Spring is Here! Nature Challenge #12

 Hi everybody! The reason why I haven't posted in a while is because I have been busy going outside, looking for signs of spring! Sunday I was super excited to see the first robin (that I have seen at least) of the spring! Buds on the trees, enormous snow melts, robins.... you name it. Spring is here!!!! And I couldn't be more excited!!!

Nature Challenge #12: Signs of Spring Journal

Here is the nature challenge: keep a journal on the signs of spring! Well, it doesn't have to be a whole journal, it could only be part of one. I have a nature notebook, and I write/draw entries on the different signs of spring I find. In case you haven't noticed, I love spring.... and I can't wait for summer! One app that I have been using a lot to help me notice the signs of spring more is 72 Seasons. It is a really cool app! It is basically a calendar, but it's nature based. It updates every five days, and every five days has a name like a mini "season". With each mini "season" there are a bunch of cool facts. It is an awesome app! 

Okay, that's all for now!

-Lili

Nature Challenge #11: My Special Spot!

Hello there everyone, I sure do hope that you are having a wonderful day so far, and that you have gotten the time to step outside for a while! Here's the nature challenge! I started this challenge a long time ago, and really enjoyed it as soon as I started it!

Nature Challenge #11: My Special Spot                                   

Choose a small spot in your backyard - it can be anything from a big rock you like to sit on, to a little spot behind the shed full of weeds and bugs - as long as it's small. Every day, or every week, or as often as you can, bring your nature notebook with you and go sit in that spot for 5-10 minutes. (see more about recording nature in a notebook here: https://coloradowildlife1213.blogspot.com/search?q=nature+notebook ) Record everything. For instance: the weather (temps, clear or cloudy, ect.), and animal sightings (this includes bugs), and sightings of plants (from a dead dandelion to a rare columbine), and, of course, sketches of everything! Make it a routine to come out to your special spot and record everything through the year. This is a fun activity, as you get to watch how your special spot changes through the seasons! I do hope you enjoy this nature challenge!

-Lili

Nature Challenge #10!!!!!!

 Hi everyone! Sorry about being a bit late, I ended up taking an unexpected break, but I'm back! And guess what? THIS IS THE TENTH NATURE CHALLENGE! So, in celebration of this, the nature challenge will be a bit more, um, 'extravagant' then usual....

Make Your Own Nature Center

I know, I know, it sounds kind of crazy, but this is not the kind of nature center you are most likely thinking about! This is a private, in-your-home-or-bedroom nature center.

Step 1: Find a location. Pick a spot where there are not a lot of people all the time, somewhere out-of-the-way and quiet. Possible locations are in the corner of a large room, in a bedroom, or, if you are lucky enough to have one, a spare room you don't need. Of course, you could always use an old empty shed, although you might have to looking into a small heater or something if you live in a place with very cold winters. 

Step 2: Prep time. If the area you want to use is dirty, clean it! The cleaner it is, the more inviting it will be when you are finished. Clear out any extra clutter, or anything that doesn't belong there.

Step 3: Furniture. Now, your 'area' that you plan on using might be an entire basement, or no bigger than the size of your own bed, so what you will need differs. Generally, you will need some type of small table or desk. You don't need anything big or expensive, a tiny little plastic fold-up table would do the trick. Of course, some storage space would be nice. If you have the space, you could put in giant bookcases or other things like that, but, most likely, that won't fit your space - or your wallet. In fact just a shoeboxes would do!

Step 4: Add things. Have some books about nature, and maybe even a couple of field guides? Bring 'em in! Those nature collections of feathers and rocks and shells all over you windowsills and desks? Bring 'em in! You will also want what I call an 'Exploration Tray'......

How to put together an Exploration Tray:

You will need a plastic or metal tray, which you can easily find for cheap at the Dollar Tree or Walmart. Fill the tray with..... a magnifying glass, tweezers, a small plastic bug cage, a sketch pad or notebook, a pen, and some colored pencils and crayons! Ta da! Automatic, easy exploration on the go!

Step 5: Using it. Bring your siblings/friends/kids over and show it to them! Make it cool, with handmade posters and blankets. This area an become your go-to for reading up about animals and nature, examining specimens, sketching you sightings, recording observations, and more! Have fun!

-Lili

Nature Challenge #9

 Hello everyone! Happy (almost) new year! I know, I know. I said that my last pot would be the last post for the year, but..... I couldn't help it! Well, here we go!

