Restore Your (Family) Nature

My Buggy Valentine

2012-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

We fell in L-O-V-E with this easy and very cute Valentine’s idea found over at the Nature For Kids blog. Procrastinators unite and check out Shawna’s wonderful post along with her FREE jar graphic for you to use for your own catch of buggy Valentine’s!

Pictured in this post are my son’s Valentine’s we made this afternoon for his kindergarten classmates, using Shawna’s printable template provided in her post. We found a great Insect Tube at Joann's Fabrics. I printed the bug jar templates out—two per page—on cardstock paper. My son signed his name on each card and he helped glue a few of the bugs. I embellished each "Love Bug" with a black or silver heart, using a Sharpie. We think they turned out pretty neat :)

*Bee mine*

Happy Buggy Valentine's!

Natural Playscapes: Rock Hopper Garden

2012-01-17T18:39:00.000-08:00

Last summer we visited the amazing Hamilton Children’s Garden. The garden is filled with playful and enticing elements throughout, with plenty of creatively designed natural playscapes and gardens perfect for spontaneous, unstrunctured play and discovery—the best kind!

One feature my son particularly loved was the “Rock Hopper Garden,” large boulders spaced just far enough for children to jump from one to another, landscaped with native, “fall” friendly plants.

Our backyard was a fairly blank canvas in need of some play-friendly and exciting space for my son to enjoy. We LOVE natural playscape designs and the rock-hopper garden was a great opportunity to create a natural area where he could have a little adventurous fun. So with some leftover large rocks in our yard (not quite the boulders at the Hamilton Children’s Garden, but worked just the same), we set out to create this nature-inspired playscape for our 5-year old.

We found this to be an easy concept to put in place, the hard part of course was rolling/moving/carrying the very heavy rocks into place. Aside from positioning the rocks and getting the rocks to place, little ones can be a great help—my son helped with ideas on placement, digging, filling and of course stamping the rocks and soil down.

As more plants get added, they will soon fill the spaces between the rocks, adding a little more to the challenge. Meanwhile, my son is happily hopping his way around an outdoor play area he helped build!

We’d love to hear what natural playscape designs you’ve added to your yard (or plan/wish to add!). Once you get the rocks, this is an easy one to put in place. If you’d like to add this element to your backyard, here are a few tips that might help :)

Tips:

Make sure you have help moving the rocks (no sense in throwing your back out). I was able to roll a few, but my hubby helped with the rest! (Depends on what rock you have access to.)
I recommend digging out a shallow hole to accommodate the pointier side of the rock, backfill with the soil and stamp down. This will allow it to sit nice and stable.
Let your youngest test the first two rocks (for spacing) before you place all of your rocks. You don’t want them to be too far apart, but not too close either—create a little challenge that will grow with them for one or two years at least!
If you decide to combine with a garden (and why not?!), make sure the plants you choose are child-friendly, no poisonous plants or spines/thorns!

Let us know about your natural playscape, share your ideas and pictures!

Dynamic Duos: Partner Mandalas!

2011-12-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a cooperative time-filler found in Family Fun magazine, I have found partner mandalas to be a great exercise for building creative confidence no matter what your artistic ability. Something you can do with the little ones, this was a fun artistic activity to do with my kindergartner.

Each artist gets one color marker and a square sheet of paper.

Partners begin by drawing a circle in the center of their paper, then they swap sheets and add an element to the design (a ring of dots, dashes, zigzag lines, or a more detailed element). Continue swapping and adding elements until your mandala is finished.

The photos (bottom of the post) are the two mandalas created with my 5 year old son. We both liked seeing what each of us would add and how quickly the madalas grew.

Try these alternatives!

Find a area with plenty of natural materials (rocks, leaves, twigs, petals, sand, etc.) and have each partner alternate turns adding a ring using these materials only.
Use brown, grey, and/or black markers to create mandala designs you can transform yet again by coloring.
Create a family mandala during the holidays or a vacation. Leave a jar of colored pens or pencils along with the ongoing design out where family members can add their own ring related to their experience(s). You can assign each family member a color or let them choose as they go. *Try to keep colors alternating
Make a journal madala. During your next vacation, retreat, or as a personal journaling exercise, add a daily ring to your madala design to represent the emotion or experience(s) from each day.

Amazing Cephalopods!

2011-12-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

Take a nature break with David Gallo, an enthusiastic ambassador for the sea and pioneer in ocean exploration, as he leads you through a deep sea and shallow water dive highlighting our favorite cephalopods like the octopus, squid, and cuttlefish!

Length 5:25 (minutes/seconds) Thank you to Caliso friend Laura H. for forwarding this clip! If video does not appear, click here to watch.

Source: www.ted.com/talks

My Kindergartner, Scorpions, & Stinkbugs—Oh My!

2011-11-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

This time of year the weather cools down and the desert night invites exploration. We took advantage of a thin crescent moon combined with a hazy night sky to take my 5-year old son on his first scorpion hunt. I should mention our scorpion hunts are more of an unofficial survey, we’re just counting and sizing up how many individuals we find without collecting specimens. Living in the desert offers the perfect opportunity to scout scorpions which are easily seen using portable UV lights.

Searching for sand scorpions on the desert floor is an exiciting adventure for most, no matter what your initial feelings are at first, you end up having an interesting time. It is a favorite fall activity of mine and I couldn’t wait to get my son out there to experience the challenge and fun of a successful hunt. I couldn’t believe I had finally talked him into venturing out into the desert night with me and my cousin, and the scorpions did not disappoint!

At our first stop, just after dark we spotted an eloedes beetle (stink bug) and 13 sand scorpions in about 40 mintues, not bad. We decided to indentify the tiny scorpions as babies, kindergartners like my son, teenagers, a preschooler. They were all juveniles, so we decided to try our luck at another, nearby location.

We hit the jackpot at our second stop. Two more eloedes beetles! Yes, but oh the scorpions! We began to lose count at 25 scorpions in only about 30 minutes. We found babies, sub-adults and, just as we decided to head back to the car…the biggies—well big for sand scorpions (photos below). My son was getting tired, and my cousin theorized that more were coming out the later it got, including the big guys. We agreed that next time we should begin our hunt an hour or so after dark to test that theory :)

No matter their age or size, scorpion morphology stays the same.
Compare this tiny, half inch baby scorpion...

A "teenager" about one inch in length...

An adult sand scorpion about 2 inches in length. 2 1/2" to 3" with its "tail" flat.

My son was into it during our first stop, it was like a treasure hunt to him, but the tiny scorpions (or little lobsters as he first called them), weren’t impressing him. Especially since they stayed perfectly still. Maybe he was expecting a different kind of treasure. He even questioned if they were real. The adventure began to wear off for him along with his patience. However, he did get excited when he spotted the scorpions first and also when we found two large scorpions during our second stop :) I’m glad I left the whole natural history of the scorpion schpiel for another time. *wink*

Later, before bedtime I asked him if he had fun and he said, yep he really did (sans the stink bugs of which he didn’t like). YAY! I cheered inside, maybe just maybe he will be my scorpion-hunting buddy.

Thinking about giving scorpion hunting a try? READ THESE FIVE TIPS! First, read up on scorpions in your area: what species, if any, do you have in your area and what terrain you’re most likely to find them; how venomous are they? Avoid getting stung—do not harass, handle, touch, collect, or bother the scorpions you find.

Second, know your search area, scout it out in daylight first! Be very familiar with local hazards like cactus, snakes (we do not do this activity in the summer months), and man made hazards like junk piles, abandon wells/mines, temporary shelters, roads, etc.

Third, always wear closed in shoes and check your shoes and pants with the UV lights to make sure you don’t have any “hitchhikers.”

Fourth, skip the full and near full moon nights. Great for seeing your way through the desert night, but not for scorpions who seem to take cover, away from such a bright light (easier for predators to spy them). Choose the new moon or similar dark moon nights.

And finally, you need a UV light (black light). Flashlights are recommended but don’t use both simultaneously and do not rely on spotting scorpions with a white light, they are nearly impossible to see for most. Manuever your path slowly, using the black light only. Portable black lights can be found at some hobby stores, gem and mineral stores, auto accessory stores, and on line. Don’t forget the batteries.

Have fun and be safe!

From the archives: Creature “Spirits”

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's a busy little Halloween weekend here at Caliso, so we pulled a spooktacular post from the archives of witch--ooops, which we think you ghouls will enjoy!

It covers the paranormal--actually it covers the very normal activities and sounds of familiar creatures that just may explain the ghostly scream you heard beyond the trees, or why certain objects keep moving mysteriously around your home.

Please note that the links at the end of the post are not linking directly anymore. All we had to do was copy/paste the links to listen to the eerie wild animal calls; but oh so worth it as they are sure to send a chill down your spine (they sound amazingly like a human screams, and even a baby crying).

So, click on "Creature Spirits" below...if you dare. Mwahahahaaa!

Restore Your (Family) Nature: Creature “Spirits”: Confession time. I’m a huge fan of all shows that chase after evidence of ghosts, cryptozoological creatures (like Bigfoot), and UFOs. I can...

Leaf Me Never: Fall Leaf Garland Craft

2011-10-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ah fall, quite possibly my FAVORITE time of year. For this desert native, I love autumn and the cooler temperatures it brings—perfect for hiking, camping, and just hanging outside, taking in nature. This family activity is a great craft to complete outdoors this time of year! It is easy and fun to create using nature’s beautiful fall leaves or at least being inspired by them. With this idea you can make a fall garland, a leaf booklet (use the hole and ribbon to create your book bind), a family portrait garland, place tags for a family dinner, or what ever else your creative mind takes you. Let’s grab some leaves and have fun!

You’ll need: Leaves (fake or real…if real, make sure they are still soft and bendy), glitter (think fall gold, orange, red, brown, yellow), hole puncher, glue, ribbon, scissors.

But we also recommend plastic or wax paper surface as glue will seep through leaves, family photos, mini clamps for holding pictures in place while drying, wire or wire ribbon for tendril affect.

Directions:

Collect your leaves (even more adventurous to collect REAL fall leaves if those are available to you—just make sure they’re still soft and bendy). We used fake leaves because, well, we don’t have “fall” in the desert! You could make mini-garlands (faerie garlands) with smaller native leaves, something we’ll try some other day.

Make a hole with the hole punch near the top center of the leaf. Depending on how you want to hang them, that could be at the leaf stem, leaf tip, from the side or even near the center of the leaf.

Decorate your leaves. Here are some ideas: use a pen to draw, write messages, poems, jokes, or your favorite quote, glue glitter in designs or on the leaf edges, glue photos on the leaves and decorate with each one with glittery frames. Little ones can just dab glue about randomly and shake on some glitter…it will look fabulous! Sometimes it’s nice to leave some leaves blank to string in between your glittery delights, but how it’s made is entirely up to you!

Let your leaves completely dry before stringing! This is a good time for a snack break, take your nap, do your homework, or run around the yard for play exercise. You also could pick up the dog droppings or wash the dishes for mom or dad, but I was just thinking outloud.

String leaves for hanging. Leave about 6”—8” of ribbon (or wire) on each end for tying loops for hanging. String through the holes your punched earlier. We recommend looping the ribbon (or wire) around stems to keep leaves in place on your garland, or you can double loop the ribbon through the hole, this will also hold your leaf in place and keep in from sliding along the garland. If you are stringing through the center of the leave, try tying a loose knot on either side (both sides of your leaf) to help keep it from sliding. If using wire (our preference), be sure to leave lots of extra for making tendrils and still having enough left over for the end of your garland! You can always add wire at stems for a seamless line :)

For tendrils…wrap wire around a pencil or your finger. Remove finger or pencil ;)

Ready to hang! Decorate a fall basket, a centerpiece, archway, outdoor niche, the gate or front door…hang your fall treasure anywhere you wish to enjoy.

Let us know how it goes, share photos of your garlands and any tips with us!

Breakfast Geology

2011-08-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Bunnies! How about a little bacon and eggs for breakfast? We're pretty sure this is how geologists get their proteins and minerals ;)

We love this quirky find in the Hi-Desert Nature Museum's (Yucca Valley, CA) geology display.

Howlite is commonly found as carvings, or in jewelry. It is a porous mineral, easily dyed to look like turquoise because of the similar look of the veining patterns. Dyed howlite (or magnesite) is marketed as turquenite. Howlite is also sold in its natural state, sometimes under the names "white turquoise" or "white buffalo turquoise," or "white buffalo stone" (none of which are true turquoise).

Honey Onyx is a delicate, soft stone often used as a decorative and architectural stone for kitchen countertops, bathroom sinks, and as stone sheets and tiles. It is particularly beautiful when back lit.

Travertine is a sedimentary limestone deposited by hot mineral springs or in limestone caves ("flowstone"). It is sometimes marketed as travertine limestone or travertine marble (it is not a marble). Travertine is often formed in creeks or rivers, or in caves as stalagmites and stalactites. Sometimes flowstone cave structures are deposited into thin sheets called "draperies" or "curtains" with brown and beige layers that look like bacon--often called "cave bacon."

"Cave bacon," a type of flowstone. Image by DanielCD

Source Wikipedia

Predator or Prey

2011-07-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

My husband took our 4-year old to our favorite desert zoo and botanical park. One of their most recent additions is the North American Jaguar exhibit. As you enter the exhibit, you walk along a path surrounded by familiar Sonoran desert vegetation (familiar to us anyway!), where you can easily imagine this beautiful large cat lurking somewhere nearby. Careful observation yields jaguar tracks and even its scat—convincing enough to invite a little fear into the back of your mind, there’s no way this thing got out, right? Then you are at once upon the exhibit, with glass and fencing that blend away so easily that you can easily enter into the veil of a wild and free close encounter with this predatory cat. It was here that my husband and son had an amazing, albeit a little creepy experience.

