other families in your area that have kids, or if you work at an outdoor school, get a group together and make observations over time and compare them. At home you could even compare data from your house with data and observations from other house in areas that are either close by or maybe even a little farther away and see what differences emerge. Where I live the progression of spring growth varies greatly from one side of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the other, a distance of about 15 miles. At an outdoor school, keep weekly data observations and then refer to them next year and create a timeline of plant growth on your site for this spring.

Even if you do not keep notes on how plants are progressing in your area, keep some mental notes on what you are observing in the plants you see. You can also keep an eye out for spring animals as they arrive. There are bird migrations you can keep an eye on, and even a bird phenology program. I hope you enjoy looking at the upcoming changes that spring will provide us! Have fun , and get out there!

Nature Nugget:

A wonderful NPR piece on insect migrations!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123330735&sc=fb&cc=fp

What Happened Here?

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:41:00 +0000

(Headwaters of the Mississippi-Itaska State Park, MN)

Today we are going to explore some of your local history. No matter where you live people have had an impact on the Earth in many ways. In many cases there are still reminders of those events from long ago. Part of developing a Sense of Place and developing a greater sense of Ecological Literacy, is learning more about the historical impacts humans have made to the place you live. For this posting, lets go explore some of the unique areas where you live.

Every developed area has some history to it. In some cases it can define the area. Where I grew up, in Storrs CT, many if not most of all the fields had stone walls, and many would have 1 or 2 large trees left in the fields. The stones were often collected by farmers clearing their fields to plant, and used to keep livestock in specific places and to define land boundaries. The trees where left to provide shade for livestock. In addition to copious stone walls, there were numerous mills dotting rivers and streams. In some cases the mills were still in wonderful condition and were museums, and others are simply foundations left to the woods. Much of the forests had been logged beginning in the 1700's, and had been logged several times. Really old trees were rare to find. Here is my favorite in Storrs:

I spent 9 years living in central Missouri on a large 5000 acre YMCA camp that was heavily influenced by human behavior. Our 300 acre lake was manmade, there were 13 filled lead mines on and around the property, the spring on property had been used for years as a meeting place for early settlers, and I found an arrowhead and partial knife point in nearby fields. The area had been clear-cut during the civil war to help power iron smelting operations and build wagons and boats.

I now live in the Santa Cruz Mountains and here the area has a little less, only slightly, impact. This area was very busy with the logging of coastal redwood and douglas fir trees during the 1800's gold rush in CA, and then the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. When walking around in the redwood forests you can often see wedges cut out about 6-10' above the ground where lumberjacks cut slots to fit cutting boards into the trucks to get above the hardest part of the trunks on these massive trees.

In every case, some of these historical remains are easy to find, but looking for the less obvious ones is much more exciting and rewarding. When I was a kid I would find old stone walls and walk them for hours. Just wandering. In Missouri, finding great limestone caves and drinking from natural springs was a wonderful treat. And here in California finding fallen 200' redwoods that were left behind or the remains of old logging camps is a wonderful adventure.

So head out and do a little exploring of your areas human history. Some things might be easy to find, so start with those. Others may take some work. Contact local historical societies, ask friends, go visit a museum. Learn more about the history of human impact and development of the place you live. Enjoy!

Nature Nugget:
One of the animals that makes its "living" on the fringes of human society is the Coyote or Canis latrans. They are wonderfully resourceful animals and incredibly adaptable. In many Native American cultures they Coyote is a mythical character who is often a grand trickster. Teaching humans lessons through a round-a-bout method.

Coyotes, both eastern and western, are smaller than wolves. Although eastern Coyotes can be much larger than western ones and are sometimes mistaken for wolves. Unlike wolves, which hunt in packs and live mainly on large game, Coyotes are often solitary and can live on everything from grass and grasshoppers to deer mice and deer.

Usually pups are born in the spring, and both the male and female help to raise the pups. For the past two years a female Coyote would come up to the house during mating season and yip and bark playfully at our dogs. It was really cute. Dogs and Coyotes can breed, but it does change the offspring's behavior.

Coyotes have had a very difficult time interacting with humans in the last 100+ years. On average there are 87,000 Coyotes killed every year in the U.S. Often these are state sponsored kills or during specific hunting seasons. However, the reputation of Coyotes as attacking humans is over-rated. The Coyote was given the same reputation as the wolf. The reality is that the best estimates show that there have been 30-40 coyotes attacks on humans that resulted in injuries. In comparison, the Center for Disease Control estimates that 4.7 million people are bitten by domestic dogs every year, and over 300 people have been killed by dogs in the U.S. since 1979. And as far as the concern about Coyotes being a major threat to livestock populations, the highest number I could find for how much of a Coyote's diet was from domestic sheep, was .2% in British Columbia. They will take carcasses if they can find them.

Coyotes are very shy and keep a low-profile. I have seen Coyotes along major highways here in California, in Connecticut, and Missouri. I have seen and tracked Coyotes in parks in St. Louis, and encountered them on running trails in many states. They can be beautiful animals. And remember, they are WILD animals and distance should be given to them when you see them in the wild.

And now you know.

Websites to visit:
http://www.ProjectCoyote.org/
A Website run by a friend of mine. A wonderful site to explore more about coyotes and how humans treat and mistreat coyotes. A warning for folks, there are some pictures and videos of coyote killing on this website.

Remember you can leave comments here or email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Caregiving: An action and an attitude.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:37:00 +0000

(Muir Woods, CA)

I hope you are all getting out and enjoying nature in whatever way you can this winter season. Over the last couple of days we have been having some really wicked rain storms here in Bay Area. High winds, high surf, and a lot of rain-about 10" here at home in 4 days. Sorry for the delay in posting a new entry, I have been with out power for most of the week. While I was out walking in the woods I was noticing what the storms had done in the woods. There were lots of branches down, small and large trees pulled from the rain soaked ground, and a few small mudslides on the trail. Nature was doing some serious winter cleaning. As I walked this morning with the dogs, I began to remove fallen branches from smaller, still living, trees and shrubs. And it got me thinking about taking care of the word we live in.

Now I am not talking about large scale business or government driven plans here. I am talking about things you can do in your own neighborhood and places that you frequent. Some personal responsibility and local Care-Taking. Helping nature in little ways can be fun, adventurous, and an opportunity to help children develop a positive attitude about caring for the environment. For those of you who have gardens or even plants in your home, you probably do some Caregiving already. You water the plants (hopefully), you remove dead leaves and old flower heads (Deadheading my mom calls it), and some weeding. Well, why not take that same attitude outside and help nature with some Caregiving.

Caregiving is an activity that can be done be itself or in conjunction with other nature activities like Disco Hikes, Creating Nature Art, while sitting in your Anchor Spot, on an FBI hunt, or just walking the dogs. As you are out there exploring, if you see where a fallen branch has landed on a living tree or plant, simple remove the branch-try not to damage the live plant-and then break up the stick to help it decompose near the living plant or tree. You can also remove dead branches or leaves from trees or plants. The organism is no longer providing food for that dead area of the plant, and you can place the dead material at the base of the plant or tree for the FBI to begin decomposition and to add to the nutrient cycle.

