We love our world, the wondrous animals and fabulous humans who make our community a neat place to grow up in. We have a new horse on the farm. Polly worked for many years as a workhorse ploughing fields for crops, and is now too old. She is ready for some loving care and a quiet place to retire. Tell your family about Polly and her new life ahead.
Today we sent kind words to our local food market owner who is facing a serious illness as we enjoyed the store's fundraising cupcakes. If you can, visit Country Roots Fresh Market which is a favourite stopping place for nature school kids. We are thankful to Acorn who brought us bookmarks to celebrate International Kindness Day. Kindness is in all of us!
Life on the farm is always interesting. We had a visitor at the chicken coop hoping for a quick meal. What animal was it? (Mink) What happened to them? (live trapped and relocated). This led us to play camouflage, the mink looking for hens in the high grass. Where did you hide and did you get caught? Sometimes even hiding can have challenges! (Burs)
We use roleplay to get into the mindset of animals who need to hunt to survive. Talk about how you stalked the Opossum in Christmas Forest. Did you get your meal? Predator Wink is another game that keeps your attention on who might be your enemy. It’s hard to be sneaky when everyone is watching!
The seasons are changing just like these kids. Blue Jay lost her two front teeth and Eagle had his fifth birthday yesterday. Just like us, the animals are sensing change and preparing for a new season of challenges. What animals are getting fat and ready for a long sleep, which are off to warmer places, and who is staying for the cold weather ahead? Talk about what you know about which animals hibernate, migrate or stay and adapt.
Skunks stay and adapt to our winters. Skunks are black and white furry mammals that are found all across North America except where it is very cold. Everyone knows what a skunk smells like and we had some really interesting descriptions. How would you describe the smell? Spraying is part of its defense to keep away predators including dogs and people. What predator isn't afraid of the spray or the smell?
On a small section of the trails at Stoneridge, Dragonfly decided that it would be a good spot to build skunk shelters. It turns out that last year, the Chickadee Group found two dead skunks in the exact same area. If we build some shelters here, maybe it will help the skunks during this coming winter. The skunk families quickly got to choosing a spot and deciding if they needed to add more materials. One shelter used wet moss to hold the shelter together, a couple of shelters were versions of lean-tos and one was tucked into the base of a cedar tree with lots of insulation. Where did you decide to build your skunk shelter and what materials did you use? Of course, there wasn't enough time to finish everything completely. What would you do next when you go back?
Saplings had a fascinating visitor who shared his passion for ants. Yes, something so tiny can enjoy a wide menu of foods, be choosy about housing, and even recognize the face of a person who feeds them. Talk about what kind of ants Robert brought, share about the Queen, and some of the things he added to his ant colony to make sure the ants have all they need. (water, sugar water, food plate, sleeping chamber….). Robert will come back next week to share with the Seedlings.
Seedlings used nature notebooks to show their skunk dens. What did you add to your notebook. Are there types of foods that skunks eat to survive in winter? We see lots of skunks and skunk nose holes where they circle their snout to find snail and grubs around the farm. Watch for signs of skunk by looking OR following your nose!
From morning homestead play to afternoon wander time. These may be some of the best times in your day. Even Beaver gets into the action! Tell your stories.
Share the tales and Beaver jokes from our day. Hope to see our real Beaver back next week!