Nature Challenge #9: Finding Animal Tracks

Have you ever found animal tracks before? Did you identify them? Finding animal tracks is very fun, but they can be hard to find during summer. These days during winter, a lot of birds and other animals are either migrating, hibernating, or just seen a lot less often. But during winter, it is much easier to find  tracks - in the snow! Although we only have a few bunnies up in the mountains, and rarely see them, I did find some bunny tracks in front of our house! I also find a TON of deer tracks. When I went to Kate's house, I found a gazillion bird tracks under her bird feeders, and some bunny tracks in her front yard!        What tracks can you find?

-Lili

Merry Christmas! Nature Challenge #8

 Merry Christmas my lovely readers! I am really looking forward to this Christmas, so much that I have been playing Christmas carols since November! (Can anyone else relate to this?) In fact, I'm listening to Christmas carols right now! Okay, onto the the nature challenge....

Nature Challenge #8

Astronomy! The reason why I'm doing this challenge on astronomy is because of the now-famous Christmas Star! Isn't it incredible that Jupiter and Saturn haven't been this close in 800 years! So what I want y'all to do this time is two things: #1: Look for the Christmas Star! #2: Look for constellations! I have only just started looking for constellations, specifically, at the time of the recent December Meteor Shower! So far, I have found Orion, The Twins, The Seven Sisters, and the North Star! I have seen the Christmas Star as well, and it was beautiful! 

Okay, that is probably the last post for the month...... no, for the year!

Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

-Lili 

Nature Challenge #7 and an Update!

 Hello everyone! I have a new nature challenge! Sound mpa! I got the idea from a virtual bird lesson, where students were asked to make something called a Sound Map. What is a Sound Map? I'll show you!

How To Make A Sound Map

Although it would be best to make your sound map outside, you can also make one inside for practice. Using a pen or pencil, mark an x in the middle of your paper. That x marks you. Then, for the next three to five minutes, record all the sounds you hear by drawing them on the paper in relation to yourself. (The x.) If you want, you can also make drawings to go the words. Scientists use Sound Maps to help find out things like the general number of birds in a specific area. Enjoy!

UPDATE

If you all want to hear more about Wildflower, and her fawn, Columbine, I've got news! They've finally joined their winter herd! You see, every winter the male deer will gather together their own herd, or "harem" as it is often called, of females and their babies. This year the male of Wildflower's herd is...........   Roscoe! Wildflower joined the herd with another female, Bunny (I tell you that deer has the tallest ears ever!) and Bunny's two babies, Birch, who is very stocky, and Aspen, who doesn't seem to be eating enough. When they joined the herd, there were al ready some other deer, whom I don't know. I will name them soon tho! 

Until next time!

-Lili

Weekly (I'm trying) Nature Challenge #6!

 Hya peeps! I myself have been having a great week so far, and day. Today I was out in the woods, trying to find the small group of deer I'd seen earlier this morning. Then, I heard a very loud tapping. I followed the sound until I found...… a Downy Woodpecker! Okay, so this might not sound exciting to you, but it is to me, because this is the first time anyone of my family has seen one in our eight acres! And, this is only the second time I've seen one. Afterwards I did see the deer I was looking far, but I was to excited to really pay any attention to them! Lastly, I found a new blog! It's called Nature Smart, by Stan Tekelia, the author of two of my favorite field guides. Anyway...…

Weekly Nature Challenge #6:Write About Nature

What I mean is, a report! I actually published one on this blog about Ocelots. However, your report doesn't have to be a page long, a paragraph would do it! Take a look at my Ocelot Report under the Fun Facts and Mammals labels to get an idea of what your report could look like. Well, that's it for today, and I hope you have a fun week! Ta ta!

-Lili

Weekly (that part is a lie) Nature Challenge Fifth Anniversary!!!

Howdy Wilderness lovers! It's mid fall, and most of the birds have finished migrating by now. I have yet to sight some of our winter-only visitors, but I'm sure they'll come along soon. How has your fall been? What was your favorite migration sighting? (Mine was a Loggerhead Shrike.) Post your answers (and questions) in the comments below! Now, onto the Nature Challenge.....

In honor of the anniversary, this challenge is to find, and check up on regularly, a new, nature-related blog. Here are some of my favorites:

Appleton Wildlife Diary

Alex posts quite often, (probably more often than me!) and almost always has a few photos to show us. I love hearing about his day to day adventures with wildlife.

Nature Mentor

This is a really cool blog, and is especially great for unprofessional, wannabe naturalists. (Like me.) I learned a lot from this blog.