Caregiving is not necessarily landscaping. I am not encouraging you to go out and clear out whole areas so they look like an English Garden. I am talking about actions like simply providing a little help removing stresses like a branch that is crushing a plant. Another example of care giving is to mow your leaves into the grass rather than raking them up and then mowing. By mowing the leaves into the grass clippings you are helping the nitrogen cycle keep nutrients in the ground and helping your lawn stay healthy. Or at least use your leaves to start a compost pile rather than sending them to a landfill.

Another way to Caregive is to join a local organization that helps remove invasive species in your area. You can also get involved with a trail restoration group, water way clean up days, or road side trash pick up days. By getting out and looking for opportunities to aid nature in processes that are already occurring, you can begin to build that habit in your kids, and develop an attitude of caring for the natural world. It is also a great opportunity to engage your friends, family, and neighbors and do a little community building at the same time.

A quick little story to end todays entry. About 4 years ago I was in New Jersey for a class. Part of the class was to do some caretaking for a cedar swamp in the Pine Barrens. This area had been logged in the mid-late 1800's and the loggers had left cedar stumps in the creeks and many off them had created jams by gathering lots of brush and silt. As a group we spent the better part of two days in the swamp removing logs and brush and clearing out two springs that had gotten clogged up with slit and mud. It was a wonderful group experience. A day after we had finished our caregiving in the swamp, there were frogs and fish in the areas we had cleared that were not there when we started. It was pretty amazing. I went back 2 years later and the area had continued to be very diverse and clear water was flowing in many of the areas that had been clogged by the logs left in the swamps. A great experience, and an example of caregiving on a slightly larger scale. Have fun giving nature a hand!

Nature Nugget:

As I was heading into town yesterday, I looked down into the valley where I live and it was filled with some great fog rising out of the forest.

It got me thinking about fog and how exactly it is formed and why. So here is what I have found out about fog. In short, fog is a cloud that forms or sinks to the surface of the Earth. The thickness of fog depends on the density and size of the water droplets in the air. And fogs are classified by the processes that produce them. Here are five types of fog for your exploration:

Radiation Fog:

This is the most common form of fog seen over land. It is a cooling fog which usually forms in still moist air overnight. This happens as heat radiates away from the Earth and air cools and reaches a temperature that equals the dew point. Yes Dew Point actually has a use. It occurs most frequently in valley bottoms where cool air accumulates after sinking from hillsides.

Advection Fog:

This is another cooling fog which forms when moist air flows over a cold surface. Most sea fog is Advection Fog. Advection-radiation fog which is also called Ground Fog and is generally only a few feet thick. It can also be called valley fog.

Upslope Fog:
A third kind of cooling fog, Upslope Fog is formed as air is forced upward along a surface and expands as it cools, due to lower pressure and temperature, and the then the water vapor condenses. Mt Washington in New Hampshire can experience Upslope more than 300 days a year.
Steam Fog:
A warming fog that forms as cold air passes over a warm water surface. It is also called sea smoke. As the warming air rises off the water, it condenses as it hits the colder air.
Frontal Fog:
A Frontal Fog, another warming fog, is formed with the passage of a warm air front as warm rain falls into colder air below. The evaporating raindrops saturate the colder air layer resulting in condensation. This fog occurs frequently after a prolonged winter storm.

And now you know. Now get out there and touch a cloud!

Websites to visit:

http://www.wildearth.tv/static/wildearth/channels/we_bear_den.html
A very cool site of Lily the Brown Bear in MN, in torpor, having cubs on video in her den. At least one this morning! Perhaps two.

http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html

An artist who does some AMAZING art with nature! This link was sent to me by a reader of What's Out There.

http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/npr_does_spending_time_outdoors_prevent_myopia/

A great story on how spending time outdoors can help children keep good eyesight.

http://www.healinglandscapes.org/

A website dedicated to Therapeutic Landscape Design from one of our members Naomi Sachs.

The Art of Nature.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:50:00 +0000

A great example of living Art in Nature.
(Photo by Leisl Pimentel of Phoenix Zoo fame!)

Nature if full of absolutely amazing patterns, colors, shapes, and forms. I find that when I am taking a walk and I stop for a few minutes, even a few seconds, and look around I see an incredible amount of intricate details. I am constantly in awe of the rich collection of colors that change with the adjusting light, and the seemingly endless arrangements of patterns. So, how can we use this rich collection of inspiration to have fun outdoors, and create stronger connections to the natural world? Well, by getting outside to start with. And secondly, by creating some of your own art in nature.

Now I know that it is winter for all of us in the northern hemisphere and we here in America have been getting some proper and some unusual winter weather. It was 17 degrees in parts of Florida this morning! So getting out in the winter can be a challenge. And a good portion of this activity can be done indoors after a quick exploration outside. And really, doing art projects while drinking hot coco is a ton of fun.

There are a couple of options that come to mind when I think about creating art in and with Nature. The first one is to head outside, perhaps near your Anchor Spot and look for materials. I would also encourage you to explore all around your neighborhood or local parks as well for "art materials". The greater the variety of materials will lead to more diverse masterpieces!

Look for objects that are plentiful. We do not want to over harvest materials and risk harming the long term health of plants or degrading areas that others might enjoy. Some suggestions for materials are: acorns, various leaves both green and dead, twigs, fungi, rocks, pine cones, ferns, bones, feathers, bark, etc. You get the point. Try and collect materials that have a variety of colors, textures, and sizes. I also encourage you to mix materials and combine living plants or organisms with items you bring to a living item. Here is an example of such a mini-project:

I used the growing mushroom as the center piece and then built around it with various leaves from four plants/ trees. I also found another mushroom of the same species that had been knocked off of it's stem by something, and created another little piece.

For these two pieces I chose to make them outside. However, you can just as easily collect your materials and bring them inside or to another location outside to create your masterpieces. Both of these options work well with one or two kids or even with a large group! Make sure that before you go out and collect materials that you talk with your kids about respecting the plants and other resources that they might choose so that they do not create too much damage to the area you are working in. We will talk more about Caretaking next time.

Another option is to head out with a camera (digital or traditional) and take pictures of patterns that you can find in area around your house. Then you can go home and create some great slideshows or even print out some of your best pictures and put them up in your house. Here are some examples of patterns I found within 50' of the house this morning on my walk with the dogs.

As you continue making Art With Nature, experiment with a variety of sizes, colors, and textures. Send in some pictures of your work ( asinglefootstep@gmail.com) so others can be inspired by your creativity. Also, if you are in an area with snow or ice, the white can provide a wonderful canvas to create on! Another option besides taking photos is to find items in nature that inspire you and draw them in a nature journal. A wonderful tradition to start might be to do some Nature Art each season, or even every month! There is no end to the amount of things you could create using the wonderful resources nature can provides. Enjoy connecting with What's Out There and releasing your creative skills!

Nature Nugget:
Today the Nature Nugget is an overview of the components of our Atmosphere. This ocean of air envelopes our small planet and provides us with the air we breathe and the colors of our sky. Our atmosphere is not a uniform mixture of material, it is a layered blanket that changes as it moves away from our planet's surface. So here is a basic primer of Atmospheric Explanation.
(Going from the Earth's Surface upward)
Earth's Surface:

Troposphere: From the surface up to around 9mi (15km).
This layer is the lowest, densest, and the thinnest layer of the atmosphere. Most weather occurs in the Troposphere. On average the temperature in the Troposphere drops about 3.5 degrees for each additional 1000' of altitude. At the upper end of the Troposphere the temperature is around -70 degrees fahrenheit. The Troposphere contains about between 80-90% of the mass in our atmosphere including most of the water vapor.
--Tropopause-- The area where the Troposphere and Stratosphere mix and the area of our Jet Streams.

