Spring Frenzy

In Erie, spring usually does not arrive sweetly and gracefully.  Most years, it tends to arrive in a blast of downpours, heat waves, ice and/or snow events, and hurricane-like winds.  It is anything but quiet, and 2015 did not disappoint.  As a matter of fact, even though it's mid-June, we are still swimming through a daily occurrence of rain showers, it's just a little warmer than April.

However, despite of (or because of) the energetic spring weather we see each spring, nature awakening seems to happen with equaled enthusiasm.  The frogs and birds are at top decibel, competing for attention.  The rainbow of colors seems to appear overnight (sometimes it really does).

Luna moth found on our office deck

  Fun fact about toads, frogs, and salamanders:  The males have a larger thumb than females called a nuptial pad.  Now, of course, you all need to go find a passel of frogs to compare thumbs.

American Toad - the students could have watched him all day

Check out facts about American Toads.

Or about spotted salamanders

Baby robins are always fun.  There were two nests near trails in the Park, enabling visitors to keep tabs on them for the short time they hatched to being on their own.

Right before they all left the nest, I kept thinking "How do all four fit in there comfortably?  I'd want to leave too!"

Our local forester and I collaborated on an experiment with red oak acorns.  He'd collected approximately 1 1/2 5 gallon buckets of them, which we split between a cold frame and a marked plot out in the Park.

A surprising number of acorns actually sprouted.  The cold frame protected them a little from frost, but mainly from critters looking for food.  

It's been interesting watching the strength of the root split the shell of the acorn.  

We've had hundreds of students visiting the Park during end-of-school-year activities.  They've been able to enjoy all of the aspects of the Park in spring, including the creek.  It was FREEZING, but they didn't seem to mind.

Exploring water flow - upstream/downstream

2nd graders exploring Mill Creek.

Check back soon for updates on the red oak seedlings, the oak tree plot in the Park, and our newest additional activity - letterboxing!