Nature Day

Last Saturday we got to have a fun nature day. we have lots of nature days but this was an organized one through local nature centers/ parks. In the morning we went to Cromwell Valley Park for Oriole Day. Earlier this year on one of our many walks, we thought we'd seen an Oriole but wanted to make sure we saw the real thing. We had a great morning there- we saw a rescued Great Horned Owl. 

Someone found this owl very young and fed him only hamburger; as a result the owl's body didn't develop properly and he can't fly. 

I don't have many pics from our bird walk but we saw some neat birds- Orchard Orioles, Baltimore Orioles, red wing black bird, golden winged warbler, barn swallow to name a few.

We also go to see a display on the Maryland insect- the Baltimore Checkerspot. so the kids were super excited to see a few in our backyard yesterday. The morning was extra fun because we went with friends. We got a good laugh when we were asked if we were a boy scout troop- 2 Moms, 6 boys, 2 girls- must be boy scouts.

In the afternoon we went to Soldiers Delight for a survival skills class. a quick overview of rope tying and then we hiked a mile or so to identify edible plants.
I think wood sorrel was the kid's favorite. Acorns sound like a lot of work. I'm not what plantain is. It was interesting but I think we'll definitely be packing food for our outdoor time.

The kids absolutely loved our PJ walk in the rain. One day the weather forecast was rain all day but it hadn't started raining after breakfast so we put on boots and headed out the door. The kids thought it was so cool! Fun times! Good memories