Stratosphere: Up to about 30mi (50km).
The lower parts of the Stratosphere is around the same temperature as the upper level of the Troposphere, but then gradually warms in the mid to high areas of the Stratosphere as there is an increase in the amount of Ozone (O3). This warmer air over colder air inhibits vertical mixing and creates a fairly stable, stratified distribution of air. At the top of the Stratosphere, the temperature is about 30 degrees fahrenheit.
--Stratopause-- Air pressure is 1/1000 of the pressure at sea level.

Mesosphere: Continues up to between 50-56 miles up (90km).
The Ozone Layer here is almost non-existent and heat actually is radiated out into space and temperature decreases with height. At the top of the Mesosphere the temperature is about -130 degrees fahrenheit. This is the area of our atmosphere where meteors burn up when they enter our atmosphere.
--Mesopause--

Thermosphere: Up to between 350-700 miles high.
Here temperature also raises with a gain in height due to gases absorbing short ultraviolet waves from the sun. The upper Thermosphere has temperatures about 180 degrees fahrenheit. The upper area of thermosphere is where many of our man-made satellites orbit- including the space station and space shuttles. Above the poles in the Thermosphere is where the northern and southern lights or auroras are displayed through energy from the sun exciting gases. In the Thermosphere is the Ionosphere. This region is where atoms have become ionized by ultraviolet radiation. This is the area where radio waves can be bounced around the world using predetermined angles, eliminating the problem of the Earth's curvature.
--Thermopause--

Exosphere: Any area above the Thermopause.

So there you go, that is what's above us at any given time. So the next time you look up, keep in mind all the layers you are looking through. Our atmosphere can affect our view of sunsets, and sunrises and the clarity of stars at night.

If you have any thoughts or comments, please leave them here or email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Until next time...have fun out there!

Anchors away!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:32:00 +0000

(The view from inside an Snow Cave)

Just thought I would share one option of exploration in these winter months! This photo is from a snow cave class I taught last year near Lake Tahoe. Anyway, let's get this year of nature exploration underway! If you are new to this blog, or you have not yet done so, please make sure you can locate the cardinal directions from where you live. Also, discover what watershed you live in, and make sure you can identify harmful plants such as poison ivy, and stinging nettles. Also make sure you are aware of what wild animals might be of concern such as raccoons, coyotes, deer, bees, and skunks.

For this entry we are going to discuss selecting an Anchor Spot for you and your children. If you are working with kids in an environmental education setting, you can at least introduce your students to the concept of a an Anchor Spot. If time permits during your program, perhaps you can have your kids have at least one Anchor Spot experience.

An Anchor Spot is somewhere outside that is close to your house or a place you visit frequently. It is a place where you and your kids can sit comfortably and have a good view of the surrounding area. The spot you chose may be a spot that you already spend time in anyway such as a garden or porch. The idea of an Anchor Spot is to develop a spot where you sit and notice changes in the area around you. For our first visit simply head out and find a spot that you are attracted to or looks like a good spot to sit in. If you and your kids are choosing Anchor Spots together, you can decide if you want to have your spots together or separate. Either is fine.

Once you find your Anchor Spot, have a seat and get to know your area. Look around with normal vision and your Coyote Eyes. Use you Deer Ears and take a few sniffs of the area and see what you notice. Are you sitting in a windy spot, or is it calm? You can also start a Nature Journal, or continue one you already have. You could start by listing the plants and trees in your Anchor Spot. You do not have to list scientific or even common names. Call them whatever you want. We can get into naming things later. Also list any unique things in your area. We will use the Anchor Spot frequently during the next year. If you can, visit your Anchor Spot at least once a week for about 15 minutes. Try and visit it at different times of day just to see what your spot looks like at different times. If you live in a city, or area where you do not have a space outside, choose a spot near a window that provides you with a view of the outside world.

Your Anchor Spot(s) can be used to work on almost all of the activities posted in this blog. It can become an easy place to build awareness of the natural world just outside your back door! So get out there and just don't do anything, sit and enjoy the world around you!

Remember that if you have any ideas, comments, or thoughts please send me an email:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Nature Nugget: The Jet Stream.

Weather in the winter seems to occupy more of our nightly news than other times of the year. Constant reports of record low temperatures, snowfall, rain, sleet, etc seem to dominate the news. For example, it was -37 (without wind chill) this morning in International Falls MN. Now that is proper cold! One factor that is taken into account when weather forecasts are made is the Jet Stream.

Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in out atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the tropopause, the transition area between the troposphere (where temperature decreases with height) and the stratosphere (where temperature increases with height). The major jet streams on Earth flow from west to east. Their paths usually have a meandering shape; jet streams may start, stop, split into two or more parts, combine into one stream, or flow in various directions including the opposite direction of most of the jet. In short, Jet Streams are mobile things!

The strongest jet streams on Earth are the polar jets, at around 23,000–39,000 ft above sea level, and the higher and somewhat weaker subtropical jets at around 33,000–52,000 ft. Both hemispheres have a polar jet and a subtropical jet.

Jet streams on Earth are caused by a combination of atmospheric heating through solar radiation and the Earth’s rotation on its axis. Meteorologists use the location of the jet streams as an aid in creating weather forecasts. The other main relevance of the jet streams to us humans is in air travel. And one future benefit of jet streams could be to power airborne wind turbines. An estimation is that if we were able to capture around 1% of the wind energy in a Jet Stream, we could produce all the energy we currently need.

The website below has a whole bunch of information on current jet stream movement.

http://squall.sfsu.edu/crws/jetstream.html

Websites to Check Out:
If you live in a cold and or snowy area, check
out this website from NOAA:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter/

Sniff, sniff sniff! Your nose and nature.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:30:00 +0000

(Is that food I smell?)

With the holiday season in full swing for many people, our houses are often filled with the wonderful smells of meals cooking and cookies baking. Even though we as humans are very visual creatures, our sense of smell can be very acute. Some researchers say that our sense of smell has a connection to our memories, and a specific smell can bring back very vivid memories. But what about in the animal world? And how can we use our sense of smell to explore the natural world? Well, let's find out.

Our sense of smell is carried out by two small odor detecting areas-made up of about 5-6 million cells- high up in our nasal passages. As a comparison, rabbits have an average of 100 million olfactory cell receptors and dogs average 220 million! Our nose is also tied into our sense of taste. While our tongue contains our taste buds, our noses add a great deal to our sense of taste. Have you ever noticed that when you have a cold and your nose is stuffed up that your sense of taste is not as keen? A friend of mine Paul has almost no sense of smell and as a result he has almost no sense of taste. Try it yourself. Hold your nose and eat something. What does it taste like? Then take another bite without your nose held and taste the difference.

A good deal of research has been done on human's sense of smell. Most scientists agree that children have a better sense of smell than adults and that women tend to have a better sense of smell then men. There is some debate on when our sense of smell declines, or if it even does. There is evidence to suggest that we do experience some olfactory decline as we get older. However, our state of mind and overall health does have an effect on our sense of smell as we grow older. And some research suggests that just like lifting weights, training your nose and relying on your sense of smell on purpose can increase nasal sensitivity.