My husband had to follow up on scheduled call and while he was doing that, my son sat in the little zoo wagon watching the jaguar. And the jaguar was watching him. Rather, the jaguar was stalking him. Each moment my husband would turn away from the jaguar (only seconds at a time), it moved closer to my son, always watching him. My son noticed the jaguar moving closer and told my husband. What a great learning opportunity my hubby thought, and so they decided to “test” it. Sure enough when my husband simply looked away, the jaguar would move in closer. When my husband was looking at the jaguar, the jaguar would glance at my husband. It moved quickly from the cover of one bush to another.

The photos are of the jaguar after it moved in, now crouched beside some bushes, less than 5 feet away from my son. Notice how his paw is forward in the second shot which to me, looks like he’s entering a “pounce” position. It was enough to give both my husband and son an uncomfortable feeling. In my sons words, “that was creepy daddy.”

I've often heard of similar experiences with young children and large cats at zoos, in fact years ago one of the mountain lions here used to watch small children very intently and show similar behaviour within its enclosure. I think it's a fascinating opportunity to see these elusive animals react in such an instinctive way. I imagine it’s an intense experience, especially when you realize YOU are the prey that is triggering this instinctive behavior. As for my son, he bravely returned to the exhibit (very reluctantly at first) in order to show me the jaguar that he, “thinks wanted to jump on me mommy.”

Only the week before my son enthusiastically learned about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores in zoo camp, including his preschooler perspective, “I’m meat mommy, so there are animals that would want to eat me!” which led to this interesting opportunity to apply those same concepts when talking about his encounter with this particular meat-eater. (Not to mention an additional opportunity to reinforce some favorite bedtime stories on courage and compassion through a gentle and supportive pep talk on courage that helped my brave little guy return to see the same cat less than an hour later!)

It could end up being a memorable experience that will stay with him for a bite..er bit :)

Spontaneous Critter Encounters!

2011-07-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

This beautiful June Beetle flew into our car this morning just as we were leaving for zoo camp. Spontaneous critter encounters are the best! It was a great reminder to have handy a safe and secure critter catcher for up close viewing. These encounters are exciting and you want to be able to take advantage of such a wonderful moment with your children.

A mason jar with a screen lid, a jar with its lid punched with nail holes, or a small pet store critter carrier are all great standby's for safely catching, securing and viewing unexpected visitors before releasing. Having more than one on hand is sometimes useful as we have all three but this plastic one was perfect for taking with us for sharing. Why not keep one in your car for the park, the trail, or when camping, or at a friend’s house—you never know when a critter may stop by to say hello for a short visit!

We recommend releasing critters after a few hours of viewing—so get those field guides out, take some photos, and identify it while you can. Use a hand lens to get up close viewing that you wouldn’t normally be able to do. It’s fascinating! Even though you are being VERY careful with them by not moving the container around or tapping on it, you can imagine it is likely a stressful situation for your critter. This can affect their health very, very quickly as it is not an ideal environment for them (being enclosed, experiencing unnatural temperature variations and being away from their natural resources and cycles they rely on throughout the day or night). Just keep that in mind but be sure to enjoy this spontaneous gift from nature, then release your critter near where you found it.

Three cheers for cool, green, metallic beetles! Bugs--bugs--bugs!

SDBG's Insect Fair & Hamilton Children’s Garden

2011-07-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

For those of us who live in the southern California desert, summer temperatures tend to limit our options for outdoor play time and exploration. One way to get around this is to escape to cooler areas like the mountains or the beach. We enjoyed a great day trip to the Hamilton Children’s Garden at the San Diego Botanic Gardens (formerly Quail Bontanic Gardens) in Encinitas, CA. This weekend’s event was their annual Insect Fair and we went especially for that event.

We learned about a variety of native and exotic insects, reptiles, and birds. Many live critters were on hand to get visitors up close to the many creatures we share our planet with everyday. All of these first encounters started near the wonderful Undersea Succulent Garden which is filled with beautiful tiled sculptures, lava stone, huge shells, and marine glass planted planted among succulents that looked very much like ocean coral, sea stars and other marine critters.

Nearby, young visitors and their parents played in nature with some water play, bubbles, plant creatures, garden play houses, dino dig, a miniature railroad, and crafts within the Seeds of Wonder garden, especially created for toddlers and preschoolers. While on the other side of the park, the laughter and energy of children climbing up and under a huge tree house, splashing in a stream, creating music in a musical garden, spelling and smelling in an alphabet garden, herb and salad gardens, exploring a grass maze, and boulder jumping in the "rock hopping" garden (you must hop from boulder to boulder, no touching the ground!), led the day for families in the equally fantastic Hamilton Children’s Garden.

What an amazing place! You will likely find something for the entire family to experience between the amazing gardens, integrated sculptures, children’s play areas and specialty gardens, trails and lookouts. We found a lot of hidden whimsy throughout the day in the form of critters, “secret” hideaways and paths, artful, enchanting gardens and inspiring displays.

Be sure to visit their site for more information about the Seeds of Wonder garden of delights for the little ones and the huge tree house to be explored and climbed on in the Hamilton Garden! Some of their annual events include the Chocolate Festival, Fairy Festival, Garden of Lights, Lady Bug Day, Orchid Festival and much more! Click San Diego Botanic Garden

If you’d like to see more pictures from our day at the San Diego Botanic Garden check out our Facebook album.

Sun Painting

2011-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

A great project to try for celebrating the beginning of summer is sun painting. You can usually find sun painting kits, sun-sensitive papers & paints online or in nature, craft, and educational catalogs and stores. But for this post we went “old school,” simply using dark construction paper (avoiding fade resistent/archival papers).

Do you recognize any of

the objects we used?

By experimenting with junk drawer items along with objects found in nature and in my son’s toy box, we enjoyed an easy, mess-free activity. Creative play emerges when you begin to arrange your items in patterns, themes, radial designs, or if you decide to cut out paper snowflakes or other designs to lay atop the dark paper.

Materials:

Dark colored construction paper
Natural objects (leaves, twigs, pine cones, and so on) or household objects (scissors, keys, combs, and so on)

Easy-peezy directions:

Place paper outside in direct sunlight
Arrange objects on paper in random order, patterns, a mandala-inspired design, etc.
Leave objects in place for a couple of hours (make sure paper remains in sun during that time!)
Remove objects and admire your sun painting creation!

*TIPS*

The flatter the object lays, the crisper the image it will leave behind.
Use small rocks or other weighted items to hold objects flat or in place, but watch for any shadow they might create in your design.

Enjoy collecting your objects and experimenting with their layout. This is a great “background” activity to add to a summer day. My son took his afternoon nap during the couple of hours needed for our images to appear nicely. You can do this project in between seeing a movie, enjoying some pool time, taking a hike or bike ride while you wait for your sun painting.

Happy Summer Solstice!

For a "how-to" sun painting with colorful sun-sensitive paints, please see this link.

Floating Mandalas

2011-06-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend our family enjoyed a fun day at one of our favorite local preserves, Whitewater Preserve. I manned an ongoing workshop for their 2nd Annul Water Celebration event, where participants created beautiful floating mandalas made with natural items. Using stems, sticks, leaves, petals, and blossoms visitors arranged these colorful plant elements in a variety of patterns and designs to create their own, wonderful floating mandalas. Our youngest participant was 3 only years old! Mandala creators of all ages enjoyed this relaxing activity throughout the day.

A traditional mandala is an ancient circular design which typically represents the universe. It can also be a symbolic expression to connect with the "self." For our mandalas, we were hoping participants would connect with their creative self through nature.

This is a perfect summertime activity to try at home! All you need is a bowl of water, small dish towel, plant clippers or scissors, and some plant material from your yard like: flowers (to keep whole or for petals), leaves, sticks, seed pods, lightweight bark, etc. Anything natural that you discover will float! Experiment with different ways to use your materials, some of our participants ripped up petals into tiny pieces of "floral confetti" that added a delicate touch to their designs. Sticks were used in many different ways to add visual lines, accents, floral rafts, bridges, barriers and more in many designs. Even your tiniest mandala creator will be able to create something pleasing to the eye, not to mention have a great time playing with these treasures in the water!

Here are the mandalas created throughout the day (click photos for larger images):

Making Tracks Hiking Stick

2011-05-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

This morning my 4-year old son and I made trail sticks (aka walking sticks) together. I thought my little guy would get into creating his own hiking stick with either trail symbols or animal tracks. Since he is familiar with, and into animal tracks right now, I went with that theme. Here are the five simple steps to our activity:

1. Find the perfect stick. We already had the perfect piece of wood stashed in the garage—found ages ago—that I decided to saw in half to create two pint-sized yet sturdy hiking poles for my son, but it would be a naturally fun extension to go outside in search of a stick to use!

2. Note your child’s “sweet spot.” I recommend first having your child grasp their hiking stick to see where their hand will naturally lay when using. Leave that part blank, free of any drawings that will wear off or embellishments that will affect their grip.

3. Keep it simple, a quick reference. We chose four commonly encountered tracks and I made photocopies of these along with a 1:1 scale ruler to add to his stick for measuring tracks along the trail. Older kids can draw their own tracks with the animal’s name, and actual track sizes copied from field guides, along with a ruler guide (make sure it’s drawn to scale), 6” is fine. For younger children, print out tracks (shrink images to fit stick), with the name of the animal and actual track size. Have little ones color in and glue them onto their sticks. (Hint: Coat glued on tracks with ModPodge Matte Finish to seal for longer wear.)

4. Be sure to include the ruler! For measuring tracks and other things you encounter on the trail. We ended up using our pre-measured print out to hand draw our rulers directly onto our sticks, because we liked the look of that better :)

5. Embellish sticks with drawings (my son added a heart), ribbon, yarn, feathers, shells, or scrap leather pieces if you wish. I recommend placing them part way down the stick, below your child’s track drawings and hand grasp for comfort and ease of use. We added found feathers to ours.

Time to enjoy your unique and handy creation! Take your hiking stick on your next hike as a useful tracking guide. Keep adding to it: add trail symbols that could help save your life(!), attach a small compass to the tip, attach a hand lens to one of your ribbons, add feathers, etc. The designs and handy uses are practically endless :)

Measuring tracks...

Good for heading up tree-root ramps too!

Bird Seed Eggs

2011-04-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday, we headed out to our favorite nature preserve for a little nature play and egg hunting. Mother Nature had other plans for us though, as it turned out to be way too windy for our original family plans, foiled by constant winds and serious gusts. Just before leaving we went inside the ranger station to talk with our favorite ranger who surprised us with egg-shaped bird seed gifts they were offering to visitors to hide for the wildlife on the preserve! A wonderful surprise for us, and my little one eagerly left his bird seed eggs near a water source for critters to find. It was a great addition to our day.

Here is a simple recipe to try these yourself (mold into any shape to make any occassion special):

1/3 cup gelatin

1-1/2 cups water
8 cups birdseed

Directions: Mix gelatin and water over low heat until the gelatin is melted and clear. Remove from heat and stir in birdseed. Stir until there is no dry seed. Form mixture into egg shapes. Use plastic Easter eggs as a mold to get the egg shape. Refrigerate for two to four hours and dry on baking rack for three days. (From Angie Dixon's bird seed gifts at http://www.oopsiedaisydesign.net/)

Hiding our bird seed eggs.

Paint Chip Play

2011-03-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

Spring wildflower season is a great time of year to whip out your paint chip rings for fun color matching with your tiny explorers! A Caliso favorite :)

But while at our local improvement store, we couldn’t help but notice the variety of names to be found on paint chips. Looking through a section devoted to childrens’ rooms, we found several fun descriptions that reminded us of our own “little sprout.”

We collected a few examples to bring home and had little fun with collage making using a few family photos.

Collect a few paint chips the next time you’re picking up a pack of lightbulbs or new plants fo the garden and spread them out on the table. The visual of plenty of color along with their descriptive names will inspire an hour or so of collage making for your child. Or use the names & colors as prompts for your little ones to create some unique drawings or for writing poems and stories. After studying a bunch of paint chip names, you can also have your child come up with their own descriptive names for colors found in your yard or on the trail!

A random handful of paint chips can get

the imagination flowing, try connecting

a bunch of paint color names in a silly

story or poem:

I was taking my turtle named Pudding

for a walk when I came upon a Princess

dressed all in pink. She was very upset

and when I asked her what was wrong

she cried, “I shall not be allowed to eat

Mac and Cheese tonight nor grape juice

popsicles because I oops-ccidently got a

grass stain on my pretty pink overalls

and on the toes of my preciously pink

Ballet Slippers!”

“Oh dear that is a shame,” I sighed. I

scratched at those two freckles on my

wrist when I suddenly got an idea that

would help Princess Pink! “Hush, Hush”

I comforted her. I can help…

Try This For Nature Fun!

2011-03-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

A common shape.

Recently I had fun running around an oasis searching for the "familiar" in an somewhat unfamiliar environment. Unfamiliar in the sense that looking for the common words or descriptions I was in search of, one would not normally consider a natural environment to find these things.

It was a great morning for all of us who participated. We retrained our eyes and brains to observe nature by its components, individual pieces that when looked at them with a different "eye" would present something before us that was actually quiet familiar. For example, natural components like branches became letters of the alphabet, palm fronds became a face, an animal's burrow became a common shape.

Support

This is a great exercise to introduce children who might feel a little apprehensive about venturing into a "wild" environment. Bringing the familiar into the unfamiliar will help young or new naturalists jump into exploring their surroundings without so much of the anxiety that some may have, especially first-timers.

Give it try with this short list to get you started--the only rule is that there are no rules, finds are based on each individual's interpretation of that word/description! Have fun photographing your finds or identifying them with a parent partner:

a common shape(s)
support
a letter(s) from the alphabet
up
shelter
stripes
reflection
a found face
3-colors (in one object)
opposites

(Don't forget to go over safety/animals/potential hazards important for your chosen environment.)

A letter from the alphabet.

A common shape.

Stripes

Taco, Our Desert Tortoise Emerges

2011-03-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 6th, Taco our oldest desert tortoise woke up and made his first appearance in 2011. Our local weather has been so crazy (freezing, rainy, mild, cold, hot, mild, cool-ish), we were beginning to wonder how it might affect our tortoises’ natural hibernation cycles. Particularly our most experienced burrower, Taco. After about a week of mild weather, Taco emerged…albeit slowly.

