Twelve holiday gift ideas for the outdoor kid in your life

It's that time of year when people think a lot about giving or receiving gifts.  Every magazine and website seems to put out an annual list of the top ten gifts (toys/tech/games/etc.).  I have my own list, but it's a little different.  The most fun I see kids have all year is when I turn them loose to explore a woods or a pond.  My list is focused on items to help kids explore.  Without further ado, here is my top twelve list of gifts for kids for this year (or any year).

I originally came up with this list in 2013, but have added two items and updated prices and links for 2018.  This list also works great for adults, but you might want to upgrade the first four items to adult sizes!


Getting Outdoors

Despite all the talk of  the disconnect between children and nature, most kids still love to explore the outdoors.  They just need to have the tools to make it more enjoyable. 

1.  Rubber boots - Having cold wet feet is no fun.  Nothing can ruin a day in the outdoors faster.  Rubber boots also let you explore puddles and the edges of ponds.  Knee high boots are best as they let your kid explore deeper puddles.  These boots do not have to be expensive.   My advice is to skip the ones with cartoons characters and get the plain black or green ones.  Look for a pair at around $15 at Walmart or your local farm and home center. 

2.  Wool socks - Pair the rubber boots with the right socks and they are suitable for year round wear in all but the coldest weather.  Socks are one item where its best to splurge - buy the best wool socks you can find.  I like socks from Darn Tough, SmartWool, and Farm to Feet, but several other brands are just as good.  Expect to pay $10 to $15 - trust me they are worth the extra cost!

3.  Waterproof Jacket/Rain Suit -  I love being out in the rain.  Everything seems so much different when it rains.  Rain softens the ground and quiets sounds,. Animals often hold tight in the rain. Worms come up out of the ground.  Tiny streams form and cascade.  In my mind there is nothing better than exploring a woods on a rainy day, but I hate having wet clothes.  A pair of rubber boots and a good rain suit opens up new worlds for exploration.  Try this set for around $30. 


Tools for Exploring

So the kids are outside, what are they going to do now?  Getting outdoors is more fun when you have the tools to explore!

4.  Headlamp - Don't limit your kids' explorations to daytime hours.  Nighttime is exciting because it holds mysteries.  Most kids love exploring the dark because its just a little scary- you want them to be safe.  A good headlamp helps.  Try this one designed for kids.  It's about $15, but can often be found cheaper.

5.  Aquatic Dip Net - One of my favorite things to do is to look for aquatic invertebrates.  What kid doesn't want to see what is swimming around in the water?  The tool needed for that is a good net.  This is not a place to skimp on price - that cheap butterfly net from the local big box store will not last long.  I like these adjustable nets from Acorn Naturalists. At $27.95 this is one of the most expensive things on my list.

6.  Insect Net - Sometimes I would rather look toward the sky than the mud.  I have yet to meet a kid that was not interested in catching butterflies, dragonflies, or other flying insects.  You need a large net with a long handle.  Again I like a net from Acorn Naturalists - another big purchase item at $24.95.  A nice thing about these nets is that parts can be replaced if they are ever damaged.

Once the kids have caught something they will need a place to put it so it can be observed.  There is no need to get fancy here.  A cleaned out clear plastic or glass jar (peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, etc.) will work just fine for any invertebrate (or even frogs, snakes, and salamanders for a short time).  A five gallon bucket is great for dumping your dip net into.  Ice cube trays and wash basins are prefect for observing aquatic creatures.  Sometimes, a closer view is desired.

7.  Magnifying Glass - Any magnifying glass will do.  They can be found at any drug store, big box store, or even many dollar stores. 


Identifying and Recording 

The kids are outside and exploring.  They have TONS of questions! They want to show you everything! 

8.  Guide Books - There are dozens of great guide books on every nature subject.  Peterson First Guides are great options for kids.  The Peterson Guides are such a bargain at under $8.00 each that you can afford to buy more than one.

9.  Note Book/Sketch Book - Having a place to write or draw pictures of what is found is a favorite of many kids (and adults).  A simple wirebound notebook will do, or good blank books can usually be found in the bargain sections of bookstores for a few dollars.  Even a stack of printer paper and a clipboard will work for this.

10.  Colored Pencils - Splurge on the Crayolas.  They are really that much better than the other cheap brands and at under $6.00 for a 50-pack, they might be the best deal on this list.

