SOAC Adventures

2/16/12

2012-02-16T18:39:00.000-06:00

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

2012-02-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

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

2012-02-04T09:37:00.000-06:00

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

2012-01-26T19:17:00.000-06:00

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

2012-01-19T14:03:00.002-06:00

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.

12/25/11

2011-12-25T16:56:00.000-06:00

It is Christmas day and while testing our my new GPS in the Woods I came across a flock of Robins! There are probably about 50-100 of them in the woods and I did notice them several days ago but today I had my binoculars with me and it was for sure--they are Robins. In December! What are they doing here yet?

Also I have been seeing deer in the same places but they have been running away very soon after they hear me. I guess we are not becoming friends yet.
Gary

12/19/11

2011-12-19T19:13:00.000-06:00

I have been in Popple Nature Area several times and I think I have seen the same 3 or 4 deer each time. This last time they were about 30-50 yds away, they stopped and looked at me and just stayed there. I did the same except I would move my arms a little and talk to them. They just looked, and I think listened. I felt more like the deer whisperer than ever before. They began to walk with their tail down. If I looked away I could almost not find them they blended in so well. I would wave and talk. Finally I left and said I would see them again--I hope they recognize me next time and we can continue our relationship.
Gary

12/13/11

2011-12-13T18:24:00.000-06:00

Many things have been happening, one of them is not snow! I have been to Popple Nature Center several times lately and each time I see three deer--two does and one fawn. They seem to be in the same place but get spooked easily.
The other day the ice was close to two inches thick but then it turned warm again. I did not see anything moving under the ice--disappointing.
We went in the Girl Scout Woods with a very quiet group of Kindergartners and we were rewarded with sightings of deer and the fox! Awesome.

11/11/11 later

2011-11-11T20:59:00.000-06:00

Perhaps if I had grown up around here instead of Chicago I would not be in awe so much when I see a deer in the woods. Tonight at sunset I was walking in the woods and saw a beautiful doe cross a stream, get out on the other side and shake off just like a dog. You'd think it was something great to watch--it was. Shortly after that I saw a beautiful buck, strong, arogent, powerful, struting his stuff in the woods--what a sight!
Gary

11/11/11

2011-11-11T11:34:00.000-06:00

What a surprise this morning while driving the school bus out in the country--a coyote running across the field and then stopping to look at us. I know that lots of people think they are a nuisance but I think they are beautiful and the kids on the bus were excited to see it.

11/3/11

2011-11-07T14:48:00.001-06:00

11/3/11

At Hartje School forest we explored dirt, not just any dirt but dirt that has come from a pile of wood chips. This early Fall we found Stink Horn mushrooms and now we found particles shaped and with the consistency of styrofoam. They did have rhysomes and smelled like mushrooms but I have never seen these things before.
Gary

10/6/11

2011-11-07T14:47:00.002-06:00

Oct 6th 2011

It has been a long time. Sorry. I was on an overnight with Sacred Heart 6-8th graders. We canoed the back waters of the Mississippi at Wyalusing State Park. It was a beautiful two days, calm, warm and clear. We saw a few water snakes, one really nice big one, a few bald eagles, a turtle and lots of clam shells along the shore.
More later.

7/3/11

2011-11-07T14:46:00.002-06:00

7/3/11

It has been way too long since I posted.
On a trip with kids to Wazee Recreation area in Norther Wisconsin (Clearest, deepest lake in Wis) I saw a school of Trout while I was snorkeling--the first time I have ever seen trout.
The next thing I saw and I say it twice in two different areas, was a large small-mouth bass and lots of little fish, all the same kind, swimming around. The next time I saw it, it was another large small-mouth bass and the same kind of babies swimming around. So here is what i thought: the big one was the mother and she was watching over her brood. This is just one more example of animals caring and having feelings.
the final thing that I saw were two loons but this time I was snorkeling again and as I approached them they didn't seem to notice me so I got close enough to see them swimming underwater and ducking their heads and then as they swam away under water I could see that they were doing a frog kick rather than a duck paddle--this was awesome to see.
Gary

5/11/11

2011-11-07T14:45:00.000-06:00

5/11/11

Two things: a sight and a sound. The Orioles have been flitting around the yard. They are so beautiful, their bright orange is so noticeable. I have not heard their distinctive calls yet. The sound? The trilling of hundreds of toads at the pond at Hartje. What a sound and sight--all those toads looking for mates and calling. It is mesmerizing.
Gary