When I first spotted him, he was nestled in a sunny corner. He woke up to a tortoise yard full of mustard (thanks to our most recent two storms, boo-hiss mustard!), but also a bountiful, green and blooming apricot mallow plant—one of Taco’s favorite desert treats! The bottom layer of mallow branches were already stripped clean of their fresh, crinkly leaves thanks to his post-hibernation appetite and sharp beak. I cleaned and filled his water dish, then let him be to rest in the last of the day’s sun.

Taco polishes off the leaves

and flowers from an apricot

mallow plant stem.

Taco is slowly waking back into his daily tortoise routine. We will continue providing cactus pads and fruit, wildflowers and other desert plants from around our yard to feed his appetite.

Our other two tortoises, Guacamole and Rufus, are beginning to stir in their pet carrier where these siblings sleep out their hibernation. I expect they will be “waking up” any time now. They usually run two weeks behind Taco. They will get a warm water bath in the next couple of days if their activity stays consistent and will soon be back in their own yard.

Spring continues to yawn, stretch, and blink awake on the desert floor.

Nap time.

Wildlife Watching and Scientific Journaling

2011-03-09T02:31:00.000-08:00

From our last "Side of Nature: Activity" where we encouraged you to tap into your inner naturalist. Practice wildlife watching like a biologist. We tend to anthropomorphize animals when watching or discussing them. We humanize or assume certain animal behavior usually by assigning human emotion, our own experience, expectation, or reaction to a situation that wouldn’t be true for wildlife whose behavior is mostly based on perpetuating their species.

A great exercise for older children and adults is to journal wildlife activity, including scientific observations, exploring the line between inference and observation. For example, what do you observe in the picture above? An scientific observation might include: bird with blue, brown and white feathers, on a wood structure, with a worm or larva in its beak. An inference would be: a bird that is tired and resting on a wood fence, or with a worm in its beak that it is taking back to its nest to feed its babies.

This bird may not be tired, but scouting its route instead; from the photo, that fence could be a garden border, not a fence. Even if we watched this bird enter a box nest or tree trunk nest, and emerged without the worm, we still couldn't scientifically say it fed babies without actually observing that behavior or activity (it could've dropped the worm, eaten the worm itself, or fed its mate instead). Practice this type of observation to hone your wildlife watching skills--you'll be amazed at the information you can gain just by watching and learning. Then test/research your theories or inferences through books, online research, or by asking another naturalist or interpretive guide to learn more about the behaviors of specific species you have been watching.

You just might discover that your own scientifically based observations will provide a valuable contribution to a growing knowledge base about the wildlife in your area!

Wildly Romantic

2011-02-13T22:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine’s Day from Caliso Learning! We LOVE any chance to gush over our love for nature, and today is no exception. From romantic myth-busting (lobster love in the article below the two links), to life-long bonds, to our planet’s most romantic. Turns out we might learn a thing or two from our wild animal counterparts. For example...

Do you fancy your bond with your sweetheart to be the strongest out there? See which of these love pairs from the animal kingdom you and your sweetie most resemble in 11 Animals That Mate For Life

Need some romantic ideas that will make your honey swoon? Check out the wild antics animals will employ to attract their dream mates, from flashy dance moves to giving gifts, from decorating to PDA’s in The World’s Most Romantic Animals

Lobster Myth-busting. Despite the sweetness of the devotional lobster love we’ve watched on “Friends,” lobsters do not mate for life. But according to Dr. Jelle Atema of the Marine Biological Laboratory, lobsters do make tender lovers.

Based on over twenty years of studying lobster mating behavior, Dr. Atema will be the first to tell you that “lobsters have a touching courtship ritual that protects the female when she is most vulnerable.” When a female lobster is ready to molt, she chooses a mate—usually the largest in the area—and approaches his den, turning on the charm by wafting a sex pheromone in his direction. The lucky male responds by “fanning the water with his swimmerets, permeating his apartment with her perfume” and emerging with raised claws. She responds with playful boxing or by turning away (awww, how positively coy). This seems to calm down the male’s aggressive approach and the female proceeds to raise her claws, placing them on his head to let him know she is ready for love.

Together they enter the male’s den, maybe get to know each other a little better, and some time after, “from a few hours to several days later, the female molts. At this point the male could mate with her or eat her, but he invariably does the noble thing…”

With the female in her most vulnerable state, the male gently turns her limp body over onto her back, being careful not to tear her soft flesh. They mate "with a poignant gentleness that is almost human," observes Dr. Atema. After mating the vulnerable female stays a while in the safety of the den until her exoskeleton hardens (about a week). By the end of this brief yet touching encounter, the attraction fades, and the hard-shelled couple part with hardly a backward glance.

Source: The Lobster Society

Froggy Find!

2011-02-08T02:22:00.000-08:00

The morning began with one of our "Fledgling Hikers" programs at the Whitewater Preserve with a great group of tiny naturalists and their parents. As always for this program, I was happy to bring my 4-year old son along, this time with the help of my mom, and because the Preserve is one of his absolute favorite places to explore! After the program, we stayed to do a little creek hopping, my son's first time jumping on and off rocks in the small stream. During previous visits, he just wasn't ready to try it, but that day, with other kids around doing it, he decided it was time!

After a few slips and falls (and still loving every minute of it), the other "fledglings" very reluctantly left; and we were getting ready to leave when we heard a frog call nearby. We followed the sound along the stream for only a few yards before we came upon this little Chorus Frog (aka tree frog). What a wonderful way to end our day!

A King Penguin That's 'One In A Zillion'

2011-01-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

We couldn't resist sharing this 2010 article about a King penguin discovered along Fortuna Bay, South Georgia. This rare bird, an all black penguin, has astonished and fascinated biologists. Learn what may be the cause(s) of this one in a zillion occurrence--is it environment or gene related?

Read more and see more photos of this all black penguin by National Geographic photographer Andrew Evans by clicking here.

Photo by Andrew Evans

Goin' With The Flow: Yosemite's Frazil Ice

2011-01-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

One of the things we love about the natural world is its capacity to continually surprise us with "really cool" events like the little known springtime occurrence of "frazil ice." Check out this amazing short piece shared by Caliso friend Scott Scott (of Trail Discovery) showing Yosemite's incredible frazil ice creek flows that stop and start up again someplace else.

Thinking like a naturalist--while watching this video (or after) think about these tried and true interpreter prompts, and complete these thoughts in order:

1. I notice...

(followed by)

2. I wonder...

(now relating to the experience)

3. It reminds me of...

US Researchers Replicate Complex Bird Songs With a Simple Rubber Device

2011-01-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

Find out how this discovery could impact wildlife science. A recent BBC article we came across via tweeter @thepineproject discusses the somewhat accidental discovery of bird songs that can be replicated by rubber. According to the team of US researchers, they have developed a simple rubber device that replicates complex bird songs:

The song is produced by blowing air through the device, which mimics a bird's vocal tract.
The findings appear to challenge the idea that birds had to learn complicated neurological controls in order to produce distinctive calls.
The team plans to share its data with biologists to see if it sheds new light on how birds produce complex songs.

To see the device and listen to vireo and finch songs replicated by the device, read more...

11 Ways To Love the Planet In 2011

2011-01-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

1. Protect species from extinction: prevent habitat loss, create yard habitats, prevent the detrimental effects of introducing non-native, invasive species and pesticides into our natural environments. Here’s an example of the danger of habitat loss and butterfly migration in this article from Science Daily.

2. Spend more time outside. Connect with the land, the sea, and the sky using all of your senses. Let a summer monsoon soak you. Follow animal tracks in the snow. Go camping, go picnicking, read outside, star-gaze, explore nature with your toddler, go soak in a natural hot spring. The more time we connect with nature the more we will love and appreciate it, and the more we will work to protect its right to exist and thrive—so that we may do the same.

3. Start a family nature club. It’s easier and more rewarding than you might expect! Here’s a fantastic and free Family Nature Club toolkit from C&NN. A wonderful resource.

4. Protect the night sky from light pollution. Mankind has a long history with the stars and moon; navigation, cosmology, agricultural cycles and more. Not only does light pollution take away the beauty and knowledge gained of the stars, the Milky Way and deep sky objects for modern man, it wastes billions of dollars annually, consumes valuable natural resources, and pollutes our environment. Light pollution can seriously disrupt the natural rhythms and processes of plant and animals, threatening their survival. Here are 10 easy steps to help prevent light pollution.

5. Become involved in your community by participating in local environmental projects like neighborhood recycling, abandoned lot cleanups, community gardens and watershed restoration projects.

6. Follow blogs, or start your own, that share information about wildlife, natural areas, green living, green mommies, family nature activities, camping, creativity and nature, our oceans, spelunking—whatever you wish to learn more about. When it comes to nature, the list of possibilities are endless! Just type in a blog search of what you want to find.

7. Lend your professional services to a local environmental non-profit, pro bono. Or consider volunteering your time to teach youth about the environment, become a naturalist, man community booths, or lead outdoor art programs inspired by nature.

8. Be mindful of the connection between your daily choices and their effects on the environment. We can decide which plastics are more easily recyclable, or if we walk, or bicycle instead of driving to work. Show your love of the planet; know that every individual action or small deed adds up to a healthier environment.

9. Support your local nature centers, botanical parks, nature preserves and national parks. Visit often, buy annual passes. Fall in love with their beauty, wildlife, their restorative and inspiring affects on you.

10. Calculate and then reduce your carbon footprint at home and while traveling. Click here for the nature.org calculator.

11. Become an environmental steward to protect natural and cultural resources and nature areas for future generations. Get started by searching the internet “how to become an environmental steward (your state/city).”

This is just the tip of the (melting) iceberg regarding ways you can protect the planet. For 25 more ideas, read this short article listing, “25 Ways To Give Back: From Fur To Feathers.” The point is to get creative, and define what YOU value in the environment, then find ways to protect that gift from nature. Do you enjoy sitting on the porch at night and gazing up at the stars? Did an animal encounter speak to your soul? Do you yearn for camping under giant pines during the work week? Does the ocean move you to poetry?

Honor your nature connection.

5 Family Activities To Try This Holiday Season

2010-11-22T00:27:00.000-08:00

As the holidays near, we are blessed with a little extra time for family…at least that’s the idea! One way to take advantage of these extra days is to include the whole family as you gear up for the holidays with special, nature-inspired table settings, foods, and decorating. Celebrate family togetherness by encouraging older children to guide the younger ones through easy and fun creations, either in the kitchen or the craft table, or outdoors.

No need to think extravagantly or big, it’s the simplest activities that work best, requiring the least guidance for maximum creativity. Here are 5 ideas to try:

Feather treasures. Plant colorful turkey/goose feathers (found at just about any craft store) throughout your yard for a fun treasure hunt for the little ones. Extra points if they find REAL bird feathers…those are magical :) Have them lay them around the center of the table, or in a vase for a whimsical addition to your table that they’ll be so proud to have contributed to.

Garden varieties. What better way to encourage your children and other family members to make those holiday get togethers extra special than by harvesting and sharing delicious edibles and flowers straight from their own gardens? Start new traditions, who will have the tastiest or most creative garden contribution?

Garlands, garlands, garlands! I don’t know about you, but we have a steadily growing pile of activity papers, duplicate worksheets and piles of drawing paper from our four year old. He also loves using scissors and ends up cutting up many of his creations (unless I’m able to rescue my favorites first!). So I’ve seriously considered creating a festive chain garland from these treasures.

Keep the papers and drawings you want, but if you can (I know it’s hard to choose!), turn the other paper piles from your child’s school into fun decoration. Assuming he/she will be okay with the two of you cutting them up! My little one also loves collecting leaves, incorporating them into this activity would be a great Thanksgiving accent. Paper chains are easy and you can create long ones in a very short time, your little one will love seeing these hang throughout your home! Start with their room :)

Mark this one. We’ve found that when kids get the green light to draw or write on any surface other than paper, they go crazy for it! We’ve invited kids (and adults) to decorate and write messages on a variety of natural items like river rocks, tree cookies, smooth sticks, and large leaves. Washable markers ensure an easy soap and water clean-up from colorful fingers, faces and arms, and clothes just in case ;)

Nesting instincts. It’s tough work building a nest, especially without hands. Challenge family members of all ages (they can work in teams if they want) to create a nest that would hold a little bird family--yes, use your hands. Take a walk or search your yard for ideal nesting materials: leaves, twigs, moss, lichen, stringy natural finds. You can offer some man-made materials—after all birds utilize these too—like string, cotton, strips of material, pet fur. Who created the prettiest nest? The sturdiest? The softest?

Green Spiders

2010-10-22T02:32:00.000-07:00

Certain spider venom is being investigated as an eco-friendly insecticide. Scientists are getting closer to field-testing insecticides that mimic the action of spider toxins. In synthetic or natural form it can, potentially, target crop destroying insects with little or no effect on non-target species (e.g. beneficial bees and insects, birds, humans, other mammals, etc.). Unlike some conventional insecticides, target insects may not become naturally resistant to this spider-venom cocktail as they do with current chemical insecticides, and the spider toxins used in the engineered virus would not end up in the food supply. Read the entire article here.

The Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans) gets its name from the way Lynx spiders sometimes pounce on their prey in a catlike fashion. These spiders spend their time hunting for insects in bushes and low plants. They are fast runners, but can occasionally be seen lying in wait for prey beside flowers. They build no web for prey capture, but they do release a silk dragline as they hunt among leaves. Look for a large, conspicuous spider: bright green, cream, or tan body with yellow legs that have black spiny hairs. Body length: 5/8". Common in Southern California and beyond.

