December Daily or almost . . .

American Crow

Coyote - note toe nail marks at top of paw

Eastern Gray Squirrel

While we look at all the magic in our homes and lives . . .quietly in the day or in the night there are animal and bird friends all around us . . .  if we only look for them.  Winter is a great time for doing animal tracking. The snow offers us a chance to see who has been there - who is moving around, where the animal highways and byways are. These photos are taken near the college that my daughter attends. Yet we have all three of these right here at home.  The coyotes have been very loud lately at night. Usually between 10 and 12 at night they get very vocal as they are hunting or just visiting each other. We do not usually ever see them but we can find their tracks and scat left behind the next morning and know just how close they come to the house.

Happy Birthday to Rachel Carson

 


May 27, 1907  a Great Voice for the Natural World was born in Springdale , PA.  Rachel Carson, Biologist, Writer, Environmentalist.  She did groundbreaking research into the effects of Pesticides on the Environment.  Her Book Silent Spring is widely known ans the Gold Standard in Changing the way people think about the environment.
If you are not familiar with her- what follows are some images and quotes that will endear you to the work that she pursued at a time that women were not all that well heard . . .  Thank you Rachel  for my beautiful natural environment that I get to visit every day.  Happy Birthday!!!

 

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
― Rachel Carson

 

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

 

“In nature nothing exists alone.”
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”
― Rachel Carson
 
“It is ironic to think that man might determine his own future by something so seemingly trivial as the choice of an insect spray.”
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring  

 Died: April 14, 1964
in Silver Spring, Maryland

Science Olympiad

So this weekend was Science Olympiad, it is an event that Schools bring a Team to and can compete in about 20 events. Our Team had 10 kids and only Flowergirl as the only girl. Overall we finished in 6th place out of 24 Teams. Many of our members earned individual medals. It is very exciting to see so much excitement over Science, the often forgotten subject. Events included things such as Car of tomorrow, Wright Flight- gliders, Anatomy, Crime Busters, Reptiles and Amphibians, Trajectory, Meteorology. They prepared for about 4 months before this competition. Down time consists of Munchies , rounds of Apples to Apples and watching Wall-E . A fun day!! So much to learn.