Finding Flowers - August 2018

So, I am by no means an expert at anything. I am definitely not an expert photographer or identifier of plants. That being said, when my eldest daughter said she wanted to "find flowers" I couldn't help but remember something I have wanted to do for a long time.

And, with the butterfly garden installation and native planting preparatory work already begun, it will only be a matter of time before there will be much more diversity (hopefully).

Ever since I created my school's trail, I have wanted to "inventory" the plants there so that I can keep track of how we have restored it through native plantings and seed dispersal. I have failed in doing so the last few years, but I wouldn't be denied tonight.

So, tonight, my girls and I went to the Timberwolf Trail to play and find flowers. Below are some "flowers" we found.

Keep in mind. . .

• I know they are not all flowers. 
• I know some are even weeds.
• Photography is NOT a specialty of mine.

I hope to do this every so often to not only see what's out there, but to catch different flowers at different points of the year and be inspired by the beauty nature offers every day. Hopefully, you'll be inspired as well.

P.S. -  If you want to go ahead and comment with the ID of some of these wonderful items of nature, feel free.

Coneflower

Lamb's Ear

Butterflyweed

Queen Anne's Lace

Thistle

Goldenrod Gall

Oak leaf

Bergamot

Prairie Blazingstar (maybe)

Vine up a tree

Nature will prevail

Tyke Hike #58 - Cross Plains (60th Anniversary Hike)

People regularly ask me, "Are you a thousand-miler?"  While I do plan on one day achieving the distinction of hiking the entire Ice Age National Scenic Trail's over 1,000 miles, I joke that my family and I feel like we have hiked the same one-mile stretch a thousand times.

However, every now and again, we do get to venture out to new parts of the trail and today, that led us to a special Tyke Hike in Cross Plains, home of the Ice Age Trail Alliance Headquarters. Here, we celebrated the Alliance's 60th birthday by attending a celebratory Tyke Hike.

 In fact, about thirty new friends were there to celebrate with us. After decorating our new walking sticks and creating some special trial binoculars, it was off to the trail.

The girls seemed to like the back and forth up and down beginning  portion of the segment though I think it was because they knew they would eventually get to go down - their favorite part. The girls did split up with Embry making new trial friends and Oakley literally trying to touch every rock and root along the way. It was awesome seeing my oldest be a hub of information for the trail. From talking about blazes to identifying plants, she was her on tour guide.

Eventually, the girls did come together to take a banana break, investigate a tree cavity, and make our way back to the Cross Plains Library for a special story time.

Of course, as the librarian shared some picture books and activities, Oakley decided to go on her own "book look," stopping by the biggest moose she has seen to date.

All Tyke Hike attendees received a special Culver's token, so after a nice morning of hiking and enjoying the trail's birthday, we enjoyed a special birthday lunch.

Tyke Hike #57 - Hartland Marsh

Nine hikers (and a small army of mosquitoes) enjoyed a short Tyke Hike through the Hartland Marsh.

Before battling the bugs, we enjoyed the book, Morning Marsh, by Marianne Berkes.

Then it was off to the marsh. We walked through the woods and over the boardwalk, stopping to look at various wildflowers and investigating seeds.

The tykes enjoyed discovering some side trails along the way while the entire group marveled at the majestic oak trees scattered throughout the marsh.

Though the mosquitoes may  have shortened the hike in both time and distance, it was a beautiful night to explore outside.

World of Wonder Conference

Nature-based early childhood education is a passion, so it's not surprising that I spent the last few days at the World of Wonder International Nature-Based Early Learning Conference in Chicago. This conference was a joint venture for Natural Start Alliance (early childhood branch of the North American Association for Environmental Education) and the Nature Pedagogy International Association. This is the third consecutive year I've been able to attend and present. It's always fun to see familiar faces and inspiring to be around individuals doing such amazing work for children.

This year's conference was held at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago. Though commuting every morning and evening wasn't all that exciting, being able to spend my days learning about my passion on the grounds of a gorgeous zoo was pretty nice.

Walking the grounds brought back many amazing memories from my any years working at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

I  even got a hike in on the zoo grounds.

While I loved the zoo and felt fortunate to be able to present, a true highlight was the field trip portion of the conference. It was an honor to have my school's trail and outdoor classroom be a field trip destination. Nearly 50 educators from throughout the country and around the world (11 states and 4 countries) came to see public school nature-based education in action.

While the feedback from the guests was very positive, they may have been enamored with the cute and cuddled up family of possums that took refuge from the sweltering heat in a storage bench near our oak tree classroom.

The guests were led around the trail by some of my former nature kindergarteners.

 Besides being tour guides, they were also very eager nature players.

It was  a very humbling experience to have my site be part of something so near and dear to my heart. I am very blessed to have so much support and I know that this program will only get better.

Speaking of being blessed, I was so excited to see two of my nature mentors join me at my site. When an outdoor classroom was just a thought in my head, I reached out to these two amazing individuals. Both Patti Bailie and Eliza Minnucci unselfishly shared their time and talent to counsel me as I worked to take my ideas and turn them into a reality.

Based on the feedback and excitement of this weekend, I think their consultation worked.