Everyday Weather

Every morning when she wakes up my youngest asks me, "What's it going to be like today?"  She isn't asking about our plans for the day, or what our moods will be, she is asking about the weather.  She wants to know details:  What will the temperatures be like? Will it rain? Will it snow?  She uses this information, like many of us, to plan her day.  Will she bike in the rain and let the puddles throw stripes up her back?  Will she get to use her umbrella?  Will it be hot enough to run in the sprinkler?  Will she venture into the cool damp of the forest to look for mushrooms? Will she lay on her back and watch the clouds go by? Will it be windy enough to fly a kite? And what clothes should she put on to be ready to play outside today?

Tuning into the weather is an important skill for children.  Paying attention each day to the variations in weather patterns teaches kids strong observations skills.  The weather provides facts that are measurable and leads children to develop questioning and examining abilities that are important in learning the scientific method process. As children pay attention to the weather they are collecting data, evaluating, analyzing and communicating.  They are becoming critical thinkers and scientists!

Here are a few fun ways to help your children investigate changes, observe patterns and file away information about the weather.

• Create a wind vane with a pencil and drinking straw, then talk about what directions the wind comes from and how it feels when weather comes from the west versus the east.
  https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/where-is-the-wind-going-try-a-diy-weather-vane  Blow bubbles outside and follow them, noting the direction they move.
• Lie on your back and look up at the clouds, describe them.  Which way are they moving and why?  Find a field guide to weather and clouds in your library or go online to learn more about cloud shapes.  
• Create a weather watch worksheet.  Help your child study and then predict the weather based on the data they collect.  Talk about how the weather affects many people who work outdoors (farmers, construction workers etc.)  You can print a simple worksheet here:  https://www.storey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NatureConnect_pg55.pdf
• Do some rainfall experiments.  Set out several different containers- tall and deep, wide and shallow.  See how much rain has collected after a storm.  Check early in the morning to see if dew has collected.  Keep a record of the water level from week to week.  Talk about evaporation.  Do you see insects or animals using the containers for drinking or bathing?
• Fly a kite.  Ahead of time, make predictions abut how well the kite will fly and in what direction based on observations of wind speed and direction, then test your hypothesis!

Here are some favorite books about weather to read with your children:

The Cloud Book by Tomie De Paola
Worm Weather by Jean Taft and Matt Hunt
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Green Shaw
The Storm by Akiko Miyakoshi

If you are looking for more weather activity ideas, a favorite resource book we use at the KVR is The Wild Weather Book: Loads of Things to do Outdoors in Rain,  Wind and Snow by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield.

We'd love to see photos of you and your children enjoying all sorts of weather, feel free to post them to our Facebook page.

Where a trail can take you...

This week's guest post is by the Kickapoo Valley Reserve's Jackie Yocum, whose work involves maintaining over 50 miles of trails on the property. Her words are an invitation to consider the power of trails in our lives. Read on for more information about trail use as we head into a busy weekend that kicks off a summer of adventures in getting outside!

View from Black Hawk Rock.

The Kickapoo Valley Reserve has approximately 50 miles of trails for visitors to explore on its 8,600 acres. I am one of the staff tasked to maintaining the trails keeping them in good repair and sustainable. I love my job, I love the woods, I love being outside, and I am proud to be a caretaker of the KVR.

Jackie on the Ditch Witch. Photo by Julie Hoel.

From an early age, before I even realized my passion for trails, they were part of everyday life. I grew up on a dairy farm on a Kickapoo River tributary downriver of the KVR. One of my daily chores was “bringing the cows home” from their day pasture for milking. I would jump on my pony bareback, and head across the gravel road and up the valley to find the girls--"long faced beauties" as my Grandma would call them. The cows had to know I was coming after them, as it happened every day, and yet they were always in the furthest reaches of the pasture, heads down, mouthfuls of grass rolling around their tongues. Their heads would jerk up at first sight when I whistled for them, as if they were surprised to see me there. 

These “trails” that led to the vast hilltop meadow weren’t well-laid or carefully designed trails, they were cow paths, functional for the cows and installed by the cows. These trails cut deeply into a hillside that delivered them to the lush meadow grass on the ridgetop. They also crossed the stream, so each cow could drink her fill, and they disappeared altogether in the grassy areas where the cows spread out to graze. 

 

Every day, my pony “Babe” and I would venture out together. My trail etiquette back then wasn’t the best as we liked to keep a pretty good pace on our way up the valley. I was young and fearless and riding fast was the way Babe and I liked it. After all, we both knew we would be walking home slowly because Old Bess, the slowest cow, couldn’t be left behind. I have fond memories of this chore and it was my first experience with trails.

