We have had quite the adventures the past two weeks! At the beginning of the month, we began predicting when we would see our frog and turtle friends again (we miss them greatly). Many of us were hopeful for a mid-April return from hibernation. We talked about needing warm weather and sunshine for these friends to appear because their bodies rely on the extra warmth to survive. This is why they must hibernate in winter! We listened to the story, A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson, about a hungry frog that eats almost everything in sight. It soon realizes that the log it is sitting on is not a log at all, but a gator! After making a silly frog craft, we set out on the trail to see if our slimy friends had emerged from hibernation, where we pretended to be frogs on a log. Sadly, we did not find any frogs yet–the boardwalk was still covered in ice, which is a sure sign that the weather was not quite right. On our way back to the pavilion, we stopped to admire the tiny hemlock cones and woodpecker holes before it was time to head home.
Last week, we enjoyed slightly warmer temperatures and the bird songs that came with the weather. We are so happy it is spring! For our craft, we intended to make birding binoculars, but the idea of telescopes was even more exciting. Both inventions helped us see nature–and each other–up close. From the pavilion, we watched as birds swooped around us. Ms. Paige helped us identify chickadees and red-winged blackbirds based on their songs (“Cheese burger! Cheese burger!” and “Conk-la-reeee!”). We heard a new bird, too–a tufted titmouse singing, “Peter Peter Peter!” Then, we headed down Fox Den Trail to Jack’s Creek, where the soil was extra mucky (only one of us lost a boot). We tried our luck at a new hobby (fishing with sticks). We did not have any luck, so we will try again next time! As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed not only dog tracks, but raccoon footprints on the other side of the creek. We used our telescopes to search for it, but decided we might have better luck at finding it if we come back during the night.
