New location for this blog!

Hi, I'm going to be doing this blog on the Davidson Lands Conservancy website from now on. World of Wonder- WOW is an educational outreach of DLC and we want to emphasize that by linking this blog to their website.  After you look at the blog entries explore more of what DLC has to offer and consider joining the efforts.

Celebrate Trees!

WOW will be celebrating trees this Saturday, March 12, at the Farmer's Market.  Arbor Day is a chance to celebrate the wonder and majesty of trees.  Davidson is blessed with many large trees.  The Davidson College campus is a great place to see and learn about trees since each one there is labeled with it's botanical name!  Maybe you have a beautiful tree in your yard that's special to you.  You can post a comment here telling us about your special tree.  Here are some interesting activities you may want to try.

 Create a list of the trees in your yard or your neighborhood.  Use a field guide to identify any you don't already know.

Learn about how these trees may have been used in the past for survival.  Is the bark useful as a medicinal herb?  Does it's wood make beautiful furniture, floors, woodwork?  Does it burn well and make good heat?

What animals benefit from the trees in your yard?

Does your tree shed it's leaves or is it evergreen?

Trees in winter show their lovely shape

Is there a shade tree you really appreciate in the summer?

Go sit under the tree if you can and write a poem or draw a picture.

Hope you enjoy paying attention to the beauty and usefulness of trees.

The night sky

The ancients saw the night sky with all it's glowing stars and planets and gave names to figures they saw there.  We call these constellations and they are a handy way of identifying certain stars.  Modern people with telescopes and a different understanding of the cosmos still enjoy looking at the night sky. This link to the Hubblesite includes a description of the night sky for each month.  The February sky is dominated by the constellation  Orion and his dog Canis Major.  Visit the Hubblesite to hear an interesting description of the stars that make up these constellations.

Backyard Wildlife Habitat

Hope you've been able to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of nature this weekend.  Maybe some of you participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count.  If so, please let us know by leaving a comment here.

Now, this Saturday at the Farmer's Market in Davidson we will be joined by representatives from the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists.  They will be explaining and promoting the idea of Certified Backyard Habitats.  You can certify your backyard through the National Wildlife Federation.  What do you need to have a backyard wildlife habitat?  You need to provide food, water, cover and places to raise young.  That means plants that have seeds and berries that animals like to eat.  Or a bird feeder. A source of water, maybe a bird bath or if you are lucky a stream.  Trees and bushes that provide a place for animals to hide.  And maybe a brush pile or other place that animals can hide and raise young.

Hope you'll drop by our booth at the Farmer's Market and get some pointers on setting up your backyard to welcome and protect wildlife.  And check our blog for updates on activities in the area.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2

American Goldfinches

Today's post is just to remind you of the GBBC which is this weekend, Feb. 18-21.  If you live in the Charlotte area you might want to get out and see some other surroundings on what promises to be another lovely, warm for February, weekend.  This great website shows some interesting places to watch birds near the Charlotte area.  If you explore the NC Bird Trail site you'll find that there are sites all over North Carolina with good driving directions and ideas about what you might see there. And don't forget, if you do count birds this weekend be sure to report them to The Great Backyard Bird Count.  You'll be doing your part for Citizen Science.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Look for us at the Davidson Farmer's Market on Saturday, Feb. 12.  We'll be there promoting The Great Backyard Bird Count which  is always held Presidents' Day Weekend.  This year that will be February 18-21.  This is an opportunity for people of all ages to be a part of Citizen Science.  You can count in your own yard or count in your neighborhood.  Maybe you'd like to go on a hike and count.  This link will tell you all you need to know about how to count, what to count and how to report your counts. Great Backyard Bird Count- GBBC

Northern Mockingbird

American Goldfinch

Cedar Waxwings

Hope you'll join me in this fun, family activity. Grab a field guide and your binoculars and get outside.  If you get excited about birdwatching and counting you might like to check out ebird, All about Birds, and Project Feederwatch.  If you participate in the GBBC come back here and comment on this blog post to let us know and maybe tell us  something about what you saw.  We'd love to know.  And become a follower of our blog.  We'll be talking about WOW events and other nature related ideas.

Next Meeting- Planning our brochure

Hi WOW people.  Pam asked me to post this for her.  Let's see if this is a good way to discuss things online.  At our next meeting, we're going to discuss what should be on our two page brochure.  Pam suggests the pictures in the brochure cover these components:

WOW at the Farmer's Market.
Adult guides- Dave Grant for example.
Both Parents and Children together.
A child up close in wonder.
Nature itself.

WOW at the Farmer's Market

An adult guide

.

Parents and children together

Child up close in wonder

So we can discuss here by leaving comments.

What is a Sit Spot?

 A Sit Spot is a place you choose to go and spend time in the natural world.  The best place would be one that's close enough to where you live that you will go there frequently.  And what do you do when you get there?  You sit quietly and observe what's around you; you listen; you smell; you touch; you become acquainted with this place and what is there.  People of any age can enjoy a sit spot.  A child might like to find a spot in the backyard where they feel safe and can go on their own.  Most adults like to walk a bit away from the house so they feel like they are putting aside the daily routine.  It's best if it's close to home so you are more likely to go frequently.

My sit spot is on Beaty St. Pond.  I like to walk quietly to get there and let go of things that are on my mind in the rest of my life.  And then I may sit or I may stand but I spend 10 to 20 minutes just being there.  Some days I listen to the birds.  Or I may look at a particular plant and see if it's showing signs of the change of seasons.  I take my journal with me and I write down the date, time and what the weather is like.  Then, I may write a list of the birds I hear or see.  Or maybe I see an interesting track in the mud. I might draw a sketch or something or maybe write a poem.  Binoculars come in handy as well as a digital camera.

 Today at my sit spot I saw two mallards and a kingfisher.  I heard a lot of other birds that I never saw.  I heard a blue jay, a wren, chickadees, tufted titmouse, and a downey woodpecker.  I noticed that one side of the pond has ice on it and the other has melted.

It was good to see the sun after so many gray days.  And it was warm enough that all the mud has thawed out and there were some animal tracks.  Mostly dogs I think.  I hope you'll think about having a sit spot.  Maybe you'll write a comment here about yours.

A new Blog for WOW-World of wonder

Hi friends, I'm trying to set this up as a blog that has shared authorship so the members of our committee can add posts, not just comments.  I have sent an invitation to each of you to become authors of this blog.  You will need to have a Google account, but you don't have to have gmail.  Please respond to me either as a comment here or by email so I'll know you have at least seen this.  I'm figuring this out as I go.