So how can we use our noses more in nature, and how can we train them. Nature is full of amazing smells! Many of us have experienced the smell of a rainstorm, or fresh cut grass, and some even say it can smell like snow. Atmospheric condition do effect how smells travel through the air, but more on that some other time. Today we are going to cover two ways to use your nose in nature!

The first can be done indoors our outside. We are going to create a scent trail. Now I use this activity with kids outdoors during the day but also on night hikes if I can get out ahead and set the trail. Look through your house and find some things with both strong and subtile smells. I like to use things like soaps, herbs, sauces, coffee, tea, peanut butter, mouthwash, etc. You can use cotton balls for liquids and paper or cups for solids. Starting in one spot in your house, or just outside, place the starter scent maker there. A cotton ball soaked in lime juice for example. This is where you or your child will "catch the scent".

Then go ahead and hide other scent markers-the cotton balls or cups with the scent in or on them- around your house like a hidden trail. At the end put some reward like a snack. Then have your "bloodhound" take a smell of the first scent marker. Let them get a really good sniff. Then see if they can follow the scent trail through the house and find the end. If you want an added level of difficulty, you can also have the trail run outside and then back inside. Or have the trail go through the kitchen where other strong smells might throw your tracker off the trail. Another variation is to do this activity blindfolded! With the blindfold on, your scent seeker will have to rely on their sense of smell rather than looking for the scent markers as they sniff the air.

Another way you can develop you and your children's sense of smell is to literally follow your nose while out on a hike or disco hike. As you are out walking, either in nature or even in a store or mall, if you smell something, follow it to the source if you can. You never know what you might find. I have found wonderful trees, flowers, pizza shops, dead animals, and even water! Following a smell that reaches your nose can be a wonderful experience in the art of wandering. Since we usually follow what we see, following what we smell brings a whole new level of exploration into a simple walk. Also if you are taking you dog for a walk, see what they stop and smell. I have found skunk tracks, bobcat urine marks, and deer trails when I take a closer look at what my dogs are investigating.

Speaking of dogs, what mammal has the best sense of smell? Bloodhounds, and scenthounds in general, have noses 10-100 MILLION times more sensitive than us humans. But bloodhounds do not have the best noses in the mammal kingdom. That honor goes to the bears. The Grizzly Bear has a sense of smell that is 7 times stronger than a bloodhound! Researchers have found that grizzly bears can detect the scent of food up to 18 miles away!

Other animals in the world have equally amazing "noses". Salmon navigate back to the exact rivers they were born in while out in the ocean, and sharks can smell blood up to a half a mile away in the ocean. Turkey vultures are also known to have a great ability to smell dead things from great distances, and they are one of only a few bird species to have a sense of smell. My award for the coolest animal "nose" goes to the male Red-bellied Lemur (Eulemur rubriventer) which has scent glands on top of the head!

Here is a hint on how to help get a better smell of things. Have you ever noticed how a dog smells something it is interested in? They take several sniffs in and then one big exhale. Try it and see if it makes a difference for you. Also, when you are out exploring, from time to time stop and smell things. Take the time and explore how different things smell. Take a sniff of trees, leaves, mushrooms, dirt, bark, and anything else that strikes your fancy. Now be careful. Don't go just sticking your nose into just anything. Bring things slowly up to your nose, and take your first sniff from a good 6" away from your nose, and then get a closer smell. Have fun exploring with your snouts!

Nature Nugget:
Just a quick reminder, tomorrow, the 21st, is the Solstice. It is the day when we have the shortest amount of daylight all year. After the Solstice we will "gain" a few minutes of daylight each day. It was, and is, a time of the year when people celebrate the death and then the rebirth of the Sun. So enjoy the darkness and know that more light is on the way!

And now for something completely different!

Here is a partial list of the names of groups of animals. Just in case you have been wondering.

Donkey - Herd

Bear - Sleuth

Cat - Clutter. A litter of kittens but a Clutter of cats.

Cattle - Herd or Drove

Chicken - Brood or Clutch

Deer - Herd

Dog - Pack

Duck - Brace or Herd

and finally...

Fox - Skulk. Yes a skulk of Foxes.

And now you know.

As always, please post comments or email me ideas for things to explore.

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

And if you know someone who might enjoy this blog, please pass it on! I have also started another blog for Experiential and Environmental Educators. If you are one of those, or want to be, or know someone who is, check it out:

http://ropesofecology.blogspot.com/

Providing a little extra!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:03:00 +0000

(Photo by Heather Peterson, NY)

As winter is settling in around the country we can take this opportunity to give our animal friends a little extra energy to make it through the cold months. Winter for many places means colder weather and an increase in rain or, if you’re lucky snow. In case you have not caught on, I am a big fan of cold snowy winter weather. Anyway, regardless of the winter weather where you live, you can provide wildlife with some assistance by providing extra food for local animals. I addition to the local animals we are used to seeing in our area, winter is also a time of migration for many bird species. Migration takes a lot of energy so providing some additional food sources aids those birds heading south for the winter.

By offering food for birds and some mammals, you will be providing you and your family with some “wilderness television” for your viewing entertainment. Even without binoculars, you will be able to see many bird and animal species up close. When you start feeding the birds, or continue to do so if you already have been providing winter feed for the birds, here are some topics to keep in mind.

Location:

There are a few important points to keep in mind when deciding where to place your feeding stations. Consider the following things:

Ample cover, preferably provided by native plants. Native plants also provide potential nesting sites and sources of natural food.

Place your feeders and feeding stations in areas that provide places for birds to find cover. This reduces stress in birds. If birds have places where they can wait and feel safe while they are feeding, it can help them conserve energy while they feed. Use existing trees, bushes, and even buildings as locations for your food sources. However, keep in mind cats. More on that later.

You want to avoid creating unneeded competition amongst various bird species, while accommodating various feeding styles and preferences.

By placing feeding stations in various locations and levels, you will allow birds to find their own feeding level. Also, by placing a variety of food sources out in a variety of areas birds will not have to compete against additional species. By separating feed into different areas, you can also watch to see what species go to what food source.

You also want to think of possible hazards to the birds, such as window collisions, prowling cats, and thieving squirrels.

Try not to place your feeders or feeding stations near windows. Birds have a difficult time "seeing" glass, and finding dead birds outside is not exactly holiday cheer. There are bird sticker silhouettes that you can place on your windows. Also you can place plants in front of windows or fine nets to prevent birds from crashing into the glass.

If you have outdoor cats,place your feeders high off the ground and in open areas so it is more difficult for cats to stalk the birds. Bells do little to warn birds. Squirrels and chipmunks are going to seek out your feeders and feed stations. You can help birds get their share of the food by placing some food in easy to get areas on the ground for the small mammals to access. And let's face it, squirrels can be hysterical to watch as they work out how to get by all the squirrel defense systems created by humans. One trick I have used is to put cayenne pepper into your bird seed. Birds don't smell it or taste it, but mammals will.

What to serve, what to serve?:

You have chosen where to put your feeders and feed stations, so what do you put out for the critters to eat? As with us humans, food can make or break a party. Let's give the animals a good party. Different birds are attracted to different kinds of seed. By providing a variety of seeds at various locations, you can attract a wider range of bird species. There are many different kinds of feeders out there, so make sure that your feed is compatible with the feeder(s) you have.