One million spiders make golden silk for rare cloth. Here you’ll find a fascinating article on a golden cloth that’s worth a lot of green. It took four years and more than 1 million female golden orb spiders, known for the rich golden color of their silk (see image), to create an 11-foot by 4-foot textile—the only large piece of cloth made from natural spider silk existing in the world today. Read more…

Image © Gstrange l Dreamstime.com

Creature “Spirits”

2010-10-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Confession time: I’m a huge fan of all shows that chase after evidence of ghosts, cryptozoological creatures (like Bigfoot), and UFOs. I can’t get enough Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth, and surprisingly—or not—I find the debunking just as intriguing and fascinating as the “hunting.” Yes, I believe in the occurrence of things we cannot explain, or things considered paranormal or otherworldly, because it’s exciting to me and perfectly sensible. But, I also lean toward 98% of those reported “things” being explained by natural events, scientifically, as a coping strategy, or even as some cultural phenomena.

I once experienced a thunderous banging of the metal air ducts in the attic. It was the most terrifying, inexplicable sound at the time. I swore there was something huge up there, what else could make such a deafening sound! The week prior, my cousin had described the same thing when she experienced an extremely loud banging above our ceiling while she was alone in our house. She thought maybe someone was on the roof jumping around and even bravely checked it out for us. Seeing no one around, she left the house to sit in her car until we came home that night. She told us later that just before the crazy pounding, she kept hearing a light knocking or tapping noise on a particular wall in the living room that she couldn’t explain.

The crazy banging never happened again, but the tapping kept on for about another week. Was this an awakened spirit suddenly wreaking havoc on our little home? No. A rat was the culprit. The thundering clamour was likely the little beast navigating our metal air ducts in the attic. He was found, “removed” and our house was professionally rat-proofed by an extermination service.

In fact, much of the reported rustling sounds, groans, screams, human whispers, and even ghostly human giggling one might hear can be explained by critters very much alive and well, going about their business in the natural world. Have you ever heard a frog’s mating call? Or wind pushing, even “howling” through a boulder strewn canyon or between buildings, or pipes? How about a screech owl’s cry or a rabbit’s distressing squeal?

Nuisance Wildlife Relocation Specialist, D. Crawford offers very normal wildlife explanations for some of the most eerie paranormal sounds that may go “bump in the night.” Crawford discusses the rustling noises frequently reported in hauntings, reminding us that those strange noises in our basements, or in our walls and attics can simply be animals taking refuge in our home:

“Rustling noises coming from the walls or chimney can be caused by any number of creatures: bats, rats, raccoons, chimney swifts, etc. Bats or birds rustling their wings in the chimney or inside a wall can sound frighteningly similar to human whispering; the noises made by a colony of bats jostling for space may even sound like the rustle of silk skirts. A metal chimney shaft can sometimes produce a megaphone effect, making the noise seem louder or more intense than you might suspect.”

Even urban and suburban residents can be regularly visited by wildlife like owls, bats, raccoons, rodents, rabbits, and plenty of bird species. With increased habitat fragmentation it’s possible that adaptable critters like these will naturally seek and follow habitat corridors to get from one natural area to another; possibly wandering into your yard & home attracted by neighborhood trees, a nearby park, a cemetery, or wildland area as Crawford suggests.

Locally we have desert wood rats (packrats), famous for collecting shiny things like keys, jewelry, watches, and bottle caps from unsuspecting campers. If you live near a patch of desert, they just might enjoy moving into your home as well. Packrats, raccoons, and crows are mentioned in Crawford’s article as critters that may like to move around and collect items from your house—the possible culprits of poltergiest activity. The more we learn about the curious habits of our native animals, the more we can avoid jumping to paranormal conclusions, like things vanishing or being moved about or knocked over. It could simply be a curious creature—not a mischevious spirit. A little investigating yourself could solve the mystery, one way or the other.

For questions to help you determine if you are being “haunted” by wildlife, or to find out how Crawford debunked the ghostly screaming coming from a neighborhood graveyard, or to read about the poltergiest that was actually a sneaky raccoon, read his article found at the Paranormal Task Force website. Then listen to some of these eerily human-like calls and cries from common wildlife (creepy factor = high!):

Fox call (often mistaken for human scream/yell):

http://waterandwoods.net/downloads/fox%20yell.wav

Fox cry/call (often mistaken for a woman or child screaming or yelling):

http://waterandwoods.net/downloads/foxkitcry.wav

Rabbit distress (sounds amazingly like a crying infant). Warning, some may find this one upsetting as this is a rabbit screaming in distress:

http://waterandwoods.net/downloads/rabbitscreaming.wav

Arizona Woodhouse’s Toads (Bufo woodhousei) singing (sounds like human-ish screams):

http://naturesongs.com/woto1.wav

Common Barn Owl call (sounds like a woman screaming):

http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Tyto-alba-3.mp3

See, not so scary after all! Or is it? Mwah-ha-ha-ha-haaa!

Raccoon Image: Dreamstime.com

Fox and rabbit sound bytes source: http://waterandwoods.net/2008/09/wild-animal-sound-bytes/

Toad sound byte source: http://naturesongs.com/

Owl sound byte source: http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/

Good news from the Mojave Desert Land Trust

2010-10-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Great news we saw first in the Palm Springs Green Scene newsletter:

MOJAVE DESERT LAND TRUST CLOSES ESCROW ON QUAIL MOUNTAIN PROJECT TO ACQUIRE 955 ACRES IN JOSHUA TREE

"The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) announced on September 27th that it has successfully completed the acquisition of 955 acres of pristine wildlife habitat on the northern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. The acquisition will permanently preserve a section of wildlife corridor required for the movement of bighorn sheep, badger, mule deer, mountain lion and dozens of bird species, in addition to providing pristine habitat for the recovery of the threatened desert tortoise."

Fantastic news for such a tough fight, big hugs to all who were involved and made this happen. Just one person can help make a difference...support our wildlife and natural habitats and see what happens!

Learn more about the Mojave Desert Land Trust and the Palm Springs Green Scene

International Observe the Moon Night!

2010-09-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

Oooo! Look what's happening this Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010. It is International Observe the Moon Night. Here in the Coachella Valley, the moon will rise at 4:17 p.m. and set by 2:17 a.m. Sounds like a great night for lunar-loving activities like sky watching, moon watching using moon maps and telescopes/binoculars, even going on a moonlit walk! Here are a couple of other ideas you may want to try...

Visit the IOMN site:

http://observethemoonnight.org/

Document the monthly moon phases on your window:

Observe the moon for a month+ w/your child and draw each night’s moon phase on the window w/a dry erase marker or white grease pencil.

Learn about lunar phases using Oreos! Sounds delicious:

http://analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/Oreo%20Moon%20Phases.htm

Write a folding poem about the moon, after spending time with it:

http://restoreyournature.blogspot.com/2009/12/night-sky.html

Moon Meditations that inspire you to live fully:

http://thenaturecoach.blogspot.com/2010/04/happy-full-moon-moon-meditations.html

Find moon surface features in your flour tortillas, then eat them!

http://restoreyournature.blogspot.com/2009/07/quesadillas-and-moon-topography-family.html

Enjoy the moon! Share you experience :)

10 Simple Ways to Connect With Nature

2010-08-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

We hope you enjoy these 10 easy ways to connect you and your family with nature. These fun ideas are some of our favorite activities compiled from previous lists and handouts of ours for a range of nature-themed family fun--or if you prefer some nurturing, soul feeding moments. If some of these are second nature, we encourage you to share your experience and guidance with another family and friends! Be sure to include your own experiences and ideas with us in the comments below.

Happy full moon by the way, you can start with #10 as soon as tonight!

1. Fight habitat fragmentation, create a backyard habitat. Get yours certified here: http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/

2. Create a personal meditation garden. Include the sights, smells, sounds of nature that relax you: rocks, birds, water, citrus, jasmine…

3. Why not take an evening to learn about the stars/constellations you can see. Call your local astronomy club and go to their next star party!

4. Go for a walk in the rain and notice the changes in nature. Talk with your child(ren) about new smells, how things feel, sounds. What happens to the birds, insects, trees, flowers, and people?

5. Photograph the letters of your name found in nature. Does that tree make a good Y or V? Do you see a B at the base of a leaf?

6. Plant a salad garden, a pizza garden, fruit salad garden, or even a salsa garden! There are plenty of online guidance for all ages.

7. Refill your birdfeeders. How about offering some creative—safe!—nesting materials as an additional resource for your feathered friends?

8. Collect leaves from your yard showing the life cycle of a particular tree/plant. From new green leaves to yellowing, to dried and brown.

9. Establish a secret garden for your child where they can create their own unique garden to plant collected rocks, sticks, plastic dinosaurs...

10. Go on a full moon walk. What will you experience? Once, our group encountered a drum circle in the canyon, another time a curious tarantula!

Photo: Ecosalon.com

Perseids Meteor Shower (Timelapse Video)

2010-08-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the Perseids, we just had to share this oh so beautiful video shared by Facebook friend Roy Scribner. We just love the Joshua Tree, it adds a magical touch! Please enjoy this short video treat: http://vimeo.com/14173983

Joshua Tree Under the Milky Way from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

Gift Of Wonderment

2010-08-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.” ~Rachel Carson

We can help our little ones maintain this gift by encouraging their wonderment of nature (and so many other magical things!). In fact it would do us well to get ours back and discover the natural world through their eyes again! Not everything we encounter needs to always be explained with a scientific reason for occurring.

Often times the best teaching opportunities for our children occur when they are watching us -- in how we react to nature, or how we behave in nature. Do we enjoy living in the moment and allowing a sense of awe or whimsy to settle about us without expectations? Do we pick up litter along the trail? Do we cringe at the site of crawlies or marvel at their tiny existence; do we value their role in nature? Are we comfortable outdoors? Fearful, respectful, at home in nature? Our children are always watching, what are we teaching them?

"Teaching Opportunity" by M. Hedgecock

[click image for larger size]

Family Camping Do’s & Don’ts

2010-07-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Camping is FUN! Next time you head out to sleep under the stars as a family, here are 7 activities to try while you are in the "wilds" (followed by a great list of 25 Family Camping Do's and Don'ts from The FamilyCampman.com)!

1. Climb a boulder or a tree for a new perspective; have lunch on your perch, or draw, read, or watch for wildlife.

2. Go to the ranger program as a family.

3. Learn about the stars and constellations of the area you're camping and identify them in the night sky.

4. Go on a full moon hike as a family.

5. Howl like a coyote, see if you can get them to respond with howls!

6. Pick a spot to explore your campsite by laying on your belly with a hand lens. Look under rocks (carefully!), into tree bark, by a stream's edge...

7. Make leaf and stick boats for "racing" in a nearby stream.

We think these 25 tips posted by Eric at The FamilyCampan.com site are great! They are also a timeless reminder for family camping etiquette! DO visit Eric's site for other very useful camping/family posts!

1. Do prepare ahead of time
2. Do entertain thy children
3. Do reserve your site in advance
4. Don’t forget extra batteries
5. Do leave a clean campsite
6. Do prepare for rain
7. Don’t bring firewood from different locations
8. Don’t bring video games for the kids (or any other electronics)
9. Don’t leave your garbage out at night
10. Don’t set your car alarm
11. Don’t ignore campground rules
12. Do continue your kids’ bedtime routines
13. Do respect your neighbors
14. Don’t set your tent up in the dark
15. Do bring a firestarter
16. Do pack extra clothes for chilly nights
17. Don’t pack using cardboard boxes
18. Do pack using rubber bins (think rubbermaid)
19. Do explore the surrounding areas
20. Don’t forget the first aid kit
21. Don’t let your kids run around other sites
22. Don’t leave your campfire unattended
23. Do eat lots of s’mores
24. Do take lots of pictures
25. Don’t forget to relax and have a great time

Happy Clouds...

2010-07-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here’s an interesting fun fact we learned from a National Geographic Society tweet: A cloud can weigh more than a million pounds (450,000 kg). Wow, that’s a lot of water floating above our heads! This made us think about other cloudy things like…

Cloud Collecting Makes You Happy

Karen Kingston’s post on “Why Cloud Collecting Can Be Good For You.” Why? Because it's etherically refreshing and psychologically uplifting…and it raises your energy. Karen also states that developing a relationship with the skies above allows your consciousness to expand to fill bigger spaces and your creativity to soar. Sounds good to us! For more reasons why clouds are so inspiring read the rest of Karen’s uplifting and informative post.

The Cloud Collector’s Handbook

A field guide and journal for collecting your favorite cloud types and phenomena.

Clouds For Climate Change

This project potentially brings many benefits, both to the global climate, and also to communities suffering from desertification, poor agriculture and forestry, low rainfall. Learn how clouds can make an immediate impact on the global climate at The Global Cooling Project.

Cloudbows

Hey rainbow fans…behold the cloudbow!

Music For Cloud Watching

Music collected by cloud lovers deemed perfect for cloud gazing.

Partly Cloudy

Attached to Pixar’s movie UP is the Pixar short, Partly Cloudy...Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? The answer lies up in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life. Partly Cloudy is about Gus, a lonely and insecure grey cloud, who is a master at creating "dangerous" babies like crocodiles, porcupines, and rams…

As Gus's creations become more and more rambunctious, his loyal delivery stork partner, Peck, must work harder and harder. How will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend's fiery temperament? Watch this imaginative story unfold here!

Camping Tips for Single Parent Families

2010-07-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

This is a helpful article for any family heading out to go camping with little ones. You'll find valuable tips and important things to consider. However, we have one big opposition as we do not agree with or condone allowing children to “sneak” out rocks or any other items from protected areas that ask you not to remove anything from the area.

There is sound reason for this rule and I know some parents feel an exception to it, or believe it inhibits a child’s experience in some way. I can relate...my son collects rocks, pinecones, leaves, etc. everywhere we go--but if we’re in a protected area, he’s reminded (ahead of time as well) that his treasures will need to be left behind when we leave. He's a preschooler, so we let him know those natural items “live there” and the plants/animals need them. We turn the “bummer” into a valuable lesson of environmental respect and ecology, and to demonstrate the fact that even our family is not exempt from keeping our natural areas protected for future enjoyment!

2010-07-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

Backyard Beach

2010-07-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

An irresistible idea from the Go Explore Nature blog, creating an uber-easy backyard beach for the little ones. Not only will you get a little chuckle reading about the "big explorer" and the "little explorer" (too cute!) but you'll be inspired to create some beach-y fun!

