Winter Nature Study

It seems to me that there are many nature lovers who choose to hibernate through the winter. While it is great to watch the birds at your feeders through the living room window, I want to encourage you to get outside, into the cold and snow. There is so much to discover.

Yesterday, I awoke with anticipation of the great time we were going to have on our hike. I wanted the kids to have a good, filling breakfast before we went, so I made a big pot of oatmeal. Then, all my plans began to unravel.

I usually put chocolate chips in the oatmeal to make it more appealing. We ran out. So I used maple syrup, which did not seem to appease my children. I spent the next half an hour force feeding them all that nutritional goodness.

That done, it was time to dress up. It was a chilly -13 Celcius (9 F), so we needed all our layers. That involved finding the long underwear that had strayed to the four corners of our house. After another 1/2 hour wrestling uncooperative children into many layers of clothing we were ready to go. Until they all announced they had to go pee. I was exhausted and we hadn't left the house yet.

We finally arrived at our favorite nature destination. We return to the same place, again and again, week after week. As we pulled in the long drive I heard one of them exclaim "It looks so different!"

It took the boys roughly 3 seconds to discover all the crunchy ice in the shallow ditch. They quickly set to work smashing as much as they could. Soon a large stick was found to help with the job of ice smashing.

We set off for the shore of the small lake. There were hundreds of Canada geese, some in the open water, and many were sitting on the frozen ice. Every now and then they would all start honking and a group would take off. We watched as they gradually formed themselves into a V shape and set off. Their wings whirred as they flew overhead.

Chickadee wanted out of her stroller. She looked rather comical with the oversized outfit I had put together to keep her warm. I recently ordered her new mittens (look at those fabulous gauntlets!). I bought them a little large so she would get more than one season out of them. I think she'll be wearing them for awhile, they probably come up to her shoulders!

We started our hike. Along the way we found that familiar summer and fall plants had changed.

Queen Anne's Lace

Goldenrod

Milkweed

Another favorite thing to do in the winter is to look for animal signs. There wasn't any snow that day, but the geese had left their footprints in the sand on the beach.

Goose track

Shrub gnawed by beaver (light wood is a fresh cut, grey wood an old cut)

Another highlight of our walks is the tea or hot chocolate I bring in a thermos.

It does take effort to get out in the winter, I won't kid you on that. By the time I have everyone dressed I am ready to give up and stay home. However, once we get outside I always find that it was all worth it.