Wild in the Snow

We've been enjoying the wildlife here lately but weren't sure just how the turkeys would fare. Imagine our delight a few days ago after a big snow storm when these funny birds came fluttering down the block. Poor guys... they were so hungry because all of their food is hidden under the snow so they started hopping up and down, trying desperately to get the few remaining crab apples off this tree. One fell down. I nearly did too, laughing.

Wild for Turkeys

There's a family of turkeys that has been hanging out in our neighborhood for the past month or so. Although I haven't gotten up close to inspect, it would appear that it is a Momma turkey and her five babies. They showed up one day in our back yard, in the fenced-in part where our dog likes to hang out. Gus spotted them from the window and shouted, "Mom, there's a pack of wild turkeys in our yard! Cool!"
.
We've watched them from the windows, followed them around the neighborhood taking their pictures and once or twice, I've caught Gus chasing them with a squirt gun or a stick. I've tried in instill in the kids a sense of awe for their beauty, a curiosity for a "pack" of turkeys in an urban neighborhood. But yet, last week Gus said to me, "Mom, can I go get a knife and stab one?"
.
Well, at least he asked. I think they'd out run him any day.

Butterflies Everywhere

Another monarch caterpillar raising summer, indeed. We've enjoyed finding the eggs on milkweed, carefully bringing the host milkweed leaves home, watching carefully as they hatch, eat, eat and eat more. They crawl up to the top of our box, just as they did last year, hang themselves upside down in the "J" position, and suddenly, POOF... the yellow and black stripes are replaced with a surreal green and gold dotted chrysalis. It is so amazing, every time. This year the kids and I were lucky enough to be watching as it actually happened, to witness nature's miracle. Although we're not homeschoolers, I think we've learned more than a year's worth of science curriculum with these critters over the past weeks. They will go on and on to strangers about the food that monarchs eat, the fras they poop, the positions they take, the cycle of their lives and even where to find milk weed in Minneapolis. Strangers look at me and grin.

.

While we wait for the next cycle of monarchs to begin again (they sometimes have four cycles in a MN summer), we're learning about Painted Ladies. Our neighbor brought us a kit with six teeny tiny caterpillars. The learning curve starts again.

.

And you? Any creepy crawlies in your life lately?

New Friends

We've found a few new friends here in S. Minneapolis. We think they might be Frittilary caterpillars, but according to the book we have from the library, they're not very common in Minnesota. So, we're in need of a more exhaustive book from the library or help from a blog land friend in the know. Any suggestions?

We raised monarchs from found eggs last summer and the boys learned all the butterfly/larvae lingo. We have one of these guys that we found last week in a butterfly box that has made his way into his chrysalis. One is in the "J" formation as of this morning so we're eagerly awaiting the spinning of his cocoon and making his way through the metamorphosis. The boys want to stand and watch... all day. As the first day of vacation, I'm letting them set the pace themselves. Look out summer, here we come!

A sneak peek

We have a family friend, Bill Cameron, who is a photographer. He specializes in pregnancy and family photography and we met when I was first pregnant with Carl. While I think I went to the Sears' photo studio twice when Carl was a little tyke, we've been going exclusively to Bill for the past five years. His stuff is fantastic. And personal. And after the shoot is over, we receive the cd with the images on it. We went a few weeks ago for a family shot, in preparation for our holiday cards. We're very happy with the results. Can you tell? Here are a few of the kids.

I think he's working on a website. When it is up, I'll link here and you can check out his stuff for yourself. You'll be happy you did.

Goodbye to a Friend

We had to say goodbye to "Little Fella" recently. Little Fella, as named by Gus, was a little caterpillar (a moth of some sort, my sister knows the exact species) that we found in July at my parents' cabin in WI. He lived in our living room and porch the rest of the summer and the beginning of the fall, until I was worried that we would single-handedly be responsible for his demise. These guys hibernate over the winter and don't become a moth 'til the spring. We considered moving his box to the basement, but I was worried we would forget, that we wouldn't give him the right kinds of plant life to survive, or that he might even stink up the basement in his forgotten death!

