Perfect Day for a Nature Walk

Now that the weather has finally cooled off and the tick/mosquito population has begun to recede somewhat, it was the perfect day to go on a nature walk.  So we drove up to one of our favorite trails out behind a local elementary school and got to it.

Gorgeous, isn't it?

A Trip to Lake Carlos State Park

Once the weather warms up, we usually spend a lot of time at the state park.  Lucky for us, the weather warmed up much earlier than normal this year, so we were able to get an early start on our hiking.

Here are some pictures from our first hike of the year:

We went just before sunset, so I got some amazing pictures of the sky.  Can you find the tiny rainbow here?

Sydney was so excited to finally get to run through the forest.  She was laughing and jumping around.

Exploring Science: Week Two

Now that the sun has returned and the snow has finally melted, we can resume using Elemental Science's Exploring Science program.  The first week- which we did over a month ago- was about observation.  This week, we're studying natural communities.

First, I introduced the topic and Sydney colored the included picture of a natural community:

Luckily, Sydney remembered everything from week one and was able to explain that observation is, in her words, "looking at everything around you," so I didn't have to re-explain all of that material.

Then it was time for the fun part!  The Science Play book that goes along with the program describes roping off a small circle in your yard to look at, but since insects living in the dirt are somewhat few and far between this time of year, we just went on a nature walk and observed the living things that are a part of the natural community of the area.

We saw a woodpecker.

And Sydney found about a hundred things to carry home.

Even in early spring, Minnesota is beautiful.

We had a great time, and with the temperature hovering around sixty today, we didn't require restorative warm drinks when we got home.  Next week is supposed to be insects, I think, so unless I dig the dead hornets out of the window sill in the kitchen, we may have to put that off for another month or so and just move on to whatever comes after next week.

A very wintery nature walk.

Okay, so "very" might be an exaggeration.  We haven't exactly had a lot of snow this winter, and several days in January and February have been warm enough for me to bip around in a short-sleeved shirt.

The upside of this is that Sydney and I have been able to go on quite a few nature walks, whereas during a normal winter we're in danger of losing toes every time we check the mail.  On our last walk, Sydney found something interesting:

She was so excited to see a bird's nest up close!  It was the first time she's gotten to hold one, and she had so much fun investigating the mud and the grass that held everything together.

After our observations, we carefully replaced the nest in its tree and continued on.