The weather has been so gorgeous...

and I just cannot resist spending as much time outside with the girls as possible!  I know that soon it will be cold and windy, and the girls will be complaining that it is too cold to be out.  We have been taking many nature hikes, which have served many purposes beyond just enjoying the weather.

• The girls have had a chance to use some of their identification skills in identifying some of the living things we find on our hikes.
• They get to see some new organisms and try to identify them. 
• They get some exercise.
• They gain a greater appreciation for nature and spending time outdoors.
• They usually find some way to use the materials they find in a new way (e.g. building a fairy house).
• We wear out the puppy (at least for a little while).

This past week we took another hike at the Grindstone Nature Area.  We started out on the main trail, but then we ventured off on some side trails we had not been on before.  Madeline collected lots of materials to build a fairy house (one of her favorite things to do outside).  We identified some trees.  We used our new knowledge of decomposers (from our day at the Kansas City Zoo) to find and identify some.  It is amazing how we can hike at the same place several times and continue to find new discoveries as the seasons change and as we learn more and more.  

On this particular trip, we also found several acorns that were cracked.  Madeline started opening them to leave as food for the fairies, and inside one of them she found this:

acorn weevil

I found an interesting video on the acorn weevil at National Geographic.  It is probably not the best video I have seen from them, but it had some information.  I found some more information about them here, from the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology.

Madeline left it in her fairy house, in an acorn cap with some nut meat from an acorn, so that the fairies could have a pet.  The acorn weevil seemed more interested in escaping than in eating the nutmeat, however.

I also thought I would share a couple of pictures of Madeline's fairy house.  She made this one so that it would blend in with its surroundings.  She also left them a bit of her apple for a meal.

Constructing the fairy house.

Completed house, camouflaged with dry grass and leaves.  She has a long table inside, made from a piece of a fallen tree branch, and chairs made from acorn tops.  The doorway was made from fallen bark she collected on our hike.

A New Place to Explore

Today we took a trip to a nature area we had not been to before, the Grindstone Nature Area.  We started out with a little hike on the path, and saw several things to investigate.

There were lots of butterflies and dragonflies.  We found deer tracks and paths into the grassy areas.  The flowers were abundant.  We saw many different insects, like the one below, that we were unable to identify.

We will be looking this one up in our field guide soon, along with this spider.

We also took a look at some of the different trees and their seeds/nuts.  We found hickory trees and oak trees, among others.

Hailey was not enjoying much of the walk today, as she was having difficulty with her shoes.

So we decide to go check out the creek.

We found many other things to investigate there, including fish, crayfish, a frog, water bugs, and more dragonflies.

We also found a nice fossil.

The girls also enjoyed playing in the water, of course (especially Hailey).

And Isabella and Madeline tried climbing the limestone.

We will most certainly be returning, not only for more investigating, but also for some biking as the paths are so nicely done and so flat.