Summer Solstice

2010-06-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

From the Caliso Learning newsletter - Nature On The Side: Summer Solstice

Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + (sistire)"to stand still."
The day that the Earth's North Pole is tilted closest to the sun (the summer solstice) is the longest day (most daylight hours) of the year for people living in the northern hemisphere. It is also the day that the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky (where it seems to stand still).
As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.
The summer solstice marks the first day of summer.
“Midsummer” is often associated with this solstice as it occurs midway through Europe’s growing season for many ancient healing plants that were(are) harvested at the summer soltice.

No matter what your traditions, the summer solstice is a great time to celebrate growth, life, harvest, unions…and summer!

Image: Laura Huff
Sources: http://www.Chiff.com and http://www.religioustolerance.org

11-year old Artist Campaigns to Save Gulf Wildlife!

2010-06-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, Olivia you are our hero!

Please read this thoroughly inspiring story about a passionate, budding ornithologist who has helped raise over $70,000 to protect pelicans, manatees, whooping cranes and the other birds she loves that are threatened by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

LINK: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/artist-11-campaigns-to-save-gulf-birds/

Yay Olivia!!

Happy Father's Day Super Dads!

2010-06-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

8 Animal Webcams to Brighten Your Day

2010-06-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

Take a nature break while working at your computer! Check in on wildlife around the world with these streaming live feeds from Gimundo News and Features: 8 Animal Webcams to Brighten Your Day

More nature webcams from Caliso Learning's Planet Pages and previous blog posts!

Lavender Festivals: Family Fun!

2010-06-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

The site of lavender fields, lavender flowers, the smell lavender can inspire the imagination of any age! Here’s a fun way to spend Father’s Day, the 123 Farm’s 6th Annual Lavender Festival this June 12-13, and 19-20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. If you’re interested, please visit their website for details, directions to their Cherry Valley location, festival activities, schedule, and organic herbs and oils for sale (including lavender, peppermint, rosemary, and sage!).

Lavender farms can be found throughout the region, check your local area for any local harvests, find out what's available in your area. Don't worry if lavender is not a likely harvest--now's a great time to learn about the organic goodies in your region to discover a local farm that celebrates their harvest publicly for natural family fun!

Fun on a lavender farm (or any herb or veggie farm or fruit orchard you can visit):
• Take a family photo sitting in the middle of a blossoming lavender field
• Collect fresh lavender for drying
• Paint as a family, a minimalist scene of lavender rows…
• Identify as many different pollinators as you can find in the fields
• Eat a yumm-a-licious dish prepared with with lavender!
• Bring lavender home with you, purchase a lavender plant to add to your patio garden or yard!
• Have a picnic in the fields
• Participate in the u-pick lavender, workshops, demonstrations, craft artists, music, food and other activities you can find at various lavender festivals!

Share your ideas and experiences with us!

About the 123 Farm: http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M14941
Photo by derekwt http://www.flickr.com/photos/derekt1/3392168766/in/set-72157616023029554/

Protecting Our California Deserts

2010-06-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

We like John Randall's ideas and solution(s) toward balancing renewable energy RESPONSIBLY while maintaining our beautiful and diverse, fragile desert ecosystems. For a quick read: The Nature Conservancy in California - Faces of Conservation - John Randall

What Activities Do You Do With Your Children To Encourage Love & Understanding Of Nature?

2010-05-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

Recently a discussion on LinkedIn was started by a group member asking, “What type of activities do you do with your children to encourage love and an understanding of nature?”

Of the activities my son (nearly four years old) and I do together outside, I feel the best is when he leads the way in personal discovery and his excitement of finding flowers, lizards, birds, etc. on his own. It's so tempting for parents to point out every little cool thing we see—in our own excitement—that we don't want our child to miss! I catch myself all the time ;) But it's so important to let your child make their own discoveries and if they pass up the lizard for the rabbit poopies, so be it...the point is to get them excited about nature, and any way they can relate it back to their own world, the better! If this kind of exploration is encourged, they'll want to get back outside!

Here are some activities I shared in the discussion that we do with our preschooler:

1) Rescue bugs spiders in the house and release them outside (although we currently have

a harmless cellar spider living up in a hallway corner that we say hello to each day)

2) Caring for our desert tortoises, requiring a little native plant knowledge on what they like to eat and tortoise behavior like when they’re usually awake, take naps, how they eat cactus.

3) Playing "Pooh Sticks" in streams; also make leaf and stick boats for stream play

4) Puddle jumping, he's great at it—and we encourge it, even on the way out to dinner ;)

5) I made him a set of paint sample color swatches to practice his colors on wildflowers and other plants and rocks, which he LOVED when he was 18 mos. to about 3 years...

6) We keep fresh flowers in the house

7) "Hiking" and bug/bird/reptile watching; tracking; stick play

8) We pick up trash we come across on trails or in nature areas and parks

9) We go outside to jump around in the rain (it hardly rains here!)

10) We pay attention to the moon

11) We like ladybugs crawling on our hands

12) He collects feathers, leaves and flowers that he knows some names of, also sticks and rocks. The feathers, leaves and flowers go in a simple photobook, the rocks in a bucket while collecting, and into container for keeping (unless we're in a protected area*)

*A quick note on being in a protected area: this is an absolute prime teaching opportunity. Please respect the rule of no collecting or removing of natural items in protected or preserved areas!!! It is so important and little ones are not exempt! My son will collect 'til his heart's content, but before we've even started I've let him know that whatever he collects "lives here" and we will have to leave the pinecones and rocks behind, after we go through them and admire his finds and/or take their pictures. His fuss is brief and the lesson is so valuable, especially in the long run.

What are your favorite nature activities you do with your child(ren) or students? Please share with us :)

Happy Mother's Day Wild Mommies!

2010-05-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here’s a fun peek at wild animal mommies from sand to sea...

Desert Cottontail mommies bear young year round (in California) or up to eight months of the year. She may bear twenty to thirty young in four to five litters. A normal litter has two to six young, which are born blind, furless and unable to care for themselves. Not wanting to draw attention to the nest, mommy cottontails return to the den site only about 2 to 3 times a day to feed her young. The young are weaned at two weeks old, and they begin to leave the nest area three weeks after birth when they are ready to live on their own! Mom considers her job over at 4-5 weeks when she leaves, available to raise another litter.

Sea lion mommies give girth to one pup a year, usually on land and usually on the same beach she was born. From the very start, moms start barking right in their baby’s face until it replies. This is so they can learn to recognize and find each other if they ever get separated in the crowded rookery full of fellow pups and single moms! The sea lion mommy plays a kind of “marco/polo” with her pup until they’re reunited. Sea lions are attentive to their pups, fiercly protecting them and carefully teaching them how to swim for their survival. Pups may nurse for up to 6 months, but by 2 months, mommy sea lions have already taught their babies to swim and hunt with them.

Coyote mommies bear one litter of 3 to 9 puppies a year, usually in April or May when food is abundant. Her pups are born blind in a natal den, but their eyes open after about 14 days and they emerge from the den a few days later. She uses a vocalization called “huffing” to call for her pups without making a lot of noise that might attract predators. Pups suckle for 5 to 7 weeks, and start eating semi-solid food after 3 weeks. While the dad helps support the family with regurgitated food, the mother does not allow him to come all the way into the den. When the pups are about 8 to 10 weeks old, the mother starts taking them out hunting as a group. Within a year, they go their own way, staking out their own territory.

Orca mommies give birth to a baby orca (or calf) on average about once very ten years. Orca moms in labor are accompanied by another orca who is there to help. A baby orca is born tail first, and at ~8 feet long it already weighs around 400 lbs. A mommy orca will help her baby swim to the surface for its first breath. Soon after, the baby learns to swim on its own, just as it will need to learn everything else it needs to survive from its mom and other orcas, without instinct to guide it. Young orcas will stay with their moms their whole lives, living in an extended family pod of aunts, grandparents, brothers and sisters!

Bighorn mommies are protective of their young for many months. But within a few weeks of birth, lambs form bands of their own, seeking out their mothers only to suckle occasionally. Yearlings, often abandoned while the ewe is giving birth to her next lamb, may be seen again with the ewe and lamb late in the spring. Bighorn find safety in numbers and are ever watchful for predators such as Coyotes and Mountain Lions.

Sea Otter mommies have a strong and tender bond with their furry little pup. After four months of pregnancy, a single pup is born in the water. For the first few months of the pup’s life, it is completely dependent upon mom for survival. A sea otter pup rides on its mommy’s belly like a “little prince on a royal barge.” She gives her pup near constant attention, protecting it from the cold water, grooming the pup’s fur constantly, and nursing it. She’ll leave her pup floating for brief periods sometimes wrapped in kelp to keep it from floating away during which she forages to feed herself and replenish her milk supply. Young sea otters are usually independent by six or eight months.

Human mommies can give birth any time of year, usually to one or two young. Their babies can see at birth, and have some hair.Human mommies use several vocalizations to communicate with their babies.Their young may leave the nest after about 18 years, when they are on their own to stake out their own territory. Lucky for these youngsters, their mommies stay protective and are forever watchful for predators and other dangers throughout their offspring’s entire lives.

Celebrate your mom!

Sealion mommy and pup image: VerySherry_photos

Cactus Are Wildflowers Too!

2010-05-04T18:15:00.000-07:00

What is the first plant that comes to mind when you think desert?

The cactus is usually one of the first plants people think of when they think of the desert. It is certainly one of the more conspicuous plants you encounter in the desert landscape. Cacti are well adapted to dry, hot environments with an anatomy and physiology that has evolved to survive such desert extremes. These specialized plants have a photosynthetic process all there own (CAM), effectively splitting the process between night and day—a mighty useful ability for reducing water loss!

Cactus are thought to have evolved in the last 30 to 40 million years and are almost exclusively a New World plant. There are over 2,000 species of cactus. Tehuacán Valley of Mexico has one of the richest occurrences of cacti in the world.

Their thick stems are succulent and full of water (undrinkable by the way), with a waxy coating to reduce water loss. Cactus ribs will expand for water storage, or shrink depending on available water. As cactus ribs and stems shrink, this creates deep valleys on the plant, providing more shade for the stems.

Cactus spines are actually modified leaves that evolved as protection. They are usually light-colored to reflect radiation away from the plant, another adaption for reducing water loss. Spines also create a lattice to shade plant bodies; interestingly for some species there is a higher density of spines on the side that gets the most sun exposure. The arrangement of spines on a cactus also help guide rain directly to the roots.

Cactus flowers are typically big and showy. They're great photographic subjects because of their large size, beautiful array of bright colors, and the fact that they don't sway in the wind like other wildflowers. You will often catch a variety of pollinators busy in these eye-catching blossoms for some fun shots!

Here in the Colorado Desert of southeastern California, many of our wildflowers have already peaked by this time of year. However, beginning on the desert floor we are now treated to the "second act" as many cactus and succulent species are now in full swing, spotting the desert landscape with bright pops of fuschia, orange, red, yellow and creamy white blossoms! This visual treat can last into June as you follow the bloom from our low-elevation desert floor to the upper, high desert blooms.

Release Your Inner Tree-hugger!

2010-05-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

The new Side of Nature activity is added and the previous is posted here for comments! Did you give it a try? We’d love to hear your ideas, what did you end up doing with your creations?

What to do with those tree trimmings? Take the small branches (2” to 3” in diameter) and make tree cookies—no baking required! Once you’ve saw-sliced your cookies, use colored Sharpies® to write tree-friendly messages on them, tree-themed haikus, draw or paint tree images, or even write your favorite fun fact about trees. Give them to friends, wear them, hang them, use them in an art project, or get others inspired by secretly leaving your tree cookie for someone else to find :)

Grants for Monarchs In Your Garden!

2010-04-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is a great opportunity for kids to get involved in a fantastic project. Project Learning Tree grants are available to create Monarch butterfly waystations/pollinator gardens at schools. Details here: Monarch Watch Blog

Happy Full Moon: Moon Meditations

2010-04-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

The moon is a great mentor in living your life to its fullest. Find a comfortable spot in the moonlight tonight and try one of these empowering meditations inspired by the full moon...

Live full. The full moon creates a lot of action; humans celebrate it, animals and oceans move by it. When the moon is full and bright, we can see things outside without the aid of artificial light. Live your life fully, illuminate your own path, celebrate your strengths.

Radiate light. Despite being the weakest reflector in our solar system, the moon shines brightly against the black backdrop of space. Reflect positive qualities in your interaction with others.

Infuse yourself with nature. The moon is intimately aligned with the natural world as we have witnessed through the pull of lunar tides and the variety of species that rely on its light for survival. Plant yourself in the cycles of nature to appreciate your vital role in the world we share, increase your personal awareness, and heighten your sensitivity to your attitudes and behavior as it compares to your core standards and beliefs. This type of connection may intuitively affect the conscientious mind and accountability that guide your decision making process.

Inspire others. Our silvery moon has long been the source of inspiration for artists, philosophers, and poets. Both science and art continue to seek ways to study and interpret its profound affect on our lives. Think about the people in your life, and how they inspire you; awaken those same inspiring qualities in your self. Find ways to express yourself as passionately as those who inspire you and others will not be able to resist supporting you in achieving your goals.

"Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine." ~the Buddha

2010-04-22T02:54:00.001-07:00

~Caliso Learning :)

Taking A Child's Perspective

2010-04-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

With Earth Day two days away, it's time to regroup and see where we're really making a difference. Sometimes, we just need to shift our perspective to ask better questions that won't mire our progress and energies with lengthy, over-analized answers.

