Wildlife

Wildlife is the best part of hiking.  I usually don’t see many animals.  I hear them scurry away.  I see leaves rustle as they do.  Squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits are not scary to come across on the trail.  I often slow down to see how close they let me get.  Usually not very.

I’ve never been a big fan of dogs so I keep my distance from them.  When I see the dog’s owner then I relax, a bit.  Not all dog owners take the time to train their dogs to obey simple commands like come.

Birds on the other hand like the safety of the trees so with a pair of binoculars you can get a good look.  That is without sitting around for hours on end, like you have to do with deer.

Although I’ve noticed more deer in the city, when I come across wildlife in the city it’s a little different.  Some of the animals are not afraid of humans, or at least not as concerned.  One of the rabbits that live under the scrubs outside my patio window sat on the patio while I lay on the floor in my living room, with the window open.  We were no more than five feet apart.  The rabbit enjoying the coolness of the cement at the end of a hot summer day; me just enjoying the wildlife right outside my home.  When I got up so did the rabbit but it sure was a cool 10 minutes.

There’s a commercial out now telling people to go outside and enjoy the time away from technology.  You don’t have to go very far.

Pack out what you pack in.

The Genesis of Butterflies

The Genesis of Butterflies
Victor Hugo
1802-1885

The dawn is smiling on the dew that covers

The tearful roses; lo, the little lovers
That kiss the buds, and all the flutterings
In jasmine bloom, and privet, of white wings,
That go and come, and fly, and peep and hide,
With muffled music, murmured far and wide.
Ah, the Spring time, when we think of all the lays
That dreamy lovers send to dreamy mays,
Of the found hearts within a billet bound,
Of all the soft silk paper that pens wound,
The messages of love that mortals write
Filled with intoxication of delight,
Written in April and before the May time
Shredded and flown, playthings for the wind’s playtime,
We dream that all white butterflies above,
Who seek through clouds or waters souls to love,
And leave their lady mistress in despair,
To flit to flowers, as kinder and more fair,
Are but torn love-letters, that through the skies
Flutter, and float, and change to butterflies.

 
Translated by Andrew Lang

From:  The Gardener’s Book of Poems and Poesies.  Compiled by Cary O. Yager.  ©1996 by Contemporary Books, Inc. Two Prudential Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60601-6790.

 

 

Gravity of the Moon

The moon doesn’t just reflect the sun it also is important for the earth’s gravity.  The moon keeps the earth from wobbling around as it spins around the sun.  Okay try to imagine that.  Very funny.

It’s the moon that creates the tides also.  Where the moon is facing the earth that side and the side directly opposite has a high tide, the other two sides are in low tide.  Gravity is strongest on items that are close together.

The earth is not a perfect sphere.   Imagination again.  Picture the earth being squished by your thumb and forefinger at the poles.  Not far but just enough to create a small bulge around the middle.  The moon pulls water into the tides twice a day, so all coastal areas experience two high tides and two low tides every day.

The moon causes all of this.  I never would have thought to create a moon to help earth with its gravity.  Would you?

Pack out what you pack in.

Sources:

Explore the Solar System, Earth and Earth’s Moon, © 2011 World Book, Inc.  Chicago, Il 60601, www.worldbookonline.com

World Book’s Solar System and Space Exploration Library, Earth and Earth’s Moon, Second edition, ©2007, World Book, Inc. A Scott Fetzer Company, Chicago, IL.  www.worldbook.com

Snow

I’ve lived in Wisconsin my whole life (except for 2 years in the Chicago suburbs, blog for another day) so I know all about snow.  The first snow fall of the season and the wet kind that clings to everything.  They’re beautiful.

No driving in the snow is not fun but hiking is.  Gander Mountain would love to sell you all sorts of gear for winter hiking.  You can hike safely in the winter without it.  Here’s how.

Dress in layers.  This is practical advice for anyone who hikes.  Especially wear a thick, long scarf.  It can quickly protect your face from wind and just as quickly be shed if the temperatures rise.

Wear good boots.  You can wear any pair of winter boots you have.  About 15 years ago, I paid $100 for a pair of hiking boots.  That was a lot of money for me to shell out but I’m glad I did.  I still wear them.  The treads are good, but the uppers are cracking.  I’m trying to get a couple more years out of them.

