With temperatures in the mild 70s and humidity half of what it will soon be, it was a perfect day to open the house letting the breezes blow through. This is a good thing as it made a day of sitting at the computer much nicer than it might have been. It's been a productive day compiling exemplary sites full of great information for all of you as you begin your nature journals. I'm eager to share this portion of our life science curriculum. It will invite YOU to get outdoors much more than you might otherwise. Perhaps you'll be opening your "mental doors" wide to the natural world here in Gulf Coast Florida over the next couple months! That's my hope as, in my estimation, it's one of the most significant lessons you might gain this year in science.
As I reflect back on my own childhood and what my relationship was like with nature, I'll tell you that it was comparatively desolate to your local environment here. I lived in a new neighborhood with yards of mown grass and skimpy flower beds. Trees were young and provided little shade or habitat for living things. Only a small wooded area remained at the far end of my street. This became a magical place for us one summer. We, the neighborhood children, had discovered thick bushes with overgrown tunnel-like trails that were delightful. I had a sense of being in a fantasy world something like Bilbo Baggins enjoyed in the land of Hobbits. The possibilities of a huge new level of adventure filled my spirit. Along with the huge tree standing sentry to these magic new digs that was an excellent climber, we'd found the secret to a magical summer. And then the adults stepped in.
They cut down the tree. GASP! And they cut and cleaned away all the wild bushes. While I can appreciate their concerns, it was a signature act of the 60s when nature was generally undervalued and all that was new and modern and clean and spiffy and safe was to be embraced. I was heartbroken.
Perhaps this is why I've travelled to wild places and chosen to live in a cabin in the woods of Alaska for 8 years early in my adult life. And why a home on 22 acres in the Black Hills surrounded by forest service land felt like a perfect haven for me. And now, sitting with a little lake with a preserve on the other side is a reasonable compromise when living in Venice, Florida. Sitting under my giant rosewood tree with the branches hanging low around me have given me the sense of being in a green, living fort and I'd say that at such times I probably feel more like that 12 year old back in Illinois than at any other time.
What are the experiences you're creating now that connect you in meaningful, enjoyable ways with nature? What things do you like to do outdoors that make you feel happy and full of delight? I hope you can list many things. If not, guess what? You're likely to discover at least ONE way that being outdoors makes you feel alive in a new and improved way!
Nature provides us with a balance these days. I hope it will be a ready prescription for decades to come, but I do have some concerns about this. However, you and my own family are my primary focus - I want YOU to discover the balance that time outside provides. I can't help but think that the combination of being outdoors and learning about the life around you will win you over and become something you CHOOSE to do even when it's not assigned by a teacher. My hope is that you fall in love - for the first time or for the 1000th time with this amazing planet and its beautiful biodiversity over the next weeks. Let me know how it goes, will you?
And look who gave me a visit late in the day...:)
As I reflect back on my own childhood and what my relationship was like with nature, I'll tell you that it was comparatively desolate to your local environment here. I lived in a new neighborhood with yards of mown grass and skimpy flower beds. Trees were young and provided little shade or habitat for living things. Only a small wooded area remained at the far end of my street. This became a magical place for us one summer. We, the neighborhood children, had discovered thick bushes with overgrown tunnel-like trails that were delightful. I had a sense of being in a fantasy world something like Bilbo Baggins enjoyed in the land of Hobbits. The possibilities of a huge new level of adventure filled my spirit. Along with the huge tree standing sentry to these magic new digs that was an excellent climber, we'd found the secret to a magical summer. And then the adults stepped in.
They cut down the tree. GASP! And they cut and cleaned away all the wild bushes. While I can appreciate their concerns, it was a signature act of the 60s when nature was generally undervalued and all that was new and modern and clean and spiffy and safe was to be embraced. I was heartbroken.
Perhaps this is why I've travelled to wild places and chosen to live in a cabin in the woods of Alaska for 8 years early in my adult life. And why a home on 22 acres in the Black Hills surrounded by forest service land felt like a perfect haven for me. And now, sitting with a little lake with a preserve on the other side is a reasonable compromise when living in Venice, Florida. Sitting under my giant rosewood tree with the branches hanging low around me have given me the sense of being in a green, living fort and I'd say that at such times I probably feel more like that 12 year old back in Illinois than at any other time.
What are the experiences you're creating now that connect you in meaningful, enjoyable ways with nature? What things do you like to do outdoors that make you feel happy and full of delight? I hope you can list many things. If not, guess what? You're likely to discover at least ONE way that being outdoors makes you feel alive in a new and improved way!