Folks at the 7GenBlog remind us to step back and simplify our approach--they remind us to listen to our children--to take a child's perspective--because they tend to think of the most important questions :) In the very least, how about rethinking some creative solutions as your inner child would, so we can take action in providing a safe and natural environment for our children. Read about it here: Taking a Child's Perspective Seventh Generation

It's the BUZZ...Native Bee Boxes

2010-04-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

Denise Shreeve is a beekeeper of an unusual sort. Instead of honey bees at her home in McLean, Va., she raises native orchard mason bees -- solitary bees that don't produce honey, but do pollinate abundant gardens and crops. Orchard mason bees are native to the entire North American continent and are amazingly efficient pollinators, especially of early fruit and nut trees. After completing a honey beekeeping course a few years ago, and realizing how many chemicals it takes to keep them alive, Denis Shreeve decided to research native bees as an alternative and found:

Orchard Mason Bees are gentle, mild-mannered solitary bees that rarely, if ever, sting. (Males don't even have stingers.)
OMB’s do not make honey, but rather use collected nectar and pollen to feed themselves and their young.
They don’t have a Queen to defend so will never attack if disturbed, making them very safe around kids and pets, and fun and educational to watch.

Continue reading this article for more about these native bees, native beekeeping and how Shreeve creates her beautiful, easy DIY bee boxes 6 Facts About Native Bees
Photo: Denise Shreeve

Create your own Mason bee or other native bee boxes:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/note109/note109.html

http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/na/bgardn.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/beebox.shtml

http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/gardening/building-a-bee-box/

Bliss!

2010-04-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Spring Festivals :)

2010-04-12T01:50:00.000-07:00

From our Festivals page, here are some upcoming festivals and events to get you connected with nature. Look for Caliso Learning at a few of these favorite spring happenings!

April 15-18, 2010
Yuma Birding & Nature Festival, Yuma, AZ
http://www.yumabirding.com/

April 16-17, 2010
First Annual Santa Monica Mountains Science Festival http://www.nhm.org/site/sites/default/files/pdf/NHM_NPS_SciFest_SantaMonicaMtns_2010.pdf

April 17, 2010
Earth Day Festival, Hi-Desert Nature Museum, Yucca Valley, CA http://www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org/events.html

April 17, 2010
Mother Nature's Earth Jam at The Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA
http://www.livingdesert.org/calendar/

April 23-26, 2010
Desert Symposium, Desert Studies Center, Zzyzx, CA
http://biology.fullerton.edu/dsc/

April 24, 2010
Earth Day Birding Challenge, Coachella Valley, CA
http://www.dcbc.blogspot.com/

April 24-25, 2010
California Poppy Festival
http://www.poppyfestival.com/

May 1, 2010
31st Annual Endangered Species Faire, Chico, CA
http://www.endangeredspeciesfaire.org/

May 15, 2010
Southern California Indian Storytelling Festival, Palm Springs, CA
http://www.accmuseum.org/page68.html#st

May 15-16, 2010
25th Annual BUG FAIR Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/bug-fair

Memorial Day Weekend 2010
Memorial Day Weekend Wildflower and Art Show, Idyllwild Nature Center http://www.idyllwildnaturecenter.net/Home.html

May 15, 2010
21st Annual Idyllwild Earth Fair, Idyllwild, CA
http://www.earthfair.com/

I Spy...

2010-04-07T23:21:00.000-07:00

...a great white shark, and a gray whale!

A Little Bird Told Me...

2010-03-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

I was stumped on what to share this week for a different blog/ezine, my deadline coming down to the wire. I found myself staring out my window to watch the birds when I noticed some feathers flapping about in strange way on the ground, next to our driveway. It looked like a bird was trapped by something. I decided to go and take a look and found a baby bird stuck inside a broken bottle, unable to back out because of the glass. (I use upside-down, bottles filled with sand as plant borders. The sand protects the glass from acting like a fire-starting magnifying lens in the summer.) One of the globe bottles had broken and the little fledgling was inside, beak first into a hole in the sand. A male and female verdin were flying about me, chattering in distress. I quickly realized I couldn’t just pull him out, his little legs and a wing were snug against the sharp edges of the glass. The tiny bird was trying so hard to free himself. I waved my husband out to take a look and he quickly went back into the garage for some pliers and pair of gloves.

He carefully snipped a piece of glass out of the way. I was able to support the tiny verdin’s legs and then his body enough to guide him out rather easily. He remained calm the entire time. The parents were watching from the roof next door. We checked him for cuts, the little guy looked good, he was just a little shaky. I showed him to his parents and put him on the ground where they could see their little fledgling. He immediately hopped closer to the base of the palm for cover, I replaced some bird seed on the ground nearby and then I went inside to watch the reunion unfold by the kitchen window…

It felt very good. It’s so hard to watch any living being in distress, especially when it’s tricky to communicate that you are there to help. I knew we were there to help the verdins, but was that their experience? I was more likely seen as an instinctual threat to their offspring more than anything else. Like our own mothers, Mother Nature is once again perfect and subtle in her unique teachings. So often we find ourselves in our own struggles. The tricky part is communicating to ourselves or to others when we need help. Sometimes we find ourselves watching someone we love in distress and we are torn between figuring out a way to show them support and encouragement—without hurting them further; or lovingly waiting for them to find a place within, where they are open to accepting our help. That can be tricky too.

I think the best we can do is to be kind to each other and stay watchful, to be aware of when others around us are in pain or struggling. We should try to help whenever we can in the smallest ways—it feels very good to do so! And we should try our best to be there for those who will need our love, support, and encouragement in the biggest ways. Many times we just need to be present. We need to keep in mind that whomever or whatever we are wanting to help may also be afraid or cautious or not in need of our help.

The opportunity presents itself daily. Today my husband and I helped a baby bird and filled the opening of the broken bottle with a rock so that nothing else can get stuck (I will remove it over the next couple of days, when the baby verdin is not around). My only regret is that our preschooler missed the whole event, as he was peacefully napping. It was have been a wonderful learning opportunity for him as well.

How will you manifest your kindest qualities toward others today? What will you choose to do today to pay-it-forward, or do good?

Image: Artist Nataska Wescoat

Recognized at Last – Healing Clays

2010-03-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

Interesting post discussing the benefits and healing factors of good, natural clay. Read more about their initial findings and what qualifies, as well as the scientific study (at end of article)...Recognized at Last – Healing Clays

16 Tips for Wildlife Gardening with Kids

2010-03-19T02:38:00.000-07:00

Found via Twitter, this is a great article with ideas for making gardening safe and fun for the WHOLE family (see previous post!). Wildlife gardening has many benefits like helping native wildlife survive habitat fragmentation, providing spontaneous and natural learning opportunities for your child, wildlife watching, and raising awareness for the value of our connection to nature.

"One of the best things you may ever cultivate in your yard is a gardener; share your love of nature with a child" read more here: 16 Tips for Wildlife Gardening with Kids - National Wildlife Federation - StumbleUpon

The Secret Garden

2010-03-18T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Family Garden
Spring is upon us and many gardeners are harvesting their spring gardens and beginning to prep the soil for summer garden delights. Establishing a family garden is a great way to get your children and even nearby grandparents, or aunts and uncles into the experience of a family garden. If extended family is too far away, consider planting their personal seasonal favorites and have your child keep in touch with family members through updates on their “crops.” At harvest time you can plan a fun dinner by inviting family over for a visit with a special meal that is made with everyone’s garden contributions. Or you can prepare food like salsa, preserves, nuts, baked and seasoned sunflower seeds, or muffins that use your family member’s favorite garden veggie or fruit as the main ingredient that can be sent to them to enjoy!

The Secret Garden
When I was a child I was encouraged to try a few different gardens, from veggies to flowers, all of which failed. It could’ve been that I was not consistent with watering and also that I was quite frequently distracted by other activities such as “planting” other items in my carefully raked garden patches; like Smurfs, cars, stick tepees, tiny plastic animals, and bark houses for my Sunshine family dolls. I also decorated the area with collected rocks and shells. I did this for hours and hours on end. If I would have thought to water my seeds as much as I played, I might have had a flourishing flower or spaghetti squash garden. At least the birds benefitted from the seeds.

The Secret Family Garden
My point to this post is to encourage you to try gardening with your child, possibly making it an extended family garden—if you haven’t already! It’s the perfect activity for even the youngest in your family. I would also encourage you to establish a secret garden for your little ones to "plant" their plastic dinosaurs, favorite rocks, collected shells, or to build fairy houses…anything they wish to carefully place just so, that will inspire them to be outside, in the garden, in the soil and water, and simply in nature to express theirs. This special garden can be in and around the sprouting family garden or in a designated area within or next to the garden. I like the idea of keeping them close or intertwined as cultivating healthy food and healthy imaginations are equally important.

Maybe you had your own secret garden when you were young? If so, please tell us about it! We’d love to hear what made it most special to you. A secret garden never fails to cultivate the seeds of creativity, and always allows imagination to blossom :)

Fairy house photo from www.spokaneoutdoors.com
more fairy houses

Hummingbird Nest Cam

2010-03-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

We can't stop watching this precious and beautiful little Channel Island Allen hummingbird nesting in Orange County! Click the following link to watch the nest with egg(s), read the stream to see what's happened--she's been defending her nest against a lizard!

Follow this link to the hummingbird webcam--come back to share your comments!
Hummingbird Nest Cam on USTREAM: Phoebe is a Channel Island Allen (S.s. sedentarius) hummingbird in Orange County, California. She has been laying 4 to 5 c...

Innovative Rubber Sidewalk Saves Trees and More

2010-03-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of this new alternative to concrete? Easy on the knees yet strong enough for skaters, cyclists and cars. These 100% recyclable panels give tree roots room to grow, keep tires out of the landfill, save money by cutting down on labor (no constant repairs), and even reduce the sound of pedestrian traffic <--now that particularly sounds good to me :)
Check out this Green Blogger/InventorSpot post and let us know what you think: Innovative Rubber Sidewalk Saves Trees and More

Protected Natural Area? Please Don’t Pick the Flowers :)

2010-03-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

Yay, wildflower season is upon us here in the Coachella Valley desert! Temperatures have warmed, we received another smattering of rain and our wildflower season is starting to blossom in “hot spots” around the valley floor.

You know where to find me—in the canyons, on the dunes, in the hills, on the desert floor. I’ll be the wildflower geek showing my son how to lay on his stomach to discover all of those tiny, happy “belly flowers.”

One other place I might be…at your local library or historical society sharing my wildflower love with others. One particular demonstration everyone takes part in is the “petal pick.” We pass around a store-bought sunflower and ask each person to remove one petal. As it gets to the other side of the room, the flower is picked clean, often leaving about half the group without a petal to claim, and more importantly without any resemblance of a flower to enjoy. The whole flower represents a protected natural area, each petal represents a wildflower in that area. As you can imagine, it helps get the message across that with hundreds of visitors enjoying our wildflowers, if we each justify to ourselves, I’m just picking ONE flower, it can significantly alter the ecology by removing the resource and the beauty for future enjoyment.

If you see Caliso “wildflowering,” watch where you step (belly flowers) and come over to say, “Hello,” I would love to meet you! Yes, I will also be the mom teaching my son not to pick the wildflowers—a challenge indeed as he always grabs for flowers to give to mommy and daddy :)

We must preserve the natural world; for without nature, there would be no beauty to inspire us. ~Hap Hagood

Meet Taco, the Desert Tortoise!

2010-02-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

It’s nearing the end of February, which means our desert tortoises (Taco, Rufus, and Guacamole) are expected to come out of hibernation any time now. Here in the southern California desert, we experienced a cooler winter this year, but spring is beginning to nudge its way in with recent warm spells over the last few weeks, alternating with cooler temperatures (meaning down in the 70’s/low 40’s for our day/night time highs).

Rufus and Guacamole are 8 year old sibling desert tortoises adopted in 2005. They have each stepped in for Taco a few times for public talks and programs.

Taco is Caliso Learning's own ambassador. He is a lifelong resident of the Coachella Valley, hatched in captivity in La Quinta, CA. During his 33 years, he has visited thousands of students and adults to teach the importance of habitat conservation and species protection, as well as animal adaptation to the desert environment, and the handling and care of non-releasable desert tortoises. You could say Taco is a tortoise of action as he’s helped spread these important messages in the trenches by: visiting classrooms, libraries, youth centers, museums, and even through a personal interview for the Los Angeles Times. All this work has kept Taco busy, but he still finds time for hibernation. His best advice: "Slow down in life. Take the time to stop and smell the flowers. Then eat them."

* * *

True to their scientific name--Gopherus agassizii, gopherus meaning "burrower"--Taco, Rufus, and Guacamole typically hibernate on their own in winter burrows they’ve dugged themselves by extending their existing burrows even deeper. However this year, Rufus and Guacamole are spending the second half of their hibernation in a pet carrier in a non-insulated room, due to the threat of flooding from this season’s storms. Taco’s yard and burrow were not threatened by flooding. The three typically enter hibernation in early October and emerge for spring (often mid-February); Taco usually wakes up a good three weeks after Rufus and Guacs have come out. But no one has become active yet!

Any guesses on when these hardy desert critters will emege from their burrows in search of their favorite spring meal (wildflowers) and a looong drink of water?

My Own Little Fledgling Hiker

2010-01-29T00:39:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, we had a beautiful break in the weather following a week of solid rain--a rare event here in the Coachella Valley desert. We decided to hit the trail with our 3 year old son. He had walked his first "hike" two years ago on this same trail! Much of the part we covered is fairly flat, but a little further back, it becomes a pretty good climb for a little guy, but he kept going--not without a few pleas to be carried, mind you. I kept daddy ahead of us as his motivation to go "just a little further."

I was really proud that he did keep going, even when he would get a little frustrated. When we got to the "top" we had some juice and fish crackers, we "ooh'd and ahh'd" over his rocks and stick (supreme treasures), and pointed out the Circus Vargas tent down in the mall parking lot, something you couldn't miss from our hilly perch.

My son was anxious to get down the hill, so we headed back. He liked going down hill, picking up rocks. My husband and I tried to get him to practice side stepping so he wouldn't slide. But he stayed toes forward and did just fine, despite our efforts! I decided to let him feel it out on his own. Trails are a great place for kids to learn balance and how their bodies move, like how to compensate when sliding! He never fell--on the hilly part anyway!

We came back through an area of large rocks, darkened with many centuries worth of patina, where he got in a little rock hopping and spied some ants. From there he narrated the rest of our journey with a mouth full of facts and fantasy. Eventually we made it back to the picnic tables, aka another fish cracker/apple bar break (our third), then headed home.

