12/31/12

We have snow!  this has been great.  We can now find deer beds, scat, tracks, patterns etc.  The other day I found what I think was an otter path--two-two jumping pattern, about three feet apart and a gully along the path as though its belly was dragging.  If you think it was something else pleas let me know.
I was also walking in our school forest on one of the snowy days and spotted a deer bedded down in the brush and she just did not want to get up so she just watched as I walked by--it was great.
Gary

12/1/12

Okay,  I forgot my password it had been so long since I posted.  Sorry.
Deer hunting season has happened here--I have not seen any deer in Webb Nature area since it began!
Bummer!  Archery Deer season included WITHIN CITY LIMITS HUNTING!   Thinks that makes me happy--NO WAY!  I spoke to the committee when it was proposed and they assured me it wound not affect the areas where I take, literally, hundreds of kids on hikes--wrong!  One day I found not only blood on the trail but also and errent arrow on the trail.  I will again protest this obsenity of human behavior at a council meeting.  Why do we need hunting in Popple NATURE Area?!
On the bright side we have spotted and eagle within city limits lately and that has been exciting.
At the Hartje Center our fish, Bluegills a bullhead and a bass are doing well although today the bass was very picky about eating worms.
We have also begun making stick shelters for the winter.
Our garden in the clear cut area of the forest has doubled in size.  The city has brought out 3 loads of leaves and a friend may have lots of hay for it.
Gary

10/17/12

Today was a two snake day!  It was sunny and relatively warm today.  In the morning we saw a garter snake and in the afternoon we found  a beautiful redbelly.  We also found the Lycopodium plants and the American Chestnuts.
Gary

10/16/12

The big news is the aquariums.  They are in the Hartje Cener, filled and have filters and heaters.  Now I need to put in some hiding things and then the fish.
Today's hike was with Kindergartners--we went to the Popple Center.  Earlier in the day I saw an eagle circling over the park but not when the kids were there.  Lots of geese but they did not respond to our goose talk.  We stopped on the bridge, gazed into the water and saw lots of minnows, one of the boys said he saw a big fish and one also kept saying he saw a pumpkin seed.
Gary

10/15/12

I know it has been too long since I have blogged.  I have not been seeing a lot.  The pumpkins are all harvested--over 50.  I have expanded the garden and want to expand more but I need assurance of hay.  I think I will have more classes in the spring wanting to plant things.
I have been out on canoe/kayak trips, hiking trips and Hartje Trips.  I need more road kills for the Decomposition Observation Area.  Two aquariums (100 gallon tank and 60 gallon tank) have been donated and I have put them out at Hartje--=I want to get lake fish for them and keep them over the winter..
Gary

9/14/12

How good it is to find snakes again.  They must be on their last outings.  We have found two ther last two days at our Hartje Nature Center--small Garter Snakes.  I have not seen any others besides the Garters and Water Snakes.
One of the kids was noticing a small bug the other day and asked what it was--there are soooo many bugs/insects.  I was happy that I could identify it as a tree cricket--he was also happy to have it identified as that.
While eating lunch one of the children noticed a hummingbird sitting in a tree!  These kids are so naturally curious about nature.  It is still a struggle to have them be able to spend more time outdoors rather than so much in their desks.
Last week we spent a little time in and around the Wisconsin River--the kids loved being in it.
Gary

9/11/12

Stinkhorns!  it is the time of year for StinkHorn mushrooms.  They gross out the kids.  They are so obvious in their odor--it is wonderful to count on them showing up at this time of year and in almost the same spots as last year.
While at Hartje today we also had the great fortune of catching (and releasing) a garter snake.  Everyone wanted to hold it but since there were about 54 kids I thought it best for me to hold it and just have them touch it--another great odor.
Gary

Sept 9th

Tuesday will be my first outing with kids this summer.  We will be at Hartje Forest doing the challenge course and then hiking.  The pumpkin patch has produced 34 nice pumpkins of various sizes and will still produce a few more.  It seems way too early though--they will all be done by Halloween.  Road kills that I have placed in the decomposition site have often disappeared, one raccoon has remained.   The skull (fish) on the nature table still remains a mystery--my brother thinks it is a catfish but I have never seen a catfish with that kind of overbite.
Gary

Jelly fish!  I forgot to mention Jelly Fish from my trip to Tampa Bay.  They were all over only they were very difficult to see and very strange.  They were about 2 inches long and transparent.  They were sort of torpedo shaped with some folds.  They were almost invisible.  I picked up a couple and they were like jelly (thus the name). Looking closely at them I could not see any internal or external organs--just clear!  The ocean sure has some unique critters--what an amazing place!
Gary