I have always found myself drawn to a path in the woods. There is something about the discovery of what is around the next bend that pulls on my inquisitive heart strings. It is no wonder that I would find myself playing in the dirt in the woods for a career.  A single trail can take each person that uses it on a different journey.  Some see it through the ears of a horse, which is still one of my favorite ways to enjoy a trail. There is something freeing about two beings of different species, working together and trusting each other as they move along a trail. Some see it over the handlebars of their bike. Heart pounding, leaving heavy breath in their wake as they churn to the top of a hill.  And yet others prefer their own two feet. Hiking a trail opens a whole new world, especially if you pause and look. You can even paddle a trail! Yup! That's right! There are water trails, and the Kickapoo River is one of the best.

A trail can bring about so much: accomplishment in completing an 8 mile trek or paddling 10 river miles, solace when thoughts consume us, armistice when faced with challenges, fellowship when exploring with friends. We can be inquisitive and look under that rotting log. We can give audience to the piliated woodpecker's treetop chatter.  We can revel in the gift of stumbling upon a newborn fawn or in spotting the first morel of the season. Gifts are plentiful on the trail.They are there for the experiencing. Nature heals us, lifts us, lightens us. 

And trails take us there. 

I encourage you to find your trail.  The one that transports you to a place in your past, a place of discovery that you may have first experienced as a child. You deserve it.

***

We asked Jackie to share some of her knowledge about trails. Here's our Q & A. 

What are your biggest challenges in getting trails ready for the season?

Fall is the busiest time for trail maintenance. My goal is to have all maintenance done by mid to late October. This ensures the best possible outcome as the trails transition through the freeze and thaw to come. Depending on the spring, flooding is often causes time-consuming challenges to have trails ready for spring opening. Weather is the biggest hurdle: trees are blow down, trails are wet and not accessible for checking except by foot and that is time consuming. So weather/conditions are the biggest challenge.

What reminders do you have for trail users as we head into the busy season?

Trail Etiquette, Trail Etiquette, Trail Etiquette! This includes: greeting other trail users, yielding to other users, using designated trails only, adhering to trail closures during wet weather. Follow all the rules to protect your right to ride. Purchase an annual permit. Money collected at the KVR via permits stays on the property and benefits the trails.

Where can people learn more about trails?

Here are some great resources:

National Trails Day is June 6^th

American Trails – The voice of a diverse trails community  

Leave No Trace

Backcountry Horsemen of America 

IMBA International Mountain Biking Association 

American Hiking Society 

KVR Trail Etiquette 

Kickapoo River Paddler Etiquette 

Wisconsin State Park and State Trails Trail Etiquette 

Kickapoo Valley Reserve Information 

Take Your Kids Hiking

If our family is out and about this weekend, and we notice something on the trail, what should we do?

If there is conflict on the trails, notify the KVR or Vernon County Sheriff for an emergency or a dangerous situation. In an emergency, always call 911.

Trees down or trail tread issues? Please call the KVR Visitor Center to report.Try to pinpoint the location and size.

Off trail use or use of closed trails: Please Contact the KVR Visitor Center.

Overcoming Ewww!

Today's post is by Julie Hoel, an instructor at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve and KRMB Board Member. She shares an inspiring series of reflections from her life about how she grew toward embracing things that might not be considered "beautiful" or "pretty" in nature. Julie deeply understands how adults can model wonder and awe to help our children develop essential understandings about all aspects of the natural world and our place within it. We've also shared some resources at the end of the post for supporting children and nurturing their connections to things that might seem "yucky," "gross," or "icky" on first glance, but can ultimately prove to be fascinating, cool, and remarkable with a closer look. Maybe helping young people see all that nature holds can help them find greater acceptance for all parts of our existence, too.  

Crawfish, Warner Creek. Photo by Jackie Yocum

I grew up in suburban Chicago where Farmer Dehne’s field had begun growing small houses instead of corn. It was the ‘50s and those houses were filled with 'Boomer' kids. Our moms pushed us out of the house to play, but there was little nature to explore.  I had to ride my bike three blocks to even see a mature tree! This lack of experience in nature might explain my relatively high “Ewww!" factor. I never minded getting dirty, but June bugs smashing into the screens on a warm night or ants streaming from cracks in the sidewalk gave me bad dreams. Not nightmares exactly, but bad enough that I would cross the hall and say, “Gramma, can I sleep with you? There are bugs in my bed.”

My two weeks at YMCA camp in the summer were the highlight of my year. Again, I loved being outside, but the focus there was on activities like canoeing, sailing, and swimming and not much progress was made on lowering the Ewww! factor. Cuddling soft furry things…bunnies, dogs, cats…were fine, but please don’t ask me to touch a frog or slithering snake or a gross bug.