It took us two hours to cover a 20-minute span of trail, but at the risk of sounding cliche, it was the journey I appreciated most. I love experiencing nature through the eyes of my son, he is drawn to things that I take for granted on a trail. I value nature so much that I treasure every moment he delights in it. The experience is always a fun lesson in discovery for both of us!

The trail is a wonderful classroom :)

Finding Yourself In A Tree

2010-01-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

There are rich counsels in the trees. ~Herbert P. Horne

For as long as I can remember, the opportunity for creative release is what I enjoy most. One of my all-time favorite things to do when I was a young girl was to climb the tree over our chicken/rabbit/duck yard (pets, not food), and sit for hours in a comfortable cradle of branches. Many stories and poems, life decisions (for a 12-year old), and an abundance of creative ideas came from those "reTREEts."

Looking back, key components were in place for creative stimulation-which made me happiest: I was in a tree that energized my spirit while in my own private sit-spot with a nice view that required a bit of creative climbing and balance to access. Without any trees nearby to climb, how do I replicate this source of childhood inspiration? For daily inspiration, I keep nature as a part of my day-to-day life and I seek out alternative ways of looking at the world (like my perch up in a tree). For long term goals I focus on sources of happiness in my life now and allow my personal nature to create a plan of action (like the strategies below). How could you accomplish this for yourself?

One way is to take the time to devise a plan of action that will incorporate the root of your happiness as a new perspective toward a life change. For something different, try the following 13 strategies for successful goal setting inspired by trees, and a little tree climbing:

1. Make sure your tree (your idea/goal) is stable with numerous, deep roots. If you are not firmly rooted in the faith of your own ability and strength, others will tear you down before you have a chance to branch out and make your dreams a reality.

2. Choose a tree (your goal) that will weather the storm. Your goal should be clear and solid enough to endure set backs and obstacles.

3. Grow. Each step is like a growth ring; these are your possibilities, opportunities, and resources that expand and strengthen your support system.

4. Every tree is a community of life unto itself. If you can, make your goals the center of a community where you must take an active role in accomplishing your goals; inspire others by your progress.

5. Trees are ancient and often represent endurance and wisdom. Have patience and respond with wise decisions.

6. Stay flexible. Bend and sway with the storms instead of buckling. Be ready to change your course of action if something isn't working to keep your dream alive.

7. Go dormant. Stop and regroup if you need to refocus or re-evaluate your direction. Is your goal getting out of hand? Is it realistic, or something you still believe in? If not, re-invent yourself, or abandon your goal for a new, relevant, more inspiring one!

8. Keep climbing. You'll be making many intuitive decisions while following your dream, choose the best routes (the strongest branches) to keep you climbing upward.

9. Take the risk. Yes, climbing trees can be risky, so you must take precautions and look before you leap from branch to branch so you don't fall.

10. Branch out. Reach out for help. Everyone needs a little boost or help at sometime, welcome any positive support.

11. Provide yourself shelter from ridiculously negative influences (ants, sap, thorns, weak branches-in other words, negative nellies, self-sabotage, bad decisions).

12. Stand tall. Believe in your talents and ability. Believe in your strengths. Remember, tiny seeds transform into massive and majestic redwoods that withstand the test of time.

13. Have fun in your tree. Enjoy the process of achieving your dreams! This is a very special part of who you are, so you want to make sure it reflects your true nature and happiness.

Let your creative roots nourish your growth. Follow the intuitive path that is important to who you wish to become. Create opportunities that will incorporate the root of your happiness into your daily life and be willing to climb your tree to creative success with joy in your heart :)

Excerpt from: Finding Yourself in a Tree - Strategies For Creative Success

Coyote Haiku

2010-01-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

The coyote’s song
Blesses my soulful journey,
Beautiful. Haunting.

Ready to go wild with your creativity? Take a lead from the highly adaptable and vocal coyote, aka Canis latrans, its scientific name meaning “barking dog.” Read a little about the vocalizations of this iconic canine, hear its song, and be sure to share your own!

Coyotes are found throughout North America, from Alaska to New England to Panama. I feel blessed whenever I hear their calls, whether I’m in the desert or the mountains. The coyote is one of the few wild animals whose vocalizations are commonly heard night or day (desertusa.com). They will howl, yip, bark and yelp to communicate with other individuals. Whether you feel a tingling, primitive instinct of fear, or smile when you hear its song, your first coyote howl in the wild is sure to stir your soul.

Below are some interpretations of common coyote vocalizations from DesertUSA.com:

• Howling - communication with others in the area. Also, an announcement that “I am here and this is my area. Other males are invited to stay away but females are welcome to follow the sound of my voice. Please answer and let me know where you are so we don't have any unwanted conflicts.”
• Yelping - a celebration or criticism within a small group of coyotes. Often heard during play among pups or young animals.
• Bark - The bark is thought to be a threat display when a coyote is protecting a den or a kill.
• Huffing - is usually used for calling pups without making a great deal of noise.

Listen to these wild coyote songs for creative inspiration! Ahhh, truly one of my favorite sounds :)

What is your song today?

"NIGHT SKY"

2009-12-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

During a recent creativity workshop themed in nature (of course!), I asked participants to group up and create a folding poem. During this exercise, all lines are kept covered except the last one written. Each participant is privy to only the last line written to which they add their own line. In this case, a 3-person team created a poem (6 verses) after contemplating the prompt of "NIGHT SKY." It reads:

The night sky is endless, timeless, ever expanding,
Stars shine and twinkle, sending messages to earth....
And I hear their storeis and smile.

The stars shine as if to say, "I have a million stories to share of magnificant things I have seen."
And the moon smiles with pride that the stars have seen the light!
She celebrates with full, fat expression.

Rockin' Family Time

2009-11-29T00:08:00.000-08:00

As the holidays bring family and friends together, we celebrate cherished traditions and good times with those we love. If you’re looking for some fun ideas for the whole family, try some of these “rock solid” activities to engage all ages—and maybe start a new tradition!

FESTIVE PLACE CARDS
While gathering around the tables at my aunt’s house for Thanksgiving we found our seats by stone place cards. I loved the idea—even more when we were each asked to write on the back of our special stones (Sharpies provided) what we were most thankful for!

CONCENTRATION
A childhood favorite! Use smooth stones from around the yard or purchased from the garden center of your local home improvement store to give an earthy spin to the classic card game. On one side, write family members’ names (especially fun with very large family gatherings where little ones are meeting members new to them!), draw simple symbols or patterns, or a holiday-related word in pairs. Place stones, written word down, mix them up and start matching! Non-matches get turned back over, staying in play.

ROCKU™
This has been a popular activity at our Earth Day booths; it can also be an inspiring treat for family and friends relaxing in your yard! Create a “rocku” (5-7-5 haiku about nature, the earth, family, gratitude, etc.) by combining smooth stones with one-word prompts you’ve written into lines of poetry dedicated to celebrating nature or your family…

NEW YEAR'S PROMISE
Many of us find ourselves making New Year’s resolutions, why not make it a keepsake rock to inspire you to hold on to your personal promise? Find a stone that fits you, fits well in your hand, one that calls to you. In one or two words, write your New Year’s promise to yourself, your mantra—now it is written in stone. Keep it with you as inspiration to fulfill your promise.

ROCK (ART) HOUNDS
Collect rocks from around the yard and build mini-forts, make rock stacks (how tall can you make yours?), create designs (flowers, spirals, geometrics, or?) or words with the rocks you’ve collected. Arranged by size, color, shape, the ideas are endless! Great for the kids in the family, have them create and invite you to their outdoor gallery pre- or post-dinner!

The Butterfly Effect

2009-11-10T23:57:00.000-08:00

...a phrase that suggests the tiniest movement (a butterfly flapping its wings for example) creates a ripple effect of larger and larger variations or actions, forever changing the "behavior" or direction of a dynamic system. This is a distinct reminder to remain intuitive of every decision you make, every action you take--no matter how small--for it will create an impact in your life, possibly changing its course forever.

This can be quite exciting, and it is important to respond to challenges and share your gifts positively in an effort to create the life that brings about your greater good, your true nature. If something is occurring that you do not like, you can set about to change its affect on your life by initiating just one small action.

Metamorphosis
I love the metaphor of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. For the new butterfly, this is a difficult process that requires struggle (and rest) so it may successfully transform into a beautiful being that is able to take flight! How appropriate for us to remember to somehow appreciate our struggles. Emerge from your comfort zone (your cocoon), take action on something that has been challenging you so you may take flight and create the ripple effect in setting your true calling in motion!

I watched a butterfly today & admired its spirited, bouncy, magnificent effort in flight! I followed it’s path, my flight guided by instinct, my true nature.

Teachings From the Scorpion

2009-10-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Connect with nature, restore yours. What we learn from nature, gives us insight to our selves. When we feel a connection with something, we begin to appreciate its value and its right to share our world, and we wish to protect its future as our own.

The scorpion is often misunderstood and feared. But once we learn to appreciate its value and its rightful place in our world, we feel connected and can learn much about ourselves. Like the scorpion, you are key to your environment. Everyone and everything you share your “habitat” with will have an impact on you. These daily interactions shape your inner nature—the core from which you pull from each time you take action in your life. Who or what are you allowing into your environment and how are they shaping or influencing you?

TEACHINGS FROM THE SCORPION…

1. Scorpions rely first on their strength for nourishment, not their venom.

Respond with your inner strength for facing challenges, do not sting with your words.

2. Throughout human history scorpions have had their share of both negative and positive “press.”

Consider this when dealing with an undesirable situation. Become aware of all perspectives—don’t let your history keep you from finding a reasonable explanation and outcome that can benefit the entire situation.

3. Scorpions molt throughout their lives as they grow. Newly molted scorpions must keep stretching while the new exoskeleton hardens to ensure that it can move when the hardening is complete.

Shed old skins as you grow, create opportunities for transformation,and stretch your boundaries! Allow yourself room to grow as you fulfill your calling.

4. Burrows are a very important aspect of the ecology of desert scorpions, offering shelter and protection while molting and from predators.

How often do you allow yourself time for a little “burrowing?” What can you do to ensure those quality, restorative moments vital for maintainining your energy and focus?

5. Scorpions tend to change their habits rather than their form in order to adapt to a new habitat.

This is a great reminder to stay flexible while pursuing your goals, rarely do things go as planned. Adapt and be ready to navigate new territory!

Excerpt from: “Teachings From the Scorpion” M. Hedgecock, 2009
Scorpion photo: M. Hedgecock

Get Grounded...

2009-10-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

You may already know that many standing meditations and relaxation techniques encourage the process of standing with bare feet on the ground, establishing an energy flow by rooting yourself to the earth through your toes, pads, your instep, and your heels. This is a wonderful way to ground yourself, however, I’m also encouraging you to slip off your sandals, or your shoes and socks, and take a walk on the beach. Or, feel the spongy, dewy coolness of a morning lawn, or the sand slipping between your toes in your child’s sand box! How about squishing around in some natural clay or mud at your favorite hiking hide-out or earth spa. Feel free to get your hands into the mix too.

Touch is often one of the quickest ways to feel grounded, whether you are seeking support, or a place to find rest. Grounding yourself with earthy components in the literal sense is a fun way to engage your senses and release your inhibitions beyond the norm of your daily habits. When you’re grounded, your core finds its center and balance. You find reprieve from the negative chatter so easy to get caught up in, and the answers you seek begin to flow.

So...however you do it, connect yourself to the earth in some manner--make physical contact with a natural, earthy textures and fragrances by walking or standing(barefoot ideal!), sitting, and/or laying down. Then simply close your eyes and let mother earth hold you…

Worldwide Day of Play: Sept. 26, 2009

2009-09-18T00:57:00.000-07:00

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." ~Rachel Carson

Why not let your inner child come out and nature play? Take your child(ren) outside, or to a nature-themed event and explore with them, lose yourself in their wonder, let them be the "leaders," your personal nature guide! Where will they take you? What will they choose to point out to you?

* * *

Right on, Nickelodeon! Nickelodeon celebrating upcoming Worldwide Day of Play (Sept. 26, 2009) by turning off all programming and going dark for 3 hrs to get kids outside! Wow, that's a tremendous show of support for the value of outdoor play! Kudos to Nick-execs for going for it :) YAY! www.nick.com (a mid-morning or mid-afternoon time slot would really prove their intentions!)

9 Articles and Resources on the Benefits of Nature

2009-08-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

The benefits of nature are easy to appreciate once you step into an environment that draws you. For many of us, this is instinctual as we seek to "escape" to the ocean or beach, or to a mountain hide-away. You might desire to get back to nature in the most basic, test-your-limits kind of way with a little backcountry camping or backpacking. Or you might just need to take in the peaceful surroundings of an inspiring natural landscape outside your vacation cottage while you sit in a cozy nook and read a good book! I feel the most relaxing and creative boost when I'm by the water, particularly vast expanses like the ocean.

Check out any of the articles below about the benefits of nature on your mind, body, and spirit. Share your own experiences of ways nature affects you.

The Cognitive Benefits of Nature: The Frontal Cortex
http://shar.es/FhjS
AUDIO The Takeaway: The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature (Walking makes you smart)
http://shar.es/FhK9
The Benefits of Nature and Camping
http://shar.es/FhdE
Nature: Science Shows It’s Good for the Mind as Well as the Body (AARP Bulletin Today)
http://shar.es/Fh8W
Restorative Benefits of Nature…Gardening to Achieve Better Health http://www.rgardening.com/pdf/HealthBenefit.pdf
The Benefits of Nature and Outdoors
http://shar.es/D01A
The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature
http://dericbownds.net/uploaded_images/Berman_cog.pdf (Research/Report)

These two articles emphasize the benefits of nature for our children:
A Walk in the Park Can Improve Reading Comprehension
http://shar.es/rp5x
The Many Benefits Of Walking In Mother Nature
http://shar.es/Fh9hm

We would love to hear you own experiences of how nature restores you!