4/21/11

2011-11-07T14:43:00.005-06:00

4/21/11

On Monday, while exploring with kindergartners in Smith Conservancy we found a beautiful (one of the most beautiful critters in the world) baby tree frog, under bark on an old log on the ground--we left it there.
Today while walking through Webb Forest I say ducks in trees! I didn't know ducks were perchers--I couldn't see them well but I am guessing they were Wood ducks--they seemed to be backlit so I couldn't make out the coloring very well. On the ground side of things there were wonderfully clear raccoon tracks because we had just had a very wet snow and then a freeze last night. The tracks were made before the freeze. Finally, I scared two geese. I checked their tracks and they were amazingly like turkey tracks. It was hard to see the web marks or other distinctions.
Gary

4/9/11

2011-11-07T14:42:00.008-06:00

4/9/11

Another great Spring day: watching a snapper cross the bike trail, seeing two pairs of Cranes on nests, all the frog sounds. a Pair of Merganzers, Wood Ducks, a snake. two muskrats, Bared owl hoots, and a turkey taking off from a tree.
It was beautiful
Gary

4/8/11

2011-11-07T14:42:00.005-06:00

4/8/11

It was a wonderful spring day today. lots of bird calls. Lots of frog calls: Peepers, Leopards, Chorus and Wood Frogs. We saw several Leopard frogs while we were walking along the river. And, best of all we found a living garter snake today. The first one of the season. He was a very small one, perhaps 7-8 inches but very feisty and beautiful.
It was wonderful to be surrounded by the calls of the frogs.
Gary

4/5/11

2011-11-07T14:41:00.008-06:00

4/5/11

I have been looking all around in nice sunny places trying to find my friends the snakes--not yet
Gary

4/3/11

2011-11-07T14:41:00.002-06:00

4/3/11

It was a mixed day. I made a new identifiable friend--I can now identify the sound of a towhee and I welcome them as my new friends.
I think that since I have been doing this outdoor work with kids I have become much more attached to nature and knowledgeable of its rythms and the creatures--their cycles, their leavings and comings. I have become closer to the critters. I welcome them back in the spring as I do a friend that has been gone for months. I send them off in the fall with a heavy heart, knowing I won't see or hear them for months. Today, I felt a pain in my heart that I have never felt before. I felt as though a family member was tortured and killed. It was a sad, painful experience to be out biking and find two, a male and female, coyote, not only dead along the road but tied together with string around their necks. I have spent the winter months with children identifying coyote tracks, feeling the excitement in them that this wild animal is out there. We find their scat with fur and bones and marvel at knowing this is from a coyote. It seems to me that the more time we spend inside at jobs that we may or may not like, the more distant we are from our connection to nature. Animals become one more "device", "gameboy" that we can use to satisfy our misguided need for power, excitement, entertainment--something to kill. We have lost our respect for our nature friends, our brothers and sisters in the woods. We kill for various reasons but it seems that need and sustenance are not in the equation.
Seeing this young pair of beautiful Wild Animals killed needlessly leaves me angry and sad and in awe at their beauty, cunning and intelligence.
Gary

4/1/11

2011-11-07T14:40:00.000-06:00

4/1/11

It is cold and snowy today but while hiking in the woods, we found a beheaded garter snake. It was still very limp. It has not been very warm lately but there was a flood in the woods area so we were thinking it was flooded out and then attacked. But why just the head gone?
Gary

3/29/11

2011-11-07T14:39:00.007-06:00

3/29/11

We found the deer carcus and the fox body today. The kids were very interested in both. Of course they wondered what killed them. I didn't have a good answer.
We also found some very hair filled scat. Upon closer scrutny we found some bones in the scat--great discovery.
Gary

3/21/11

2011-11-07T14:39:00.001-06:00

3/21/11

I wanted to check out Smith Conservancy just in case the weather was OK for a trip the next day. It was flooded but still walk-able in many areas. While walking along the bank of the Baraboo there was a rather large splash--I thought it was either a muskrat or perhaps a beaver. I walked on a little more and there was a not so friendly beaver swimming downstream. I could tell he was irritated because he would slap his tail and dive and he did it several times--I got the message "Out of my territory, buster"
Gary