Four years ago I spent $15 on a pair of cleats that go over my shoes.  They’re awesome.  The cleats are only at the toe and take a struggle to put on but honestly it was the best 15 bucks I’ve ever spent.  It makes the icy patches less scary.

That’s all I take.  Really, that’s all you need.  Yeah, it would be nice to have a walking stick or snowshoes but they’re not completely necessary.

Hiking in the winter requires you to pay attention to the trail, even if you hike that trail every day.  Ice patches can develop anywhere.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy all four seasons in the great outdoors.

Pack out what you pack in.

The Use of Flowers

The Use of Flowers
Mary Hewitt
1799-1888

God might have bade the earth bring forth

        Enough for great and small,
The oak-tree and the cedar-tree,
        Without a flower at all.
We might have had enough, enough
        For every want of ours,
For luxury, medicine, and toil,
        And yet have had no flowers.

Then wherefore, wherefore were they made,

        All dyed with rainbow light,
All fashioned with supremest grace,
        Upspringing day and night: --
Springing in valleys green and low,
        And on the mountains high,
And in the silent wilderness
        Where no man passes by?

From:  The Gardener’s Book of Poems and Poesies.  Compiled by Cary O. Yager.  ©1996 by Contemporary Books, Inc. Two Prudential Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60601-6790.

 

Stars

If I had to navigate by the stars I’d be lost . . . all the time.  I marvel at people who can look to the night time sky and see, name and recite the history of the constellations.  Sometimes I can find the big dipper.  Sometimes.

Stars in general are cool.  I learned that the only star in the good old Milk Way is the sun.  So all the sparkle in the night sky comes from (to quote George Lucas) “a galaxy far, far, away.” Wow.

Remember I love to use my imagination.  I wonder if planets around those stars have our sun in their constellations.

A bright star is closer to us than a star that doesn’t shine as bright.  I know, duh.  But a star shines uniformly in all directions so, imagination again, think of all the galaxies that can see Polaris (the North Star), and that use it for their navigation.  Now that sounds like a good story idea.

I read two great books while researching this blog.  I always put my sources at the end of the blog but I have to recommend one here.  Janice Van Cleave’s Constellations for Every Kid.  (John Wiley and Sons, ©1997, Janice Van Cleave).   It was very informative and it had all 88 recognized constellations, when and where in the sky they appear. 

Another fun thing I discovered, there is an observatory on top of the library in a town near mine.  The telescope takes pictures that are posted on their website.  (www.pewaukeeastro.com)  They also have public presentations once a month.  Maybe they can help me find the big dipper.

Pack out what you pack in.

Sources:

Janice Van Cleave’s Constellations for Every Kid, John Wiley and Sons, © 1997, Janice Van Cleave.

Explore the Solar System – Earth and Earth’s Moon © 2011 World Books, Inc., Chicago, IL 60601

Yes this is the moon.  It was too early for the stars to shine. 

Access

There’s talk of paving a popular bike trail near my home.  Right now the trail is lined with pea gravel.  It’s nice to ride on if you have a trail bike – one with wide knobby tires.  But not everybody does.  Paving the trail will make it easier for those with only road bikes – ones with skinny sleek tires.

It would also make the trail more accessible to those with limited mobility.  People who use wheelchairs and walkers need access to the great outdoors just like anyone else.

Bugline Trail
Just outside Menomonee Falls, WI.

Providing paved trails is important but I’m not advocating paving all trails.  The Seven Bridges trail is fastly becoming one of my favorites but I would not insist on putting in ramps and paving all the trails there.  Not only would it be expensive but it would also take away from the beauty of the trail.  Paving the trail near my house wouldn’t do that.

Folks who use wheelchairs and walkers do have choices, limited as they may be, to enjoy God’s creation.  It takes some research and planning but it can be done.  Look for beginner, level trails, call and ask a ranger if the state park you are visiting has paved trails.  Many of the bike trails in the area are paved.  Check with local bike shops to find a level trail.  Yes, I’m asking you to stay away from the web here.  Talking to people who use the trail gives you a more accurate assessment of that trail.  City parks are more apt to have paved trails.  Call your parks department to find out.

Everyone should have access to nature and all should enjoy its quiet simplicity. 

Pack out what you pack in.