Audubon

Okay, so I'm not sure whether this actually counts as a blog, as it's more like a website, but they have really cool informative articles all the time, all about birds.

I hope you found this post useful and informative yourself! Until next time!

-Lili

Weekly Nature Challenge #4..... And Cool Wildlife Sightings!

Happy fall y'all! I hope you are having a great fall so far. I sure am! I mean, all those migrating birds you guys - so many new ones to identify... I thought I might tell about two cool wildlife sightings I saw. (I won't be posting the pics until I my phone gets full though.) Drumroll please..... A fox and a moose - all in the same day!!! Believe it or not, this actually only the second time I've seen one, despite the fact that I live in Colorado. This one was a big male, and we saw him in the neighbor's yard right across the fence. I was really impressed by his size! We see quite a few foxes, although it was still a cool sighting. Wildflowers the deer and her shyer twin, Columbine, who by now has lost her spots and some of her shyness, are doing well. The bold twin, Daisy.... not so much. Unfortunately, she disappeared. Part of being a deer is that their are always lots of predators. At least someone got a good meal.... Anyway, onto the Nature Challenge!

Weekly (kind of..... not really) Nature Challenge #4

Daily Wildlife List!

I tried recording wildlife for a week....oof. Daily works much better, plus, you can skip a day if you want. A young naturalist I know very well (let's call him Vin) keeps a Wildlife Observation Notebook, and he is probably a LOT better at writing in it every day then I am. Here is page out of it: 

Day 27 Sep. 2020

 Nuthatch, chickadee, squirrel. (Sketches of a nuthatch chickadee, and squirrel.) 

Chickadees are often in bird parties. (Note, Vin and I call it a bird party when multiple species of birds stay flock together in the same area for a short to medium amount of time)

Nuthatches often hack away at trees.

Great, right? He is only seven, so I was impressed. Anyway, I hope that inspires you and gives you some ideas, so until next time everyone! Happy wildlife watching!

-Lili

Weekly Nature Challenge #3 and Some Photos!

 Hi (again) everyone! Here's the second post. First of all....

Weekly Nature Challenge #3: Daily Pics

For this Weekly Nature Challenge, I want you to try to take a picture of nature every day, whether you keep this up for a week or five years doesn't matter. Neither does it matter what the picture is about, as long as its of nature. From a beautiful sunset, to a a cool bug, to a pretty bird, everything nature is go. Have fun, and be sure to share your favorite pictures with me in the comments!

                                            Prairie Dogs

                                                 Canada Geese

                                                              Aspen Tree

                                       Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel from my wildlife cam

                                                -Lili

Weekly Nature Challenge and Update

 Hi everyone! As you have most likely noticed, both Kate and I have not been writing much lately. This is because of the start of school. Since school will be (and already is) taking up a lot of our time, we will only be able to write every two weeks, instead of every week, though I will try to still post a Weekly Nature Challenge. Speaking of this, here is this week's Weekly Nature Challenge:

Help the Migrating Birds

While we are starting school, the birds are starting the fall migration. This means lots of cool birds will be passing through on their way on migration! I have already been fortunate enough to see a passing Loggerhead Shrike, a first-time-sighting for me. One way you can help migrating birds is too put out food and water, especially water, what with the big fire and everything being so dry. A simple bowl of water on a stump or wooden post would do the trick. Food can be anything from an elaborate bird feeder to some sunflower seeds sprinkled on your front porch. You can also help by making your windows more visible. In other words, make sure the birds can see not to bang in to your windows, or fight with their reflections. You can put up hawk silhouettes or pictures if you want, but we just don't clean our windows as often, and we also have those little gel stickys. Last but not least, avoid using harmful pesticides. Not only do these kill bugs that can help your garden, but it also kills many birds when they eat the poisoned bugs. Have a good rest of your week, and keep an eye out for new birds! 

-Lili

Weekly Nature Challenge #1

Today is the first Weekly Nature Challenge: The Food Chain Game!

How You Play:

Find something from the bottom of the food chain - grass, trees, berries, ect. Then, find something that eats that thing, for instance, grasshoppers and aphids eat grass, golden mantled ground squirrels eat berries, and deer eat aspen leaves. Then, find the next animal - a mouse might eat a grasshopper, ladybugs love aphids, a coyote would like a golden mantled ground squirrel, and mountain lion prey on deer! (Not that I have ever seen a mountain lion!) However, it is not always possible (like here) to get to the top of the food chain, so if you can't, you can also see who gets the highest in the food chain by the end of the day. It's a fun game, and I hope you have a lot of fun!

-Lili