Sunflower Seeds:

Black-oil seed is the preferred seed of many small feeder birds, especially in northern latitudes. Striped sunflower seed is also readily eaten, especially by large-beaked birds. Hulled sunflower seed is consumed by the greatest variety of birds; it attracts various jay species, red-bellied woodpeckers, finches, goldfinches, northern cardinals, evening grosbeaks, pine grosbeaks, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and grackles.

Millet:

White millet is the favorite food of most small-beaked ground-feeding birds; red millet is also readily eaten. Millet attracts quail, doves, juncos, sparrows, towhees, cowbirds, and red-winged blackbirds.

Cracked Corn:

Medium cracked corn is about as popular with ground-feeding birds as millet, but it is vulnerable to rot, since the interior of the kernel readily soaks up moisture. Feed small amounts, mixed with millet, on feeding tables or from watertight hopper feeders. Avoid fine cracked corn, since it quickly turns to mush; coarse cracked corn is too large for small-beaked birds. Cracked corn attracts pheasants, quail, doves, crows, jays, sparrows, juncos, and towhees

Milo, wheat, oats:

These agricultural products are frequently mixed into low-priced birdseed blends. Most birds discard them in favor of other food, which leaves them to accumulate under feeders, where they may attract rodents. Milo is more often eaten by ground-feeding birds in the Southwest. It attracts pheasants, quail, and doves.

Thistle:

A preferred food of American goldfinches, lesser goldfinches, house finches, and common redpolls. It is sometimes called "black gold," because it costs about $1.50 per pound. Do not confuse it with prickly thistle, a pink-flowered weed used by goldfinches to line their nests.

Suet (animal fat and seeds):

This mixture attracts insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice. Place the suet in special feeders or net onion bags at least five feet from the ground to keep it out of the reach of dogs and raccoons. Do not put out suet during hot weather as it can turn rancid; also, dripping fat can damage natural waterproofing on bird feathers.

Peanuts:

Whole and crushed peanuts attract woodpeckers, jays, chickadees, titmice, bushtits, nuthatches, brown creepers, wrens, kinglets, northern mockingbirds, brown thrashers, starlings, and yellow-rumped and pine warblers. Provide these in tube-shaped, metal mesh feeders.

Stale Bread:

If you and your family end up with extra bread, or the ends of bread loafs, grind them up and place them out for the birds. It is a great way to use leftover bread. Or make yourself croutons.

Peanut Butter Suet:

Mix one part peanut butter with five parts corn meal or a mixed bird seed, and stuff the mixture into holes drilled in a hanging log or into the crevices of a large pinecone. This all-season mixture attracts woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and occasionally warblers. This mixture is a good substitute for suet in the summer.

A few thoughts about attracting mammals to your feeders.

Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, skunks, woodchucks, mice, and deer are commonly found in many of the same areas where we live. These species are highly adaptable and, in many cases, are becoming unwanted visitors rather than welcome guests.

Food set out for birds may attract many of these animals. Squirrels, chipmunks, and mice will readily eat birdseed, especially sunflower seeds. Raccoons will feed on suet if they can get to it.

Check the exterior of your house for loose or rotted boards that could allow access by mice or other rodents. Remember that these animals are wild, and if threatened they can bite. Raccoons can be particularly aggressive. All these species can carry diseases. Do not handle them!

I know I should not need to mention anything about bears, but I will anyway. If your area is known to have bears, brown or black, please do not encourage them to come to your house and feed. Squirrels are one thing, bears are quite another. I have only heard of a couple of reports of bears raiding bird feeders, but you do NOT want bears close to your house. If you have any doubts about bears, contact your local Department of Conservation or Natural Resources for information on bear sightings in your area.

Website resources:
Here are a few websites to help you get some ideas of the variety of bird feeders available.

http://www.duncraft.com/Bird-Feeders-C19.aspx
http://www.birdfeeders.com/
http://www.backyardbird.com/

Don't forget that if you have any comments or ideas, please email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com or simply leave a comment here on the blog.

That's it for this week. Have fun getting out there!

What's out there part 1.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:24:00 +0000

( Who knows what paths you'll cross)

Photo by Julia Schwent Novack.

I hope you are getting outside and exploring around where you live. For me, around here as the winter rainy season begins to set it, you can hardly walk anywhere in the woods and not see mushrooms. They are everywhere! We also had our first hard frost here this morning with temps down in the high 20's. Hopefully you have been out Still Hunting, taking Disco Hikes, and exploring several Square Feet of where you live. Well now it is time to head out and take the first What's Out there Scavenger Hunt!

Just like taking Disco Hikes and becoming a Square Foot Naturalist, doing scavenger hunts can help you and your kids develop your nature awareness. By repeatedly asking your eyes, ears, and brain to notice new things, you can begin to develop new habits and patterns connected to being in the natural world. Like I mentioned, I am seeing mushrooms everywhere recently. A couple of weeks ago I went on a great mushroom walk with one of the local mushroom experts and then attended two lectures on mushroom identification. As a result of spending just about 6 hours learning about local fungi in my area, I now see them everywhere! Even while driving! It does not take much to your brain to notice new things and patterns.

So here is the first What's Out There Scavenger Hunt. Take this list and head outside and see what you find!

1) Something older than you.
2) Something with three or more colors (natural colors).
3) Something that smells good.
4) Sounds that a tree makes.
5) A bird flying in the wind.
6) A bird track.
7) An animal that likes moist areas.
8) A bird nest.
9) Signs of animals having eaten something.
10) A leaf that has lobes.
11) A place where an animal can sit in the sun.
12) Things that could be used to insulate an animals nest.
13) An example of erosion.
14) A plant that could be used as tinder to start a fire.
15) A place where you could hide from the wind.

Once you have headed out to do this scavenger hunt, keep in mind you might not find all the items in one outing, try and do the hunt in another area such as a park or even downtown. You could even keep this list with you in the car so you can mark off items when you see them. This is the first of many scavenger hunts we will do. If you have ideas of things to add to an upcoming list, please send them to me at asinglefootstep@gmail.com.

Nature Nugget:
As winter approaches in North America many of us get ready for much colder weather and possibly a good deal of snow fall (if you are lucky). While we get ready for winter so does much of the animal kingdom. Some animals spend the winter months either hibernating or in torpor. Many folks ask what is the difference between the two. So I am going to clear it up the best I can.

Traditionally hibernation simply meant a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate, and applied equally to frogs, bears, bats, and insects regardless of their body temperatures or activity levels. Most animals that traditionally were considered to be hibernating are actually in torpor. Torpor- or false hibernation- is a state of inactivity achieved primarily-but not exclusively- by a greatly lowered body temperature and can last for a few hours to months. For frogs, snakes-(Rattlesnakes and copperheads), woodchucks, ground squirrels, bats, and bears, settling in for the winter in various ways is the key to winter survival.

While the list for hibernating mammals is relatively small, some bats, shrews, chipmunks, some snakes, some turtles, and woodchucks; theses go through the following changes:

1) Body temperature will plummet until only a few degrees above the cold climate.

2) Their breathing will drop from several hundred times a minute, to one in five minutes.

3) Their heartbeat will go from several hundred a minute to one or two beats a minute

4) They will move only slightly every few hours, although their muscles will retain their tone, and

5) Their digestive and excretory systems will continue to work.

So deep is this sleep, that often times the hibernating animal is insensible to sound or touch!

