Toad Tadpoles….Again!

Melissa | April 30, 2009

Yep, we’re at it again. We were diligent in looking almost every day, and this time when we found them they had just hatched in a vernal pool near the creek. We gathered some up and took them home. They are only a few days old, but my have they grown already!
 

 

 
 
 And here is our latest [...]

Mayapples, Nurse Logs, and Reeves Pheasant

Melissa | April 28, 2009

Now that’s an interesting title!
 

“MAYAPPLES” 
I want to send out a big thank you to my blog friends for helping me identify things. I just love knowing the names of things in nature!! If it weren’t for you all I might not have found the name Reeves Pheasant or Mayapples. I think the reason I love [...]

Reeves Pheasant

Melissa | April 26, 2009

Well, it seems the Reeves Pheasant has befriended us. He seems to have taken a serious liking to the bird seed. You can tell in these photos that his tail has been altered/cut and is perhaps growing back. The short tail was the only thing that didn’t match up to all the other photos of Reeves [...]

Exploring Nature after a Spring Rain

Melissa | April 24, 2009

Yesterday, after four days of sometimes torrential rainfall, the sun broke through the dark gray clouds and the temperatures began their ascent. After a spring rainfall is a wonderful time to go exploring nature. So that’s exactly what we’ve been doing!
 

 
After a spring rainfall you can find lots of vernal pools. A vernal pool is a place [...]

Unidentified Bird

Melissa | April 22, 2009

UPDATE: This is very strange indeed, but it’s true that based on it’s size and other things this bird is a Reeves Pheasant. These birds are indigenous to China, however after reading a bunch about them there have been several unsuccessful attempts to introduce them to other countries including the United States. But I also [...]

Nuts About Nature – Week 11 ~ Nature Walk

Melissa | April 19, 2009

On Friday we held our last class for Nuts About Nature! It has been so much fun teaching this class and I have enjoyed each and every one of the students. For our last class we were blessed with a sunny and 70 degree day, so we gathered up our nature journals and colored pencils [...]