I have returned from a trip to Tampa Bay.  It was disappointingly unclear and therefore no snorkeling.  The up side was finding some live Sea Snails.  I also found some other sea shells and oyster clusters.  Two night we went out fishing--one day we caught some Jacks that put up a great fight.  We saw a wonderfully colorful Loggerhead turtle and some dolphins.
We went to SawGrass Park that is usually very full of water and Alligators.  This time, eventhough we had had rain while there, it was quite dry.  We were able to see one 5 ft alligator, lots of soft shelled turtles a couple gars, some spiders in great webs,  a few lizards and some egrets.
There were hundreds of Cuban Anoles (very similar to Chamelions)  They are invasive and have taken over the niche of the Chamelions but were fun to see.
Gary

7/21/12

Things have been quite calm in the nature discovery area.  However, today was an unusual day.  While hiking below the Wisconsin River Dam at Castle Rock Lake looking for things like salamanders, turtles and other interesting live things I found a skull of a raccoon, a deer skeleton, lots of clam shells, some Gull feathers and, here is the great one, a skeleton of a paddle fish.  All were taken back to the nature table at hartje.  It may be the only time any of the kids see the skeleton of the paddle fish.  I also have the jaws of a small shark, another thing they may never see.
Gary

6/29/12

We are back from Wazee.  It was hot so we were in the water a lot.  We had 26 kids and we found a new place to do cliff jumping.  It was awesome.  Some of the nature sights:  a blue tailed skink, a big water snake, lots of fish that ate out of our hands--we were feeding them peas, worms, and bread.
Back at home, the first pumpkin has appeared on a vine.  I did water them again, it has just been so hot.  I also moved a dead mama Raccoon from the middle of the road to the Decomposition, Observation area.  We shall see if it gets taken away this time.
Gary

6/23/12

Our trip to Mirror Lake was awesome but also filled with heat problems.  Our bodies are so interesting in so many ways--drink enough to stay healthy and avoid heat problems but don't drink too much and get stomach aches.  How do you know what is enough and what is too much? 
Some neat nature things we saw:  The first and most amazing was a climb to a lofty cave.  The cave went back about 20 ft, narrowing as it went in, and way in the back were two, white, baby Turkey Vultures hissing at us in a way that sounded like Darth Vader.  We did not go in because we didn't want to disturb them and we also did not want Mama coming and attacking us or upchucking on us.  We also saw a doe and two fawns frolicking in the water at the end of the lake.  We found a dead snapper and picked up some bones for the nature table (that will be in construction soon for Hartje).  Finally on our night hike we saw lots of fire flies and one glowing in the weeds and when we turned on our flash lights we saw that it was a daddy Long legs eating a fire fly.
Gary

6/13/12

Babies!  Babies! Babies!   Earlier in the Spring the geese made nests, all in their separate areas, they hatched and then the babies followed mom and dad followed the group.  Now, however several families have grouped together, seemingly in an effort to work together for better child care.  I have also witnessed baby Cranes in the field learning how to pilfer corn seed and the other day I came across a Doe in the woods but as I watched a fawn moved about and pretty soon a second fawn moved into view.  Mom stayed there for a short time while I tried to talk to her and reasure her that I was not about to hurt her or her babies.  Soon, her tail went up and she moved her and her babies off but only a little so I continued to talk to her--she stayed and I think we are now friends,  I hope to see her and the babies again.
Gary

5/29/12

What a day at Mirror Lake State Park!  With a kindergarten class from Sacred Heart School here are some of the things that we saw:  turtles, a duck family, two male ducks fighting over their favorite female duck, a baby muskrat laying in the grass waiting for us to visit, a deer on our hiking trail that was not afraid of this energetic group of wee students--it gently, quietly walked off without raising its tail and a huge, dead snapping turtle that exuded its decaying odor when the wind was right.
I forgot to mention the painted turtle that was slogging through dense duck weed only to be caught by the captain of our canoe ship, me.
Gary

5/26/12

We have been having lots of outdoor adventures lately.  One of the most exciting was with 1st graders at the Pond at the school forest--Hartje.  They had been catching toad tadpoles and Dragon Fly Nymphs then one caught a newt!  The kids did not get too excited, they like frogs but I sure did.
At Mirror Lake state Park we found the skeletons, I don't know the official name, of the Dragon Fly Nymphs and then some of the newly morphed Dragon Flys--it was very neat.
Dead animals have been disappearing from the Decomposition Observation Area.
The pumpkins are starting to come up in our pumpkin patch at Hartje.
Gary

May 20th, 2012

Some interesting things have happened that I have not blogged:  This past week dragon flies have been morphing out.  We have found many nymph skeltons and several newly morphed dragon flies.  One of them was on the ground flapping its wings--I was thinking it was trying them out and drying them.  When they first come out they keep their wings together and up rather than out flat like usual. 
While hiking around Dutch Hollow Lake we came across a fawn just inches away from our path.  It stayed just a short time while some of us got to look at it and then it got scared and ran, wobbily off.
Also at Dutch Hollow I found a baby painted turtle, just slightly larger than a quarter--the kids liked that..
At Mirror Lake, for the last week or more we have been seeing a family of ducks--just one family.  Finally at Webb, the first two baby geese have shown up.
Gary