Several studies have also shown that this deep sleep seems to make the hibernators immune to many dangers. For example, in one case study scientist placed a hibernating marmot in an airtight jar filled with carbon dioxide. After four hours, the marmot had suffered no adverse effects from the experiment.

Compared to ground squirrels, frogs (who hibernate in unfrozen mud at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and ponds), snakes (who hibernate in hollow logs, caves or dens), and other true hibernators however, the hibernation pattern of many bears, an animal we were all taught hibernate, is only a series of naps or Torpor. Some other animals that go into torpor are raccoons, skunks, and some mice and birds

Since the body temperature of bears remains high (which burns an estimated 4,000 food calories a day) and their breathing remains at a normal rate, their winter sleep can easily be disturbed. Some bears even wake up during their winter nap and prowl around for hours, sometimes days. Thereby, making bears (even chipmunks) and most other winter mammals false-hibernators (or torpor). Torpor also occurs when animals enter a deep sleep when cold weather occurs suddenly or they cannot get into warmer conditions. Grey Squirrels have been found in torpor in live traps on cold mornings out of season.

I hope that clears some things up. On another note, if while you are out exploring this winter you come upon mammals or birds that appear to be sleeping or moving very slowly, try not to scare them. Animals live on a very limited energy budget. Some birds that have been startled out of a deep sleep will be dead by morning because of the loss of heat when they got woken up. So be kind to our napping friends. after all, how happy are you when you get woken up from a nap!

A Square Foot Naturalist

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:49:00 +0000

(Up close in the garden)

So today we are going out to take a close look at an area around your house, or in a park, or some other natural area. The cool part is that this activity can be done anywhere! The idea of being a Square Foot Naturalist is to explore a 1'x1' area with great abandonment coupled with the detailed focus of a CSI field agent.

Head outside and find yourself a little spot of Earth to explore. I have a 1'x1' wooden square that I use as a frame to help keep myself focused on a small area ( I am easily drawn to look around). You can use a bigger square if you want to. You and your kid(s) can explore the same area, or each of you can have your own area. Then simply start exploring your square foot of Earth. I usually do not dig into the ground, although that can be a fun exploration to do. Spend some time looking at what is in your small area. That can be the extent of your exploration, simply looking at what you find. If you take a little while, maybe 15-20 minutes, it can help calm the mind. I have found that kids who have attention "issues", can thrive with this activity. Just for fun, every once in a while stop looking down at the ground and look around with your owl eyes and listen with your deer ears to take in what is going on around you.

If you want to, you can get into more detail with your spot. To really get into your exploration, bring a journal to record your finds. I have found it is interesting to explore the same spot in each season. You might be surprised to see how much the area might change throughout the year. You can get as detailed as you and your kid(s) want to. To experience your area in a whole different way, bring a magnifying glass or a jewelers loupe. I find that if you first spend some time exploring your area without a magnifying device, and then explore the same area under magnification, the results can be really fascinating!

Now off you go! Explore your area and become a Square Foot Naturalist! I would love to hear about your discoveries!

You can always contact me at

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Website:
http://www.the-private-eye.com/index.html A website and book about exploring nature up close! You can purchase loupes here as well as the book Private Eye.

Follower Feedback:
At thanksgiving dinner I was talking with one of the followers of "What's Out There" and he was saying that his daughter was making ceramic Cardinal Direction letters to put up in the house. What a great project! Let us know how your family is exploring nature! And if you would like to receive this blog in an email, please let me know. asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Nature Nugget:
This month we have a wonderful natural event that does not occur very often. A BLUE MOON! A blue moon is when we have 13 FULL moons in one year. That means that one month has two full moons. This year we get two full moons in December! The first full moon of this month was on the second. The second, or BLUE MOON is on the 31st! Not only is there a Blue Moon this year, but the Blue Moon is on New Years Eve! Really pretty cool!
A Blue Moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern of the moon. As I mentioned, most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately every 28 days, but in addition to that normal lunar cycle, each calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days. The extra days add up so that every two or three years, 2.72 to be exact, there is an extra full moon. The extra moon is called a "blue moon."
So if you missed the "normal" full moon this week, make sure you take a few moments to enjoy the Blue Moon on New Years Eve! Hey it might be a great way to mark the end of one year and the beginning of a new one with your family!

Thanksgiving Address

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:44:00 +0000

( A little spot in the Pine Barrens of NJ)

On this day of Thanksgiving I want to share with you a wonderful tradition that comes from the Mohawk Nation, a version of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Thanksgiving Address-Greeting to the Natural World. This address was and is spoken before all tribal meetings and official business by members of the six nations. Variations of this address were often done not only by the Mohawk and Iroquois but many other Native Americans on a daily basis before the sun rose each day. Now I don’t expect you and your family to run out and create your own family Thanksgiving Address and read it each morning. But how about once a week?

It doesn't even have to be a lengthy spoken event. A simple nod or acknowledgement of nature could be enough. Maybe pick a tree that you walk by each day and say hello. I like to say howdy to the sun and the moon each day, especially when they are both in the sky at the same time like the photo above.

By spending a little time each week thinking about the natural world it their own words, kids can build a stronger connection to their sense of place. Adults, you might also benefit from this process. So enjoy reading the Thanksgiving Address, and next week back outside! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Thanksgiving Address

The Words Before All Else.

The People

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People.

Now our minds are one.

The Earth Mother

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Waters

We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms—waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.

Now our minds are one.

The Fish

We turn our minds to all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Plants

Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.

Now our minds are one.

The Food Plants

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Medicine Herbs

Now we turn to all the Medicine Herbs of the world. From the beginning, they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines.

Now our minds are one.

The Animals

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.

Now our minds are one.

The Trees

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty, and other useful things. Many peoples of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.

Now our minds are one.

The Birds

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds—from the smallest to the largest we send our joyful greetings and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

The Four Winds

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.

Now our minds are one.

The Thunderers

Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightening and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.

Now our minds are one.

The Sun

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

Now our minds are one.

Grandmother Moon

We put our minds together and give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the nighttime sky. She is the leader of women all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.

Now our minds are one.

The Stars

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars.

Now our minds are one.

The Enlightened Teachers

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers.

Now our minds are one.

The Creator

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

Now our minds are one.

Closing Words

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.

And now our minds are one.

I hope you enjoyed reading this version of the Thanksgiving Address. Have a wonderful day!

This translation of the Mohawk version of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address was developed, published in 1993, and provided here, courtesy of:

Six Nations Indian Museum and the Tracking Project

Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World

English version: John Stokes and Kanawahienton (David Benedict, Turtle Clan/Mohawk)

Mohawk version: Rokwaho (Dan Thompson, Wolf Clan/Mohawk)

Original inspiration: Tekaronianekon (Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan/Mohawk)

Still Hunting.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:36:00 +0000

(Great Horned Owl)

As the seasons continue to change from fall to winter it is a great time to be outside seeing the changes. This time of year is a great time to experience bird migrations. If you live in an area where large migrations occur, definitely spend some time watching the birds travel to their winter homes. A friend of mine counted 200+ Red Throated Loons (gavia Stellata) in one morning here on the coast! If you live in a non-migratory area, it is still a great time to get out and look for birds and small animals due to the lesser amount of foliage on the trees and Still Hunting is a great way to experience wildlife close up.

