The challenge we are writing about this week: looking for signs that plants and animals prepare for winter. We found our evidence back in December, but well, you know….
Animal Evidence: On our nature walk this day, we found bits of the large seed pods of an osage orange tree scattered all over the ground. They are commonly called “hedge apples.” It was evident that some little creature was finding them to be a delicious winter meal. We followed the trail of bits to the base of an osage orange tree where there was a large mound of twigs built up around the bole (a.k.a. the trunk). This cozy little home belonged to an Eastern Pack Rat.
Plant Evidence: Pretty obvious because the deciduous trees had all lost their leaves and seed pods had fallen to the ground. They had completed a cycle of life and were now saving up energy for spring.
The creek was slowly meandering so we made bridges across it with fallen logs and twigs. Hours of fun. Little did we know that in about a week’s time, this spot would bring disappointment for my oldest man-cub. Yep, you guessed it, poison ivy! Even though we had learned that the resin can last up to 5 five years, we didn’t know that the “dead wood” we were exploring was still storing up the urushiol. He was a trooper, though, and went through the holidays with poison ivy rash all over his face, most likely from his glove that kept pushing back his hat. On the bright side, we have now proved that the resin of poison ivy stays around even when it is winter and seems to be dead. That’s what real scientists do, try to prove things.
theschoolhouseontheprairie 