We raised our two kids in a small town in the lake country of Northern Wisconsin. Our house had a small woods, but we were 'beachers.' I had those sand buckets and water toys at the ready in my car at all times. Later they liked camp and sports (the acorns don’t fall far from the tree) and we didn’t spend much time in those woods.

Bat, Hoot Owl Trail. Photo by Jackie Yocum

Shortly after we moved here, I had a life-changing experience while weeding. I inadvertently touched a dead bat in the burdock! Ewww! But I quickly moved from Ewww! to AWE. Actually touching its tiny furry body completely changed my feelings about bats. It was a mammal like me! Its delicate wing membranes were incredible! I had known none of this years earlier when I donned a ski mask and gloves to trap a bat in my house with a pot and whisk it outside into the freezing January night to die. That was before Ewww! had turned to AWE! I feel terrible remembering that. Now I know what amazing creatures they are and I worry about them as they deal with their own bat pandemic of White Nose Syndrome.

Blue-spotted salamander, Little Canada Trail. Photo by Jackie Yocum

My work as an instructor at KVR has given me many opportunities to overcome Ewww! You can’t teach about worms and show any Ewww! when you  touch them. You have to pick up that frog to take advantage of the teachable moment. You have to let that beautiful Luna moth crawl right up your sleeve. You have to let go of Ewww! and get right to AWE.

Recently I had an opportunity to demonstrate just how far I have come when I came across a dead fish floating on the edge of my pond. My first thought wasn’t Ewww! I was wondering how it died. As I looked more closely, I could see something stuck in its mouth. It was brown and oval shaped.  Was it a leaf or an old lure? Luckily I was wearing garden gloves, so I gently pulled the object out of the fish’s mouth. WOW! It was a HUGE bug! Amazing! I took this photo to document the event and amaze my friends. I even posted it on Facebook as a distraction from virus news. Several folks who have not overcome their Ewww! Factors promised never to swim in my pond again. I’m counting on the heat of August and the refreshing cool water to help them overcome their Ewww!

I am doing better with my grandkids. I suppressed the Ewww! when they found this fish washed up on the shore at Devil’s Lake. They were drawn to its beauty sparkling in the September sun. Note my granddaughter’s careful one-fingered touching of those scales. Right to AWE for her! Our children need us to let them get to AWE and feel their connectedness to the natural world. I know now that the Ewww! can engage the senses and turn even the most reluctant learner into a fascinated nature enthusiast. And the future of our planet may depend on that!

***

For more information and ideas, consider Rachel Carson's pivotal work, Help Your Child to Wonder, from 1956. It was later published in book form in 1965. There was also a great PBS documentary made about Carson's work. Find more about that here.  Additional learning about Rachel Carson's remarkable life and work can be found here and here. The Rachel Carson Council carries out her legacy today.

The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) has good advice for supporting kiddos who are uncomfortable with outdoor things. Check it out here.

The Nature's Yucky book series could offer some new ways for young ones to consider things that make them go, "Ewww!"






We'd love to hear about your experiences learning to embrace things in the natural world or supporting your children as they wander and wonder. Reach out, comment on this post, or share your experiences on our Facebook posts. 

Collection

A guest post by Meaghan Gustafson, La Farge Schools District Administrator, Parent and KVR Enthusiast

We are a family of collectors. Even though I am drawn to the clean lines and bare walls of a minimalist aesthetic, the collection clutter wins. Stacks of books, shelves full of trinkets and old treasures, a pile of found objects by the front door. 

As our time away from normal routines extend, we find ourselves settling into a different type of family life. New rhythms, a smaller circle, and extra time spent outside (not to mention the challenges of working from home, an escalation in sibling rivalry, and daily wondering how this or that area of the house became messy again). A collection of a different kind of day, and new memories.

Our go-to family activity is hiking. We throw a water bottle and a few snacks in a backpack, and head out with our oldest (freshly 8), and youngest (4), and dog and see what we can find. Some whining or minor injuries or arguing over who gets to be first are always a feature, but we find fun. We poke around, walk on logs, hang on branches, throw rocks in streams.  Our eyes remain watchful for whatever natural treasures we can find. This early spring, on one hike alone, we returned from our woods with six (6!) antler sheds! A banner day for our collector hearts.

This spring, although my kids have certainly had more screen time than they ever did pre-pandemic, they have also had much more time outside.  I have enjoyed watching their evolution into independent outdoor explorers, and through this gift of more time with them I have noticed their play often includes a form of collecting. Whether it is a challenge presented for one by the other (how many mayapples can you find?) or their own interest-led collecting (gathering acorns as bait for their “bear trap”), collecting both captivates their attention and captures their imagination.

As it turns out, collecting is a good brain-builder too. 

Collecting provides an obtainable challenge for kids, and provides a situation where they retain an element of control and autonomy over what, when, how, and where to collect.