Still Hunting does require a little patience and the ability to stay relatively still for a while. First find yourself an area where you can sit comfortably, lying down is also an option. This is best done either early in the morning or just before and during dusk. These are the times when birds tend to be the most active. Once you are comfortable, take a few deep breaths to help quiet yourself down. Once you have settled in, practice using your deer ears and coyote eyes to explore the area. After a few minutes, begin making a series of bird calling noises. Pick a rhythm and begin making the following sound, Psshtt, Psshtt, Psshtt, Psshtt. You might only make two or three of these calls per minute.

Do not make the sounds with great enthusiasm or volume because it could be interpreted by birds as a warning call and actually scare birds and other critters away. You are attempting to call birds towards you, not scare them away. If you remain still, and continue to make the calling noises every 30 seconds or so, you may be able to get birds curious enough and feel safe enough to come fairly close. This can be a great way to get started in the hobby of bird watching.

There are a few things that you can do to help make this activity more successful. First wear clothes that are natural in color, like brown and greens. Second, bring something soft to sit on. And third if you really want to blend in either get some cheap camouflage clothes or you can lie down on the ground and cover yourself with leaves and ground debris.

It might take up to 30 minutes for a good amount of birds to come by and visit. But often within 15 minutes you can attract birds to your area. Also, if you can remain somewhat still, you will not alarm the birds and animals, and they will come around. If you really want to have an advantage, spread some some birdseed around the area for a couple of days before you go still hunting to get birds and small animals use to the food being there. Have fun, and if you have a quiet camera, take some photos!

If you have any questions or feedback, please email me at:

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Nature Nugget:

If you have fairly young children and it is a challenge for them to remain quiet for extended periods of time, simply go for a slow walk and count the number of birds and small animals you can see. It is a start to developing skills for Still Hunting.

Websites to visit:

Two websites about bird migrations:

http://www.closertonature.com/outdoors/bird-migration.htm

http://www.backyardnature.net/birdmgrt.htm

A fun little game about bird migration.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Education/Kids_Stuff/Woth_game/default.cfm

The F.B.I!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:53:00 +0000

They are EVERYWHERE, the F.B.I: Fungus, Bacteria, and Invertebrates! Yes that is an actual invertebrate (Banana Slug)in this photo, and I have size 8 1/2 feet. Heading out and looking for the F.B.I can be a wonderful experience for everyone involved. You might actually get a little dirty, muddy, and maybe even a little soggy. But not necessarily. The F.B.I, the decomposers and scavengers of the natural world are amazing!

Going on an F.B.I hunt is easy, and you often do not have to go very far. Now in reality you are only going to see Fungus and Invertebrates. You might smell the presence of Bacteria but without special equipment, you will not see Bacteria.

Searching for the F.B.I brings our attention to a much more concentrated arena. Almost the opposite of using wide angle vision! However, I have found, especially with fungus, that I find myself noticing fungi in my peripheral vision on walks in the woods.

During an F.B.I hunt you can get as detailed as you wish. You might opt for simply finding and looking at various fungi and invertebrates, or you might go out with field guides and spend more time identifying what you find.

You will also be able to find evidence of the F.B.I. on your hunts. Rotting logs, decomposing leaves, and slug or worm scat. Start be simply digging through leaves and under logs. You might be surprised by what you find. Without the F.B.I we would be wading through piles of refuse, and our ecosystems would not get the nutrients they need from dead material. These little creatures are a key link in nutrient cycles. Have fun with the F.B.I!

Nature Nugget:

A brief word about mushrooms specifically. There are many species of mushrooms that grow wild, and some of them are very tasty like oyster, slippery jack, and the morel. However, there are other mushrooms such as the DEATH CAP and the DESTROYING ANGEL that will kill you. Unless you 1000% certain about the mushrooms you find in the wild, DO NOT EAT THEM! Every year there are incidents of skilled mushroom hunters dying from eating mushrooms that are slightly out of season. So please tread lightly into the world of mushroom hunting. Seek out qualified instruction.

Cool Website I found!

Check out this site, it does a great job of explaining the phases of the moon and how they happen.

http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/moon/lunar_phases_main.html#part2

Water Cycle Boogie!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:17:00 +0000

Water is literally the life blood of all living things. As humans we can go for 3-4 days without water. Now 3 days is possible, but you would be a tad grumpy by then. The record I know of is 7 days with some very special circumstances. Anyway, water is a critical part of our lives, but I have found that many people know very little about where our water comes from. So in this posting, I am going to send you out to be a water detective.

First with your kids, do a little research on where your water comes from. Are you on city or town water? Do you have a well? Do you have a water catchment system? Once you have discovered that information, use a little math to calculate your water usage. It might be enlightening.

Next lets figure out what watershed you live in. Go to this website and search around. Knowing what watershed you live in can help you explore on local maps to see what water sources are in your area and may effect your water supply. Here in California water rights are a constant issue in local politics. Some areas of the country are in either long or short term droughts. Do you live in one of those areas?

If you have a topographical map of your area, trace your watershed on the map. You might be surprised to see what areas are included in your watershed.

Until next time, enjoy November, and if you have any questions or suggestions about topics to explore, please email me! Have fun exploring!

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Nature Nugget:

Here is some information about our water resources. Just in case you're wondering:

The Oceans contain 97.5% of the water on the planet.

That leaves 2.5% of all the water left as fresh water.

Of that 2.5%, 74% is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.

The remaining 26% of that 2.5% is in ground water.

Of that 26% of the water left, 98.5% is in the ground and the remaining 1.5% is surface water.

In that 1.5% left, this is the water we can see or interact with is water in the biosphere, atmosphere, soil moisture, and lakes and rivers. Not much hmmm?

Websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle Wikipedia entry.

http://www.und.nodak.edu/instruct/eng/fkarner/pages/cycle.htm Another good site.

http://www.toddecological.com/ Information on a water purifying system called a living machine.

http://www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/community/drought_gov/202 Drought monitor.

One thing that is constant, Climate Change.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:13:00 +0000

By constant, I mean part of daily discussions, and of course that constant climate change has occurred for millions of years. Today is Climate Change blog action day. So we are going to explore the concept (just a little) and spend more time looking at how you and your kids can learn more on your own about this topic. I spent some time this week taking small breaks from moving houses on camp catching up on the news both local and national. Everyday, at least 3 times, I heard the terms Global Warming and Climate Change. The most I heard the terms was 11 in one day. Usually these terms were mentioned in stories that were not the most positive in nature. Now, to be fair, there are also some media outlets that do report on positive environmental stories. See below for some media options.

Many people I talk to about Climate Change, the term I prefer over Global Warming, have a general feeling of being overwhelmed or powerless when they really start thinking about Climate Change and what they can do to help. It is a large-scale issue, global in fact.

It can be confusing with all the media hype out there on Climate Change. The majority of scientific data available, point towards Climate Change being a reality. There are some sites and media outlets out there that say that Climate Change is all a political smear job. Regardless of where you lie on that spectrum, I will bet that your children have heard about Climate Change and may have some questions. Climate Change is a great topic to explore together, and decide how your family, or group, want to address this environmental topic.

So what are some things you can do together? The first is to get some information. And there is no shortage of info out there! Make sure that the information is age appropriate. Please do not overload your young children, 5^th grade and under, with gloom and doom data. Studies have found that children who are bombarded with constant messages of environmental destruction when they are young, under 5^th grade, show a greater level of feeling helpless with regards to what they can do to help the environment. Children need to connect to nature at a young age in order to develop a life-long concern for the environment.