11.  Pencil Sharpener - A good colored pencil deserves to be sharpened with a good portable sharpener.  I purchased several of this style from Staedtler for students to use.  They are worth the $6.29 price tag. 

10. A cheap Digital Camera - This is the only thing on my list that requires batteries.  It will also require some sort of memory card to store pictures.  Good used cameras can often be found on craigslist.  (Right now Target has this model on sale for under $20!)  A digital camera is a great tool for the budding naturalist it is a great complement to (not a replacement for) the sketch book.  One advantage of the digital camera is that it reproduces a true to life image of those things that cannot be identified in the field so they can be looked up later. There is the additional cost of a memory card, but those can be found for under $10 and often go on sale.

There is my list of twelve things that every kid should have on their Christmas list.  Even if you bought everything on that list, total cost should still come in at under $200 (before any shipping costs).  Leave off any two of the four most expensive items (camera & memory card, nets, and rain suit) and cost comes in under $100.  Twenty-five dollars (or less) will buy a field guide, sketch book, colored pencils, and pencil sharpener - this will make a great start toward a lifetime of studying nature. 

Of scattering abroad...

This morning I had a little bit of time free after giving a program at Fancher Elementary.  I hadn't been out in the woods for a few days do I decided to head to Chipp-A-Waters Park and walk the trails.  I didn't have plan, I just wanted to get outdoors and take a few pictures.  Almost immediately I noticed a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with a few seeds still hanging to its dried out pods and nearby was Bitter Dock (Rumex obtusifolius) with its flattened seeds.  When I a bit further I noticed the fluffy seeds of a Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and a Boxelder's (Acer negundo) winged samara.  At that point I had an idea - how many different fruits, seeds, or nuts could I find?

#1 - Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

#2 - Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)

#3 - Bitter Dock (Rumex obtusifolius)

#4 - Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

#5 - Boxelder (Acer negundo)

#6 Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)

#7 - Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)

#8 - Buckthorn (Rhamnus sp.)

#9 - Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

#10 - Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

#11 - Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.)

#12 - Aster (Symphyotrichum sp.)

#13 - Eastern Poison Ivy (Toxicodendrom radicans)

#14 Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

#15 - Orange-fruited Horse-Gentian (Triosteum aurantiacum)

#16 - Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

#17 - Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)

#18 - American Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia)

#19 - Black Locust (Robina pseudoacacia)

I spent barely thirty minutes in the park.  My first photograph was taken at 10:46AM and my final photograph was at 11:16AM.  Of the nineteen species that I photographed, seven are not native to Michigan.  Of those seven, five are considered invasive species.  To say that Chipp-A-Waters Park has an invasive species problem would be an understatement.  Birds readily consume the fruit of Buckthorn, Honeysuckle, Multiflora Rose, and Japanese Barberry helping the species spread further.  Eventually, if nothing is done to stop their spread the wooded areas at Chipp-A-Waters Park will be completely overgrown with these species and many of the native species found there now will be choked out.

Is the situation hopeless?  No, of course not.  However it will take planning and effort to reduce and control the invasive species and encourage the native species found there.  

Deer Season 2018

Today is opening day of the 2018 Michigan firearms deer season.  I wish all hunters a safe and successful season!

One of my favorite pieces of writing is about deer hunting (and life).  The following passage is from the book Hunting from Home: A Year Afield in the Blue Ridge Mountains by Christopher Camuto (ISBN 978-0393049152).

One November the hunter will not be in the woods and neither the deer nor the woods nor the wind will know or mark the difference his absence makes.  If you hunt, and if you have taken your modest share of game--not as trophies but as food for your table--then you will understand the beauty in the thought of that unmarked difference in the woods.  Folks who are on their way to heaven or some other imagined paradise where the true cost of living does not have to be paid won't understand or accept this.  But I am not trying to get to heaven.  I am trying to get to earth.

Happy Veterans Day 2018

Dan Wixson (left), Stan Lilley (center), and me (right) atop Bundy Hill - photo by Stan Lilley

Happy Veterans Day! 

Veterans Day is a celebration of all former members off the United States military.  Originally the holiday was known as Armistice Day and was used to commemorate those who served in World War One.  The name of the holiday was officially changed in 1954 to commemorate all living veterans.  With the exception of seven years ( 1971 - 1977), Veterans Day has always been celebrated on November 11th. 