May 12, 2012

Late Spring and summer are here.  We have seen lots of turtles on the sunny days.  We have seen a duck family twice at Mirror Lake State Park.  One of the teachers has told me that she has seen toad eggs but I have not seen them.  All Spring I have watched for the turkey Vulture kids on the rock but have not seen any.  I have heard the toad trilling but have not seen them.  There have been lots of Orioles at Mirror Lake making a great bird call. Earlier in May and late April I was finding snakes but I have not seen them any more.  One day the kindergarten class was at Plenke's Pond and they had the best luck ever!  Big Crappies and Bluegills.
Gary

3/25/12

Today was exciting--11 snakes, a turkey, Cranes and lots of spring flowers.
I was standing next to my bicycle just watching into a little trail side puddle, looking for frogs and tadpoles when a little flicker of a tail caught my eye.  It was a Garter Snake.  I just watched it for a while and then another one appeared.  Actually it had been there but now I was sensitive to the yellow and black lines.  Pretty soon there were more, then a water snake showed up.  Some of them moved and there were so slick, silent and smooth--they were beautiful!   I moved on and sure enough, if I just studied the ground across from the pubble I would see the yellow and black lines and then some of them would move.  It was magical.
Gary

3/24/12

I heard a loud trill tonight and at first I didn't recognize it.  Then, it came to me.  It is toads!  They usually are out trilling around mid May or just a little earlier.  They are out a month early!
On the way home, walking through the park, three boys came up to me with a very large Bullhead!  They had caught it in another pond but are stocking Half Moon Lagoon with it.  It seemed like something I would have done as a kid so I was excited for them
Gary

3/23/12

Spring is blooming all over!  On our last hikes here are some of the things we have found:  Leopard Frogs, a Spring Peeper, Green frogs, two water snakes, a Garter Snake, Spring Beauties, Trout Lillies, Hepatica, Blood Root and Skunk Cabbage blooming!  Ya Gotta Love that blooming Skunk Cabbage.  We have also been listening to the birds chatter.  We think they have either been alerting or doing the mating calls.
I keep looking for more salamanders and other kinds of snakes.  Oh,  We also found one shed--the first time that I have been in a group when we have found one--it had been nibbled on by critters.
Gary

3/14/12

Spring is getting so exciting!  Today we found another snake, second of the season.  We also found more Leopard Frogs in the leaves, not in the pond--they were big ones.  I am guessing females full of eggs.
Then, the big surprise, we found a salamander under a log--it was the first time for many of the kids to see one in the wild.
We also found a great big leg bone, probably from a cow.  It had been chewed on by little critters, had the hardended marrow and a great ball for the ball and socket joint.  What a great find.
Gary

3/13/12 plus

I went back into the woods after school and found much more about Spring: the cackle of the Wood Frogs in the Marsh,  Cyclops in the ponds, the pecking of the Hairy Woodpecker, the call of the Nuthatch, and movement like tadpoles in the pond but I could not see them--they are too fast for me.
Gary

3/13/12

Spring is Here!  We found our first Leopard Frog Frog today and our first Garter Snake.  It is always exciting when old friends come back and greet us.   The birds were also very active and the geese were in their pairs.
Gary

3/11/12

One of my friends has returned--the crane.  It's sound is so distinctive and primitive. It is great to have them back.   This week will be in the 70s, I expect to see some of the local butterflies and I wouldn't be surprised if a snake appeared somewhere this week.
Gary

2/16/12

Great News, today, after several years of telling students that we had found a fox den but had never seen any tracks or smelled the fox, we saw new diggings and smelled the fox!  It was great.
Gary

2/5/12

I heard a raspy quacking, not a duck, not a goose, not a crane but a Big Blue Heron! In February!
Gary

2/4/12

We have been seeing tracks, beds, scraps, rubs but some of the more interesting things that we have seen are the mouse trails.  They are fantastic--long, winding and look like great fun.  We have also found fox scents in the Webb woods,  we even found one particular yellow spot that I knelt down to smell and grossed out the kids.
Gary

1/26/12

Today while walking in the Popple Nature Center we discovered a crime scene--blood, feathers, scat and the scent of a fox.   The feathers were the unusual thing.  they were rather large (about 4-5 inches long and fluffy).  For the longest time I could not think of what bird they could have come from then I remembered seeing the Snow Geese several days earlier.
Gary

1/19/12

IT IS WINTER!
It was finally below zero last night.
Yesterday I was with 8th graders all day at the Popple Nature area.  The ice crystals on the trees and water were fantastic.  I named the ones on the creek- Ice flowers.  They were about an inch in diameter and looked just like flowers, an interesting phenomenum.
Also,  from the past,  While walking through the Popple Area there were two snow geese on the river.