It's been a crazy week for me, so I especially appreciated the opportunity to spend some unhurried time with my kids along the
Hockanum River today. (That's them by the river bank exploring.) We walked less than a mile, but took the better part of the afternoon doing it. I thought I would share some of our discoveries.
J found the first patch of Skunk Cabbage, a sure sign that spring is really here. Rumor has it that black bears awakening from their winter slumber eat this food first. Zoo Boy
observed "Wow. Bears must have really stinky breath."
The boys hunt along the river bank for treasures and surprises.
They were rewarded -- fresh deer tracks! (We knew they were fresh because it had rained earlier in the day, which would have washed away older tracks.) They tracked it along the river for a ways until they lost the trail in the gravel of the
stream bed.
The woods that the river trail runs through.
Another treasure discovered -- a feather, I would guess from a Catbird.
The boys spent quite awhile studying a Mallard drake. He had flown over our heads and landed in the river ahead of us, so they snuck quietly along to find a spot to watch him as he preened himself. As they observed him, another drake flew in. The boys whispered to each other, wondering if they would fight or be friendly. The ducks circled each other, then eventually swam off together. Zoo Boy noted "They must be friends."
Last year's cattails.
Looking for muskrat burrows along the river bank. They found two burrows whose roofs had caved in. A bit further down the river they discovered several trees that had been gnawed by beavers, bringing into question whether the burrows were really muskrat
after all, as single beavers will live in riverbank burrows as well. Zoo Boy likes to think that there are both muskrats and beavers in the river. He's probably right.
J checks out a giant White Ash tree.
Zoo Boy, all smiles in the spring sunshine.
The boys had a museum class yesterday about the types of wildlife that live right here in Connecticut. They discussed various species of wildlife and examined their tracks, scat (poop), claws, fur and quills. They learned about White-tailed Deer, Porcupines, Beaver, Cottontail Rabbits, and Painted Turtles, amongst other species. In this photo, Zoo Boy shows some of the class materials to The Map Man after class.
The class prepares to go bird-watching. This morning Zoo Boy told me that bird-watching is his favorite thing to do in the spring. Nice coincidence, as bird-watching is one of MY favorite things to do, any time of year.
Some of the identification tools they used while out bird-watching.
J works on a diorama in class. The kids built a model of their backyards and covered the ground with footprints from the animals that are found there. J chose to have a bear walk across his backyard. Not totally unrealistic, we do have Black Bears in our neighborhood, and no doubt they traipse across our property on occasion, although we've never seen one in our actual yard. A neighbor did see a Mountain Lion in our yard once, however.
Zoo Boy shows off models of the scat from a beaver and a porcupine, two of his favorite mammals, or so he tells me. (Black Bear is his third favorite.) Not surprisingly, this class was a HUGE hit with The Boy. Right up his alley, so to speak.
The kids and I have been on Spring Break while the doggies and I have been at our National Specialty winning things like this...