This year's Veterans Day marks a particularly important event, the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War One.  After four years of warfare, combat officially ceased on the Western Front on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (11:00AM local time on November 11th, 1918).  The event is being commemorated with ceremonies throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

I celebrated today with a sunrise hike at the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's Bundy Hill Preserve.  I was joined on the hike by two fellow veterans.  Dan Wixson is a US Navy veteran (1982 - 1988).  Stan Lilley served in the US Army (1968 - 1994).  I served on active duty in the US Army from 1997 to 2001 and then in the National Guard for a further three years.

When the gales of November came early...

Today marks the 43rd Anniversary of the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes.

On the evening of 10 November 1975, the freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was approaching Whitefish Point, MI with a full load of taconite (iron ore) in a Lake Superior storm.   Despite the hurricane force winds, the 729 foot ship did not appear to be under distress before it sank suddenly at 7:10 PM.  All twenty-nine men aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald perished.  To this day, the exact cause of the ship's sinking is unknown, but a rogue wave (or series of rogue waves) is the prime suspect.

 The ship was commemorated by Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in his 1976 song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

The wreck site was visited by dive teams in 1989, 1995, and 1995 to survey the site and collect artifacts.  The ship's bell was recovered during the 1995 dive.  The bell was restored and now rests at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, MI. For more information on the Edmund Fitzgerald visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum website.

Although the Edmund Fitzgerald is the Great Lakes' most famous shipwreck, 1975 was not the first time that "the gales of November" turned deadly.  A November storm in 1913 claimed the lives of approximately 250 sailors, sank 12 ships, and foundered approximately 30 more ships across the Great Lakes.  This massive storm which lasted for nearly five days became known as the "Big Blow" or the "White Hurricane' among other names.

On 11 November 1940, a storm known as the "Armistice Day Blizzard" sank three freighters in Lake Michigan with the loss of 66 lives.  The same storm caused the deaths of dozens of duck hunters along the Mississippi River.

Early November in the (mostly) native pollinator garden

The growing season is almost over for the year.  Most of the native plants in our home gardens have begun to go dormant.  However, a few are still green - packing away more sugars in their roots to get a jump on next year .  One or two plants are still throwing up a bloom now and then.  The gardens are still a riot of colors, but now they are the subdued colors of fall and not the brilliant flowers of summer.  The biggest theme of the season though is "seeds" - pretty much every species is covered with seeds waiting to be dispersed by animals or by the wind. 

Over the next few months most of the plants will be knocked down by a combination of decay and heavy snows.  The plants that remain in the spring will be trimmed down near ground level.  I don't trim plants in the fall because they provide cover for hibernating insects and the seeds provide food for birds.  Those seeds that the birds don't get will be deposited into the soil to grow into more plants.  The leaves and stalks that fall to the ground form a natural mulch and eventually decay back into the soil - adding a healthy layer of rich organic humus.  I also allow all the leaves that fall into the gardens to remain and don't rake away the leaves that fall on the lawn.  I mulch those up with the mower and allow them to stay on the lawn - it's free fertilizer!

My work in the garden is not entirely done for the year.  I still need to plant a couple hundred tulip and crocus bulbs before the ground freezes.  I love the spring flowering bulbs - they're why I refer to the garden as a (mostly) native pollinator garden.

Here's a few pictures from this evening.

The garden at the back of the house

High-bush cranberries

Blue-stemmed Goldenrod seeds

Tall Coreopsis leaves turn a deep red

Rudbeckia triloba isn't doon yet!

Big-leaf Aster seeds

New England Aster seedheads surround our Monarch Waystation sign

Butterflyweed seeds

 

The view from the street corner

Northern Maidenhair Fern surrounded by fall leaves

Fertile fronds from one of several species of ferns

Japanese maples have finally started to drop their deep red leaves

Pumpkin-spice massacre

Halloween was last week, but when I came home yesterday I found a gruesome sight on my front steps.  It looked like the scene of horror film, with guts strewn everywhere and a pair of hollowed out corpses flanking the steps.

The victims of the massacre?  Pumpkins.

The perpetrators?  Squirrels.

Every year we put pumpkins on our porch as a fall decoration and every year the squirrels chew on them.  This year the squirrels have gotten much more industrious and have completely hollowed out two of the four pumpkins (so far).  The squirrels are not eating the flesh of the pumpkins at all - it is all about the seeds. 

