Mequon Nature Preserve - Winter Frolic

Embry and I enjoyed a chilly but fun-filled day at the Winter Frolic, hosted by the Mequon Nature preserve.

Peter & Lily 

We kicked off our day with a horse sleigh ride through the prairie.

Even drones love nature

Then we headed to the lumberjack competition. Even a drone wanted in on the action. Here, pairs of representatives from four amazing local nature centers (Mequon Nature Preserve, Riveredge, Schlitz Audubon, Urban Ecology Center) competed in various lumberjacking activities.  We didn't stick around so see the whole event, but we did visit back later to see the end result.

I may have to create one of these for our school's outdoor classroom.

We then headed back to the education center to warm up and visit some of our favorite animals. Embry even put on her "owl eyes."

Blanding's turtle, one of my favorites

Back to the winter wonderland we went. The first stop was at the pond for some ice fishing. Though she didn't get even a nibble, Embry didn't seem to mind.

Then we headed to the "little tower" before the fine fragrance of a campfire lured us into making some roasted marshmallows.

With the gooey marshmallows warming us up a but, we took the tractor ride over to the big tower to see some Malamute friends and a dog sledding exhibit.

It was hard to tell who loved the other more, the puppy or the child.

Up the tower we went to check out the telescopes (a tradition every visit) before tractoring back to the petting zoo.

As they each approached, Embry made sure to notify the animals that she didn't have any food.

Chilled to the bone, we returned to the education center to visit more animals.

We then wrapped up the day with a few nature-based crafts. We walked away with a vibrant leaf print, a bird bag of nesting materials, and a nature mobile, which is already hanging in Embry's room.

This was our first Winter frolic, but it most certainly won't be our last.

Timberwolf Trail - Week 19 - 2016-17 Edition

We kicked off February with a wonderful winter. We headed right for our natural play area, where we crowned a new Stick Champion.

On the way, we saw many tracks and one of the woolly bears on the land.

Then, it was off to the fallen tree forest to set our newly-created pretzel garlands and other assorted snacks out for our furry and feathered friends.

For natural play, almost everyone set out to capture the coyote. Earlier in the morning, we looked through our trail camera captures from the previous month and saw our coyote friend. Now. it was time to catch him :)  While he is still loose, everyone swore they found his tracks.

The class also engaged in various other activities. From playing their own versions of stick champions, construction snow and ice castles, and finding each others "secret hideout," it was a busy natural play time.

Before heading in, we enjoyed some impromptu Snow Yoga. While the idea came to me while the class was gathering, I think it might be a regular activity from here on out. We enjoyed many poses, including. . .

the snowman,

the figure skater,

the speed skater,

the toboggan or bobsled,

and the class favorite, the blizzard.

Timberwolf Trail - Trail Camera Captures- January 2017 Edition

Another exciting month on the trail. While the vast majority of the shots were of our cottontail and white-tailed deer friends, we did have a few new captures, including one I have been waiting for . . .

Hello dear deer

Triple deer

Spronking deer

Raccoon

Peter Rabbit

Foggy squirrel

Female Cardinal

Wile E. Coyote :)

Tyke Hike #35 - Loew Lake

Winter returned after a few weeks of unusually (but appreciated) warm temperatures. Eleven bundled up adventurers set out on the beautiful Loew Lake Segment for natural exploration.

While we waited for more friends to arrive, a few tykes enjoyed sledding down the hill at the edge of the parking lot. But the real action took place on the trail.

Walking sticks in hand, the children led us through the pine forest and down to the frosty Oconomowoc River, bopping blazes along the way.

We stopped for some natural play at one of our favorite spots, affectionately named "the canoe tree." Though a bit too frigid today, we normally see people in kayaks and canoes on the river. However, even when we don't, we use a fallen down and hollowed put tree trunk on the edge of the river to enjoy the feel of a canoe while snapping a few cute pictures.

Of course, freshly fallen snow requires snow angels.

Our second natural play stop is a collection of fallen trees adjacent to the trail. Children always a get an adventure out of testing their limits on this wonderful area. The snow-capped limbs also added a new element of discovery.

Under adult guidance, a few children even used their walking sticks as fishing poles

One of my favorite spots of this segment is a patch of younger pines in the shadows of their towering relatives. Covered in snow, it made an even more picturesque scene, though my camera did not do it justice.

On the way back, we made sure to stop multiple times for "stump jumps."

Another wonderful morning of nature. Come join us at Pike Lake on February 25th.