3/20/11

2011-11-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

3/20/11

Sunday was not the great weekend day. I however had the time and opportunity to pick up my kayak and kayak through the flooded forest in Webb Park. this is one of my favorite adventures close to home--kayaking or canoeing in the flooded woods, it just feels like being in a southern Cypress Swamp (without the warmth). There was still some slushy ice on the pond which made it difficult at times to paddle. One of the more interesting things that I saw was a bluebird. He/she was perched on a tree about 10 feet up and then would fly down to weeds on the flooded marsh, pick something up and then fly back. He did this many times.
Gary

3/15/11

2011-11-07T14:36:00.005-06:00

3/15/11

Fourth Grade from St. Peter's took a trip to Badger today and worked very hard without complaining. They lopped off Honeysuckle and pulled it down to the road. They were amazing. On our way out of the plant we did see one deer.
After Lunch at Dairy Forage Research Center, Mark took us on a tour of the facility. The students were attentive and respectful and seemed to be learning lots.
On the way home we stopped at Rock Springs for a look at the ripple wall and the Van Hise rock. We had talked a little about earh quakes and earth movements.
Gary

3/13/11

2011-11-07T14:35:00.005-06:00

3/13/11

I found out that a couple people actually read this. Thank you. I will continue.
The Cardinals are making great sounds these days, calling to mates, establishing territory and being vocal. The Cranes have come back and signaled their hellos.
On Friday I was at Badger Army Ammunition Plant with kids and some of us saw a coyote way off in the distance. I don't know why people want to shoot them.
We also say a herd of about 4-5 deer out there.
Finally, while walking through Hartje school forest we found a deer carcus, stripped of all its meat--we wondered if it had been shot or just what happened.
Gary

1/12/11

2011-11-07T14:34:00.006-06:00

1/12/11

While walking on the Hartje Pond with 5th graders, we came across a black spot on the white ice/snow. After carefully looking we realized it was a spider. Picking it up we saw that it was alive! A winter Spider? What was it doing out on the ice? Why was it alive? Where did it come from? Wow, lots of questions and no answers.
Gary

1/4/11

2011-11-07T14:34:00.000-06:00

1/4/11

While walking on the ice at our pond in Popple, Half Moom Lagoon, I went by and open area that is caused by a drain pipe from a spring. It was very cold and windy this day, around 12 degrees, and I found a snake--dead. A garter snake in mid winter and it was still supple, not frozen or stiff. Where did it come from? What was going on with a snake out now? Had it been living in or under this pipe with spring water running through it? Had it been let go from someones aquarium? This was a strange site.
Gary

1/2/11

2011-11-07T14:32:00.002-06:00

1/2/11

This observation has gotten me into the center of disgust. The other day I was walking in the Popple nature center and I smelled what to me was either skunk or fox. I chose to believe it was fox. As I was walking I saw a spot of urine in the snow so I said to myself that must be the site of the scent so I knelt down and smelled it and sure enough it was and with that realization I thought I will have kids do this also. My own kids and grandkids thought I had taken a step a little too far--I still think it is a great idea.
Gary

12/9/10

2011-11-07T14:31:00.000-06:00

12/9/10

We began our adventure by heading out to the Romoren School Forest. We saw a few representatives of the mouse family that has taken over the shed. From there we headed out to the prairie when students tried out running in snow shoes. We also found reindeer lichen. Children were interested in the fact that there really are reindeer--they do not fly though. I mentioned the "Witches Broom" which sounds really cool but actually it just looks like a nest in a pine tree. We then went off trail for, what seemed like a long time and also seemed like we were lost, It was full of difficult places to walk but we got back to the bus and then went to Hartje School Forest where we ate, built "Igloos" and played new games: log roll, boulder throw, brick throw, cabre toss and "rock swing). It was a great time.
Gary

11/28/10

2011-11-07T14:29:00.002-06:00

11/28/10

I have been visiting our shallow (about 10 inches at best) pond lately and it has about 2-3 inches of ice on it and it is nice and clear. Earlier it had many tadpoles. I thought that tadpoles were surface breathers but I am seeing lots of live tadpoles under the ice. i am also seeing dead predacious diving beetle larvae and dead minnows and some, apparently, dead tadpoles. How do they breath under the ice?
Gary