If you have young children, perhaps have a general talk about climate verses weather. Climate is the long-term view of local weather. Talk about your areas climate and weather and build up their vocabulary. Having tools to talk about environmental topics is critical for informed discussions.

If you have older kids, perhaps ask them the following question, “What do you think about Climate Change?” Then listen. Find out what your kids are hearing or what they have explored. Then decide together what you want to explore. Below are some websites that you can use as a springboard for your exploration into Climate Change. If you have questions, or want more resources or research, please contact me!

asinglefootstep@gmail.com

Nature Nugget:

Here are a few definitions for you to use in this discussion:

Climate: The weather patterns in a particular region, generalized over a long period.

Climate Change: An alteration of area or worldwide long-term weather patterns.

Global Warming: The predicted excessive warming of the atmosphere resulting from the accumulation of atmospheric gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, and Chlorofluorocarbons.

Websites:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch/

World Meterological Organization:

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/wcdmp/wcdmp_home_en.html

United Nations Environment Programme: http://www.unep.org/climatechange/

The Nature Conservancy:

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/activities/art19630.html

Fun video! http://www.globalcommunity.org/flash/wombat.shtml

Green Living Ideas: http://greenlivingideas.com/category/podcasts

Green Talk Radio: http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/234-greentalk-radio

Seeds of Change.

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Seeds just waiting for a ride!

So we know, after reading one of the previous posts, that SEEDS are one of the 6 plant parts that plants and people need. The fall is a great time to go exploring for seeds and an opportunity to help nature do a little plant propagation.

As the seasons change and many plants go from flowering/ fruiting to dropping leaves and fruit, seeds are sent out across the land to spread the species. We can help in that process. While this can be fun, the first thing is to do a little research to find out what plants are invasive in your area. Please do not spread these seeds.

So head outside and see what plants are getting ready to send out there seeds. You might have to get down on your hands and knees to find some plants, but that can be part of the fun. Once you find a good plant prospect, take some, but not all of the available seeds, and let them go into the wind. While you can gather the seeds of plants that are not areal in nature, the areal seeds are much more fun to send on their way.

Head out and have some fun! See how far the seeds can travel! Maybe bring a few of the seeds home to add to your nature collection, and to examine more closely.

Nature Nugget:

To explore more on the topics of seeds, go to these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed

http://www.experiencefestival.com/list_of_edible_seeds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_edible_seeds

Website Suggestion(s):

The Banana Slug String Band.

If you have children, or work with children, this group has a great collection of music that has a nature focus. These guys are amazing! They are all teachers in various capacities including running outdoor education programs in California. Enjoy!

http://www.nightheron.com/

Steven Schuch

http://www.mrhabitat.net/

Bill Oliver

A Change in the Seasons

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:28:00 +0000

Howdy folks, and happy first week of Autumn/ Fall!

Tuesday was the Autumnal Equinox, a day of equal sun and dark. As this seasonal change has begun, it is a wonderful time to begin watching the weather. Anytime is a great time to watch the weather actually, but the changing seasons can offer a wide range of weather phenomenons. Keeping track of changes in the weather is a wonderful way to get together and learn about something that affects us all everyday.

Weather can be a fascinating topic to explore, especially with the use of the internet and modern satellite technology. The other wonderful thing is that you can get as complex and technologically integrated as you want: buy weather stations and online support, or keep it simple and use paper and markers.

The first thing to do is to check in with your cardinal directions. We do this because weather patterns have tendencies, and knowing where the weather tends to come from can be useful information. For the most part weather in the United States, and in most of the Northern Hemisphere, moves from west to east.

A simple way to get into watching the weather, is to watch the evening news or get online and see the upcoming forecast, and then pay attention the next day. If the forecast is for rain, watch how the clouds change through the day right up until the rain starts. Then watch the changes after the rain. Also every season has its own unique weather pattern. For example in one season, the major storm patterns might come from the south west, and then as the seasons change the pattern might switch up to a north western flow.

Also you can begin to track the basics of the weather; daily temperature, wind speed, humidity, and barometric pressure. Try and keep records for about a month. If you want to get more in-depth, go online and get the data from previous years and see if there are any differences.

So, get out there and see what the weather brings you!

Nature Nugget:

To go along with weather observations, here are the average measurements for Barometric Pressure.

1 atmosphere (atm) =

101.3 kPa (kilopascals) =

14.7 psi (pounds per square inch) =

760 torr =

29.9 inches of mercury (symbol Hg). This is the most common measurement used.

So, when the weather forecast says a high pressure system is coming in, the barometric pressure should rise above these numbers. Now these numbers are based at sea level. You will have to do some research to find out what average barometric pressure is for your area.

Weather web sites:

http://www.wunderground.com/

http://www.noaa.gov/wx.html

http://www.intellicast.com/

Take a Disco Hike!

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Moriarty) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:25:00 +0000

(A recent discovery of mine)

Welcome back folks! Today we are going to start a journey down a new trail for some of you. Some of you may already have been down this trail. It is a trail of exploration, and it heads through the area you live in . So, get your walking shoes on, your deer ears tuned up, and your owl eyes focused. Actually not too focused, remember to relax your eyes in owl vision. Anyway, get ready to head outside.

Todays activity is to take a walk through or around where you live. It does not have to be a 5 hour excursion. A simple walk around the block, down to the corner, around a local park, or just a walk down the road. The point is to head out and start exploring the area you live in using some of your tools. When you head out, pick a direction to go. Maybe the first walk head south, the next time east, etc. Don't worry about bringing a compass, although you could.

You are going on a Disco Hike! A Disco Hike is not some new dance craze. It is a Discovery Hike. Your goal is to notice more. Or perhaps to take an initial inventory of the things you notice. A Discovery Hike is not necessarily a naming or labeling hike. It is about walking around and looking for cool things to discover.

As you walk around where you live, simply be on the look out for things that catch your attention. It could be something you see, hear, or smell. Then go check it out. Try and resist naming the item. If you want to, write a description of the item or take a picture. That way you can look it up later. Just enjoy the process! Have fun, and maybe get a little dirty.

While you are out, you can try some of the following things:

-- Just walk and look. You could even try a walk without talking.

--Listen for various birds.

-- Notice the birds flying overhead.

-- Look for all things red, or blue, or brown, or orange (natural or man made).

-- Count the conifers in the area.

-- See if you can tell which houses have pets, and if so what kind.

-- See if you can notice 10 things you have never seen before.

-- Count cool insects!

-- See if the moon is still out.

You get the idea. If you can, try and make taking a Disco Hike a routine. Maybe once a month, or once a week. Or even take a Disco Hike when ever you go to some place new. Or better yet, to a place you visit frequently, and see what you discover!

Nature Nugget:

A quick lesson in plant parts. Nothing in great detail, but the basics that can aid you in future plant discoveries. Many if not most plants have six parts, and they are: Roots, Stems, Seeds, Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds. Now, there is more detail in these six parts, but that is for later. For now when you visit the farmer's market or the grocery store, see if you can identify which plant parts you see, and will hopefully soon eat! Have fun out there!

Virtual Explorations:

Visit this website for great website for exploring the night sky.

http://www.skymaps.com/