I expect that when I get home tonight I will find that the other two pumpkins have also been hollowed out and all of the seeds nibbled upon.

Our squirrels are industrious and will take advantage of any food available to them.  I intend to plant several hundred tulip bulbs in our flower gardens this weekend and I expect the squirrels to take their toll on those as well.  

I just wish that they would have left the pumpkins alone until after Thanksgiving...

Birch bark Canoe Build (Part 4)

The birch bark canoe build at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways (6650 E. Broadway, Mt. Pleasant) was completed on last week when its seams were fully covered with a mixture of spruce pitch, charcoal, and bear grease.  The goal of this event not just to build a canoe, but also to keep the knowledge and teaching related to canoe- building alive in the community.  

I was unable to be there while they completed applying and smoothing the pitch on the seams.  However, I did get to the Ziibiwing Center on Thursday (01 November) to get some pictures of the completed canoe.

The bow and stern were decorated with etching.

This section of the hull had a hole that needed to be patched.

Every seam and other possible leak has been sealed with pitch

Hardwood pegs hold the gunwale caps in place

The final product, waiting for launch.

The Tribe does not want this new canoe to be a museum piece.  Instead they want it to have a life and be used.  Consequently, there is going to be a launching ceremony this Saturday (10 November) at the Soaring Eagle Hideaway RV Park (5514 E. Airport Rd, Mt. Pleasant).  The event will begin at 10:00AM at the Ziibiwing Center.  Details are listed in the flier below.

Fall colors explained (repost from October 2016)

This is post was originally published in October 2016.  I like providing original content on this blog (and not just reposting thing I have previously written), but I have spent a lot of time in recent weeks explaining why leaves change color in the fall so I thought it was worth sharing again.

Fall colors at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Have you ever wondered why leaves change colors?

It's a simple question with a complex biological answer involving masking, sugars, and pigments.

Normally the leaves of most plants appear green to people with normal color perception.  They are green because they are filled with a pigment called chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll is responsible for photosynthesis - the sugar production in plants and some bacteria (and one weird sea slug that incorporates chlorophyll into its body from an algae - although the mechanism has been called into question by some more recent research). It is also responsible for releasing oxygen in a form that we can use.

When leaves change color in the fall, they do so because the tree stops production of chlorophyll.  During the growing season, chlorophyll is so abundant in leaves that it masks all other colors found in the leaves.  As the level of chlorophyll decreases, the other colors begin to show through the mask.

Leaves, unmasked!

Yellow and orange colors are caused by a group of pigments known as carotenoids.  These colors were present throughout the growing season, but couldn't be seen because of the abundance of chlorophyll.

Thank carotenoids for the golden fall color of Quaking Aspen

Red and purple colors are different.  They are caused by by a group of pigments known as anthocyanins.  These chemicals are produced in the fall when chlorophyll production ceases.  The sugars that are produced by chlorophyll require the presence of several groups of chemicals to help break them down so they can be used as fuel at the cellular level - one of these groups is known as phosphates.  Phosphates are molecules that form around an atom of phosphorus, an important micronutrient.  Because phosphorus is present in limited quantities in the soil, trees can't afford to lose their phosphates when they drop their leaves - instead they transfer the phosphates back into the branches, trunk, and roots. 

The red in these Sumac leaves comes from anthocyanins

When the phosphates are shuffled away from the leaves, the leaves have to use a different process to break down the sugars - this process results in the production of anthocyanins.  When the level of anthocyanins becomes high enough, and the level of chlorophyll low enough, the leaves will appear red or purple.

Sometimes leaves appear red in the early spring.  This happens because the tree also produces anthocyanins in the spring before chlorophyll production ramps up to summer levels.  Once chlorophyll production begins at full scale the anthocyanin production ceases and the chlorophyll masks the reds and purples.

Anthocyanins at work - fall color in a spring leaf of Red Oak

Brown leaves are produced by an entirely different process.  The brown is the color of the cell walls within the leaves - some trees do not produce large quantities of either carotenoids or anthycyanins, so we see the brown of the cell walls instead.  This also the reason why all fallen leaves eventually turn brown - the pigments fade away and we are left seeing the brown cell walls of the leaf.