Instead, we decided to do the humane, but difficult thing: we returned him to nature. We took him to nearby Woodlake Nature Center and found a perfect little tree for his new home. Carl and Gus were quite sad, but were reassured when I said we could come back for visits whenever they wanted.

The three of them are scouting potential tree homes for Little Fella. When we found an ash tree, the same kind he was living on when we found him at the cabin, we knew it would become his home sweet home.

They're settling him in here. Gus picked leaf after leaf after leaf and piled them neatly beside and on him, to ensure adequate nutrition in his new home. They waved and blew kisses. "Bye Bye Little Fella!"

Fall Fun at the Arb

I think the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is my absolute favorite place on earth to see the fall colors. Yes, some say that driving up north or along the mighty Mississippi is wonderful, and it is, but the arb really knows how to show off its colors.
We went last weekend and enjoyed an unguided romp in the woods with the cousins, the paths unfolding in front of us, allowing our boys (and girl) to discover the woods and all their wonders by themselves. The beauty of bringing children out in the open air like this is that they are exercising so many of their senses as well as their little bodies... and they don't even know it. Later they hit the pillows so hard we didn't hear a peep 'til the morn. They're still talking about the paths and rocks today.

As my wife (well, roommate) and I used to say, "thank you, thank you, thank you" for it all.

Nature Kids

My friend Korie and I decided that we had heard enough about Nature Deficiency Disorder in kids. We are outside putzing in the yard, parks and nature almost daily, so we didn't worry about our kids, but decided to be purposefull in planning our summer activities. We like the neighborhood parks and spend a great deal of time there, but decided that we wanted to add to our repetoire of fun, kid-friendly nature sites. Thus began our blog to document the outings and provide calendar information for future nature dates . We meet every Thursday morning for a kid-centered outing and picnic lunch, somewhere in the Twin Cities area, surrounded by green stuff. So far we've had three adventures and have many more in store for the summer. Check it out. Join us, if you'd like!

These photos were from Afton State Park. We started with a kid-bike ride and then found the river. We couldn't tear the kids away from the water for the rest of the morning. Lunch on the beach was mostly sand-coated. Good for the digestive system, right?

A Visitor in our Yard

Carl and Gus have loved being outside more lately with the nicer weather. One day recently we spent time cleaning up the yard with Mor Mor and Opa. They came over to help with yard work (my dream come true!) and help out with the kids so I could work in the yard. While we were out there, Carl and Gus discovered a little critter among the leaves that protected our plants over the cold winter.

Gus gets really excited about things sometimes. I had to put a little hollow log over the critter to protect it after he proclaimed, "Mom, I moved it so it would be safe."

Ok, thank you. Glad you picked it up. I guess when you're two, it is hard to resist touching warm, fuzzy, grey critters even when your mom tells you that we don't touch baby animals we find outside. I guess I would have wanted to touch it too... but I'm an adult, I'm supposed to know better. It looked soft to me. At least it wasn't the racoon we saw tonight on our way home, cuddled up to the new retaining wall by the freeway. What was it doing there?!?

Happy? Scared because a 2 year old picked it up? Relieved? Looking for its mama? The next day we found it in a new pile of leaves, quite far away from Gus' new location for the bunny. Truly a beautiful find in our hosta bed.

Nature Hike

Last week we went on a hike with friends to a nearby nature center, Wood Lake. It is an amazing place... a center with live animals, nature displays, a worm-composter, and an area for kids-- plus all the outdoor trails surrounding the lake. Our kids love there because they can splash, stomp, climb, run, explore and just be kids.




Climbing the pirate ship. "Ahoy matey. I'm Captain Feathersword."




You never know what we will find there. Here's a bee or wasp nest, perhaps for a school project?!?
They are collecting sap for maple syrup. The nature center sells these contraptions for cheap. Hmmm, I wonder how many maples are on our farm. I'll have to look next time we're there.

Cuddles on the trails. Even little ones love hiking in the woods.

A little sleepy post-nap. It was handy that there was still enough snow for a sled to pull her along the trail.

After the tromp in the woods, we snuggled up in the sun's rays with our cocoa, pretzels and animal crackers.