Daily Rhythms: How These Cycles May Affect Our Goals

2009-08-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

In the study of wildlife ecology, living at night can be seen as a form of “niche differentiation.” This is where a species' niche is divided into specific time periods (daily or seasonal) that best contribute to its survival in response to surrounding resources, competitors, or threats. Temporal niches take advantage of an animal’s enhanced senses (sight, hearing, smell) that dictates activity to ensure their survival.

Humans are not exempt from this concept. During a typical 24-hour cycle, does the time of day have any affect on how we utilize our resources, or respond to the demands that threaten our time and energy? My husband is most alert in the very early morning, a time when he is primed for reading and meditation. I am most alert, and get my most creative boost very late at night. We both are least energetic during late afternoon. Examine your daily rhythms. When do you feel most creative? When do you have the most energy? Where in the daily cycle do you feel you are winding down? What part of the day do you feel the least productive?

It is good to be aware of how we coexist within our daily environment, and note what times we function best to maximize our resources for completing projects. It could also help family dynamics or our relationships at work (group populations!), by learning to build a balanced coexistence; recognizing where our needs fit individual niches, yet complement the overall potential of the group.

Once we acknowledge segments of our time where we feel most energetic—or our mind is primed for growth, productivity, or creativity for example—we can better manage our time and help avoid self-sabotage of our goals.

Critter Café

2009-08-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

For a great family project, why not create a backyard habitat you can be proud of while protecting native wildlife from habitat fragmentation/loss? Invite some of those native species that need your help with a creature feast! By planting plants that provide cover for smaller species, as well as food and nesting sites or nesting material for birds and drinkable water for other animals, you can set the scene for watchable wildlife and encourage natural predator/prey cycles--where both sides can benefit.

Here in the desert, native landscaping helps maintain precious water reserves. Native birds, reptiles, and small mammals also help to keep unwanted pests and other vectors out of your yard by preying on them. Birds, and especially bats, will consume thousands of unwanted insects. Even a roadrunner will pluck a juicy black widow from her web for a snack. If you live in an area that sees snakes regularly, welcome the sight of a kingsnake or roadrunner as they will prey on rattlesnakes as well as rodents.

Please note:
Provide food for native species responsibly. Offer their natural diet and other needs through your landscaping. Please do not feed roadrunners cat food, or other meats regularly eaten by humans, it is very harmful to their young. Leaving human or domestic animal food out will only attract those pests you do not want around your home! Besides, if you fill the bellies of these well-meaning natives, they won’t have room to feast on the natural pests you’d rather not have around!

Keep us posted on your experiences--we'd love to hear :)

Adventure & Bonding With Your Toddler!

2009-07-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Nature activities for you and your tiny explorer. Bring your family together, foster growth and curiosity in your child, and feel the benefits and peaceful pace of the natural world. Try some of the following activities we’ve compiled from our favorites! All can be done with ages 18 months and up. All you need is a little sense of pint-sized adventure :)

Bug Eyes: Get on your bellies and study the terrain from a bug’s eye view! Pick one small area of the yard to explore with a hand lens. Look for bugs under rocks and watch them with a hand lens.

Rocky Puppy: Rock collecting starts early with curious minds. Begin with just collecting in your yard. Move on to arranging rocks by size or color; stack them, make patterns, lines—or better yet, just let your little rock hound arrange those new finds as he pleases. Just remind him that rocks do not like to fly.

Story Time al Fresco: There’s nothing like a simple change of scenery to excite the senses. Try story time under the stars for a new twist on old favorites! You could even follow up with sleeping outdoors!
From T. Albrecht, SRSJMNM

“Pooh Sticks:” An old favorite, inspired of course by Winnie the Pooh. Gather sticks and drop them in a stream, watch them float away! Even better if you can do it from a small bridge, watching for them to emerge on the other side! My 3-year old son would do this for hours if we let him.

Species Safari: Create your own tiny explorer field guide (keep it simple!) or use ours. Take your child on a walk around the neighborhood or a nearby nature area and mark off each critter she can find!

Teddy Bear Tracking: Draw or print out a set of 12 paw prints (~3”- 4”); cut out and hang at child level, around your yard or campsite for your toddler to “track” to a teddy bear you’ve place sitting in a low tree, sturdy bush or other semi-hidden spot for him to find. Delightful fun!

The Secret Garden: Choose a part of your yard, under a special bush, at the base of a favorite tree, even a large planter where your toddler can create their own unique garden to plant collected rocks, sticks, plastic dinosaurs…anything she wishes that makes it uniquely hers!

Nature Bracelet: Wrap a piece of masking tape to your child’s wrist, sticky side up. As you explore, help him attach colorful leaves, flowers, and other interesting discoveries to his bracelet. When done, use scissors to snip off the nature bracelet. Display on a bulletin board, shelf, or wall.
From fun.familyeducation.com

Follow the Leader: Start out as the leader and buzz a flower, hop around a tree, step over a rock, flap over to the hose, etc. Then switch to let your little one lead!

Backyard Harvest: If you have any trees with edible fruit, let your little one help you harvest your fresh crop, then share the organic snack! Create a bouquet of garden flowers with your toddler for tonight’s center piece (just make sure to watch for poisonous plants or defenses like thorns, spines or burrs).
From family.go.com

Moon Face: Take your child on a moonlight walk in your backyard during the full moon.

Treasure Bucket: Perfect for toddlers who like to collect things…and dump them out only to refill it again! Use a small toy bucket or container they can manage. Collect leaves, rocks, small trash flown in after a windy day, or specially hidden toys!

If collecting natural items from your yard, it’s a good opportunity to teach the non-removal of things from protected areas. Have them dump their bucket outside, leaving their natural items where “they live.” If picking up trash, have them wear gloves, make sure what they’re picking up is “safe” and have them empty their buckets in the trash can to teach good environmental habits.

Activities from Caliso Learning’s Yards of Fun compilation booklet.

Moon Meditation: Living Your Life To Its Fullest

2009-07-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

“Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.” ~the Buddha

Today is a full moon. The moon is a great mentor in living your life to its fullest. Find a comfortable spot in the moonlight tonight and try one of these moon meditations:

Live full. The full moon creates a lot of action; humans celebrate it, animals and oceans move by it. When the moon is full and bright, we can see things outside without the aid of artificial light. Live your life fully, illuminate your own path, celebrate your strengths.

Radiate light. Despite being the weakest reflector in our solar system, the moon shines brightly against the black backdrop of space. Reflect positive qualities in your interaction with others.

Infuse yourself with nature. The moon is intimately aligned with the natural world as we have witnessed through the pull of lunar tides and the variety of species that rely on its light for survival. Plant yourself in the cycles of nature to appreciate your vital role in the world we share, increase your personal awareness, and heighten your sensitivity to your attitudes and behavior as it compares to your core standards and beliefs. This type of connection may intuitively affect the conscientious mind and accountability that guide your decision making process.

Inspire others. Our silvery moon has long been the source of inspiration for artists, philosophers, and poets. Both science and art continue to seek ways to study and interpret its profound affect on our lives. Think about the people in your life, and how they inspire you; awaken those same inspiring qualities in your self. Find ways to express yourself as passionately as those who inspire you and others will not be able to resist supporting you in achieving your goals.

© 2009 www.karunacoaching.com Your Nature ezine 760.832.0105

Quesadillas and Moon Topography--Family Activity

2009-07-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

Moon IS made of cheese—quesadillas and moon topography? Try this activity for the next full moon!

Flour tortillas provide a fun (and tasty!) way to identify and name the features of the moon’s surface. Use this printable moon map http://www.space.com/spacewatch/moon_guide-1.html to try and identify famous moon surface features, or map out our historical lunar landing sites on your tortilla. Another option: use the map to inspire your own creative names for your tortilla moon topography :)

In our version, the moon really is made of cheese. Cook the tortilla, fold over with shredded cheese inside, and melt for the perfect post-snack lunar lesson!

The Nature Conservancy in California - Coachella Valley

2009-07-01T08:33:00.001-07:00

Nice article about a local treasure, The Coachella Valley Preserve, found in this week’s California Great Places by The Nature Conservancy—covers the historical beginnings and unique partnerships for its successful management model, “The Coachella solution pioneered an approach that quickly became a hallmark of the Conservancy and now is in use throughout the country.”

The Nature Conservancy in California - Coachella Valley

Posted using ShareThis

Instinctive Listening

2009-06-23T01:08:00.000-07:00

If you’ve ever watched deer feeding, you may have noticed how they seem to ignore the common sounds of the their environment, but as soon as their ears pick up even the faintest sound that “doesn’t belong,” they immediately raise their heads and listen, motionless as if determining if this new sound is going to be a threat or not. Using their other senses, they intuitively assess a situation, allowing instinct to guide their next action.

Try this! Go to a nearby natural area and find a comfortable place to sit, on a rock, picnic table, the ground. Close your eyes and practice listening with “deer ears.” Pay close attention to the sounds you here, determining their location and whether or not they belong or do not belong in this setting. How do they affect you? How does this exercise relate to your daily life?

Starry Nights

2009-06-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

I may be biased, but I think the desert has the best view of the night sky. I’ll never forget the first time I felt the sheer vastness of the night sky while camping along the U.S./Mexico border, in the Sonoran desert. I had just finished my dinner and decided to lay back and count satellites while star gazing. I remember the sky nearly took my breath away as I looked out across the infinity of a flat, black desert and up to a sky splattered with more stars than open space, and I truly appreciated the words “blanket of stars,” because that is exactly what it felt like—as if the stars were wrapped around me like a heavy blanket. I felt very small. And it was exhilarating!

Why not take an evening to learn about the stars, and their constellations, even galaxies you can see. Call your local astronomy club (or start your own!) and go to their next star party. Typically they meet during, or close to, the New Moon for better viewing.

Want something really out there? Check out this week's Nature Time (side bar) for some far out music from the stars...yes, really! Go directly to the article here.

If you’re feeling a little more reflective, practice some meditative star gazing. Lose yourself in the night sky, wrap yourself in a blanket of stars and reflect on the answers you are seeking.

Eco-Camping and the Great American Backyard Campout!

2009-06-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year, June 27th is the next NWF’s Great American Backyard Campout! It doesn’t have to be on the 27th, but try a new spin on a night out with your family. Pull out the tent and sleeping bags and spend the night in your yard. See nature in a whole new night light. Discover what happens while your family is usually sleeping inside…

Find out more here.

Find out more about Eco-Camping, get easy tips for responsible, green camping from Earth 911 here.

Nature Happens

2009-06-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

My mom and I enjoyed a serendipitous moment with my son the other day. We were at the local children’s museum, outside on the patio—with a nice little breeze. I picked up some Bougainvillea leaves that were on the ground and held them up to my fuchsia-colored shirt which matched the color of the Bougainvillea bracts almost perfectly.

My toddler-aged son saw me do this and instantly spied the rest of the Bougainvillea on the patio. After an excited,“I get moohr foh you, mommy!” he was off grabbing for all the papery, pink bunches floating along the ground that he could catch. He was having fun, carrying on a giggly exclamation each time one spirited away, just out of reach.

The breeze started to pick up and the dry bracts he was collecting into his clenched little hands were beginning to break apart and float around him. I got such a kick out of watching him squeal with pure excitement each time he tried to catch some of the crushed pieces mid-air. Every time he reached for one, more would escape. It was a great game.

Just a few minutes later, the breeze faded—ah, its prize surrendered! My son gathered all of the bright pink pieces and gifted the crumbling bunch to me. Honestly, I’m not sure which one of us had the bigger smile :)

It's fun when little things like that happen. I very much enjoy these unplanned treasures, especially through the eyes of my son. The whole scene couldn't have lasted more than five minutes, but anytime the opportunity for us to connect with nature presents itself, it is such a joy for the both of us, likely for different reasons I’m sure…but possibly not. I certainly feel a deeper connection to nature through my son at these moments; I feel closer to him, and I'm open to the spirit of the gift and simplicity of the experience. Nature just happens.

Sticks and Stones

2009-05-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

The first time I experienced British land artist/sculpture/photographer Andy Goldsworthy’s work was when a traveling exhibit came to the museum I was working. I was completely blown away and inspired by his resourceful, artistic interpretation and celebration of the natural world. At the time, I hadn’t seen anything like it!

I am unaware of the beginnings of the current land art movement, whether it was directly inspired by Andy Goldsworthy, or if this wonderful expression was long ago established and is now getting a little more recognition and participants. Either way, I’ve become a huge fan of land artists. Their patience, concepts, the use of only natural material on site, and the resulting work is simply inspiring. And the fact that much of it is ephemeral makes it so magical. There are many genuinely talented land artists out there, and one of my favorites is Richard Shilling (aka “e s c h e r” on Flickr, become a fan of his works and his blog here).

Since I was child I’ve enjoyed creating around with natural patterns and materials…arranging rocks into makeshift mini-caves, arches (hardly successful), spirals, making sand pile lines, stick pyramids, pinecones embellished with fresh pine needles, pine needle baskets, leaf kabobs--even a miniature of a complete "18th century dwelling" my mom and I made one day, complete with stick chairs, broom, and rustic family dining table with benches, and acorn bowls filled with seed, bread, plates, goblets and such--all made with natural items. We did “cheat” a little—we used glue guns to keep it all together. But we surprised ourselves at how well it all came about! It was a fantastically fun afternoon of gathering and creating these treasures outdoors, under a canopy of pines, with my mom!

So it is this memory, in homage to your inner land artist, which inspired this week’s Nature Time exercise. Go outside, gather natural materials of any sort, have something in mind or even better, gather with a blank slate--your materials will inspire you! Keep in mind, most all land artists create on site, this creates a great exercise.

My mom and I had no idea what we were going to create, we just wanted to spend the time together and make something. The point is, it’s a moment I cherish i look forward to future afternoons like it; and I encourage you to simply open up and let flow, your mind will thank you for this wonderful outlet (creative bone not required)! Whether you decide to do this alone, or as a family, the connection you will share will be fun, maybe even silly, but definitely special :) I think your soul will thank you for it too.