Nature provides us with a balance these days. I hope it will be a ready prescription for decades to come, but I do have some concerns about this. However, you and my own family are my primary focus - I want YOU to discover the balance that time outside provides. I can't help but think that the combination of being outdoors and learning about the life around you will win you over and become something you CHOOSE to do even when it's not assigned by a teacher. My hope is that you fall in love - for the first time or for the 1000th time with this amazing planet and its beautiful biodiversity over the next weeks. Let me know how it goes, will you?
And look who gave me a visit late in the day...:)
My Observations:
This possum moved slowly and was initially stuffing its mouth full of palm seeds, seeking ones that were ripest perhaps? I saw it eat four seeds and then it moved down toward the lake. I followed it but kept my distance as while I know they're meant to "play possum" when feeling threatened, and also a concern for rabies. Unlike on a prior visit, I didn't see it head for the oak tree out on the point but it seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Perhaps down along the water down a bit where I'm unable to view things unless being very close to look over the edge. This is not so great when it's a 14' gator as was the case some years ago! Anyway, given that my dog, Cody, was raising a ruckus, I went to calm him down and left the opossum to its business.
Other observations include what I think was a bit of a stinky smell. It's coat looked greasy and unclean but I'm not sure this is a fair analysis. I wonder if opossums are clean animals. I saw its little ears twitching back and forth to help evaluate what to do when I drew close to it with my camera. And it held its tiny left paw in the air like that for some time. It's tail looks very healthy and the photo allowed me to observe how long its whiskers are!
Opossum are MARSUPIALS and carry their young in pouches. It would be very cool to see a mama opossum with babies onboard.
I remember going to a seminar given by a biologist who was an expert on this species. She spoke of how ancient they are evolutionarily speaking. She also talked about how tough it is for them to survive cold winters as their tails and ears freeze easily. They also don't live very long lives. And while they are not the brightest of mammals, they are not endangered even in the midst of habitat loss as they are becoming more common in suburban and urban areas.
This possum moved slowly and was initially stuffing its mouth full of palm seeds, seeking ones that were ripest perhaps? I saw it eat four seeds and then it moved down toward the lake. I followed it but kept my distance as while I know they're meant to "play possum" when feeling threatened, and also a concern for rabies. Unlike on a prior visit, I didn't see it head for the oak tree out on the point but it seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Perhaps down along the water down a bit where I'm unable to view things unless being very close to look over the edge. This is not so great when it's a 14' gator as was the case some years ago! Anyway, given that my dog, Cody, was raising a ruckus, I went to calm him down and left the opossum to its business.
Other observations include what I think was a bit of a stinky smell. It's coat looked greasy and unclean but I'm not sure this is a fair analysis. I wonder if opossums are clean animals. I saw its little ears twitching back and forth to help evaluate what to do when I drew close to it with my camera. And it held its tiny left paw in the air like that for some time. It's tail looks very healthy and the photo allowed me to observe how long its whiskers are!
Opossum are MARSUPIALS and carry their young in pouches. It would be very cool to see a mama opossum with babies onboard.
I remember going to a seminar given by a biologist who was an expert on this species. She spoke of how ancient they are evolutionarily speaking. She also talked about how tough it is for them to survive cold winters as their tails and ears freeze easily. They also don't live very long lives. And while they are not the brightest of mammals, they are not endangered even in the midst of habitat loss as they are becoming more common in suburban and urban areas.
Opossum Facts
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Didelphis
Scientific Name: Didelphis Virginiana
Type: Mammal
Diet: Omnivore
Size: 15-45cm (5.9-18in)
Weight: 0.5-6kg (1.1-13lbs)
Top Speed: 25km/h (15mph)
Life Span: 2-7 years
Lifestyle: Solitary
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Colour: Black, Brown, White, Grey
Skin Type: Fur
Favourite Food: Fruit
Habitat: Forest and farmland close to water
Average Litter Size: 6
Main Prey: Fruit, Insects, Frogs
Predators: Fox, Cat, Birds of Prey
Special Features: Long prehensile tail and sharp claws
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Didelphis
Scientific Name: Didelphis Virginiana
Type: Mammal
Diet: Omnivore
Size: 15-45cm (5.9-18in)
Weight: 0.5-6kg (1.1-13lbs)
Top Speed: 25km/h (15mph)
Life Span: 2-7 years
Lifestyle: Solitary
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Colour: Black, Brown, White, Grey
Skin Type: Fur
Favourite Food: Fruit
Habitat: Forest and farmland close to water
Average Litter Size: 6
Main Prey: Fruit, Insects, Frogs
Predators: Fox, Cat, Birds of Prey
Special Features: Long prehensile tail and sharp claws