Mountain getaways are a time to explore, discover and delight in the myriad of wildlife encounters!
A trip to the Tonto Fish Hatchery proved fascinating as we inspected the various species of trout that inhabit Arizona waters. Are we the only weird one's left that enjoy reading all of the signs? Our zoo did away with most of their posted information because they said that no one reads them anymore...
Of course, this trip to the hatchery only spurred on the boys obsession with learning how to fish! In true city-slicker fashion, this was the FIRST time {gasp} that the boys went fishing.
They were thrilled with their catch and I have to tell you that this former tomboy still has some crazy good fish cleaning skills! :) As a girl, I would walk up and down the creek each time we would go camping asking people if I could clean their fish. Then I would gather the younger kids around and give them all a fish anatomy lesson!
Like old times, I gathered MY boys around for that super cool lesson!
Bugs were EVERYWHERE. Our favorites were the walking sticks and praying mantiss'.
As Trey-man and I returned from the creek one morning, I spotted this little guy scurrying across the path. Isn't he just too cute?!?!?!? The inner-tomboy emerged once again and I was able to catch this little fellow and take him back up to the cabin. The boys were quick to create a little habitat for him and he was the recipient of copious amounts of love and attention. We found it fascinating that he could change colors! He patiently endured all of this love and attention and was rewarded with help in making an escape that afternoon much to the boys disappointment.
That was not the end of the wildlife adventures. You see, we were in bear territory and found tracks that seemed to indicate that one had even been near the cabin in recent days... We love the "Who Pooped in the Park" series on animal tracks and scat. I've written about the Sonoran Desert version and found the information helpful when inspecting the abundance of tracks and scat up north. Next year, I think I'll try and find the Grand Canyon version to broaden our understanding of animals in the northern part of our state.
I felt pretty smug while managing to stay calm, knowing bears were around and then eagerly inspecting the daddy-longlegs that Xander brought INSIDE the cabin to show me.
But I was undone by this little fuzzy creature...
Keegan wanted to bring one home as a pet. We convinced him to leave this guy in the wild. But somehow one of its relatives managed to stow away in the van.
After feeling a tickling sensation on my arm, I let out a high pitch girly squeal while frantically brushing it off. This woman who can clean fish, capture horny toads, inspect tracks and scat screams like a grade-school girl at the up close encounter with of one of these harmless caterpillars...
My status as former tomboy is looking to lean heavily on the "former" end of the spectrum.
~ I found this book last year when we were learning about the 5 senses. It is a beautiful example of using our sense of hearing when out for a walk. While not completely 'nature' focused, it was still a compelling story about honing observation skills and noticing sounds around us!
~ I just love this book. We don't have 'woods' here, but we get to experience that when we head up to northern Arizona each summer to escape the desert heat and on trips back to the Midwest to visit family. It is a magical book about the beauties of exploring the variety that the great outdoors has to offer!
by the same author. I'm hoping we can find it in our library before we make a trip up to any 'wild woods' this summer!
~ This is such a practical book, especially if you are new to nature walking. It is a story about a mother bear and her cub who go out during the various seasons and explore leaves and the changes they go through. It is just brimming with all kinds of ideas that will surely spark a few nature walks of your own!
~ I pretty much love everything that Lois Ehlert does. She always has a way of inspiring creativity and ingenuity both in myself and my children. This book is no exception. It would be a perfect companion for fall explorations.
It seemed a little complicated last year for my rough and tumble boys, but we plan on picking it up from the library again this fall!
or 
~ There is nothing quite like Beatrix Potter's nature infused stories. It makes me want to go out and see if we can find many of the animal friends that she so beautifully draws and tells us about!
~ I can't decide whether to include this book here or as a 'field guide', so I'm going back and adding it to the last post as well. My kids just love this book. It is about a family who stops on a drive through our desert and look for signs of various animals that live here. After reading this book last year, 
~ Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends seem to always be off on some kind of an adventure, from expeditions to playing pooh sticks. We've read these classics through several times already. Great read-alouds from the youngest on up to mom and dad!
~ This book is full of lots of research and an appeal to preserve time for your children to play in and explore the great outdoors - specifically 'wild' or 'mostly-wild' places.