Adding to a collection requires the collector to be alert and watchful for the item or features of an item not yet found. There is the moment of discovery (!) and then a sense of accomplishment.

A collection itself provides additional opportunities for investigation. Collections can be sorted by type, size, shape or color. Patterns can be created, arrangements prepared for presentation. Examination of collected items can lead to new questions and curiosities to research. Vocabulary grows.

Collecting can take many forms.

• Bird sightings- mark the date and location in a bird book

• Gather rocks - always on the hunt for interesting looking rocks, my son found a great shell fossil on our driveway this past month!

• Steps or miles- how many can be accumulated in a day, a week, a month, a season?

• Animal signs- how many and of what types of tracks, scat, holes, nests, feathers or fur can be found on a hike? 

• Sticks- a collection of sticks can be a great many things! A tool kit, a pretend-play family, or the makings of a fort. Also: acorns, pinecones, nuts of any kind.

• Berries - a handful of berries or another wild-foraged food makes a satisfying snack.

• Paths- My family has been working on tackling the 2020 KVR Trail Challenge during the Safer at Home order. 

• Nature Table- arrange an assortment of seasonal finds on a shelf, windowsill, or tray.

To collect is to continuously experience the thrill of the find. Even without a target in mind, the search, the discovery, still delights!

Keep in mind that in many places the physical collecting of flowers, animals, or rocks is not allowed and there are restrictions on collection of certain migratory bird specimens. They can still be added to a collection through photographing or journaling.

Here are a some great related reads for collectors and their families:

Cabinet of Curiosities is a treasure of a book to inspire young collectors. Every page is filled with beautiful images and information on classification, tips for curating treasures, and the history of collecting. The author was interviewed on Science Friday here.

Grice, G. (2015). Cabinet of curiosities: Collecting and understanding the wonders of the natural world.

Art Forms in Nature is based on Ernst Haekel's prints from around the turn of the 20th century. These delicate illustrations of microscopic organisms, plants, and animals help provide an understanding of geometric forms and the beauty of studying closely and carefully. 

Haeckel, E. H. P. A., Breidbach, O., & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. (2019). Art forms in nature: The prints of Ernst Haeckel.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Eastern whip-poor-will. Photo by Tom Murray CC BY-NC 2.0

Some days seem to run together after over a month of Safer at Home practices. We've settled into a semi-routine rhythm of work and schooling, lots of meal-making, dishes and laundry and everyday things. We watch and wait for news that the spread of this virus is slowing.

One of our commitments has been to get out every day, even if it's raining or blustery. Our walks never fail to bring something interesting into view. We've begun to try marking each day by noticing something different about our usual path. And the other day, on just another ordinary Wednesday, in this otherwise far from ordinary time, we were reminded to look closer and tread more carefully.

On a little detour through the school woodlot to see the bloodroot pushing up from the leaf litter and unfurling its delicate leaves and blooms, our attention was captivated by a downy woodpecker working diligently at the top of a dead tree, bobbing in and out in search of insects or perhaps creating a nest cavity in a noisy display. The bird didn’t seem to be concerned by us watching below.

As we turned to head home, my eye caught sight of a small rabbit tucked silent and still in the thicket of last fall's brown briars and brush just three feet from where we were standing. I don't know what drew my eye to that spot, but my son noticed my sudden stillness and turned to look as I pointed. We appreciated the way this animal remained in that spot when it might have also chosen to dart and dash in the face of danger.

We backed out of the spot slowly and made our way back home, that small moment tucked away as the marvel of the day.

Can you spot the rabbit?

How many creatures are hiding in plain sight? What might we find when we slow down and look more closely?

From the beautiful and mysterious Eastern whip-poor-will that will be arriving soon, to the gray treefrogs nearly invisible on bark; from the spotted fawns that will rest in the dappled sunlight of the forest floor to the mottled fur of the bobcat, our natural world is full of remarkable examples of living things whose survival is boosted by their ability to disappear, blend in, and go unnoticed.

Gray treefrog. Photo by Robert Hay, WDNR

Bobcat. WDNR

Pausing to consider the role that blending into the environment plays, we can appreciate the remarkable ways our experiences in the natural world may be deeper and richer than we realize as we move through and hike on. Treading softly, quietly, and carefully can become a set of practiced skills and also a way of being.

What have you noticed that's hiding in plain sight?

***

Don't forget to take some time to explore the wildlife captured on the Snapshot Wisconsin trail cameras, which is a great way to observe wildlife without interfering in their lives and habitat. The blog has recently been updated to share footage of a juvenile eagle and a cougar sighting.

The PBS Nature Series, Spy in the Wild, features cameras disguised as animals to capture footage of behavior that might be difficult to see otherwise. These animals are far from our home here in Wisconsin, but for up-close insight into their behavior and a view from their world without intruding in it, check it out here.